Search engine optimization is one of the best things that you can do to boost your bakery’s online presence and get more people to visit your website. By carrying out the right SEO practices, you can increase web traffic and enjoy more chances to attract your website visitors to visit your physical store or buy your products online.
For local businesses, it is imperative that you optimize your website for local search. Google says 90% of users who search for products and services prefer to see local businesses at the top of the search results. If someone searches for “bakery near me” or “bakery in [my location]”, your bakery has a good chance of showing up at the top of the search results if your website is properly optimized for local search.
And the good news is that it’s not hard to get your website optimized for local search. A few tweaks and adjustments here and there will easily get you into the Local 3-Pack if your competitors aren’t working on their optimizations like you.
- Register your business on Google My Business (GMB)
Google My Business is Google’s directory of local businesses. If you want to get into the Local 3-Pack, or the top three local businesses that appear at the top of the search results, you will have to register on GMB. Only legitimate business owners are allowed to register here. If you’re working with an SEO provider, you will still have to complete the actual registration process yourself. That’s because Google will verify that you are the real owner by sending you a physical postcard with a PIN.
Once you are verified, fill in the fields with all the relevant information that customers need to know about your business, including your opening hours, payments accepted, and products and services. Don’t forget to include multiple high-quality images of your baked goods and your bakery as well.
- Optimize your metadata
Your website metadata includes the meta title and the meta description. When potential customers search for local bakeries in their area, they will see the meta title and the meta description appearing in the search results pages. Although many SEO experts say your metadata doesn’t have any bearing on your rankings, it’s still important because it helps you introduce yourself to searchers. Your metadata should include the names of the localities you are servicing. Keep the title down to 50 to 60 characters, while the description shouldn’t go longer than 200 characters.
- Register in online directories
Get your bakery registered in major directories such as Yelp and CitySearch and make sure that you add your name, address, and phone number (NAP) in the same way that you have it on your website, social media pages, and other local directories. Check to ensure that there are no mistakes or misspellings that could confuse Google. It also helps to have your NAP on citation data aggregators like Infogroup and Neustar. If you want to know the status of your bakery in online directories, you can use a free tool such as Moz Local to let you know where you are registered in.
- Use local schema markup
Local schema is extra code that helps Google’s spiders analyze your website more easily. Some experts say it is nearly impossible for local businesses to get into the Local 3-Pack without having local schema. The goal of having this code is to add more information about your business, products, and even the equipment you use. For instance, if you have pages about bakery equipment, bakery oven, or walk in fridge, having local schema can help Google’s bots find those pages faster. Google’s Structured Data Testing Tool lets you look at the breakdown of schemas on your website.
