Lights, Camera, Action – But Is Anyone Watching? SEO for LA Businesses
Welcome to Los Angeles. It’s a city where the summers are endless, and dreams are as big as the traffic jams. You’ve got the perfect business, an absolutely killer location, and maybe even a celebrity endorsement (or at least a cousin who once saw Brad Pitt at a Starbucks).
But here’s the plot twist: If your business isn’t showing up in search engines, you’re basically another tree falling silently in an empty forest.
If you really want your business to be more than just another face in the LA crowd, you need to stand out. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the star of the show.
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The LA Business Scene: Busier Than Sunset Boulevard
The scene is crowded, with over 244,000 businesses hustling in LA County. Standing out is about as easy as finding a parking spot in Santa Monica on a Saturday. While Hollywood does love to hog the spotlight, the entertainment industry only employs 4% of the population.
The real star is healthcare, commanding a hefty 11.9% of the workforce followed closely by industries like retail, hospitality, and manufacturing.
Shocking right? Well, not really, LA after all is much more than just a city for making movies, so unless you’re planning on performing a few tummy-tucks or rolling out the next big thing in retail, you’re up against some stiff competition.
In this bustling mix of industries, making your business shine as bright as the Hollywood sign requires a killer SEO strategy. Without it, you might just end up on page two of Google, or as I like to call it, The Bermuda Triangle of the Internet.
Did you know that 93% of online experiences start with a search engine? Before customers even think about stepping into your store or clicking “Add to Cart,” they’re on Google looking at their options. If your business isn’t showing up in those results, you’re missing out on customers.
So, unless you want to stay LA’s best-kept secret, it’s time to start thinking of SEO as your agent, working tirelessly behind the scenes to get you noticed by the people who matter the most.
A Quick Flashback: SEO’s Journey in the City of Angels
Back in the mid to late 2000s, SEO in LA was more like an exclusive rooftop party—only the insiders were really invited. While most businesses at the time were busy splashing their logos on billboards along the 101 or cramming the airwaves with their advertisements, a quiet few were climbing their way up the Google ranks.
Let’s roll out the red carpet on how SEO developed right here in LA:
- 2005: Google Local Business Center made its debut and allowed LA businesses to pin their business on Google Maps. This made it possible for smaller businesses to show up right next to large chains when customers Googled “best coffee near me.”
- 2009: Google Places was the next big thing, giving businesses the ability to show off their reviews, ratings, and photos. In a city that’s slightly obsessed with image, this was like a digital facelift.
- 2011: Google+ Local attempted to merge with social media. While it didn’t exactly dethrone Facebook (nice try, though!) Mixing social profiles with business allowed LA businesses to engage more personally with their customers.
- 2014: Google My Business consolidated all of these tools into one platform. It was able to manage multiple locations, track insights, and offer customers the chance to interact with businesses.
- 2021: Google Rebranded to become what we now know today as simply “Google Business Profile.”
Throughout this evolution, technical terms like ‘local SEO”, “NAP consistency” (that’s Name, Address, Phone number), and “user-generated content” became as much of a part of the LA business lexicon as avocado on toast to locals.
How to Stand Out: SEO as Your Personal Publicist
Los Angeles is a city where everyone claims to be “kind of a big deal,” and using SEO is your chance to prove you actually are. Just being online isn’t enough. You need to absolutely steal the spotlight. Of course, by ‘spotlight,’ we mean ranking as high as possible on everyone’s Google search.
Businesses that appear on the first page of Google search results receive 95% of web traffic, so it’s quite a prestigious position to be in.
So, how do you make SEO your personal publicist? Let’s take a look at some SEO tips tailored just for the LA business crowd.
1. Keyword Casting: Directing the Right Audience to Your Site
Start by optimizing your website’s content with keywords your target audience is likely searching for. The key here is to be strategic. Don’t just ‘keyword stuff’ and hope for the best; focus on natural, engaging content that your customers are actually going to enjoy.
Next, enhance the user experience of your website. Ensure that it loads faster than a TMZ rumor and looks consistent across all devices. No one likes sites that fail to load, and as cool as a retro party is, they don’t want to see websites that look like they’re from the 90s.
Don’t forget about quality backlinks (links from someone else’s website to yours). These are nice little endorsements from industry insiders and can be arranged between businesses as a mutually beneficial relationship.
