LOCAL TIPS FOR LOCAL OWNERS: SEO EXPOSED

As a local business owner, every bit of effort counts that is dedicated to getting your business name out in the world. The digital realm is the first step to local notoriety, and local search engine optimization (SEO) is key. We've created a few tips here at GSATi that should point you in the right direction for SEO Optimization.

Keep your NAP at Home in Check: Landing Pages

Your business should have a unique, easily discoverable landing page that appeals to your target city. If you're catering to multiple cities, each city should have their own target landing page. This will help with tracking and rankings within online traffic. We recommend the following information be included: 

-the NAP: [business] Name, Address and Phone number.

-Products and/or Services

-Location information (i.e. maps, directions to the business' physical location)\

-Business Hours

-Contact information(i.e. email address, phone number or a contact form0

-Social media links (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.)

Design it Tight, Design it Right

Responsive Design. Your web pages should be responsive, including mobile versions for your users on the go. Check out our post on mobile optimization for some quick tips on how to make your web pages "responsive."

Navigation. Internal site navigation should be ergonomic and intuitive; meaning users should be able to cruise your website with ease.

Content. Users should be able to easily understand your company's objectives and missions based on the given web information.  Product and service descriptions should include keywords that are relevant and amplify the business' search engine ranking.

Pump up the Local Listings.

Though your business may live online in the wonderful world wide web, your customers will not always find you there first. Often, users will search for newbusinesses on separate networks such as Facebook, Twitter, anywhere normally visited in a user's daily web surf. This means your local business should create a commercial listing for your business on review sites such as these, especially primary search engines, including Google, Bing and Yahoo. Make sure to include your NAP and a summary of your products and services. To get the most bang from your stuff, be sure to include the following:

 -Link to website  

 -Operating hours

-Additional features and offers (if available)

-Business credentials

-Photos

Always make sure your information is up-to-date. Inconsistency in information will hurt your site rank when Google pings your citations for relevant data.

Develop a Content Game Plan

Local content is more than just posts and pages: It's hitting every outlet that streams information on your business. To achieve maximum content optimization, you'll need a game plan on how to successfully create, promote and improve your content. We suggest starting here:

Define your "perfect" customer.

You can't market to an audience you don't know. You need to define who you're catering to by developing an ideal image of what your "perfect" customer is, then decide how to market to that customer.

Develop a positioning strategy.

Positioning a business involves isolating your target consumers and honing in on a niche for your business. Through positioning, you can appeal more definitively to that "perfect" customer and further eliminate competition.  A large part of positioning is defining you and your business as a leader in thought by providing high-quality Grade-A content on a select pair of topics. This usually takes some time, so fret not.

Unify the message. 

This is one of the key factors in optimization, by far. It's imperative to ensure that your website and all offerings specifically reflect your business' position and appeal to the "perfect" customer. Always check that your content has a cohesive style and consistent message with your products and services listed on the website.

Post regularly, post often.

Produce your quality content on a regular basis and post often, as to draw in new customers as well as the veterans coming back again and again.

Promote, promote, did we say, promote?

Interact with your customers and let them know what new with your business, by reaching out to their communities and the customers themselves. Whether it be a flash sale, fresh partnerships, or newly-offered service. The goal is to promote and connect as much as possible so that your business appears more relatable, more approachable and more relevant.

Note: This is not a one-time solution. These are single solutions to be used and reused as you continue refining your content offerings. We realize this is a lot of hard work, and hard work almost always pays off. 

Measure Performance

ROI Measurement is absolutely the most vital component of any SEO campaign --regardless of size rank. With zero data, you have zero hope to improve the business' SEO strategy. At bare minimum, you'll need the following information:

-Average cost per click of local ads

-Which and how many local keywords refer traffic to your website.

-Number of page sessions that result in conversion, and the average click-through rate.

This is just the tip of the giant iceberg we call "Optimum Online Presence" and requires constant care and observation in order to keep your business ship afloat. Keep these tips and mobile optimization on the brain always and your business will be on the fast track to local and online success.