Will your IT services show up at the exact time when local customers are looking? Will they pick you out of all the local businesses that offer the same products and services?
Whether you’re a local business in London or a national individual with multiple locations, you need an SEO strategy and SEO agency in London that will help your IT services company to comprehend on-site and off-site tactic to increase your visibility in local search results.
Brick-and-mortar businesses wanting to win against competitors should make sure all the local signals across Google’s local search landscape are consistent and correct.
Not sure where to begin? Roc Pro created this comprehensive guide to help local SEO professionals to jumpstart your strategy and gain an exceptional understanding of today’s local search landscape.
But what exactly is local search marketing?
Local search marketing is a form of search engine optimisation (SEO) that helps local businesses show up in relevant local searches. It applies to both single-location small and medium businesses (SMBs), national enterprise brands, and chains. Some marketers call it “local SEO” or “local search engine optimisation.”
For a more casual or simpler definition, local search marketing is all about putting your IT services business on the map in local searches when customers are searching for a business like yours.
How Does Local Search Marketing Work?
Learning the ropes of local SEO in London for IT services companies means building a firm foundation to gain the competitive edge. These aspects are the following principles:
Google My Business Listing
Conceptualise and market your IT services company using the Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google. Google My Business will also put you on Google Maps. It is how voice search figures out “near me” and other distance-related queries. Failure to comply with Google’s guidelines can result in ranking failures and even listing take downs. Make sure that your business should be in the same page with Google on how to market your business and follow the appropriate guidelines.
Site Authority
Your website can gather authority by virtue of its age; however, you can seek authority by acquiring links and mentions of your business from quality, relevant sources. Just beware of links from low-quality sources or schemes that attempt to exaggerate link count with no concern for relevance. The quality and authority of the links you earn have a major impact on your local search rankings.
Site Quality
No amount of marketing can make up for poor user experience on your website so make sure to meet basic quality goals like:
- Making your site mobile-friendly;
- Fast-loading site;
- Has responsive design to fit any screen;
- Features high-quality content;
- Free of malware or other malicious elements; and
- Easy for customer to use
NAP Consistency
Every IT services business needs to know how to make an introduction. What is the best and most professional way to present yourself to your would-be customers?
The answer is NAP or common acronym for:
Name: Business name;
Address: where to find your business;
Phone number: how to reach you by phone;
Optionally, Website/URL and email address: how to reach you online.
You’ll also sometimes see this written as NAP+W or NAPU, with the “W/U” standing for your website URL.
NAP inconsistencies can misdirect customers, costing you revenue and lower local search rankings result. For example, if a customer is trying to contact an IT services company and found online listings inconsistent with an old phone number, or multiple old addresses listed for a business it would be a bad experience. The customer might think an IT services company who doesn’t bother to update their contact information isn’t trustworthy enough to handle their IT services business either. The best SEO services in London will make your IT services company stay on top of the online presence by keeping all your directory listings up-to-date.
NAP breadth
Spreading your NAP across the Internet is a core task of local SEO in London. Filling it on Google My Business and other business listing sites like Facebook, Bing, Yelp, Superpages, etc. can boost and build your structured local business listings. You can spread your NAP on unstructured citations/mentions on social platforms, blogs, news sites, and other resources to grow your business.
Acquiring a SEO services in London will also increase your IT services companies’ online visibility for local consumers. SEO agency in London will work to increase your page rankings, therefore increasing your online presence.
Remember the number of structured and unstructured citations you earn can heighten your business.
Brand and Reputation
Customer always recognise a great business by its name. Utilised “brand building” to establish and grow your IT services business’ online presence. This will make your brand associated with your service, an authority in your line of work, your website will get more clicks in search results, make you stand out among other businesses, and people will be more willing to become your customers.
Gather positive customer reviews by asking them for reviews especially if you provided them with excellent customer service. Building a good relationship with your audience and make sure it stays that way.
Content Strategy
Content is your most important asset on the Internet. Useful, informative, convincing, user- and SEO-friendly, and unique convinces customers to do their business with you.
Keywords optimises your content to help a great number of customers find it. Take note that the content you produce should result in high levels of user engagement and maybe shared by your industry and consumer base, further promoting your business.
Competitive Edge
“Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage.”
—Theodore Levitt, author and professor at Harvard Business School
In order to be remembered in a crowded marketplace, your business should have a trait that’s worth remembering. You must look beyond the basics if you want to stand out from the pack.
Getting ahead of your competition requires a unique effort for each business, based on discovering opportunities your rivals haven’t yet explored. Competitive difference-makers will be unique and represents the advanced tactics businesses need to undertake when the fundamentals fail to give them an edge.
Remember, a big part of local search marketing is making your business show up in that local pack so that consumers can find and choose you.
Contact us now for a free SEO audit.