There are quite a few people that think that local search engine rankings can be obtained by performing the same SEO that is used on regular websites to rank for a specific keyword, product, or service. While most of this is true, there are certain items that will need to be taken into consideration before a business can rank in their local area. Although basic SEO will consist of paying close attention to the H1, H2, H3 tags, description tags, Meta tags, website structure and content optimization areas, it will also be important to add a considerable amount of local content.
In order to do this properly, you will need to hire the services provided by a professional SEO service because they can implement the complete process in which your site will achieve higher local rankings. Some of the techniques they use will take complete advantage of local information, and apply this to your web presence in a way that is completely search engine friendly. Professional SEO service providers will blend this information in a way that your visitors will not have a clue as to how you are ranking higher than others, other than your content is more informational and you provide what they are looking for.
All of the basic SEO guidelines will still apply as far as the local search engines are concerned, but there are some additional items an owner can consider to improve their chances of ranking higher. Get listed on the local business directories such as Yelp, Linkedin, Google Places, and others because this will help all of the efforts provided by your professional SEO service. You will discover that a professional SEO service may provide all of these options for you if you decide you would like a service that is all encompassing.
When your website has been optimized for local search engine rankings, depending on the competition in the local area, your SEO professional should be able to manage Google first page results with a complete website optimization effort. With that being said, higher local search engine rankings will allow you to maximize business exposure and gain a lot more visibility.