You, know it’s very cool that your business can be found for what you sell around the world, but in reality, if you’re serving a local market and you’re not successfully appearing in your local search results for your main terms, names and products, then what does it matter?

Since we now know that 1 in 3 searches in Google are now local in intent, and more than 70 percent of people look online for offline services, it’s a no-brainer that you have to dominate your local search results, and below are a few ways to do just that.

5 Easy ways to start to dominate your local search results

  1. Your Google+ Local Page – A Google+ local page for your business is a reliable way to help your local search rankings. Does not only help with indexing your pages nearly instantly, but it’s a practical aid for anyone seeking to find you.
  2. Claim Citations – Citations are listings for your business on search engines and within social media which include your name address and phone number. They can include more or less and are usually found on Facebook, Google, Bing, Yelp, and FourSquare, as well as a number of other sites.
  3. Reviews – Reviews are great not only for social proof, but also for boosting your ranking in the Google local search results. Getting reviews to your Google+ local page is one of the most important things you can do. Ask your customers for reviews and give them a link to where they can leave it.
  4. NAP – This means name address and phone number, and is a vital piece of your local optimization. Citations that include this information are worth more, both in Google’s eyes and  in practical terms.
  5. Mobile – Studies are showing that three out of four mobile searches initiate follow-up actions, whether that means an actual store visit, social sharing or phone call. Ensure that your site is optimized for mobile, so you can take advantage of where so many people are headed in local search!