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Local SEO in Reading

What is local SEO?

Local SEO relates to increasing your rank on google when people search for services related to your business for their local area. For example, if you run a roofing company in Reading then you would want to rank highly for “roofers in Reading”.

Why focus on local SEO?

Put simply, there is less competition for local keywords and search terms. This means that it is a lot easier for your business to rank highly for local search terms.

If you think about it, big corporations such as Burger King and McDonalds have devoted a lot of time and resources to optimise their ranking for “best burger place” (as well as 100 other businesses). However, the search term “best burger place in Reading” will have a lot less businesses competing to rank highly on it.

Can I rank highly on Google for local searches?

For a lot of local businesses, the answer will be yes. The reality is that most local businesses don’t tailor their web presence for Google or its algorithms. This makes it way easier for you to get the edge on your local competitors.

Whether or not you rank highly on Google also depends on two other factors:

Factor 1 – Does the Google algorithm like your website?

For example, Google loves it when a website loads quickly as this improves the experience for its users – in fact, load speed is one of the biggest ranking factors! However, a lot of (popular!) websites are packed with lots of bloat and plugins that slow them down considerably. You can get the edge on these sites by making sure that your website always loads quickly no matter what.

Factor 2 – Is the search term competitive?

Local search terms are always less competitive!

For example, there are less searches for the term “best clothes store Reading” than there are for the term “best clothes store”.

How long does it take to see results?

The amount of time it takes for SEO to have an impact can vary quite a lot depending on multiple factors. This includes factors such as how competitive your search terms are, how established your business is and what services and products you provide. That being said, the point of local SEO is to make sure you target less competitive search terms that are specific to your local area.

It can take anywhere between 3 – 12 months to see the benefits from SEO.

How does it work?

Initial consultation – The first thing I will do is have a consultation with you about your business and SEO goals. The aim of the consultation is for me to get an idea of your online presence and determine what your goals are. Most importantly, I want details about all the services you provide so that I can figure out which key terms to help rank your business for.

Web Presence Audit – After the initial consultation, I will audit your web presence to see where you can improve. I will analyse your website (if you have one), social media presence and your google business listing.

Suggested improvements – After the audit, I will send you a brief report summarising everything about your web presence. The report will outline what you are currently doing well and what needs improvement. At the bottom of the report will be a list of improvements that, if implemented, should have a high impact on your local SEO.

Implementing Improvements – If you are happy to go ahead, I will be happy to help you implement any improvements you need. I am also happy for this to be a collaborative effort – for example, I can write the copy for your service pages if you’d like me to. If, instead, you’d prefer me to give you a few brief suggestions and write the service page copy yourself then that is also fine.

Analytics and Monitoring – After implementing improvements I also offer a SEO monitoring service. I use Google Analytics to help track how well your website is ranking on Google and how many hits you are getting to your site. I will then send you a weekly report summarising how your site is doing. We can then discuss whether or not you need further improvements to your web presence.

How much time & effort is required?

This really depends on two factors:

Factor 1 – The improvements required

Some improvements take more time to implement than others and cannot be done solely by me. For example, to rank high on Google your business may need a lot more reviews on your Google business listing. This would take some effort from the business owner to try to solicit more reviews from customers.

Factor 2 – How hands on you’d like to be

For example, I can write out the copy for your service pages or you can write your own copy with a few suggestions by me. Of course, the more hands on you are, the more your time will be required.

Want free advice? Get in touch today!
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