Published May 2024 · 10 min read · By Rab Marketing
If your Peterhead business isn't appearing on the first page of Google when local customers search for your services, you're losing revenue every single day. Good news: local SEO isn't as complicated as it sounds. Here are 10 practical tips you can start using today.
This is the single most important thing you can do for local SEO in Peterhead. Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is what appears in the map results when people search "plumber Peterhead" or "website designer near me".
Make sure your GBP is:
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Google uses this to verify that your business is legitimate. Your NAP must be identical across your website, Google Business Profile, social media, and any online directories. Even small differences (like "Street" vs "St") can confuse Google's algorithm.
Naturally include location-based keywords throughout your website. Don't just say "plumber" — say "plumber in Peterhead" and "emergency plumber Peterhead". Include mentions of surrounding areas too: Ellon, Fraserburgh, Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire.
Key places to include local keywords:
Reviews are a significant local SEO ranking factor. The more positive Google reviews you have, the more Google trusts your business. Ask every satisfied customer to leave a review. Make it easy by sending them a direct link to your Google review page.
At Rab Marketing, we can set up automated review request emails and SMS messages that go out to your customers at the perfect time — generating a steady flow of 5-star reviews on autopilot.
Over 60% of local searches are made on mobile phones. If your website is slow or hard to use on a smartphone, Google will rank you lower AND potential customers will leave immediately. Test your site on Google PageSpeed Insights and aim for a score of 80+ on mobile.
If you serve multiple areas across Aberdeenshire, create separate pages for each one. For example: "Website Design Peterhead", "Website Design Ellon", "Website Design Fraserburgh". Each page should have unique, location-relevant content — not just the same text with the town name swapped out.
Backlinks (links from other websites to yours) are one of Google's most important ranking factors. For local SEO in Peterhead and Aberdeen, focus on getting links from local sources:
Schema markup is structured data code that helps Google understand what your website is about. Adding LocalBusiness schema tells Google your business name, location, phone number, opening hours, and services — all in a format it can easily read and use to display rich results in search.
Creating blog posts and content about topics relevant to Peterhead and Aberdeenshire helps build your local authority. Write about local events, case studies with Aberdeenshire clients, or guides to your industry for North East Scotland businesses. This signals to Google that you're genuinely embedded in the local community.
You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console (both free) to track your website traffic, search rankings, and which keywords are driving visitors from Peterhead and Aberdeen searches. Review these monthly and use the data to inform your strategy.
Rab Marketing provides expert local SEO services for businesses across Peterhead, Aberdeen, Ellon, Fraserburgh, and all of Aberdeenshire. We'll audit your current site for free and show you exactly what's holding you back on Google.
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