On-page optimization is the most important step when it comes to local SEO.
Even if you have the best backlinks in the world, but you got your on-page wrong, your website isn’t going to rank well in the search results.
Do the Research Before Optimizing On-Page Content.
As the on-page is the most important factor in local SEO, research is the most important step in on-page optimization.
We can’t base our optimization strategy on a hunch.
We need to know that every change we make on our page will garner points from Google and help us bring our page to the top of the search results.
First, we will need to find your target keywords.
If we’re doing local SEO, the target keyword usually would look like this: “service” + “location.”
We need to find the best variation of that keyword with the highest monthly volume.
Next, we will need to identify your competitors.
Simply search your keyword on Google.
The first ten search results are going to be your competitors. Ignore local directories and pages irrelevant to the query.
Optimizing On-Page Content for Local SEO.
1. Outline Your Page Structure.
The first step in optimizing your on-page content is going to be creating an outline for the page.
An outline is the heading structure of your page.
Look at your top three competitors and calculate the average amount of H2s, H3s, and H4s they have on their pages.
Sticking to the average amount of H2s, H3s, and H4s, create a heading structure for your page.
Don’t deviate from the average numbers. We don’t want to over-optimize or under-optimize our page.
2. Get the Average Word Count.
Next, we will need an average number of words your top three competitors have on their pages.
Based on the average word count, we will need to write the content for our page.
There’s a popular misconception about the word count. Don’t think that if your competitors have around 600 words on their pages and you create a page with 1500-2000 words, you’re going to out-compete them.
Sticking to the average word count is very important.
If your competitors have somewhere between 500-750 words on their pages, that means that Google favors pages with a word count in that range. And if you create a page with 2000 words, this page is going to be an outlier and probably won’t perform well in the search results.
3. Optimize for the Target Keyword.
Once you’ve got your content in place, it’s time to give it a little on-page boost by optimizing it for the target keyword.
They’re the three most important places where you should put your target keyword: Title tag, H1, and URL.
You need to be very careful with keyword optimization, or you can easily over-optimize your page.
There are a plethora of SEO tools that can help you optimize your content for the target keyword.
4. Add Images.
Look at your competitors and see how many images they have on their pages.
With images, you don’t have to be as rigid as with the headings or the word count.
If your competitors have, for example, three images on their pages, and you have 10, it won’t hurt your SEO.
Don’t forget to add a meta description for each image on the page. But don’t stuff your keyword in there.
Try to incorporate them naturally, which won’t be a problem as long as they are related to the context of the page – which they should be.
5. Add Trust Signals.
Google doesn’t want to send users to spammy fake websites.
And that’s why you need to prove that your website represents a real business.
Add your local phone number and local address on your page.
Maybe even try to add a little map widget with your office location.
6. Add the Localbusiness Schema.
Schema markup is not a ranking factor, but it can indirectly influence your rankings.
For local SEO, you can use the LocalBusiness schema.
Makeup your essential information, like your phone number and local address – which you already have on your page – and add the code snippet to the page.
7. Find Opportunities for Internal Links.
You’ve heard about backlinks, how important they are, and probably how hard it is to get quality links for your website.
The good news is you can power up your page with your links.
Find pages on your website that are already ranking for some keywords and getting impressions and clicks, and add a link to those pages to your target page.
Final Words.
On-page optimization for local SEO is a very intricate process, and obviously, we can’t cover every little detail that comes to the success of your website in the local search results.
But we’ve covered the most important steps you have to take to get your business on top.