How to use local SEO to grow your small business in Austin’s competitive market

Austin, Texas, has become one of America's fastest-growing cities and business hubs. With this rapid growth comes fierce competition among local businesses trying to stand out. If you own a small business in Austin, using local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies can help you attract more customers in your area. 

By optimizing your online presence, you can increase your visibility in search results, drive more foot traffic to your store, and ultimately boost sales. Effective local SEO is essential for small businesses to thrive in Austin's competitive market.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

Local SEO helps your business show up when people in your area search for products or services you offer. For example, when someone searches "coffee shops near me" or "best plumber in Austin," businesses with good local SEO appear first in the results.

In Austin's busy market, local SEO matters even more because:

• Austin has thousands of small businesses competing for attention
• More people are using their phones to find local businesses
• Many newcomers are moving to Austin and need to find local services
• Tourists visiting Austin often search online for places to eat, shop, and visit

If your business appears in these results, you’re more likely to attract local customers.

What are the Steps to Grow Your Local SEO in Austin

Setting Up Your Google Business Profile

The first step to improving how to use local SEO to grow your small business in Austin's competitive market is setting up your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business).

1. Go to Google Business Profile and create a free account

2. Add your basic information:

• Exact business name
• Correct address
• Phone number
• Business hours
• Website link

3. Choose the right business categories

4. Add photos of your business, products, and team

5. Write a clear business description using words your customers might search for

Tom Desmond, from Austin based SEO company, UppercutSEO.Com, suggests that "Austin businesses should update their Google Business Profile regularly with posts, photos, and responses to reviews to stay visible in local searches."

Optimizing Your Website for Austin Searches

Your website needs to clearly show Google that you serve customers in Austin. Here's how to do this:

1. Put your Austin address in your website footer so it appears on every page
2. Create an "About Us" page that mentions your Austin roots
3. Make a "Contact Us" page with your address, phone number, and a map
4. Create location-specific service pages if you serve different Austin neighborhoods

To improve your local SEO, incorporate local keywords on your website to help search engines understand your business location. Use Austin-specific keywords like South Austin pet grooming, North Austin plumber, or East Austin bike repair in your page titles, headings, content, image descriptions, and meta descriptions to increase your online visibility and attract local customers.

Building Local Citations for Austin Businesses

Citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites. They help prove to search engines that your business is real and trustworthy.

Make sure your business is listed on these platforms:

• Yelp
• Yellow Pages
• Better Business Bureau
• TripAdvisor
• Austin Chamber of Commerce website
• Austin American-Statesman business directory

The most important thing is making sure your business information is the same across all these websites. Even small differences can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings.

Getting More Customer Reviews

Reviews play a vital role in local SEO in Austin, with businesses having more positive reviews often ranking higher in local searches. To get more customer reviews, simply ask happy customers to leave a review, make the process easy by sending direct links to your review profiles, create reminder cards with QR codes, send follow-up emails, and respond to all reviews. However, remember that offering rewards or paying for reviews is against Google's rules, so focus on providing great service that naturally encourages reviews instead.

Creating Content About Austin

Creating content about local topics helps show search engines that you're connected to the Austin community. Here are some of the content ideas for Austin Businesses

1. Write blog posts about local events like SXSW, ACL Festival, or Formula 1
2. Create neighborhood guides relevant to your business
3. Share stories about your involvement in Austin community projects
4. Publish "best of Austin" lists related to your industry
5. Interview other local business owners or community leaders

This kind of content helps you rank for Austin-related searches and shows potential customers that you understand their local needs and interests.

Building Local Backlinks in Austin

Backlinks, or links from other websites to yours, are like votes of confidence that improve search rankings. To get local Austin backlinks, consider joining the Austin Chamber of Commerce, sponsoring local events or charities, getting featured in local news outlets like the Austin Chronicle, participating in local business directories, or partnering with complementary businesses for cross-promotion. 

Even a few quality backlinks from trusted Austin websites can significantly increase your local search rankings.

Using Social Media to Grow Local Presence

Social media helps your local SEO by increasing your visibility and sending signals to search engines about your popularity.

1. Use location tags when posting on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
2. Create and share content about Austin events and news
3. Join and participate in Austin Facebook groups related to your industry
4. Connect with other Austin businesses and influencers
5. Use local hashtags like #AustinTX, #ATX, #KeepAustinWeird, or neighborhood-specific tags

Remember that social media works best when you engage regularly with your audience rather than just posting sales messages.

Mobile Optimization for Austin Customers

Most people in Austin use their phones to search for local businesses, so your website must work well on mobile devices to avoid losing customers. To ensure this, make sure your website loads quickly on mobile devices. 

It should use large and easy-to-read text, have buttons that are big enough to tap with a finger. Your contact information should be displayed prominently. Include click-to-call buttons for easy phoning. Also, feature maps and directions open in map apps.

Tracking Your Local SEO Progress

To determine the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts, track key metrics such as your position in Google Maps results for important keywords. Monitor the number of "Views" and "Searches" in your Google Business Profile reports. Also, track website traffic from Austin and nearby areas. 

Additionally, monitor phone calls, direction requests, and website clicks from your Google listing. Measure conversion rates from local visitors to customers.

Conclusion

Using local SEO to grow your small business in Austin's competitive market takes time and effort, but the results are worth it. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, building citations, gathering reviews, creating local content, and following the other strategies in this article, you can help your business stand out from the competition.

Remember that local SEO is an ongoing process, not a one-time task. Regularly updating your information, creating fresh content, and responding to reviews will help keep your business visible to Austin customers for years to come.