By Sara Smith
Why Focus on SEO?
In 2017, SEO matters more than ever for small businesses. While you may hesitate in this up-front investment in money or resources in SEO, know that this approach has long-term staying power and a proven ROI.
More and more consumers are looking to the internet for research on your local business’s products and services. Over 51% of traffic to websites comes from Organic Search, and over 83 percent of this traffic comes from SEO. (BrightEdge) Without SEO, your business will miss a large chunk of the market and an extremely fruitful opportunity.
Because of this large percentage of website traffic coming directly from SEO, the money and resources invested in SEO will be worth it. To open the doors to this opportunity, search engines like Google and Bing must be able to find your websites and show them to the internet users who are looking for your products or services.
Where Do I Start?
We understand you have many aspects of your business to focus on, and marketing may not always take precedence. This is why we have broken down the most important parts of SEO for you to focus on. In order for both search engines and customers to find your sites, you will need to ask yourself these four simple questions:
- Is your Google My Business profile complete?
- Does all of the information on your Google My Business profile match your website EXACTLY? – it should!
Once your website and Google My Business profile are consistent and complete, move on to these next two questions.
- Have you researched the keywords your target audience is using to search for your product or service? (Tips for keyword research can be found here.)
- Have you included these keywords in your website’s meta information and content?
What Should I Be Doing Regularly?
When the groundwork for SEO has been laid with the above four steps, you are ready for more creative ways to help search engines and consumers find your business online. Read on for ideas:
- Begin blogging or updating your website with engaging new content
- Create social media pages and post regularly
- Find websites that will link to your site and display your content
- Contact us for a free marketing strategy with revenue & ROI projections
These are just a few of the starting points you can make for improving your small business’s SEO efforts. Check back soon for more tips and tricks to help you improve your rankings, online presence and much more.
About the Author
Sara Smith is a Digital Marketing Specialist at ChoiceLocal focusing on search engine optimization and fun. Along with her involvement in a few non-profit organizations, outside of work you will find her daydreaming about traveling or doing outdoor activities with her family, friends and dog.
