How to rank local keywords?

[ksmith88]

Hi guys,

I have been enjoying here to be a part of the community. A simple question:

I have some local low volume keywords and want to rank on 1 with all. I have set up pages according to the keywords such as "california plumbers" and page is /california-plumbers.html

To rank these types of keywords I am doing local listing and adding these particular page instead of "home page". Am I doing right? Would classifieds and local listings are suffice to get these keywords on 1 spot of Google? What else can I do? Can you suggest me some queries to find "deep local directories or classified or other stuff whereby I can target my pages?

Thank you in advance for ideas.

[NickW816]

I would recommend focusing on on-site optimization first. For the example you used- "/california-plumbers", you can include "California Plumbers in the Meta Title and H1, as well as a couple times within the content. It may also help to include variations of your keyword such as "plumbing contractors in California" or "local California plumbing repair" in an H2 and throughout the copy. Adding images, a video, map embed, internal links, and external links on the page can also help to boost its relevance.

Once you feel the page is more optimized, but not spammy or keyword stuffed, you can build internal links to it from other pages on your website. Also, keep in mind that building high-quality links to your overall website and doing technical SEO things like improving your website speed can also have an inherited positive effect on the rankings of your internal pages.

Hope this helps and best of success!

[ksmith88]

Very nice Nicolas,

I have added these keywords in the title tag and tried decorate the page with H1 title by adding keywords.

When you said "external link" you mean links from other websites such as Google map, youtube video?

I am trying to build links naturally just putting naked url. But I am getting only many paid directories or classifieds? do you have any queries I can use to get these links or any list would be helpful?

thanks

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Kate!

We're so happy to have you here. I want to be sure I'm clearly understanding your strategy. When you say you are building local listings, do you mean you are building local business listings for the state of California? Local business listings are address-specific. So, if you are marketing a plumbing company with a physical location in, say, San Diego, CA., you can create local business listings surrounding this, but what you cannot do is create a local business listing for a state. Please, provide a little further detail here about how you are handling local business listings.

Also, can you let the community know whether you are referring to organic or local rankings in terms of your goals?

Thank you!

[ksmith88]

Dear Ellis,

Thank you for the kind words and understanding my strategies :).

Yes, I meant by that. Actually, I have not a plumbing business but referred to it just as an example of local business. I run loan business which has 6 states. Those specific pages I want to target in local listing and classifieds. I hope I am going good. With this I can put that particular url as a naked and no need to build anchor text.

When you say surrounding you are referring I should search with zip code such as in Nevada "89101 + local listing"?

I am just targeting specific page in those listings such as https://paydaysunny.com/california.html

One more question: can I edit my existed listings and add rest of the locations? For example: I have added one location in these listings but when I look at my competitors I notice that they are getting link for all locations from one business listing directory. Is it feasible?

I am referring to organic traffic. But I think it is possible when keywords will be on TOP.

Waiting for your inputs.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Kate,

If you are marketing a business in the payday loans industry, your challenge is more complex than many other business categories face, due to Google taking punitive action in the past.

If the business is virtual rather than physical, you cannot do Local SEO. Unless the business has physical offices where staff make face-to-face contact with customers, you cannot build out local business listings on platforms like Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, etc. Instead, you'll have to focus on organic SEO and PPC. Here's a recent article specifically about your industry: https://searchenginewatch.com/2018/05/22/a-review-of-the-payday-loans-algorithm-in-2018/

[NickW816]

Kate,

Sorry, I should have clarified, when I say external link I mean a link on your website page that goes to a resource or website outside of your website. For example, you can link to a plumbing tips resource website, a Wikipedia page that defines an uncommon industry term you mention, or perhaps the state website for California, California tourism website, etc. So it is on your website that goes off of your website, but if it is a relevant external link Google can give you a slight boost in rankings.

Building inbound links (links outside of your website that point to your website) naturally with the naked URL is a great way to go. If you have original pictures, videos, or creative web design, I am a big fan of utilizing content sharing websites like Behance, Ello, and Visual.ly to build links. You can also find some high quality directories that are non-paid that provide dofollow links; such as TopRatedLocal, Contractors.org, ResellerRatings, and Company.com.

[ksmith88]

Dear Nicholas,

Thank you for this. I will certainly find some relevant resource and fit into the web content. Is it possible if I place an external link of competitors or any other relevant resource to my website then they can also link to me?

Absolutely, I can design some pictures and employ these sites.

Regards