Top Local SEO Tips to Attract New San Francisco Clients

At Asnani CPA, when we meet with our small business clients and review their finances, a common statement a lot of them make is they need more customers. They’re spending money on marketing and writing blogs and updating their websites, but they’re not attracting enough clients in the San Francisco area. 

We get it – we deal with the same issue! 

One way we overcome this is by focusing on local SEO. What is this and how can it help you? We’ve got you covered! Check out the list of local SEO tips our team at Asnani CPA put together both from our experience and from checking out small businesses who do it well!

Local SEO: What You Need to Know

Before we dive into tips, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page about what we mean by “local SEO.” While you might be familiar with the term SEO (or Search Engine Optimization), you might not be as familiar with local SEO. 

Local SEO refers to targeting prospective customers who search for services “near me.” Your goal is to show up on the first page (and as close to the top as possible) of search results. You can do this by focusing on key elements that Google looks for when ranking results. They prioritize how close your business is to the location the person is searching for, how relevant your business is to the service they are looking for, and how credible your business is.

How can you use these criteria to propel your business to the top of the search results? Check out our local SEO tips!

#1 Tip to Boost Local SEO

Create a Web Page for Each Location

When you build your website, you might be focused on the core of the website, like the home page and services sections. While these are essential pages, it’s important to not overlook the importance of location pages. 

These pages let you target specific cities and counties you service, allowing you to show up in searches for those areas. We tackle this in our Communities section. We have a page for each location, including this page targeting San Jose. By creating a page for each city, you can make the metadata, description, page title, and URL all specific to that area, allowing you to improve your Google ranking.

Another tip is when you create these pages, do not just put a city name or location on the page and in the description. Customize the content to those pages so it speaks to those in that area. 

A great example is this “Farmington” page from Country Creek Builders. In addition to mentioning “Farmington” throughout the page, they also include a photo of the city water tower. Another great example is New Spaces’ “Woodbury” page. They incorporate the city throughout the page to make it feel truly local.

#2 Tip to Boost Local SEO

Get Google Reviews from Customers

To attract new customers, and to boost your Google ranking, you need to focus on getting your clients to submit Google reviews. This has two benefits for you. One, it will show prospects what your current and past customers thought of your work and services. This will go a long way with leads, as they don’t have to take your word for what you offer – they can read it from clients who have worked with you.

Secondly, it will improve your local SEO ranking. Google uses reviews to determine how credible and relevant your business is, and where you should show up in a search. The more reviews and the higher ranking you have, the more Google will prioritize your business.

This can take some effort and can require you to ask customers to submit reviews and send reminder emails to them. But if you dedicate the time and do it well, it will pay off for you. Check out Moderno Construction Management and Metro Duct Cleaners. Both of these companies spend time getting their customers to submit reviews, and it shows on their websites. 

#3 Tip to Boost Local SEO

Get Backlinks from Reputable Businesses

A local SEO tip that many small businesses overlook is getting backlinks. This is essential to boosting your ranking – but it can also be difficult. A backlink is when another website links to your site. It sounds easy, but it can be hard. For one, Google wants it to be a reputable site. And it requires time and effort to build relationships with other local businesses to get them to link to you. 

When determining which companies to approach, it can be best to start with ones that make sense for them to link to you (and you to them to return the favor). For example, since we work with landscape contractors, it would make sense for us to partner with local landscaping companies and create a backlink strategy. 

#4 Tip to Boost Local SEO

Write Local Content and Roundups

Include key cities and locations throughout the content on your site. Doing this correctly will look seamless, even if you are doing it for local SEO reasons. For example, you can include the key locations in your headers, subheads, and throughout the content. It’s important to not just do this on your home page, do it throughout your site, especially on the service pages. That way, if someone was searching specifically for “bookkeeping services in San Francisco,” we would show up. 

While we like to think we do this pretty well, we found some other great examples. Ground Tech, Preferred 1 Concrete MN, and Fredrickson Masonry all do a great job of this. 

We also like how The Duplex Doctors accomplish this by listing out the neighborhoods they work with, and key listings. For realtors, this is a great way to show up in local searches.

#5 Tip to Boost Local SEO

Write Location-Focused Blogs 

Focusing on specific locations should not be forgotten once you create your website. You should also target these locations in the articles and blogs on your site. This is easier than it sounds. For example, check out our recent blog, “7 Best Bookkeepers for Digital Agencies in San Jose, CA.” We obviously included ourselves in this list, but it gave us a great way to target the San Jose area.

We’re not the only ones doing this well! Check out these examples from Bettencourt Construction, Christian Brothers Construction, and Tomy B. Salon. 

#6 Tips to Boost Local SEO

Remarket to Your Targeted Locations

Local SEO strategies should also be present in your small business remarketing efforts. Focusing on a city or area will make an ad or an email feel more genuine and can improve your click-through rates and open percentages. 

Think about your own experiences. If you see an email in your inbox that mentions “San Jose” or “the Bay Area” specifically, are you more likely to open it? I know I am! 

So, keep this in mind when you’re targeting prospects who have visited your website, interacted with your ads or have been referred to by other customers. Putting their local area in your messaging can be effective!

Conclusion

Trying to decipher the Google search algorithm can be tricky and discouraging. Trust us – we know! We are constantly trying to crack the code! So, take advantage of our hard work and trial and error phases, and use these tips to improve your small business local SEO, and hopefully drive more local business.

If you want to talk more about how to grow your business, or how our outsourced accounting firm can help your small business, contact us today to schedule a consultation!