Local SEO Strategies: Be at the Top

In the world of small business, it requires more than just hanging a sign outside to bring new customers in the door. The same goes for your website. It is paramount to market your site, make it easy to find, and convince people to click-through and visit.

The most trusted way to get qualified visitors on your site is through search engine optimization, or SEO. An ongoing process, both onsite and offsite, that continues well after your website is published. As a small or medium-sized local business owner, you have probably spent time, money and energy on building a great website. To get the most out of your investment, you will need to edge out the competition for first page rankings in search engine results.

SEO Strategies: Content is King

Four out of five Austin visitors will search for information on Google, and we want your business to show up on top! Our team of SEO experts can help you navigate the intricacies of getting the content of your website indexed in a way helps your business rank higher.

Data shows that people have a higher level of “buyer intent” when they click on websites that rank organically versus paid advertising. Top organic positions are awarded by Google (and other search engines) because their algorithms have deemed their content highly relevant to their users’ queries, and thus, delivering the best user experience possible.

Every piece of content you publish is an opportunity to draw traffic to your website. In order to compete for top search rankings, it is important to publish regular blogs with frequent articles related to the products and services your company offers, relevant news, and local events. It is an effective, onsite way to build authority within your market. When you post relevant content, you establish your business as a trusted expert and help Google’s search engine recognize your business as a leader in your niche.

SEO Strategies: Business Directories

There are literally thousands of business directories online. Many of these directories will add the name, address, and phone number (NAP) of local businesses, even without their knowledge. That’s why it is critical to ensure your NAP information is accurate on your website and Google My Business page.

Unfortunately, the information on these directories isn’t automatically updated when changes are made the NAP on your website. Over time, you may change your phone number or move your business to a new location. This leads to erroneous information about your business on some directories and could potentially lead to lost customers.

Because of this, it is important to periodically audit your business information online to identify instances of old information that may exist and take measures to make corrections.

Once you have completed an audit of your citations, it is a good practice to take control of the directory listing process. This can be achieved by identifying business directories and manually creating your own profiles on them on a regular basis. By creating a number of these listings every month, you expand your business’s digital footprint. This ultimately leads to more traffic on your website and reaches more potential customers.

SEO Strategies: Geo-Tagged Images

Have you ever searched for something on Google and then click on the images tab? This is becoming one of the more popular features on Google’s interface as it allows people to browse images related to their search queries.

Optimizing your images to appear in search results can be a very strong way of capturing more qualified traffic on your website. Most searches in our mountain communities are performed on mobile devices by visitors who are searching for products or services “near me”. By adding geotags to your images, Google can include them in location-based image search results.

Your business exists in a community that draws millions of visitors to the area on an annual basis. A majority of these visitors are going to google restaurants, shops, and activities in the destination to get familiar with the area, find things to do, to eat, and to see.

If you want these people to find your business, it is important to let Google know where you exist.

The process of adding geotags to your site and images can be tricky. It is a good idea to hire someone who knows how so that it is done properly.

SEO Strategies: Let’s Get Social

Anyone familiar with digital marketing will recommend the most popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We do too. The big guys in the social media race are essential, but did you know smaller platforms are abundant and your business can use them to expand your digital reach?

Of course, some sites are more prevalent than others. But when it comes to social media, you will want to take advantage of as many as you can. Although many of them don’t have huge user bases, you still want to expose your brand to potential customers regardless of where it might be spending time online. Adding new profiles to social sites each month amplifies the “social signals” being sent to your site, which significantly improves the position of your website in search results.

This strategy is frequently overlooked. For small and medium-sized businesses operating in highly competitive resort communities, it can make a huge difference in growing your business by showing up where new customers are looking.