Local SEO Lead Generation Tips for Accounting Firms

Are you looking for the best way to improve your online presence?  Do you need to make your business more visible?  Would it help if you could target local markets more easily?  Then perhaps you need to look at SEO.  This brief guide will give you some insights and advice on how to use this to your advantage and maximise on its benefits.

Local Search Engine Optimization, SEO, is an internet optimizing strategy that works by increasing traffic to your website, generating leads, and improving brand awareness for your business, particularly in your local area.  Irrespective of the type of business you operate, the desire to serve audiences within your locality will be helped by improving your local SEO.

Securing local optimization for your business isn’t a quick fix, it is a process that requires a series of key components to be considered.  Here, we discuss each step in the process.

Local SEO Optimization: The Most Useful Tips

1.    Use “Google Business Profile” Listing

The first thing to do before anything else, is to claim your “Google Business Profile” listing (formerly “Google My Business”).  This is a free to use tool from Google where you can list your business online with details of location, services, products and even photos.  This is a great way to increase visibility in searches, bearing in mind that Google holds over 90% of the search engine market, so it is a great benefit to register on Google.

Why use Google Business Profile optimization?  Google is an integral part of the entire local SEO marketing arena.  It is one of the most important local SEO ranking factors that can go a long way to improving the online success of your business.

• ● It is a great way to appear in the Maps and in the Google Local Pack listings.
• ● The tool is very flexible and transparent.
• ● Customers can leave reviews on your services.
• ● It offers rich insights into valuable information.
• ● Google Business Profile is entirely free to use.

To make the most of your Google Business Profile Listing, here are a handy tips:

• ● Don’t compromise on the data quality you submit for your profile, it is worth spending some time to get your pitch right for your business and industry.
• ● Verify all your operational business locations.
• ● Get yourself the Google offered “business short name” and make use of it.
• ● Keep the working hours accurate and updated.
• ● Manage the profile properly, get into the habit of checking and refreshing information regularly, even uploading photos and videos to keep clients interested.

2.    Make Sure Your Website is Optimized for Local SEO

When checking your website, one of the first things for any business to do is to carefully check through the content copy to verify that key words are included online so the searches will correctly pull up your information for potential local clients.  It is important to ensure you are visible in keyword searches relating to your industry, products, and services to maximize the impact of your online web presence.

Here are some of the most effective ways to function well within local SEO optimization:

• Get Schema Markup added to your website. This will help Goggle match all your products and services for your business to the searchers in and around your locality. Bear in mind that Schema Markup doesn’t necessarily improve SERP (search engine results pages) rankings, but it will definitely help organize your data for relevant search results and enhance your chances of being found.
• It is very helpful for potential customers to read online testimonials.  This gives credence and reassurance that you are who you say you are and that you can do the job as advertised.  Reviews can be a deciding factor when considering making an initial inquiry and can prove to be a gateway for new clients.  Adding reviews from current clients online on Google and adding them to your website will make all the difference.  According to a study on the Google Business Profile, reviews rank in the second position as an influential factor when deciding on continued interest in business products and services.
• Try your local directories and get your website listed there.  Adding your business to these directories will help improve your local SEO further, ensuring your business is available in more local searches.

3.    Keep your NAP updated

Updating your NAP (name, address, phone number) is another significant factor that will impact the correct opitmised working of Local SEO.  It is vital that this information is correct to ensure you can be found as easily as possible.  You might also want to add in working hours so people know when you will be available.

4.    Create Content for Local Customers

If you wish to work with local businesses, you need to know what they want and need from you.  Being clear on your customers’ requirements and understanding their needs will help you gear your online content in a more targeted manor, making it more likely for you to attract the kind of customers you want.  Time and effort is well spent on careful wording of your content to appeal to the right audience.

Using relevant keywords from the start will increase your inclusion in local online searches and using them throughout your content will improve visibility further.

Final Words

In summary, make the most of any free help available to increase your online presence.  This includes listing your business on the Google Business Profile with all relevant information and maximum detail; keep your details fully up to date to make sure you can be easily found and contacted; make sure your website is optimised for SEO; create content for local customers so you attract the audience you want.  All these things will help market your business.