Getting your landing pages to rank in the coveted map pack is one of the best ways any business can get the most organic traffic online and in-store visits. But it takes time, effort and some optimisation to do this well. Contrary to what some people think, it doesn’t come by stuffing your page with keywords like ‘near me’ or geo-specific keywords. The best SEO content strategy and implementation are those that satisfy search intent.
Several factors influence being one of the three businesses that Google ranks in the map pack (or other search engines and their equivalents), and one of them includes implementing SEO best practices on your location landing pages.
We have created a checklist to help you implement these SEO copywriting essentials for your location landing pages.
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Optimise Your Meta Title
The title of your location landing page is critical and should not be taken for granted. Search engines read it so you must use titles that are strong in the eyes of the search engines and are sensible to users. Make sure you have a great headline as it is proven to boost readership, conversions and click rates.
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Name, Address, And Phone Number
Ensure that the name, address and phone number(s) of your business is an exact match on your location page and every other citation, including your Google My Business profile. While Google and several SEO professionals say it’s no longer as important as it was to make these details an exact match, it’s still common sense to do this.
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Business Directions & Maps
Adding directions to your business in your copy is great for working in geo-specific targeting and keywords into it, as well as helping users find your business. When writing the directions to your business, include any significant intersections or landmarks that can help your users find you with ease.
If your business is in a shopping mall, mention any businesses nearby to make locating you easy. Also, make sure you describe how to get to your business from two directions from major roads nearby.
Equally as important as getting your directions right is embedding a map to help your users figure out the exact locations (and may route) closest to them.
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Meta Description, H1 & H2 tags
The meta description itself is not a necessary factor in ranking per se, but don’t forget you are writing for humans, too. This short description that appears beneath your page’s title in the SERPS can encourage clicks since it helps users preview what they will find on the landing page.
The H1 and H2 tags are critical and should be optimised as they signal search engines of the most important words on your landing page. The H1 tag is typically your headline, whereas H2 tags are subheadings.
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Optimise Your Photos
Photos are also essential for location pages, although many businesses don’t take them seriously. You should use photos of both the interiors and exterior of your business, including logos and signage, parking, and so on.
Your interior photos should give prospects and customers a realistic expectation of your business while your exterior photos should help them find your business immediately they get to your location.
It is not enough to use photos – you must also make sure they are high quality. Remove the excess meta data in the images using any app of your choice and add meta data particular to you, such as title, GPS coordinates and description utilising an app like ImageExifEditor.
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Call To Action
This is basic digital marketing. When writing for SEO, especially for any landing page (including a location landing page), a call to action is a must. For a page like this, some options for a CTA include:
- Shop Now
- Reserve A Table
- Get Directions
- Request An Appointment
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Internal Links
Internal links play several roles, including boosting link juice and telling search engines of your website’s page hierarchy. You should, therefore, add internal linking to your local landing pages. Ensure that the links you’re adding are relevant otherwise, you’d just be shooting yourself in the foot, SEO-wise.
Here are a few ideas for linking:
- Link to location-specific social media profiles
- Link to your company’s about us page
- Link to other nearby locations
- Link to menus (for restaurants)
- Link to doctor profiles (for hospitals and medical clinics)
- Link to available online shopping
- Have a section for recently published blogs
- Link to services you offer and pages with information on your services
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Bulleted lists
Organising information into bulleted lists on a location landing page is one of the best copywriting practices you can employ. This way, your audience and buyers will find it easy to navigate your page and get the information they are looking for.
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Quality & Relevant Copy
This is another basic SEO practice. The copy on your landing page must be high quality and relevant to your business, with relevant keywords, too. Learn to write great content if you do not already do. Besides reading about SEO content, the best way to learn is to study some SEO copywriting examples.
If the content on your page is not user- or mobile-friendly, you may be losing out on potential audiences/customers. The content also has to be relevant to the subject matter and provide solutions to your customers’ problems.
The process of ranking your location landing page among the three chosen to display in the SERPs can be challenging. If you find it a little overwhelming, you can consult an SEO copywriting agency. A good agency should already know what to do to help you get there. But if you choose to do it yourself, the checklist above will be a great starting point for you.