How to Optimise Your Website for "Near Me" Searches in the UK
The use of smartphones has increased in today's digital world. More people are using smartphones when searching for local businesses in their location. This means local businesses need to ensure that they optimise their website for “near me” searches in the UK. “Near me” searches have increased in popularity, making it easier for users to find businesses nearby, from stores to restaurants, and professional services.
As a local business owner, ranking for “near me” searches can boost your visibility in your local area, attracting potential customers.
“Near me” searches are when a user uses a keyword on Google followed by “near me.” This is an online search indicating that the user is searching specifically in their current location. A visitor to your area that doesn't know the area well, may use a “near me” search to find a restaurant, pharmacy, or petrol station, for example. Search engines have become more focused on providing their users with relevant results based on their geographic location, helping them find local options with ease.
“Near me” searches is when a user enters a keyword followed by “near me.”These searches are aimed at finding relevant businesses near the users location. In order to ensure your website is visible for these searches, you need to follow some SEO strategies, boosting your online performance.
One of the first steps to help your local business improve ranking in “near me” searches, is to claim or create your Google My Business listing. The listing must include accurate business information, including your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number). You will also want to add your website, operating hours, along with high quality photographs.
We also recommend encouraging customer to leave reviews on your Google My Business profile. Positive reviews help to boost your local online visibility, while providing potential customers with unbiased opinions about your business, boosting trust, confidence, and loyalty.
By implementing on-site and technical SEO for local searches, you can boost your website visibility in local search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves using location-based keywords throughout your website content, along with title tags, meta descriptions, and Alt-text.
With the volume of online searches being carried out on mobile devices today, it's imperative to ensure your website displays perfectly on all devices, across all screen sizes, and orientations. Remember, most of the “near me” searches are performed on a smartphone. A responsive website boosts user experience, helping you improve your ranking in local SERPs.
Create high quality and engaging content that is relevant to your local community. This can include articles, blogs, and resources that relate to your industry. Remember to add your location-specific keywords to your content to ensure you are visible in local searches.
Ensure your business information remains consistent, adding it to online directories and authoritative platforms, such as Yelp, and TripAdvisor, for example, to help boost your visibility for “near me” searches.
Ranking for “near me” searches in the UK requires a strategic approach, combining local SEO and your Google My Business profile to build a strong online presence. When you follow the above strategies, you stand a chance of increasing your visibility in local SERPs, attracting your local community that are searching for products and services you provide in their local area. If you need help with your local SEO strategy in order to rank for “near me” searches, get in touch with the Genie Crawl team today.
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