So you have a website, now what. As George Meszaros points out in The Secret to Effective Web Marketing work on a successful website never ends and it needs to be constantly updated to offer real value to your sites visitors. In addition to fresh content, you want to target a specific audience, whether they are in your geographic location or business niche.
Use keywords to your advantage
Especially if you want to target your local demographic you want to identify location and industry specific keywords for your business.
For example let’s look at a local SEO company in Miami. When planning their keyword optimization they will target geo-specific keywords and web design, web marketing and search engine optimization. You can use Google AdWords to find out how many times these terms are searched. Keep in mind the numbers aren’t always accurate, but can be used to give you an idea of what is searched more frequently. Additionally AdWords will provide you with other suggestions of keywords in that range which have also been searched.
If you don’t want to use Adwords you can utilize Google to find keywords as well. Type in the keywords you’ve selected and scroll to the bottom of the page where you can view related searched.
Also, check out your competitors. You can set up a free account at SEMrush and see some of the keywords they are currently ranking for.
Local optimization
To rank in local searches you need to let search engines know the specific regions you’re targeting. You can do this through titles and meta descriptions. When a potential customer sees your site in search results the first thing they will view is the SEO title tag and meta description. Utilize your 70 characters carefully and place keywords for both your business and location in the title tag.
Using our example from earlier:
Notice how the company name and keywords are bolded. Google will sometimes choose alternative titles in search results, but you should work under the assumption yours will be selected. Additional information to consider including is your business phone number and any other areas your business serves. An added recommendation would be to bold the service area as well.
Not only should your company address and contact information be included in the meta description if possible, it should also be included on all pages of your site. The footer is a great location. Search bots as well as potential customers will have easy access to your information and cell phone users can access your number simply by clicking on it.
Get visitors to spend more time on site
Especially if you want to target your local demographic you want to identify location and industry specific keywords for your business.
For example let’s look at a local SEO company in Miami. When planning their keyword optimization they will target geo-specific keywords and web design, web marketing and search engine optimization. You can use Google AdWords to find out how many times these terms are searched. Keep in mind the numbers aren’t always accurate, but can be used to give you an idea of what is searched more frequently. Additionally AdWords will provide you with other suggestions of keywords in that range which have also been searched.
If you don’t want to use Adwords you can utilize Google to find keywords as well. Type in the keywords you’ve selected and scroll to the bottom of the page where you can view related searched.
Also, check out your competitors. You can set up a free account at SEMrush and see some of the keywords they are currently ranking for.
Local optimization
To rank in local searches you need to let search engines know the specific regions you’re targeting. You can do this through titles and meta descriptions. When a potential customer sees your site in search results the first thing they will view is the SEO title tag and meta description. Utilize your 70 characters carefully and place keywords for both your business and location in the title tag.
Using our example from earlier:
Notice how the company name and keywords are bolded. Google will sometimes choose alternative titles in search results, but you should work under the assumption yours will be selected. Additional information to consider including is your business phone number and any other areas your business serves. An added recommendation would be to bold the service area as well.
Not only should your company address and contact information be included in the meta description if possible, it should also be included on all pages of your site. The footer is a great location. Search bots as well as potential customers will have easy access to your information and cell phone users can access your number simply by clicking on it.
Get visitors to spend more time on site
After increasing visibility and search ability of your
website it is essential to keep the content fresh and attract new visitors to
your site. An increasingly popular way to do this is through a company blog
and/or the utilization of guest bloggers.
A blog enables you to share your company’s expertise,
knowledge and any company information in an easy to digest format with a
substantially larger audience than you would reach otherwise and it boosts your
company’s web presence.
A blog also allows you to create a bond with your community
and demonstrates your value—as an added benefit it will help your search engine
ranking when done correctly.
Consider utilizing guest blogging
Generally, it is difficult to run a business and write daily
blog posts to keep your site relevant. That’s where guest blogging comes in.
However, not all guest posts are beneficial to your site and if you aren’t
carefully filtering posts you can actually damage your company’s online
reputation.
Your blog is a tool to reinforce your reputation and
demonstrate to your audience that you are a leader in your industry. That means
the content you publish must be relevant and high quality. Low quality writing
will make you look like you aren’t in fact an expert and can alienate your
audience.
Additionally, your blog can be used to create internal
links. For example is someone does a search query and finds your blog and
decides to post it on their own blog or site based on the information it
provides this will generate more traffic back to your page. Make sure you are
utilizing keywords, tags and meta data in your blog posts as well so users who
don’t know they are looking for your site can be directed to it via your blog
posts.
Finally, always keep the customer in mind and only publish
blog posts that offer them a clear value. A blog shouldn’t be a platform for
spamming customers with articles that lack relevance or don’t educate or inform
in any way, nor should they be used for keyword and link stuffing. Your
reputation as a website and as an online business is only as good as your
online content.
Author’s bio: Jameson Ballinger is a freelance writer currently working with Z Networks Group based in Miami. Jameson specializes in SEO, analytics and blog optimization writing.
