September is here already and we can almost feel Christmas approaching the horizon! And as a business, it’s never too early to start thinking of how you gather those sales at the most wonderful time of the year.
The festive period is the best time to invest in local SEO. It’s a perfect solution to boost your rankings on Google Search pages, generate online sales, increase footfall and catch those eyes of your local audience. It’s perfect for businesses such as manufacturers, shops and small businesses.
Luckily, the Christmas season provides enough time for business owners to optimise their local SEO before the festive rush begins. At MNA Digital, we specialise in providing affordable, effective SEO services for clients so check out our top tips below on how Local SEO can help you out this Christmas.
Ensure that all of your information online is up to date and accurate
This sounds simple, right? But you’d be surprised at how many local businesses online that don’t have accurate information such as names, addresses and phone numbers online.
It’s so important to ensure that this information is available and correct across all digital platforms. Additionally, ensure that your business is listed within maps on your Google Business Profile so people know exactly where you are based, also add your products to your listing so that users can get a snapshot of what you have in-store right within Google. Finally, update with any seasonal opening hours and closures to promote the most accurate representation of your business online.
Taking the time to update and correct your relevant company information will go a long way towards getting yourself into a prime search position to bring in those festive leads.
Optimise your content on your site with Christmas keywords
Keep in mind that shoppers have some idea of what they are looking for before they search on Google. In that case, you may want to optimise your website landing pages for a good mix of general festive and brand-specific keywords that will lead searchers directly to your site.
Your local customers will want to know what you’re doing over the holidays in your physical store. There may be slightly different promotions, extra services available, exclusive products, or in-store events. Whatever the case, you want them to know this information to encourage them to go through with a purchase.
The best way to do this is by creating locally minded blog content, and a local landing page where they can find what they want – and quickly.
Stand out from the crowd
Keep your webpages simple and use visually striking images. For example, use holiday appropriate images displaying certain offers that you may have on, place a Christmas offer hero image on the front page of your website, so it is the first thing users land their eyes on upon loading your site – direct them to what you are offering.
Don’t forget local
Try to drive customers into your physical store with incentives such as an in-store-only discount, or a limited-edition item available only to the first 100 customers through the doors on a given day.
Your business and its potential for local SEO is vital to your brick-and-mortar success over the Christmas period. By having a seasonal local SEO strategy, you can help more customers discover your business to encourage them to your store for a true festive experience.
Here at MNA Digital, we offer SEO services that matter. See more on how we can help your business boom locally, or watch our recent webinar on how to strengthen your business with SEO if you would like more detail on how local SEO can support you.
