As I’ve mentioned before, local search engine optimization (SEO) is vitally important for small businesses. It’s how they compete with big businesses because people care about proximity. Every month, Google U.S. processes 870 million searches of over 6.3 million “near me” keywords. People want “jewelry store near me” and “restaurants near me.” But if you don’t have a physical address, are you screwed?
This is a great question. You’re not! The web has evolved and Google has too. It’s no longer just looking for brick-and-mortar locations to show on their local pack (i.e., the cluster of companies when you search for something). Google also shows the most relevant service providers in the area because people want services that come to them or mobile-only services, for instance, a Charlotte web designer.
We’ll go over some tips to boost your local SEO all without having a physical address.
Be Relevant
Google’s local algorithm is shifting from a “proximity” model to a “relevance and reliability” model. That means, how well does your business match the search? What’s your online reputation? What helps here is everything else we’ve talked about – encouraging people to leave reviews for you and being very clear about your services. At Web Symphonies, over and over again we mention being a Charlotte web design company. That’s because we really, really, want Google to understand we’re a web design company!
So, step 1 for everyone is to optimize your Google Business Profile. For people without a physical address, that means optimizing yourself as a service-area business. You still need a real physical address to verify your business (which can be your home address) but after Google sends you that postcard, you can hide your address from public view.
From your Google Business Profile dashboard:
- Select Edit profile and go to Business information.
- Navigate to Location, click Clear address, and hit the Apply button to proceed.
Be Strategic
Now that you don’t need to worry about your physical address appearing in online searches, you need to add the service areas where your business operates. You can add up to 20 cities, zip codes, or neighborhoods. Note that you can come back and edit this information later to add new locations any time the business expands. Don’t try to game the system by adding neighborhoods you don’t actually service! This will only hurt you in the long run.
Then you’re going to start adding the services you provide. Google allows one primary category and up to nine additional categories. Your primary category carries significant ranking weight, so select the one that most accurately represents your core business. As a Charlotte web designer, we would choose “web designing.” If you can, add photos of your team and your work to show authenticity.
Use those Keywords
Keywords are paramount in your local SEO strategy especially if you don’t have a physical address. You need to do some keyword research to uncover valuable keywords and start peppering your website with that. Create a dedicated page for each service area you cover that addresses the specific needs and challenges of the location. Include neighborhood-specific case studies if that’s applicable and provide location-specific contact information.
Also, use long-tail keywords with the location included. You’ll notice we frequently use “Charlotte web designer” rather than just “web designer” when we reference ourselves. For your business, it might be something like “emergency babysitting services in Asheville” or “wedding hair stylist in Trenton.” These longer, more specific phrases attract the people who actually want your services.
Once you identify the keywords, you’ll want to actually incorporate them into your website. That means using them in your page titles, H1 headings, URLs, meta descriptions, body content, and image alt descriptions.
If that all sounds complicated, don’t worry, we can help you. We understand not everyone has the desire to flesh out their website and that’s OK. That’s why you’d hire someone like us. We have decades of experience and we know how to drive traffic to your website, even if you don’t have a storefront.
Get in touch with us via email or call (704) 336-9113.
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