In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses to thrive. However, just having a website is not enough. It’s equally important to ensure that your website is optimised for search engines, especially when you’re a service-based business operating in a specific local area. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process of local SEO for WordPress website optimisation, including a step-by-step guide on how to improve your website’s visibility in local search results.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO for service-based businesses is the process of optimizing a website to improve its visibility in local search results. When people search for services in their local area, such as “plumber in Sydney” or “lawyer near me,” search engines like Google will display a list of businesses that match their search query.

By implementing local SEO strategies, service-based businesses can improve their chances of appearing at the top of local search results, attracting more potential customers to their website and ultimately driving more leads and sales for their business.

Local SEO for WordPress website: a step-by-step guide for service-based businesses

Step 1: Conduct Keyword Research

The first step in optimizing your website for local SEO is conducting keyword research. This involves identifying the phrases and words that your potential customers use to find businesses like yours in your local area. For instance, if you’re a plumber operating in Sydney, some of the keywords you might target could include “plumber in Sydney,” “Sydney plumbing services,” or “emergency plumber Sydney.”

You can use keyword research tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to help you identify the best keywords for your business. Once you’ve identified your target keywords, you can start optimizing your website’s content to include those keywords.

Step 2: Optimize Your Website’s On-Page SEO

On-page SEO refers to the optimisation of your website’s content, including your pages, posts, images, and videos. Here are some on-page optimisation tips for local SEO:

1. Use your target keywords in your page and post titles, headings, and content. But be careful not to overuse them, as this can be seen as spammy by search engines.
2. Include your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on your website’s homepage and contact page. Make sure this information is consistent across all online platforms where your business is listed.
3. Use local schema markup on your website to help search engines understand your business’s location and contact information.
4. Include customer reviews on your website. Positive reviews can help improve your business’s visibility in local search results.

Step 3: Create Local Business Listings

Creating local business listings is a crucial step in optimizing your website for local SEO. Here are some platforms where you can create business listings:

1. Google My Business. This is a free tool that allows you to create a business listing on Google, including your business name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and reviews.
2. Bing Places for Business. This is similar to Google My Business but for Bing search engine. It allows you to create a business listing on Bing, including your business’s location, contact information, and hours of operation.
3. Yelp. This is a platform that allows users to review and recommend local businesses. Creating a listing on Yelp can help improve your business’s visibility in local search results.
4. Facebook. Creating a business page on Facebook is another way to improve your business’s visibility in local search results. Make sure to include your business’s location, hours of operation, and contact information on your Facebook page.

Step 4: Build Local Citations

Local citations are online mentions of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites, such as directories, review sites, and social media platforms. Here are some ways to build local citations:

1. Submit your business’s information to local directories, such as Yellow Pages, TrueLocal, and Hotfrog.
2. Reach out to local bloggers or journalists and ask them to feature your business on their website or in their articles.
3. Participate in local events or sponsor local charities to get your business’s name out in the community.

Step 5: Get Backlinks from Local Websites

Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. Getting backlinks from local websites can help improve your website’s visibility in local search results. Here are some ways to get backlinks from local websites:

1. Reach out to local bloggers or journalists and ask them to link to your website in their articles.
2. Participate in local events or sponsor local charities and ask them to link to your website.
3. Join local business associations or chambers of commerce and ask them to link to your website from their directory.

Step 6: Monitor Your Website’s Local SEO Performance

Once you’ve implemented the above steps, it’s important to monitor your website’s local SEO performance. Here are some metrics to track:

1. Keyword rankings: Monitor your website’s rankings for your target keywords in local search results.
2. Website traffic: Track the number of visitors to your website, especially those coming from local search results.
3. Click-through rate (CTR): Monitor the CTR of your website’s pages and posts in local search results.
4. Reviews and ratings: Monitor your business’s reviews and ratings on local platforms, such as Google My Business and Yelp.