Do you think that just because you are operating a hardware store you don’t need local SEO? Well, you couldn’t be further from the truth. Local SEO for hardware stores help them create their own little corner in the local community. Local SEO allows you to make your location a niche and attract more customers, the ones who invariably make their purchase decision based on the recommendation thrown at them by Google.

As a brick and mortar store, a hardware store need to put in more efforts in local marketing, and local SEO gives that impetus to it. If you are a hardware store owner, here are a few tips that you can incorporate into your local marketing efforts to get found by your target audience.

Local SEO for hardware stores should always begin with keyword identification. Without keywords, you cannot create a solid local SEO strategy. So, sit down and put on your thinking cap. Try to come up with phrases and words that your prospective customers will put into search engines to find your business. Invariably, it will terms like Hardware Store Naples or Oakland Hardware Store. Jot down these keywords.

Then create a free Google Adword account. No, you will not be using the account for Adwords campaigns. Rather, it will give you access to a very important local SEO tool – Google Keyword Planner.

If you want your local hardware store to climb to the top of search engine rankings, where your store will be found by prospective customers, you should immediately claim your local listing pages. Competition for hardware stores is fierce and you need to bring out everything in your arsenal to stand out.

Make sure the citations in all business directories are consistent and accurate. You can use Tribe Local to build and track citations so that you can find the problematic citations and make sure they are accurate across all business directories.

Since Google is the most used search engine, you should begin with Google My Business listing. When you claim the listing and include the details of your store and website, it offers a backlink to your site. As a result, without even trying it, you work to improve your SEO.

Make sure you optimize the listing with keywords by inserting an informative and descriptive writeup about your business. Keep the text to about 200 words. Focus on your business NAP – name, address and phone number.  Don’t forget to put in the business hours and images of your store. Usually, it is advisable to upload anywhere from three to five high-quality images.

Conduct a search on Google, Bing and Yahoo for your address and phone number. If there are duplicate listings, closed as it is quite possible that the previous business owner did not bother to close their listing.

If you are already registered on a local listing site, you should be able to find duplicate listing through the account dashboard. Once you find them, put in a request to delete them. The process of deleting duplicate listings will vary from one listing site to another. However, it will be worthwhile the time and effort you put in.

Online reviews can make or break a local business. When you are in hardware business, going can be tough. You need an edge to help you and reviews are just what will give your local hardware store more credibility.

Don’t be embarrassed to ask customers to write reviews on your local listings (business directories). While it is best to direct them to your Google My Business profile, but give them the freedom to choose any local directory and listing.

One of the easiest ways to get local publications to write about your hardware business is to do something for the community. You can sponsor an event, or you can offer festive season discount and get the local paper to write about this special offer. You can even do a charity drive.

Just build relationships and network with local journalists and newspapers. This way, it will be easier to get them to publish news stories related to your business. Check your local community for issues and then work to provide a solution. This will win you brownie points from the local community and also ensure you get mentioned in articles.