Local SEO is among the most used SEO strategies out there – and it will only continue to grow in popularity as we see search engines continue to personalize results based on taste and location. Search engines are aiming to provide the best possible experience they can for their users, and given the high volume of searches that are local in nature – think, “restaurants near me”, “SEO Agency Denver” it’s becoming more important to go hyperlocal whenever possible. So, how do we do that here in the Denver area?
Start with Consistent NAP Listings
If you’re a brand new business, you’re at a bit of an advantage here, since you can decide exactly how you want your name, address, and phone number to display in the directories. For the best local SEO, these need to be consistently the same across all listings.
If you’re an established business and you’re already listed in various directories online, you’ll have to do an audit to see exactly how your NAP listings appear, and then systematically work to edit them so they are all the same. It doesn’t matter how you display the address – you can choose between using abbreviations like St. Rd. and Dr., but if you abbreviate one of them, you must abbreviate them all.
Register Your Denver Business in Major Search Engine Directories
Start with the big three: Google My Business, Bing Places for Business, and Yahoo Local. This ensures your business is listed with the three major search engines and has a chance of showing up in the map pack when someone has a relevant local search.
Claim Your Business in Other Local Directories
After getting your business listed in the big three, move onto other well-known directory sites.
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
- City Search
- Angie’s List
- Manta
- Foursquare
- BBB
- Chamber of Commerce
- Yext (This is where Yahoo Local links are handled now that they’ve formed a partnership.)
- White Pages
- Super Pages
- Local.com
- CitySlick
- TeleAtlas
- Discover Our Town
- UsCity
- Advice Local
- Kudzu
- Dex Media
- Biz Journals
- Judy’s Book
- Trip Advisor
- MojoPages
- Yellowee
- Map Creator
- Brownbook
- Get Fave
- InfoUSA
- Thumbtack
Check the Major Data Aggregators
If your information has ever changed because you’ve moved offices or opened additional locations, then there’s a chance you’ll still have some inaccurate NAP data floating around because of the main data aggregators. These companies: InfoGroup, Acxiom, Localeze, and Factual are among the agencies that will collect, verify, and distribute your information, which is why we see it flat across the internet so quickly.
If you want to speed up the process of getting your business listed with as many directories as possible, it’s a good idea to use these data aggregators as your starting point. If you’re short on time or just don’t want to manually go through all the directories and sites where a listing could be beneficial, you can use a service like Moz Local to handle it for you. You can also use that tool to check and see where your business is currently listed, so you can check the NAP for accuracy.
Once your information is correct with the aggregators, you should be good to go since those will trickle the new information down to the other sites for you.
Go Niche and Location Specific
The main directories are helpful of course, but if you want a bit more juice, go deeper and look for niche-specific directories, as well as hyperlocal location-specific. In Denver, for instance, we have several neighborhoods and suburbs including Thornton, Northglenn, Centennial, Broomfield, Castle Rock, Cherry Creek, Aurora, Westminster, Lafayette, Littleton, Eerie, Lone Tree, Boulder, Superior, Louisville, and Greenwood Village, to name a few.
Here are a few niche-specific directories you could start with, if appropriate for your business:
- Houzz – Home design/construction niche
- Porch – Home design/construction niche
- Home Advisor – Home design/construction niche Care.com – Childcare/Housekeeping niche
- Local chamber websites
- Other industry/niche websites
Keep Everything Mobile Friendly
More searches take place on mobile devices than desktops these days – and that’s especially true when it comes to local search. A lot of people are searching for things when they’re out on the go – such as the best place to get a haircut or get a tire repaired or replaced. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, your rank will suffer.
Don’t Neglect Content Marketing
Content remains king to do well online – but it can’t just be any old run of the mill style of content. Check out what your competition is doing, and adjust your strategy accordingly. Focus on providing value and quality.
Hyperlocal SEO isn’t easy because there aren’t necessarily a lot of searches for it, but the more local you get, generally, the less competition there is. If you want help with your local Denver SEO campaigns, let us know, and we’ll be glad to assist you however we can!
