- We're talking about how to use WordPress plugins
for local SEO here on The Journey.
- And WordPress incredibly SEO friendly.
The good news is that you don't have to do
all of the heavy lifting for your SEO on your site.
Plugins which can be installed pretty easily,
take it from me.
If I'm saying it's easy, it's easy.
And it expands the scope of your WordPress software
to enhance its SEO.
- But with a WordPress plugin repository
of more than 54,000 free and open source plugins
to choose from,
which are the best choices?
But before we gave you that list,
let's talk about what the local SEO ranking factors
actually are.
- That's right Nealey,
there are some local SEO ranking factors.
And there are so many moving parts
when it comes to understanding and optimizing your SEO.
So, before you start installing any plugins,
here are some of the basic factors to keep in mind.
Starting with, Google My Business listing.
This should be your very first step in establishing
your online presence in your community.
Also, don't just claim it and forget it.
There's some more work that you can do there to help out
your SEO.
Update it frequently, add new photos,
add videos to further capture peoples attention.
- And if you're like me,
you're checking out the reviews of a place before you
actually go there.
The more good reviews you gather,
the more your chances increase of having Google boost
your website's ranking.
That also goes for your business's response
to those reviews.
So don't let them go unanswered for too long,
even the negative ones.
- Another local SEO ranking factor is On-page copy.
Including local-centric content that is relevant
to your clients and your community is a solid way
to build on that local SEO.
Now this content should include key local phrases
and location-based terms to make it easier for SERPs
to determine where you are.
And that way you can get in front of users
looking for, I don't know, what did I search recently?
Oh, piano lessons.
Piano lessons near me.
- Exactly.
And then the last ranking factor we have are backlinks.
This is where another website will link to yours
within their content.
It's almost like a mini endorsement or a tiny up vote
on your social posts.
Try to get listed in your local community directories
and event pages.
Guest blogging, sharing your website
to local shopping guides or news outlets are all great ways
to do this.
Do your best to get a few targeted local sites
and not just any irrelevant website.
- Yeah, and I even noticed those things
about backlinks the other day.
I was reading the GoDaddy blog
and I was reading this great blog about SEO.
And then I went to see who wrote the blog.
When I clicked on this guy's link,
it took me to his website.
He's also in marketing.
And I was like, wow, this is great for him, right.
Like he has a backlink from the GoDaddy blog
over to his website.
That's gonna help his SEO.
It's gonna help him drive more traffic.
And that's all because he did a guest blog for us.
So you might be wondering which WordPress plugins
can improve your local SEO ranking.
I would love to dive in deeper to this and talk about
what you can do within your own website
to boost your local SEO using WordPress plugins.
Now here's some recommended options starting
with Yoast SEO or Yoast local SEO.
You've heard me talk about this in other videos
on The Journey.
And this plugin is designed specifically to help your sites
rank better in local search.
And this is actually one of the most popular WordPress
plugins.
And you can install it for free.
Yes, you heard me correctly, free.
And the plugin will help you optimize specifically
for your location, including Google Maps
and Google My Business.
- Yeah, Yoast has been just crucial when I go
and help my clients set up their local SEO
or just SEO in general.
It gives you all the great recommendations
and really helps you improve over time
to get those better results on those search engine pages.
The next plugin we have here is the business profile plugin.
This enhances your opportunity to earn citations
from Google by making it incredibly easy to include,
business name, address, phone number, contact info,
opening hours and even a link to your Google Maps.
- Another recommended option is a Schema Plugin.
And adding metadata known as Schema Markup
delivers the most important granular detail
that search engines require.
Now for local SEO Schema markup tells search engines
where the website's business is actually located
and the Schema Plugin simplifies the task of adding
Schema Markups to WordPress.
- Next up we have Google Places Reviews.
So Google Places Reviews helped you display
your business reviews and ratings directly on your website.
Again, people trust online reviews
and search engines factor in a website's review profile
for SEO.
So the more you can include reviews on your website,
the better.
- I second that.
Another option, local SEO and business listings.
Now with this plugin, a local SEO guide helps you create
and update your business listings across more
than 50 business listing sources,
including Bing Places, Yellow Pages,
Yelp and more.
- And lastly, we have WP Google Maps.
So most people will use Google to find local businesses.
So getting your local businesses map and embedded
on your website and rankings on the Google Maps listings
is a must do.
You can make the entire process easier
just with this plugin.
- And when people search for a business,
they're typically looking for a local provider.
So optimizing your WordPress sites for local SEO,
it's pretty obvious, right.
It's gonna help you rise above your competition.
So, it'll pay off to pay attention to site design
best practices, leverage the power of WordPress plugins
and focus on local SEO ranking factors.
- All right, those are our WordPress plugins
to help you with your local SEO.
But your journey does not have to end here.
We have over 200 videos to help you out
with your entrepreneurial game.
- That's right, and be sure to like comment and subscribe.
Thanks for watching, this is The Journey.