More than 70% of US households use the Internet when shopping locally for products and services, yet less than 50% of local businesses have a strong presence on the Internet. If you are one of those businesses, you are missing out on a lot of local income.
Even though most business owners are aware they need to be marketing on online, few know where to begin. The task of starting such a venture is very overwhelming to the average business owner, but it doesn’t need to be. Although the most effective route is to hire an SEO (search engine optimization) expert, there are many things you can do to help your local online ranking.
Start by making sure you have an attractive company website that is easy to navigate and gives your contact information on every page. Add new content every month (a blog is a great way to do this), and keep company information up to date.
Fill out your profiles on the local search engines completely, like Google+, Bing, Yahoo, Yelp, just to name a few, and be sure to include photos and videos. Ask satisfied customers to submit positive reviews on each of these sites and star their experiences when available.
Search Engines are starting to give more credit to social media when it comes to SEO ranking. For this reason, be sure to create profile pages on the most common social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. However, choose quality over quantity when filling out these sites. The search engines would rather see you participate strongly on a few sites, versus not making much of an effort on many sites. Increase your fan base on each site, engage those fans consistently and keep content fresh. When posting, use pictures and video whenever possible to grab people’s attention and keep them coming back.
Although, this information does not give you a “golden ticket” to a #1 SEO ranking, it will give you a better chance of being found in your local market when consumers are searching online.
If you find your business needs assistance with this or any other online marketing, I would be glad to help!
To Your Success,
Glyna Humm
Fusion One Marketing
205-790-1519