Being a small business owner, it is crucial for you to improve your local SEO activities for the most relevant ‘near me’ keywords for connecting with your local audience. According to Go Gulf, 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information.

There are so many factors that determine the success of your local business ranking for ‘near me’ online searches. With the proper usage of Google My Business listing, localized web content, mobile responsiveness, site loading time, and many others you can easily expand your local visibility.

Best Practices to Improve Visibility for Near Me Searches

Here we will explore the powerful techniques for boosting your local SEO rankings for online near me searches.

1. Set Up Your Google My Business Profile

Having an account on Google My Business means your business is recognized by Google. Now, when users search with ‘near me’ keywords, Google draws your business information from your GMB account and displays it on the local search results page.

Hence, maintaining your account on Google My Business(GMB) listing is vital to establish your own unique local business identity and boost your exposure in the local market.

Important Checklist for Optimizing Google My Business Account for ‘Near Me’ Keywords

With just a few simple clicks, you can easily get into GMB. Once the verification process gets over, you need to fill your small business name, location, phone number, operating time, photos, reviews, and other necessary details.

2. Add Schema Markup

Schema was launched by major search engine giants like Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Yandex to understand your business, services, products, location, and other content on your website. After adding Schema to your webpage, you can test using Google Structured Data Testing Tool.

By adding Schema Markup, you can properly structure your details on your small business website for ‘near me’ keywords. This helps search engines crawl through your website content and display your business details in the form of rich snippets and knowledge graphs for most relevant search queries.

3. Effective Platforms for Placing the Near Me Keywords

After optimizing your website content and Google My Business listing, you have to identify the appropriate platforms for placing your business details. Finding the best locations will help you take advantage of the near me keywords and help you stay active before the local audience.

Here, we have lined up various platforms to improve your business website content for near me keywords. By doing so, you can help search engines understand your business and display it before the right audience for the most relevant queries.

Online Business Directories/Listings – By placing your business on various online directories, you can connect with a list of businesses within your geographical area and drive more outbound links to your website.

Influencer Marketing/Guest Blogging – By guest blogging, you can easily create a buzz for the ‘near me’ searches.

Social Media Account – By creating accounts on multiple social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to list your company name, address, services, and other keyword focussed details you can generate a lot of quality traffic for ‘near me’ keywords.

On-Page Optimization – By improving your webpage with local content, and adding ‘near me’ to the title tags, anchor text, alt tags to your location pages, you can be visible on local search results.

Backlinks from Neighborhood Websites – By obtaining more backlinks from reputed business websites within your geographic area, you can improve your business ranks for ‘near me’ online searches.

For the last few decades, ‘near me’ searches have witnessed enormous growth and have taken the small business to great heights. According to a report from Think With Google,

 Around 34% of near me searches are done via desktop and tablets and 50% of near me Google searches done via mobile. So, it is important to build your small business website with user-friendly features and make it easily accessible for all users.

4. Best Ways to Apply Near Me Keywords

Many small businesses have to make the best use of ‘near me’ keywords to strengthen the local visibility. It is easy to attract more local audiences to your physical store or online business with the help of near me keyword optimization. Here we have listed down a few niches for obtaining positive SEO efforts.

A) Solopreneurs

Solopreneurs like plumbers, electricians, carpenters, can enhance your visibility among your local audience. You have to properly optimize your website content, GMB account, social media profiles, and others for driving quality leads and conversions through ‘near me’ online searches.

For instance, if you are targeting local customers in Washington then you have to specify keyword phrases in your webpage content, title tags, location page stating “plumbers in Washington”, “electrician services near Seattle” and “carpenters near me”.

This will help search engines to scan your website and GMB account for relevant ‘near me’ searches.

B) Travel/Tour and Hotel/Restaurant Guides

Being travel/tour and hotel/restaurant guides it is crucial for you to establish a vivid presence before your local audience. With the proper usage of ‘near me’, keywords on the appropriate platforms will pay off!

For example, you can make the best use of keywords like “tourist guides in Washington” if you are targeting audiences in the local market.

C) E-Commerce Business

E-commerce businesses can generate revenue for your online business and drive customers to your physical store with the help of ‘near me’ keywords.

If you are running a furniture company and like to target audiences within your geographical area, then you can optimize your website content with keywords relating to “furniture showrooms in Los Angeles”. This makes search engines to showcase your business before the right target audience.

D) Boutique Stores

Online boutique stores can make the most out of keyword optimization techniques. By properly improving your website content for ‘near me’ keyword phrases, you can capture the attention of the local audience.

For instance, you can add keywords like “saree shops near me” for engaging local audience effectively.

Therefore, you can establish a powerful presence on SERPs and GMB listing with the right usage of keywords in the appropriate places.

Winding Up

Do you have plans to rank higher for near me searches? Drop us a message or give us a call +1 (919) 234-5140. Our SEO experts at Small Business Web are ready to collaborate with you!

We have the expertise to assist you in optimizing your existing small business website, social media content, GMB listing, and many more for your local business enhancement.

Are you facing challenges to rank your business website for the most relevant ‘near me’ online searches? Let us know your questions in the comments section below. We are happy to answer all your queries.