SEO for Local Small online Business

You can be sure that your competitors are vying for the top spot in Google SERPs. If you aren’t throwing your hat into the ring, you’re giving business away. As a small business owner, it’s imperative you do everything you can to get your brand in front of as many consumers as possible.This means embracing new advertising methods, especially given that consumers are spending more time now on their mobile devices than they are in front of their TVs. It’s no secret that the best way to reach Internet-savvy customers is to position yourself highly in Google SERPs.Google has taken a special interest in aggregating businesses based on their geographic locations. This allows Google to provide its users with useful information on the go, which ensures that the company remains relevant as search transitions from the desktop to mobile.

In order to rank highly in these lists, however, you’re going to have to optimize your on-page SEO, and you’re going to have to engage with customers on a whole new level.

On-Page Optimization

Google analyzes your website to determine what your business is all about. If any on-page factors are off, the search engine will rank you lower than it otherwise would have. And lest you think that you don’t need Google, keep in mind that this means that your competitors will take your place in the SERPs.

The first crucial on-page factor is your domain name itself. Ideally, your domain should speak to what you do and where you are located. The simplest way to go about this is to combine the two pieces of data. Let’s say you own “Bob’s Sports Apparel,” and you operate out of Detroit. Your domain using this simple setup would be: www.bobssportsappareldetroit.com.

Throughout your site, you want to use keywords naturally, and you always want to create copy for human readers. Read your content aloud and ask yourself if it reads naturally. If you have any doubts, you should probably rewrite. Additionally, you’ll want to add your NAP—name, address and phone—data to each page of your site.
Finally, share the love. Your content should not be all about you. It’s important that you present yourself as part of a vibrant community. To that end, you may want to consider collaborating with a local business or donating to a local charity or event. Anything that gives you a reason to blog about your community is great for SEO.

Reviews

Reviews are the lifeblood of brick and mortar businesses in the Internet age. This consumer-generated content gives you immediate social proof, and it definitely increases your visibility in local search engines. Take note: while certain retailers on Amazon are known to purchase reviews from unscrupulous third parties, the same strategy can backfire spectacularly for brick and mortar businesses.

If caught, you might find yourself forking out thousands to a PR firm. You should never pay for reviews. What you can do, however, is encourage your customers to leave organic reviews with in-store leaflets, website callouts and follow-up emails.

Sure, you will receive the odd negative review, but there is no honest business in existence that does not receive at least a few complaints. The truth is, the odd three-star or two-star review makes you look more genuine. When you create your in-store leaflet, you’ll have to decide whether to direct the reviews to your own site or to a review aggregator like Yelp.

Keep in mind that the reviews on your own site won’t hold nearly as much sway with consumers as those found on a third-party site. When responding to negative reviews—if you respond at all—it is of the utmost importance that you do so positively.

Thank the author for their feedback and ask them how you can resolve their issue. If you satisfy the customer, they may alter their review. Antagonize them, and they will come back with friends.

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Become an Authority Using Case Studies

A major goal of most marketers is to become an authority within their niche. Why? Because people trust, respect and make purchases from authority figures. One excellent way to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise is to provide case studies. A well-written case study will help you position yourself as an authority. Case studies are compelling because they provide concrete evidence or proof of how well a product or service works.

There are two basic kinds of case studies that you can put together, both of which we will examine in this article: The customer based case study and the information based case study.

How to do a customer-based case study

A customer case study is a great way to demonstrate the value of a product or service. Potential buyers naturally trust other customers. This is known as social proof, and it is a very powerful marketing tool. If you have done your market research prior to launching your product or service, you have identified a problem to solve. In the case study, you’ll want to show how your product or service solves this problem.

The key to a great customer case study is detail. Provide concrete evidence such as before and after numbers, percentages and statistics. Data provides concrete proof, which builds credibility. Consider the following two sentences.

“Our sales increased after we used ABC Marketing System.”

“After three weeks of using the ABC Marketing System, we saw traffic and sales increase by 20 percent.”

Which of these two is more strong and convincing?

The second sentence is automatically more credible because it gives specific numbers. “Sales increased by 20 percent.”

Once your case study is written, you can make it more accessible by formatting it for readability. Use info-graphics, images or a slideshow. Break up your text with headers and bullet-points as well.

How to do an information case study

The first step in an information case study is to identify a problem that is related to your niche. Search forums, social media and Q&A sites to find questions that people are asking. A great candidate for a case study is a question that comes up frequently, but there are very few answers being offered.

Once you have a question or problem to solve, do a Google search and study the questions being asked and the quality of the answers. Take notes on the various tips and select the best, most interesting and creative ones.

Next, try out the tips yourself, and gather information on the results. Write up an article that details your experiment. Be sure to include screenshots and images that show exactly how you came up with your results. You earn bonus points if you create a video case-study.

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