Google search is such a mystery…you type in a word or a name and up pops everything and more you ever wanted to learn. But how does that action bring up your business? Put in your business name and where does it appear? If at all? What about searching on your business type? Do you rank on page 1, 3, or none? Funny how that happens.
In these days with so many businesses doing exactly what you do, it is critical that you strive to achieve high visibility to sustain growth and success. Four out of five consumers use a google search engine to locate local businesses and information about them. If your page ranking is not high here, probably your competitor is. That’s precisely what makes it critical to have a solid local SEO strategy in place. The closer to the top you can get, the stronger your brand authority presents itself.
Search Google
If the old adage is true that “content is king” then you have to know that creating high quality content that is beamed towards searchers, is paramount. This takes time but with the prospect of increased traffic and trust it might be worth an investment. Google developed an algorithm specifically designed to recognize low quality content. That would designate that a first page search would be a stable business with a trusted source of information, if we go according to Google.
It doesn’t just end there either, because the high-quality content you have paid for and developed can be repurposed across many channels, including social media, email newsletters and paid ads. So that material keeps engaging your audience in more ways than one, and keeps giving back.
The goal to rank high in a Google search is attainable, using strong website content and additional qualified content such as blogs, landing pages, and Google My Business listing the maps/ local section. So, how to go about this?
Craft the keywords
Whenever pages or blogs are posted be sure to determine your keywords. An important step is to use those keywords in the body of the text the title, meta description and alt tags. The first page rank determines if the content is trustworthy, useful to the reader, is responsive and mobile friendly. But in the end the content has to provide useful and detailed information.
To emphasize location, it might be in your best interests to do service pages that define the industry you are active in and the geographical areas where you ply your trade. This helps when prospective customers are doing a “near me” search. So, consistent, trustworthy, high-quality content will help your business float to the top of the search page. Is there more? The answer is “yes”, and I can give you information in Part 2 of this blog post.
So, if you are ready to rank higher in searches from prospective customers, you only need pay attention to some items to generate higher value traffic to your business website.
Donna Galassi is the founder, CEO, and Marketing Director of Blue Zenith Design + Strategy, a full-service marketing and SEO firm she established in February 2009. Her journey to entrepreneurship was forged by a major life shift and the economic upheaval of the Great Recession. After more than 15 years as a software engineer, the loss of her job in 2007 spurred her to create her own path.
Blue Zenith was founded on the promise of giving voice to the entrepreneur. The company specializes in guiding small businesses through the dynamic landscape of marketing and SEO, helping them achieve high findability and brand recognition. Her goal is simple: to help businesses get found, get noticed, and stand out from the competition.