Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips for Local Business Owners

November 1, 2017

As the owner of a local business, your best customers likely live among your community in your hometown. While your business may be local, many of your potential customers likely find you by first going out on the web and conducting a quick search online. With so many people starting their search for products and services on the web, businesses with carefully planned marketing strategies are the ones that quite literally will rise to the top, being returned at the top of online search results.

One of the most important digital strategies to address is your website’s Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The goal of your SEO is to help ensure that your business appears in front of potential customers at the time when they are searching for your product or service. A well-developed and implemented SEO strategy will help boost your visibility with potential customers and drive business to your company. As a local business, it is important to craft your SEO so that your company not only appears within your products or industry but also as a top local option for customers.

The success your users have on your site and your growing online presence will add to your website’s ranking over time. The most effective SEO techniques are a work in progress, so as you build your SEO be sure to add tools that will allow you to measure and assess results. This way you can continue to refine your techniques and boost your presence online.

There are countless numbers of digital strategies and SEO tools that can get your site noticed. To give you a sense of the techniques available, we have described a few key ones below. We can put a plan together to fit your needs and to help you reach your goals.

Some key local SEO strategies to consider-

  1. Check your listings
    • Google My Business Profile
      It is important to have a complete and relevant Google My Business Profile. Once you set up your listing, the business categories you choose give Google an indication of who you are and what your business is about. Clearly determining your business categories and integrating them into your Google profile and business listings can speed up the process of gaining a good search engine position.
    • Name, Address, Phone (NAP) listings around the web
      Check your business listing around the web to make sure that you have a complete and accurate listing on authoritative sites such as Yelp and the Yellow Pages. Make sure your NAP is consistent, matching exactly across all sites including your own. For example, a phone number should match – (704) 555-5555 should not be mixed with 704-555-5555.
  2. Build quality and compelling content
    • On your site
      Search engines used to favor key word density, leading writers to stuff their sites with words but not content. These days search engines favors writing for readers. Content should address questions your readers could have and answer them as thoroughly, accurately and definitively as possible. When readers find good information on our site and stay instead of back clicking, the search engines read your site as having authority on your topic area and this enhances your position.
    • On sites pointing back to yours
      Another way to build your website’s authority is to have other websites offering links back to your site. When other sites direct visitors to your sites, it tells the search engines that people find your information valuable. In addition to links, authentic reviews of your business and products can increase your SEO rankings.
  3. Check your specs
    • Website speed optimization, URL structure, heading tags, image optimization…
      These and other technical details can interfere with the best performance of your website. A fully optimized site will be read more easily by the search engines and will be favored over sites with technical issues that could present problems for users

Track Your Results
By installing analytics or tracking programs, you can collect information about your website’s visitors so you can learn more about their experience – how they got to you, where they went on your site, etc. The data on your visitors can provide valuable information about your customers and the products and services that in which they are most interested. Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel are two tools that can provide helpful tracking information on how your business and your website are performing on the web.

Let’s Talk
Bellaworks is a full-service digital strategy company. We can custom design a website optimization plan that can help you meet your business goals.

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