Growing a business is not easy. The same goes for online businesses to reach a wider audience and maximize their earning potential. If you want to succeed then you have to follow proven methods. One of the trusted methods to market online businesses is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
When it comes to SEO, it is the local searches that will boost the access to people who are most likely to avail of your product and services. In the business sense, even if you are not going to dominate the national or international market, your business will succeed when you can be easily found and accessed by the community where you are at.
In the past years, the number of local searches for businesses that people may transact with or visit within the locality has increased. In recent data by Statista.com, 92.21% of Canada’s searches were done using Google while Bing (4.59%), Yahoo! (1.68%), DuckDuckGo (1.24%), and Ecosia (0.11%) share the remaining slice of the pie.
Getting your business to the top of the Search Engine Results Page (SERP) will give you better chances of reaching out to your market and gaining visitors to your business.
Consider this example:
A student looking for a school offering aesthetics courses in Mississauga or Ottawa wants to get the most comprehensive detail of schools in the area. The institutions with websites can be easily found with just a simple search online.
If these sites are optimized to include information like available courses, tuition, and scholarships (if any), then a student can narrow down their options as soon as possible. Websites found on the first page of the SERPs get most of the traffic and are likely to convert the curious student’s query into actual enrolment.
So, how do you make sure that you get the clicks and conversions? Here are 8 street smart ways to do that:
- Avoid Bad Neighbors
SEO has been around for a long time so it is not surprising how others found a “cheat sheet” to get ahead of the ranking race. Here’s something to break your notion — cheating only means you will get caught and punished.
The practice of deceptive SEO practices and strategies may yield quick results but will get your site penalized or possibly banned. This practice is also called as black hat, which is known for the following:
- Spam – having links one too many that the search engine considers as useless. They come in worthless comments or content that do not adhere to the standards set by the search engine.
- Too many ads – one way for a site to earn is by posting many advertisements on some pages but this is not a good sign for search engines. It can hurt the credibility of the site. Google is notorious for cracking down sites that show more ads than quality content leading to them getting banned in Google Ads.
- Poor content – Google is best known for giving a high premium on well-written content. When it spots websites with poorly written articles, it will get flagged.
- Regularly Conduct Site Audit
There are ways to conduct your audit and the simplest way to do that is by learning which keywords you are ranking for. It will show the organic searches that drive traffic to your page.
Identify the keywords that do not perform well. Sometimes, the keywords also do not perform very well because they are not localized. For example, your dental website offers cerec crowns but you did not add a location in your keywords so you will end up with poor rankings for this.
- Create and Claim your Google My Business Listing
A complete listing on Google My Business (GMB) is crucial to your business’ success. It is not very difficult to create and claim your listing on GMB and it is free. You just have to fill out the tags, location keywords, and specific details to get the most out of your list. Make sure to include your photos, operating hours, and the products or services categories.
One thing Google looks into is the accuracy of the information. Always update your information so the search engine will not flag you for incorrect information. It is also to your advantage since most people now turn to their Google searches to find and book businesses.
Finally, pin your business location on Google Maps. This is used by GMB to generate a profile. When it is not completed, the business will not be properly pinned on maps. Visitors may find it hard to find your location once they decide to push through with the transaction.
- Write on Topics That Concern Your Market
When you have a bunch of local keywords, you may think that the next step is to write about it. However, how do you consider the topics to write about? If you are saying that you just randomly choose any topic then you are bound to lose the game.
Instead, always remember to think local. What are the things that concern your market? What events and causes can affect them most? Write about these local topics so more people can relate. It also becomes more natural when mentioning the city or province of your business.
- Link with other Sites
Building links by getting cited by other blogs can work like magic in improving your reputation. Getting mentioned on many websites can send the message of prominence in your niche to the search engine.
When you write articles for a local publication or come up with a well-written article that other sites can cite, you give the impression that you are a reliable source. Get name-dropped by a non-competing business and return the favour to help build your online presence.
- Make your Site Friendly
If you ask digital marketing agencies in Toronto regarding optimization, you will be asked one question — How user-friendly is your site? When websites take too long to load, are poorly laid out, and do not meet the content standard of your market, searchers will abandon them right away.
Website visitors do not like staying on sites that waste their time. User-friendly websites are easy to navigate, load easily, and direct the visitors to the product or service page without looking too obvious.
- Think Mobile
Accessing the internet through mobile phones and tablets has become the norm and businesses cannot ignore this. Mobile sites can be created and optimized specifically for mobile SEO but it can also affect your site’s rankings for desktop. Make use of the opportunity to reach a wider audience by taking your websites to the mobile platform.
- Ask for Customer Reviews
What your customers think about you can influence how prospective clients will look at you. For most, other people’s feedback can help them make decisions whether to proceed with booking or checking out or not. Getting reviews from satisfied customers is a pivotal factor that can influence your market and search engine ranking.
SEO looks technical at first glance but, you just have to make smart moves to effectively execute the strategies. These street smart tips are simple but can greatly influence how far up the SERP your business page will go.
