Search Engine Optimization has (SEO) become a crucial marketing strategy for small businesses. Whether you run a restaurant, a bakery, or an auto shop, it’s essential for your business to be listed on the front page of search engines, particularly within the search results of people who your business specifically cater to.
According to Google’s Mobile Movement Study, 88% of consumers who search for a type of local business on a mobile device call or go to that business within 24 hours—can you imagine the dramatic increase that your business will enjoy by having the right search marketing strategy?
While a monetary investment is required from your end to buy ad words in big search engines such as Google, Yahoo! and Bing for your business to appear on the first page of their search engines, there are many ways your business can organically improve its search rankings outside of paid advertising. Here are a few tips:
1. Make your social media profiles search-friendly
Aside from having a great website, your social media profiles are your next best assets when it comes to increasing your search rankings. The best way to optimize your profiles is to be as descriptive as possible. Always remember to fill out the ‘About’ or ‘Information’ sections of your social media accounts. Never neglect these because they help in making your business more visible in search listings.
On top of providing a detailed overview of what your business offers, make sure to insert your business address, city, state and zip code. It is very common for people to run search listings that cater to specific areas (i.e. Good Japanese restaurant in East Village, NY).
2. Optimize your social media content
Regularly share news, updates and content on your social media pages. Have a company blog? Why not update it weekly with posts that are relevant to your business or industry? It is very important to remember to share content from your own website to your social media pages to give your SEO ranking a boost.
3. Create Sharable Content
When producing content, it’s important to always ask yourself the question “Is this relevant to my target audience or the industry where my business operates?” If your answer is yes, then, chances are, people will find your content interesting and are highly likely to Like, Share, +1, Comment your posts/content. The great thing about making engaging content is that it also boosts your SEO value because quality content equals more shares equals more links equals better SEO value. Simple right?
4. Be present on Google+
Google products are loved by Google—the world’s biggest search engine. This means that the company is highly likely to support its own. By being present on Google+, having a complete profile and regularly sharing content and building a community there, your business will be more likely to appear in Google search. So, be sure to include Google+ on your social media mix.
5. Create a Local Google Listing
According to Google, 97% of consumers search local businesses online. In order for you to perform better in local search, your business must have an updated Google Local Listing (formerly Google Places). This service allows your customers to easily connect with your business’ physical location.
Additional tip: You can integrate your Google Local Listing in your company website for additional SEO points.
Having an SEO friendly presence and increasing your search engine rankings does not happen overnight. It takes constant marketing effort to ensure that your website is at the first page of search engines. SEO should be part of every business’ marketing strategy but ultimately, your focus should be on continuously providing great service and products that customers will keep coming back for and would naturally spread the word-of-mouth on.
See how J. Louis Technology can help improve your SEO rankings by emailing us at sayhi@jlouistechnology.com or giving us a call at +1 (516) 847-4707.
