In my previous two posts I reviewed where to start your small business digital marketing efforts and 3 basic things you can do to improve your small business website and today I’d like to take a closer look at a few small business SEO tips to help your website rank better in your area.
Over the past 13 years I’ve helped many small businesses – in many industries & locations of the US gain top rankings in their area.
Each of those businesses had their own customized SEO roadmap & path toward top positioning, but there were some pretty basic tactics implemented that were the same for all of them (at least at the start) as mentioned below.
While the tips below can help your website rank better, your particular website may have different needs ( both technical & creative ) that could affect the way your site ranks, but applying the quick wins below should be a great starting point regardless.
If you have a local business and that means that it’s most likely being listed in online directories (whether you know it or not).
Many online directories generate listings for your company automatically (pulling your information from many different local databases), which allows them to expand their listing reach.
While many of these can be “low quality” (to put it nicely), there are some that are important to make sure you claim:
These are also places where many of your online reviews will be submitted by your customers, so claiming your listing allows you to moderate (and report) reviews that come in.
The other places where reviews come in are on social media.
The reach of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc is so far that at least getting your listing/page setup is generally a good idea (depending on if your customers are active on them) and can help fake accounts from being found by your customers.
Once you claim your listings, keep your address & contact information up to date.
This can be a long process, but it’s important to keep those records up to date in case your customers happen to find your listing on those platforms.
Needless to say, keeping your address updated on your website is also a must, and helps keep your listings in sync with your small business website.
This tip may sound like an offline marketing tactic, but it actually can have SEO ramifications for your website.
Local business organizations like your local Chamber of Commerce, industry-specific associations ( think local restaurant associations ) and other local organizations designed to promote local businesses typically will have an online directory listed on their website.
The ones that do have an online directory will most likely allow you to add your company website & contact information.
Picking up links to your website from local organizations & websites are helpful for SEO, especially in the early days of your website.
These organizations usually come with annual fees, but between the events they host and the links you pick up from their sites that fee entirely justifiable for your local business.
While applying these quick SEO wins for your small business may seem simple, doing so can get you off to a great start in gaining visibility in local search.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.