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Six Proven Tips For Improving Your Local SEO

It can seem like a daunting task to tackle a local SEO strategy for small businesses.

 

The Milwaukee SEO landscape is competitive and constantly changing.

 

Since 2016, Agency Jet has been a leading agency specializing in Milwaukee SEO for small businesses.

 

Today, we're here to share some of the SEO tips and tricks we've picked up along the way.

 

1. Claim Your Business Listings

 

Over time, your business may acquire many listings online. Your business may appear on Google My Business, Bing, Yelp, Facebook, ShowMeLocal, and more.

 

And, multiple pages on the same platforms may pop up for your site. It's essential to claim all of these pages and merge any duplicates because:

  • Multiple pages split up your reviews and audience from one central source
  • Unclaimed pages often have incorrect or missing information, such as times of operation
  • With an unclaimed page, you may not be seeing customer reviews or complaints, and are missing an opportunity to respond

 

Claiming your listings can take a lot of time.

 

Afterward, the listings should be audited frequently, to make sure no new duplicates appear.

 

google my business

Not sure if you're in the right place? Go to google.com/business and sign in.

 

There are online services that help you identify existing pages for your business, such as Moz Local. Or, if you're working with an agency, this may be one of the many services the agency provides to improve your local Milwaukee SEO.

 

2. Stay Away From Blackhat Tactics

 

If you're somewhat familiar with SEO, you may know that there are blackhat tactics that are "shortcuts" to improve your SEO.

 

Except, they aren't shortcuts at all.

 

Blackhat tactics will only hurt you in the long run as search engines penalize websites that use these methods. This ultimately hurts your brand and your business.

 

Some examples of blackhat tactics are:

  • Buying backlinks
  • Blog comment spam
  • Keyword stuffing
  • Sneaky redirects
  • Cloaking

 

Now that you know what these tactics are, you're better equipped to watch out for them when hiring an SEO agency.

 

If an agency promises you "too good to be true" results, such as hundreds of backlinks in a short amount of time, it's more than likely they're using these tactics.

 

A reputable agency that knows what they're doing and believes in hard work will never use these methods. Instead, they'll put the time and effort in to grow your presence in the Milwaukee SEO marketplace.

 

3. Monitor Your Google My Business Listing

 

There are plenty of statistics out there that remind us of how important local SEO is.

 

For example, 72% of people that conduct a local search on Google will visit a store within five miles.

 

The very people that are looking up local results rely on the online listing to contain the right information. If the address or phone number is incorrect, you are very likely to lose that potential customer to competitors.

 

If you don't already have one, it's essential to create a Google My Business (GMB) account and claim your listing.

 

After this, you will want to log in regularly to ensure your business name, location, hours of operation, and phone number are correct.

 

Agency Jet GMB | Agency Jet

Here if your Google My Business (GMB) dashboard setup. You can check reviews, your information and more.

 

For even better results, you can put more effort into your GMB listing. You should add a short business description, a link to your website, and some professional photos of both the interior and exterior of your location. Photos that are poor quality or blurry are a poor representation of your brand.

 

Remember that your GMB listing is like the front door to your business. It's the thing people will see before they even enter your store or go on our website, so it has to make a great first impression.

 

Check out this informative blog post that we wrote that includes detailed steps on how to set up your Google My Business listing.

 

4. Reviews, Reviews, Reviews

 

SEO is all about creating a deep, professional online presence that verifies yourself as a reputable business.

 

One of the best ways to strengthen a company's positive perception online is through legitimate customer reviews.

 

In fact, approximately 76% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.

 

A large part of SEO is online reputation management and driving reviews.

 

First, a business needs to set itself up in a way that it'll garner reviews. This includes:

  • Asking for reviews at the bottom of emails
  • Having a review box pop-up on the website after a purchase is made
  • Linking to review sites on your website

 

Next, the business must continuously monitor and respond to these reviews. Good or bad reviews, customers need to feel like they've been heard when they take the effort to leave comments.

 

Like many of our tactics to improve Milwaukee SEO for small businesses, review management is not a one-and-done task.

 

 

 

Fortunately, partnering with an SEO agency can mean you outsource this process to professionals who know what they're doing.

 

Additionally, a reliable SEO agency will do all the setup work and teach you skills in SEO efforts. That way, if you part ways with the agency, you can continue the vital tasks to keep your Milwaukee SEO strong.

 

At Agency Jet, our average client contract lasts over 12 months. While many clients choose to stay longer, we help set clients up for success by teaching them all the SEO tactics they need, so they can take over whenever they're comfortable to do so.

 

An increase in online reviews will help strengthen your brand reputation, will increase sales as customers know they can trust you and your product, and will increase your local online presence.

 

5. Create Local Content

 

If you want to be a powerhouse in local Milwaukee SEO, you need to make content relevant to the Milwaukee market. Local content will help you rank higher in local search rankings.

 

Some ideas for local content include:

  • City-specific, state-specific, and regional landing pages
  • "Locals only" or "residents only" discount offers
  • Hosting or partnering with local events and promoting them online
  • Blog content that includes local keywords

 

All of these efforts will serve to boost you higher in local searches, helping you stand out from the competition.

 

6. Prioritize Local Link Building

 

Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your site.

 

Ideally, you want the links to come from authoritative websites with large audiences who will redirect their audience to yours.

 

Not only should link building be a priority, but local link building is essential for small businesses.

 

link acquisition | Agency Jet

Here's an example of what Agency Jet clients see on their custom dashboard. This stat helps them keep track of high quality backlinks created by our team.

 

Try to build relationships with local websites related to your industry. You can do this by sending them your content, engaging with them on their channels, and writing guest blog posts.

 

Earning links from local powerhouses can significantly increase your site traffic and should be a priority for any local SEO strategy.

 

Agency Jet Provides Milwaukee SEO for Small Businesses

 

Every day that your business isn't implementing a strong SEO strategy is another day of lost potential.

 

Agency Jet is a well-established digital marketing agency specializing in Milwaukee SEO services. Our team of experts has served hundreds of clients, and we boast one of the highest client retention rates in the country (96%).

 

Our reviews from past clients and results speak for themselves. If you require Milwaukee SEO services, contact us today for a free website assessment.

 

More Resources

READ: To Business Owners: Affordable SEO Services for Small Business Explained VIDEO: SEO Pricing: Understanding What It Means
MEET: The Agency Jet Team READ: 5 Small Steps to Rank on Google Maps for Local Business

 

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