How to plan your local SEO strategy in London

local seo strategy in londonPlanning an SEO strategy in London is tough as it is a crowded city after all and no matter what industry your business is in there is bound to be a lot of local competition. It might seem like building an effective SEO strategy in London is impossible but it can be done!

Local SEO services in London require a bit more out of the box thinking and planning to get right. You really need to plan carefully and be as industry-specific as you can. Whether you run a trendy boutique, a new estate agents or a cleaning company local SEO services are important.

If you want your business to actually stand a chance against your competitors then building an effective SEO strategy should be a top priority. Let’s look at what should be included in your SEO plan in more detail.

Effective SEO Strategy in London

competition
Target local niches with Long Tail Keywords

Longtail Keywords

Local SEO services prioritise keywords and for good reason, they are one of the cornerstones of SEO but longtail keywords are something a little extra-special. A longtail keyword is as the name implies longer than a normal keyword, they are industry-specific and a great way to target more niche audiences.

Let’s say you run a vegan restaurant instead of using “vegan cuisine” or “vegan dishes” you could use “organic vegan cuisine” or “healthy low-fat vegan food” instead. You could even add extra words to add more local appeal or to appeal to new audiences as well like “healthy vegetarian and vegan restaurant in London” for example.

Instinctively you won’t want to use phrases like this because SEO keywords are usually thought of as short and commonly used. But while fewer people will be searching for longtail keywords there is a greater chance of the people using them actually visiting your website. A niche audience is a valuable thing when it comes to building your SEO strategy in London and longtail keywords are a great way to appeal directly to them.

social-media
Social Media signals play a crucial role in your SEO

Local Social Media

Social media allows your business to reach a global audience but it also helps you better connect with your local audience as well. Local SEO services can get a great boost from social media and there are many ways it can be utilised. You can run local adverts on sites like Facebook and Instagram which you know will directly target people nearby.

Or you could use social media to encourage people to share their thoughts about your business and better connect with customers. For example, let’s say you run a clothes shop why not use social media to run competitions and award people with a voucher or discount? You could even encourage people to share their purchases and reviews through social media as well.

Build Backlinks and Local Landing Pages

Backlinks are essential when it comes to building an effective SEO strategy in London. Social media is a great way to build up natural backlinks through other pages but you can also reach out to local online directories and ask them to add your business as well. You might also be able to find local bloggers/ influencers willing to talk about your business as well.

The more backlinks you can build in your local area the better your business will look in the search rankings. But backlinks aren’t the only way to boost your presence amongst your local audience you can do it yourself by building custom local landing pages for your website.
Why stick to one standard landing page when you can appeal to many different districts? If your business operates over a wide area then building different landing pages for different London districts can be a great way to boost your presence online and appeal to key areas.

Highlight Positive Reviews

Customers can review your business in countless different ways these days and a positive review is a valuable thing to have! Even if your business is fresh-faced and young even one positive review can make a big difference. So, if you get a positive review through Google, Yelp or one of your social media pages share it online!

You should also encourage any customers to review you whenever possible utilising more old-fashioned digital marketing techniques like email newsletters can be a handy way to accomplish this. But you can just as easily post on social media and ask people to share their views. The more positive reviews the more custom you are likely to get.

content_is_kingBlog All The Time

Never underestimate the importance of a blog especially when it comes to building an effective SEO strategy in London. A blog allows you to create local content that appeals directly to your neighbours!

Not sure where to start then why not utilise local events to show how your business is celebrating? Or even highlight local customers or success stories, think outside of the box and be creative. Use longtail keywords as well and utilise social media to share them to ensure maximum reach.

Rising up the Google rankings

All these tips will be sure to help you build an effective local SEO strategy in London but it will also greatly increase your Google ranking as well. But best of all, it will do it all organically over time so you won’t be penalised by Google because you’ll be doing it the right way. London SEO services might be more crowded and there might be more competition but with careful planning and the right strategy your business can thrive.