Domain name is more important than you think, especially for local SEO. Try and get a domain name that highlights your bakery’s name and location. For instance, katesbakeryomaha.com reflects the bakery’s name and the location.

Keywords refer to the phrases that people use in search engines to find what they are looking for. For example, strawberry cupcakes nyc would be a keyword, and if your target audience searches for this and you have this keyword, your bakery’s website will show up in search results. It is also important that you use appropriate keywords in page titles. You can use Google Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords and long-tail keywords that are appropriate for your bakery business.

Remember, having your bakery’s name, address and phone number (NAP) should not be restricted to the homepage and contact page. On the contrary, every single webpage should have these details.

Add local area information to your website copy. You can mention things or landmarks that are in the vicinity of the bakery. This will help improve your visibility in local search and Google algorithm will categorize it as a local business and ensure it turns up in local searches for bakery items for specific keywords.

After Google has started using RankBrain for search engine rankings, the local SEO game has changed significantly. RankBrain, which is a machine learning artificial intelligence, use a classification method to classify sites as good sites and bad sites. It takes the top-ranking websites in different verticals and uses them as a benchmark for website structure. If the structure of a lesser known website is similar to a top-ranking or popular website in the same niche, it is classified as a good site. On the other hand, if the structure is not similar and instead it is similar to a spammy website then the website is categorized as bad website.

So, speak to website designer to ensure they are aware of Google RankBrain algorithm and know how to ensure your website gets categorized appropriately based on structure and data. Here are a few things that you should do to ensure your website is ranked high in SERPs:

Remember, your target customers will visit your website to glean certain information, like the location of your bakery, the business hours, and the baked items you offer. Just make sure that you add the name, address and hours at the bottom of each webpage so that your prospective customers can find it easily. In addition, keep the navigation simple and uncomplicated.

The navigation bar at the top of each webpage should have the necessary tabs for webpages so that visitors to your site know which tab to click for which page. If you have subpages, use drop-down menu for each tab.

A picture is worth a thousand words. This adage is true for a bakery, as colorful and artistic photos make cakes, pastries, breads and other baked goodies look tempting and inviting. Just make sure that the photos are authentic and true representation of your baking prowess. If the photos look delicious but the actual product is lacklustre, your customers will feel cheated.

Besides stunning photos, your bakery website should also contain descriptions of the baked items. This will ensure that your website visitors can understand what you are selling for some reason if the photos don’t load properly. Also, it will allow search engines to understand what your site is all about. Remember, adding just photos and no content will not allow the ranking algorithms to understand what your website relates it. Hence, it will be unable to rank it.

One of the best ways to get found online is through citations. These are online entries in business directories, which list your business name, address and phone number. So, start creating citations in local and niche directories. You needn’t worry. It will not be a cumbersome task if you use TribeLocal. This is a web-based tool that offers you a single platform to access directories. It allows you build, track and update citations in one go with ease.

Through TribeLocal you can ensure that your business NAP is consistent across all directories. This is important for SEO as search engines do give a lot of importance to listings in business directories when it comes to ranking. TribeLocal gives you access to 100+ local, national and niche directories for an unbelievable price. So, accessing sites like Yelp, Yellowbook and Yellow Pages is simple, convenient and quick.

Check Google My Business to see if there is a listing of your bakery. If yes, claim it at once. TribeLocal helps you even in this regard. It allows you to use a single dashboard for this purpose and ensures you go through the verification process that is part of the claiming with ease.

Once you claim your listing, there are a few things that you need to do. Enter your bakery’s name, address and local phone number. Ensure that the NAP is the same as that in citations so that there is consistency across the web. Add a description of your bakery and use keywords coherently. In addition, include photos of your bakery and a map to reach the bakery. While this can appear cumbersome, it will work wonders for your SEO.

When people search for products or services locally, Google gives them a list of businesses that can meet their requirement. In the first page, there is the local three pack that appears ahead of all the other results. Statistics show that users are more prone to clicking on the local three pack results before scrolling to the remaining results.

Hence, it makes sense to claim and create your own Google My Business listing. Remember, it also functions as a mini-website that offers relevant information to your prospective customers. The more ‘websites’ you have out there, the better your online visibility.

You are in the service industry and reviews matter a lot to your business. So, request customers to post reviews in review sites, like Yelp and Angie’s List. Don’t be shy to ask them to post a review on your Google My Business profile. Once you have collected five reviews, GMB will display them along with the ratings, and your bakery will show up on Google Map.

TribeLocal can help you understand how prospective customers are searching for your bakery business on Google and the actions they take after finding it. This analysis can help you understand which parts of your profile are working for you and which ones need to be improved so that all sections of your GMB profile work together to attract traffic and leads.

It is important you respond to each review, be it good or bad. This creates engagement with your customer base and also helps you understand what your customers like and don’t like. You can then tailor your services accordingly. If you get a bad review, respond to it to find out why the customer was dissatisfied. Offer them an incentive to return to your bakery and ensure they have a stellar experience. This will ensure they go back to their original review and change it, giving you a higher rating.

Use Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ to engage your customer base. It will allow you to communicate with them on a different level altogether. You can use social media to post updates, deliciously beautiful photos of baked goodies, run promotions, host competitions and more. You can also post tips and recipes to engage your audience and keep them coming back for more.
Being present on social media will help get you traffic to your website, and through your site traffic to your brick-and-mortar bakery. It is a wonderful platform where you can ensure you have a direct line of communication with existing and prospective customers.

There is no doubt that running a local bakery can be competitive. However, if you adopt local SEO measures highlighted here, you will be amazed at how quickly they help improve your online visibility and attract traffic to your website and physical bakery.