Maintain consistent business information across all online platforms. Nothing screams “unprofessional” louder than addresses that take your customers to the wrong place or phone numbers that go nowhere.
2. Local SEO: Navigating LA’s Neighborhoods Without a GPS
Even though sometimes it feels like it, LA isn’t just one city. It’s a patchwork of vibrant neighborhoods, each with a unique vibe and customer base. Local SEO taps you right into these micro-markets like a true Angeleno.
Almost half of Google searches are looking for local information, and 76% of them end up acting on that information within a day. So, if you own a taco joint in Echo Park, you want to show up on Google when someone nearby is looking for “best tacos near me,” not when someone in Anchorage does.
To really master local SEO, start by claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile. Make sure your address, hours of operation, and contact information are correct and up-to-date.
Incorporate location-specific keywords into your website and its meta tags, but don’t commit the SEO sin of cramming in keywords like “xyz near me.” It looks bad, and it doesn’t work.
3. Mobile SEO: Reaching Customers Stuck on the 405
LA is a city on the move, except apparently for the traffic. LA traffic jams are the stuff of legends, and yes, there’s a way to take advantage of this.
With over 60% of Google searches now happening from mobile devices, you need to make sure your website looks great on the smartphone.
Picture it: Commuters are stuck in traffic, the exit for Signal Hill is fast approaching, and they’re hungry. If they search for “best vegan donuts Signal Hill” you want your website on page one and loading quickly on their smartphone. If your SEO game isn’t spot on, you’ve missed out on a customer with time (and hunger) and their hands.
To make sure you catch those hungry drivers, implement a responsive design that looks good on any screen with mobile-friendly navigation and big, hard-to-miss, and clear CTA buttons. Test your site on multiple devices to make sure your business is only ever a tap away.
4. Content Creation: Making Blockbusters, Not Box Office Bombs
Content is king, but in LA, there’s a lot of it. Quality content will set you apart. Businesses that maintain a regular blog receive 97% more inbound links, so unless you want your business to be the straight-to-DVD production no one asked for, invest in content that resonates.
Create engaging and relevant blogs that address your customer’s interests. If you don’t have the time to write these yourself (who does?), then hire writers to craft the content for you.
This is also the chance to incorporate contextual SEO keywords into your content to snag some of those Google searches, then redirect them back to your website. Integrate the keywords naturally.
Going back to our vegan food, here’s how a business might place keywords in their content:
SEO keyword: “plant-based tacos Echo Park”
Blog content: “Los Angeles is a haven for food enthusiasts, especially those seeking vegetarian and vegan cuisine in LA. From plant-based tacos in Echo Park to gourmet vegan sushi in Downtown, LA’s diverse culinary scene caters to every single palate”.
Don’t forget to keep your content fresh and share it on social media to amplify reach and encourage it to be shared far and wide.
5. Social Media Signals: Your Red Carpet Moment
In a city absolutely obsessed with social media (look at you, LA influencers), your online presence needs to be as polished as a celebrity’s Instagram feed.
Social media works by giving your SEO a nice little nudge. Over 50% of social browsers now use social media to research products, so if your last Facebook post was from 2015, here’s your chance for a comeback tour.
Start by engaging on platforms where your audience tends to hang out. Instagram, TikTok, or LinkedIn are great places to start. Share your high-quality, SEO keyword-pumped content that reflects your brand’s personality and really gets customers interacting via messaging and sharing.
Use #hastags strategically and join in on conversations that are both trending and relevant to your industry. Collaborate with local influencers to further amplify your message and start collecting those backlinks—they’re as valuable as gold.
Remember that every like, every share, and every comment boosts your website’s authority and gets your business close to the top of page one on Google.
Final Thoughts: The Cost of Being Invisible
If you’re an LA business, don’t neglect your SEO. If you do, you’ll be creating the next blockbuster and never releasing it. You invest time and resources into your business, so let it reach its full potential.
Businesses that prioritize SEO experience higher revenues and traffic than those that overlook it. And in a city where everyone is vying for attention, do you really want to be the best-kept secret? Embrace effective SEO strategies and make sure your business stands out in the bustling LA market and attack the customers you deserve.
Don’t just sit back and be the underdog in every business story. Take center stage and make SEO the headline act in your marketing strategy.