Local SEO for new physical locations

Opening a new business location is both an exciting and chaotic time.

As local SEO experts, we want to do everything we can to get your new location visible quickly. This requires coordination across teams and channels, keeping in mind some key local ranking factors.

This article covers the following tips for preparing and implementing a local SEO strategy when your client opens a new physical location.

• Key tactics for online listings, websites, citation optimization, and more.
• Best practices for aligning paid search, social, PR, and other marketing efforts for opening day and beyond.

Local SEO: Lay the foundations

Marketers need to optimize their clients' on-site and off-site presence to reach people in their local markets.

Once you know the details of your business, plan tactics to reach your client's target audience and effectively attract potential customers.

Google Business Profile: Set your launch date

Google Business Profile (GBP) is the foundation of your local SEO strategy. Once the location details are published on the website, you can then set up his GBP.

For GBP, you can set an opening date and share when you will open. This allows your profile to appear in search results and allows potential customers to engage with your business.

Set a future start date in the GBP backend and start optimizing your profile by:

• Add all relevant information.
• Uploading photos.
• Create a posting calendar that can be used to announce promotions and events leading up to the grand opening.

All you need to do this is the year and month you plan to open.

Once your data is entered and your profile is verified, your profile will start appearing on Google starting 90 days before your planned opening date, and users will receive a message letting them know you're opening soon.

Yelp has a similar process for letting users know when a business plans to open.

However, Yelp recommends adding your opening date in the “From Business” section or adding “Opening Soon” to your business name to get your message across.

Let's dig deeper: How to manage and optimize your local listings for SEO

Website and local landing page

Your client's website is an important channel for sharing information about your business.

• From a digital perspective, this is the main way to tie everything together and convert users into potential customers.
• From a local SEO perspective, you need to prepare your website to get organic traffic and start ranking for local queries.

Your website should include valuable information about your business, such as your location and the products and services you offer.

If your business isn't open yet, include a message saying when you'll open or “Coming soon.”

This should be immediately visible to users above the fold to avoid confusion. Other areas to utilize “coming soon” or “coming soon” messages can be in on-page content, title tags, or meta descriptions.

Another benefit of having your website pre-launched is that you can start collecting potential customer information. If you're opening a store soon, consider including a website form where users can sign up for updates or enter information for promotional offers.

Additionally, be sure to include unique information about the location on your location page to avoid duplication of content.

It may be difficult before you start your business, but think of unique ways to gather details about your clients' new locations, such as adding owner profiles or introducing new team members.

Keep in mind that on-site SEO is never a one-time project.

Once your business is open and has gone through a QA process to ensure all information is correct, develop new ways to add content and highlight your business, such as getting photos and parking details on your pages.

Additionally, when building your content strategy, it's helpful to add unique information about your business, such as your team profile, event information, and FAQs to avoid duplicating content elsewhere on your website.

Let's dig deeper: Optimize local landing pages for search: 8 best practices

Building local backlinks

A good starting point for building local backlinks to your website is to utilize citations such as GBP and Apple Business Connect.

Also, consider partnering with nearby establishments and where your business can be listed in the directory (i.e., the shopping center where your business is located).

Being featured in local directories and niche publications can connect your clients with new audiences.

Developing a comprehensive grand opening strategy

Local SEO is important for businesses, but it's only one part of a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Businesses can connect with consumers by sharing consistent messages across channels and platforms and reaching diverse audiences.

As marketers, we need to consider the big picture and align our strategies with our clients' goals. A holistic approach often strengthens marketing channels more effectively than keeping them siled.

Paid search: Get noticed by your target audience

Paid search is a powerful tool for increasing brand awareness in new markets. Leverage emails collected from web queries to efficiently target the right audience.

These emails can be used for remarketing and lookalike audiences to reach individuals who share an interest in your client's products and services.

With a paid search strategy, you can:

• Reach out to new people you've never contacted before through other channels.
• Visit your website and continue marketing to an audience that has already expressed interest in your client.

Organic efforts build your digital presence, while paid campaigns expand your reach.

Run diverse campaigns with targeted messages to ensure each audience receives relevant information based on where they are in the customer journey, whether they're discovering your business or re-engaging to convert. You can be sure that you will receive it.

Social media: share updates and grow your following

Build an audience through social media marketing and start showing off your business's personality.

This includes sharing updates on construction progress through Instagram Stories, TikToks, and meta posts to give your followers exclusive information about your business and build excitement for your opening.

Some companies offer giveaways or share exclusive offers to their followers to encourage people to engage with their profiles and understand what information is shared over time.

Many chain stores and businesses with multiple locations have a regional presence on social media, with each location having its own group or page.

Be consistent with your business name as much as possible, and provide users with a way to navigate to your client's website or contact your business.

Paid social activity on Instagram or Meta allows you to re-reach an audience that has already visited your website via another channel through targeted campaigns such as eye-catching graphics, videos, and offers. Masu.

This is another way to get noticed and encourage them to take a conversion action or sign up for a promotion.

Let's dig deeper: 11 tips to leverage social to become an authority in your field

Email marketing: building a customer list

Many businesses want to start a dialogue with their customers before they open their doors. For some businesses, this can be achieved through promotional offers or by having people sign up for informational newsletters.

If a customer lands on your website through organic search, a paid ad, or clicking a link in an online announcement, make sure you fill out a form to capture customer information.

When these people visit your website and enter information, they want to learn more. Once your email list grows, create a comprehensive email marketing plan to build relationships with your clients and audience.

Use email campaigns to send special offers, information about grand opening events, or newsletters that share updates.

Even if some of your viewers don't convert right away, it's an opportunity to nurture leads over time through initiatives like drip campaigns and personalized emails.

PR: Spread the word

When you start a new business, this can be a great opportunity to partner with a PR team.

If your team is planning a press release or announcement, make sure the communication includes a link to your website.

This is not limited to press releases. There are also opportunities for grand opening events to be posted and ribbon cutting ceremonies to be advertised.

Depending on the business, business owners may also do interviews with publications and news outlets to share the story of their business.

These are opportunities to earn links and increase awareness about your business. Also, if your article is featured in an online publication, feel free to request a link.

Ending point: After the opening day

We are finally here for our opening day – what an exciting time!

Here are some quick notes for marketers on publication day to ensure all published information is accurate.

• Update the message from “Coming Soon” to “Now Open.” This includes social media posts, ad copy, metadata, web copy, or other locations as appropriate.
• Make sure your local listing shows you're open and has updated information such as business hours.

By developing an integrated regional promotion plan and building awareness early, you can maximize awareness and drive traffic as soon as your doors open.

With the right preparation, your efforts will pay off, your launch will be successful, and you'll have a strong foundation for finding new business locally.