This is the third installment in a series as we continue our exploration to the many facets, tips and tricks to “Getting Found Online.” The second can be found here.
When it comes to getting found online, there are a couple of cliches that come to mind… “If you’re going to do it, do it right.” Or this one. “If you’re not going to do it right, don’t even bother.” Both express the same sentiment:
If you want results that bring rewards, you’ve got to give it all you’ve got.
Today’s consumers know how to search more than ever before. And it wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to, for example, search for a plumber. If you typed in “plumber” you would generally come up with various and random descriptions of plumbers. However, if you searched for “Plumbers in Prescott, AZ” a whole different page would result from your search. That being the said, is your website optimized for local SEO?
The competition is fierce in today’s digital age, which is why understanding the science behind the scenes is so important to your success. Think of it this way: The Internet is like the world-wide yellow pages. Because SEO and keywords are inextricably linked, getting found online must include all the SEO tactics you can employ. “Local” SEO is what ties you geographically to your audience, and especially if you’re serving a local audience, you’ll want to incorporate these local seo strategies into your website.
- Add your address to every page. Your “Contact” us page is pretty much a no-brainer as far as geographics, however, unless you’re the only business in your area offering your services, it makes sense to incorporate local SEO into all of the pages of your website. Why? Consider this. There are only ten slots to fill on the first page of Google for your particular offering and geographic location. The more pages you have optimized for your address and keywords, well, you get it… The more it’s reinforced for Google to index.
- Make sure you have a blog. Having a blog creates more pages. Need I say more?
- Add internal links to your website. Linking to internal pages on your website is important because the number of links a page gets from its own site matters. It also matters which pages are linking to which. The home page is the most important and the pages that the home page links to internally are as well. Figure out which pages you want to rank for the most and add links to them from the home page.
- Get external links from other websites.This needs to rank very high on your “important” to do list. The big search engines look at links from other sites as a sign of quality and trust. Therefore, consider what other sites you think you can get links from and connect with them. Other options to consider are sending out press releases, adding your business info to social media sites, partnering with Chamber of Commerce or local business groups, friends websites, partners websites, vendors websites, your kids blog… etc.
- Update your page titles. The page title or “title tag” is one of the most important elements of SEO. Don’t confuse your page titles with the headline title of your page although they could be one and the same. Your page titles should be descriptive of your main long tail keywords for your page as well as listing your city name. Don’t forget adding the name of the communities your customers are targeting in the meta keywords and meta description too.
- List your business on Google+local, Yahoo! Local (local.yahoo.com), local search sites as well as yellowpages.com.
While getting found online amidst the billion or so other websites on the internet can seem like an overwhelming task, remember that when you understand the science behind the scenes, it will begin to feel a little less daunting. “One step at a time”, “slow and steady wins the race” and “your effort determines your success” are other cliches that ring true and will inspire you to “keep on keeping on.”
Next: Getting Found Online: Trouble Attracting Highly Targeted Leads?
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