Local SEO is an important marketing strategy for keeping your school relevant online. It’s a great way to appear on the results pages for prospects looking for schools in the surrounding area, get more web traffic and engage with the local community. In order to improve your online appearance and drive more admissions, here are Digithrive’s top tips on how to optimise local SEO for schools.
Local SEO for Schools
Create Consistency
Business Listings are one of the most important factors in SEO. They are used by parents to find out general information such as addresses, working hours, and phone numbers. They are also used by search engines in order to determine the validity of your organisation. In order to boost your online ranking, you must keep your school’s listings accurate and consistent across all online platforms. Keep track of your website, social media profiles, and online third parties. Look out for any outdated details and remember to alter them whenever there is a change in your operation. Also check for any discrepancies such as misspellings and abbreviations.
Use Google My Business
Google My Business is a tool used for authenticating businesses online. It helps to verify listings and boost their ranking on local searches. In order to optimise it for your school, first create a Google My Business page. Input general information such as your website, address, and phone number. Add imagery and encourage parents to go on to it to share their feedback of the school. Remember to respond to these reviews and build up your engagement. This will indicate to Google that you are valid listing, thus improving your local SEO.
Optimise Content Data
Throughout your school’s website, ensure that you add content that is specific to your geographical location. This could be a Google Maps widget, a blog post about a local event, or headings that mention the area you are in. Every time you use a geographical keyword, you are boosting your local SEO. Remember to also input these phrases into your page URLs, meta descriptions, and image names to optimise your school’s chances of being boosted on search engine results pages.
Create Inbound Links
Search engines are not only concerned with the content on your website, but also mentions of your school on other people’s websites. It demonstrates that you are an authentic organisation and that your listing is relevant. In order to optimise inbound links, consider approaching local businesses and societies. They could be parish councils, community groups, or information hubs. Estate agents are also often eager to promote schools in their surrounding areas. Ask if they’d be interested in listing your website, or perhaps suggest writing a guest blog post for them which includes your link.
Utilise Social Media
The content that you post on social media such as Instagram and Facebook is also vital for local SEO. Search Engines use the data that you share to determine your school’s ranking. It is important to geo-tag your location and include any hashtags that are relevant to your area when adding a post. You can even go one step further and like or follow the pages of local businesses and community organisations to further your engagement.
If you would like more professional tips on marketing your schools do get in touch with the Digithrive For School’s team who are always happy
Digithrive for Schools has been recognised as one of Top SEO Consultants by DesignRush.