As a small business owner, you have to wear many hats and be involved in all areas of your business. Whether you’re handling most or all of your marketing, the one marketing task that might be a grey area for you is SEO.
Search engine optimization is essential in your content marketing strategy, but its trends and methods are constantly changing. One day you may be advised to focus on building links, and the next day you’re being told to not build too many links. SEO can be frustrating, but there is a way to effectively do it yourself. Check out these five SEO trends to keep in mind when marketing your small business online.
Local SEO
As great as it would be to have people travel from all parts of the country just to see your business, your goal should be to attract your local clientele to learn more about you. Be sure to use local keywords in your keyword phrases, including your city’s name or the name of the region your business is located in. Keywords are so important for narrowing down everything that exists on the web to just what is the most relevant to you and your business. For example, we could do SEO Cape Town, instead of simply SEO and you automatically zeroed in on your local clientel. You should also submit your business’s name, address and phone number to local directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages or Foursquare.
Link Building
Even with the constant shifting of SEO trends, link building is a strategy many SEO experts continue recommend. The more links you have directing to your website, the better…right? Not necessarily. Google knows where those external links are coming from, and if they’re coming from poor-quality websites, your rankings could actually be effected negatively. The best way to utilize link building is by focusing on your website’s content quality, as well as building relationships with your industry’s leaders via social media. If they were to add a link to your page on their website, it could help boost your search engine rankings.
Long-Form Content
In a world full of 140 characters or less content and short-form posts, it’s surprising to say that you need as much long-form content as possible to improve your SEO. This type of content, which is typically blogs, allows you to go more in-depth on your subject matter. Not only that, but longer content typically ranks higher on search engines, tends to be shared more than short content and results in visitors wanting to stay on your website for longer.
Personalized Email Marketing
Gone are the days when you can successfully blast an identical email to your database of leads. Email marketing has become, for lack of a better word, spammy to many, and it’s all due to getting emails that are generic and not personal. Today, you must segment your email list and add dynamic content to personalize and better connect with your leads. Visit https://stellarseo.com for best marketing solutions.
Although emails might not help your business’ Google ranking itself, an email that incentivizes comments and sharing can help you with what Google wants to see with front-page businesses. Don’t just send emails that are full of rich content; give your leads something in return for being interactive with your website, social media pages, or just your brand.
Social Media
If a website is considered to be the window into your business, think of social media as the “front man” or face of your brand. Social media has allowed local business owners to build relationships with their audience, so be sure to stay active with your pages. Share any current or upcoming promotions and provide customer service to anyone who posts, tweets or tags you in a post. If you can stay responsive and up to date on your social media, it will improve your reputation around town and help you gain attention by the locals.
No matter how many different SEO trends your small business chooses to use, you must make the effort to regularly monitor your SEO strategy. Truth is, you aren’t the only small business using these tactics, and you have to adjust your strategy when needed so you don’t fall behind your competition. These SEO trends for small businesses may take you some time to see results, but the effort will pay for itself in the long run. So, get ready to wear your SEO hat proudly and start optimizing your business today!
If you want to learn more about organic SEO or small business marketing, contact GreenMellen Media today. We’d be happy to help you out!
