As reported by the New Jersey Department of State and the U.S. Small Business Administration, as of May 2023, New Jersey was home to 950,000+ small businesses. Add to this mid-sized enterprises and you’ll get an incredibly saturated and competitive market that requires dedication and innovation to thrive.
Thinking about the hefty competition in the state, the very first thing that must pop up in your mind is visibility. Although small and mid-sized businesses might mostly operate offline, the way they are found and seen on the web can either make or break their success. And area-bound optimization might be that secret element you are still missing to scale your business.
Nearly half of Google searches are linked to a specific area. Consumers and buyers look up stores, offices, and other businesses nearby to get the products and services they need in the most convenient way. And 9 out of 10 of them will choose a company that appears on the first page in local search results. That’s everything you need to know about the value of New Jersey local SEO.
Luckily, thriving in local competition doesn’t have to be hard. You can look up the best SEO software on Top10seosoftware.com to equip your business for success. And to help you get further ahead, we’ve gathered the best tactics that should help you improve your local SEO and gain higher search engine rankings.
New Jersey Local SEO: Understanding the Market’s Specs
Whether you decide to start a new business in New Jersey or grow an existing one, you must understand the local audience before shaping your strategy.
Of course, the market analysis should be handled individually and tailored to the specific niche, needs, and goals of your business. Yet, here are a few basic New Jersey market specs you should know about:
- According to the state’s economic overview, the total population of New Jersey was 9,456,087 in 2023. The population growth at an annual rate of 1.2%, which makes the state #8th in the US by growth.
- The largest sex group in the state is female (50.7%).
- The biggest counties (in terms of existing population and growth rate) are:
- Bergen – 977.2k total population, 10.3% population growth
- Essex – 914.4k, 10.3%
- Middlesex – 899.8k, 9.7%
- 44.5% of the state’s population report holding a Bachelor’s diploma or higher, whereas the other 55.5% have other kinds of education.
- The top industries (analyzed by the scope of revenue) include cosmetic/toiletry product sales, life insurance services, automobile wholesaling, and TV & appliance wholesaling.
Due to their large scope and fast growth rates, small and mid-sized enterprises are considered the backbone of New Jersey’s economy. This means that consumers are actively using small and mid-sized companies, and they often discover them through online reviews and local directories. That’s why building a solid local SEO strategy is crucial for thriving in this area.
Now, let’s explore the top strategies that every local business in this state should know about and use.
Finding and Leveraging Local Keywords to Boost Search Engine Rankings
First and foremost, regional SEO begins with keyword research. Keywords are crucial for search engine optimization in two ways:
- They help you detect what your audience is searching for and guide your content strategy with insights that will help you capture more leads.
- They help you get in front of your audience after integrating relevant key terms into your content.
To find relevant keywords, you must first find a reliable keyword research tool, such as Google Keyword Planner. Next, follow these steps:
- Specify your location for geotargeting.
- Come up with terms and phrases related to your business to find keywords that will drive qualified leads to you.
- Use research tools to find high-volume, low-competition keywords based on your preferred area and industry-related phrases.
Bonus tip: If you don’t know where to start keyword research, analyze your competitors first. Use specialized SEO software to see for which keywords your primary competitors rank and use the findings in your strategy.
Once you have a list of keywords, focus on optimizing your site’s content. Firstly, integrate new keywords into your URLs, meta tags and descriptions, alt texts, and headings. This will help search engines understand the relevance of your pages and get your local SEO company in front of the right people. Also, incorporate location-based SEO keywords into existing articles, blog posts, and other types of content to indicate their relevance to customers in your area.
Generate New Content to Capture Your Target Audience
After optimizing existing content, you also need to craft new area-bound landing pages, blogs, and articles. You need this to boost your brand recognition and visibility in your area.
To do this right, analyze your audience’s primary interests, pain points, and behavior patterns first. You want to understand what exactly your prospects are looking for and what they want to hear from a brand to buy from it.
A good idea would be to provide personalized recommendations, tips, and solutions based on the needs of the audience in your area. For example, if you are a real estate business in New Jersey, you can generate content that provides overviews and tips for different neighborhoods, and so on. Also, you can create content about the top news, events, and other occasions in your areas.
Keep an eye on area-specific trends and your competitors to see which topics are trending the most. And use this knowledge to guide your New Jersey local SEO strategy or consider turning to the best local SEO services for help if you still lack experience in search engine optimization.
Build Citations Through Local Directories for Business and Build Backlinks
Relevant area-specific citations and backlinks are the two final elements of a successful area-based SEO.
Citations are pretty much all mentions of your business on the internet. They can come from local directories like Yelp, TripAdvisor, NJ Chamber Business Directory, etc. These are called structured citations. Additionally, there are unstructured mentions that come from relevant blogs, news platforms, and so on.
To build citations – create profiles and submit up-to-date business information to all primary directories and data aggregators available in your area that align with your industries. Most importantly, create a thorough, keyword-optimized Google My Business profile and submit your listings to platforms like Apple Maps, Yelp, Facebook, etc.
If you already have existing listings, be sure to get through each of them and ensure that all provided information is valid and up-to-date.
For unstructured citations, connect with organizations, influencers, journalists, and bloggers in your area. Offer them your unique expertise and knowledge in exchange for mentions.
Building a solid profile of high-quality backlinks is also crucial for success. To handle it right, focus on delivering top-notch content that people will want to share on their websites. Some content types that you can work on include:
- Geographically targeted long-form content;
- Unique case studies;
- Research findings;
- Infographics, etc.
Most importantly, remember to monitor your backlinks regularly. You want to ensure that there are no broken or unclaimed links in your profile. Also, you want to ensure that all links come from authoritative sites and contribute to your SEO.
Wrapping Up
In the competitive environment of NJ, every opportunity to stand out from the crowd and get noticed by your potential customers counts. And local SEO gives you an opportunity to hit both goals with one stone.
As you already know, geographically targeted optimization consists of:
- Researching area-specific keywords and integrating them into existing content;
- Creating new, geographically targeted content;
- Creating citations and backlinks to boost trust and enhance brand visibility.
Together these three tactics can help you appear higher in NJ search and outdo the competition. So don’t wait longer and start using the tips and knowledge from this guide ASAP!
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
