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Over 1 trillion searches happen on Google per year, making it the most popular search engine, and a primary focus for your small business SEO.
It’s especially important for your SEO when you’re a local business owner. Searches with the term “near me” are trending upwards at a rapid pace especially for people using smartphones and tablets to search.
It’s important to have a good SEO strategy in place. You want some tricks that aren’t your typical “write good content and Google will find you” options.
Here are some great “quick tricks” to help you get found on Google.
1. Optimize Local Search
It’s hard to get on top of search engine rankings for generic keywords, especially if you’re in a competitive market. Your local market is a much smaller arena to compete in and you also attract attention from mobile searchers.
Be sure to optimize the pages on your website and your blog for specific keywords that are relevant to the content. Generally, it’s best to choose keywords that have low competition and you can figure that out when you use Google’s free keyword planner tool.
2. Consider Video Content
YouTube, owned by Google, is essentially a large video search engine in its own right. Video marketing is gaining a lot of steam, especially as broadband and mobile data extend reach and speed.
You don’t need highly polished and produced videos to start, especially if you’re in a market where you come off as more authentic with less-polished videos.
3. Leverage Social SEO
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms get plenty of search engine attention from Google. If users continuously share your content on these networks, you’re also building up your brand authority.
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4. Encourage Reviews
Online reviews emulate a word-of-mouth recommendation for your business. You’re also getting inbound linking from potentially high-authority sites.
If you run a local business, try your best to get reviews on Google and Yelp which will help with SEO. Incentives, such as digital coupon offers for online reviews, helps you encourage customers to share their input.
5. Make Sure Your Site is Optimized for Mobile
Mobile optimization is more than making sure your site is viewable on smartphones and other devices. Mobile optimization helps smartphone and tablet users quickly access the most relevant information they need. All of this access occurs without dealing with battery-sucking videos or other problematic features.
Last year Google cracked down and started penalizing sites that weren’t optimized for mobile and more recently, they advised against having pop-ups on your website in mobile.
Keeping tabs on Google’s latest recommendations and requirements is an easy way to improve your site’s SEO and get it noticed more on search engines.
Summary
Don’t underestimate the power of SEO for your business website. Whether you’re local or nationwide, customers and clients will be connected to your business via search engines. It is always best to learn some SEO basics to improve your rank.
SEO strategies for small businesses can be an all-consuming activity, but these tips are easy to implement and can work nicely alongside your typical busy workload.