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SMALL BUSINESS SEO… HOW TO LAUNCH THAT WEB SITE!
Though your business may be smaller, there’s no shortage of opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to compete in search!
This statement is made even more true when you consider that nearly 40% of searches include "local" intent, and the search engines are now using local results even when a user doesn’t implicitly ask for them.
IF YOU'RE A SMALL BUSINESS, THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY!
Okay, let's say you’re a small business looking for search on a dime. You have your domain, your hosting is squared away, you have a few pages of content up, and you’re finally ready to attract the world (or at least your city) to your Web site.
Being small means you need to be smarter. It’s about doing all the little things that will pack the big rewards.
WHERE DO YOU START?
“LOCALIZE” YOUR SITE CONTENT
*Don’t be afraid to mention your location on your Web site.
*Don’t make it a secret to the search engines or your customers. Let them know where you live (figuratively speaking, let’s not endanger the family), where you work and where you’re from. It’s natural information that both the search engines and your users are going to want to know.
*Who do you target? What area(s) are you relevant to? When are you open? How can people can find you?
*Tell them.
*Where do you slip in these trust and location cues within your content?
* Home page: While you’re out there telling people what you’re about, mention where you’re located. It shows customers you really exist, while also giving the engine's local algorithms something to snack on.
* About page: Your about page should not only tell people who you are, it should tell them where you’re located. It’s one of the many trust signals users will be looking for and it acts as a great citation for the search engines.
* Press page: Do you have a page on your site that encourages people to get in touch with you for media purposes? Don’t forget to include your address, phone number and email.
* Contact page: This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people lose their brains writing Web copy. Include your location, a map, your cities served, hours, email address, fax number, phone number, directions and any other information you have that establishes your location.
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