When considering top search engine optimization strategies, it’s difficult to know where to begin. Ask 10 different marketers’ advice on the best modern SEO tactics and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. But there are specific, crucial principals when it comes to good online marketing, and these are even clearer when considering local SEO. Getting that small business or company in the higher search rankings may be no simple feat, but there are tried and true ways to go about it. Enlisting the services of a local SEO company can be invaluable. But there are basic strategies anyone can employ on their own. Here they are.
Get your house in order
When crafting a solid SEO campaign it’s good to start with the very basics. That means creating local business pages for Bing, Yahoo! and Google. (You can get started on Google here.) All this requires is inputting all relevant business info, such as address, phone number, hours of operation and website. It’s also vital to upload as many professional-quality photos as possible and ensure all info displayed on said business page is accurate, properly categorized and up to date. This is the first step to optimizing a business for local search results.
Get citations
In layman’s terms, citations are mentions on other websites or online directories. And they are vital if local businesses want to increase their rankings. The way Google indexes information, for example, means that the more citations a business or company has in a particular region, the more active they appear to Google and thus the higher they will rank in searches in that region. Ideal citations include not just the name of the business in question but its identifying information as well. And citations can be had all over cyberspace, from business partnerships to local charities. Here are some other solid ideas regarding citations.
Cultivate reviews
That doesn’t mean buy reviews or saturate the Internet with fake reviews of your business, but to have many honest reviews on many different websites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Urbanspoon. The best way to amass organic positive reviews is for the business in question to include prompts on their website requesting reviews from satisfied clients or customers.
Optimize, optimize, optimize
Local businesses need to ensure they have included local keywords regarding their city or region throughout their website. It’s also crucial to produce content on said website as often as possible. Can’t think of what to post? Many businesses and companies have found SEO success by adding columns written by those in leadership positions within the business, such as managers and even owners. It helps put a face to the operation and give local consumers an idea of whom they may be doing business with. It also helps develop strong local connections that can garner many of those important citations we discussed earlier.
These are just some strategies businesses must consider when crafting a solid SEO strategy. There are other principals, of course, such as optimizing websites for mobile and maintaining a strong social media presence across all major and emerging platforms.
Get your house in order
When crafting a solid SEO campaign it’s good to start with the very basics. That means creating local business pages for Bing, Yahoo! and Google. (You can get started on Google here.) All this requires is inputting all relevant business info, such as address, phone number, hours of operation and website. It’s also vital to upload as many professional-quality photos as possible and ensure all info displayed on said business page is accurate, properly categorized and up to date. This is the first step to optimizing a business for local search results.
Get citations
In layman’s terms, citations are mentions on other websites or online directories. And they are vital if local businesses want to increase their rankings. The way Google indexes information, for example, means that the more citations a business or company has in a particular region, the more active they appear to Google and thus the higher they will rank in searches in that region. Ideal citations include not just the name of the business in question but its identifying information as well. And citations can be had all over cyberspace, from business partnerships to local charities. Here are some other solid ideas regarding citations.
Cultivate reviews
That doesn’t mean buy reviews or saturate the Internet with fake reviews of your business, but to have many honest reviews on many different websites such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Urbanspoon. The best way to amass organic positive reviews is for the business in question to include prompts on their website requesting reviews from satisfied clients or customers.
Optimize, optimize, optimize
Local businesses need to ensure they have included local keywords regarding their city or region throughout their website. It’s also crucial to produce content on said website as often as possible. Can’t think of what to post? Many businesses and companies have found SEO success by adding columns written by those in leadership positions within the business, such as managers and even owners. It helps put a face to the operation and give local consumers an idea of whom they may be doing business with. It also helps develop strong local connections that can garner many of those important citations we discussed earlier.
These are just some strategies businesses must consider when crafting a solid SEO strategy. There are other principals, of course, such as optimizing websites for mobile and maintaining a strong social media presence across all major and emerging platforms.
No comments:
Post a Comment