If done right, Internet marketing can boost your profits by giving you optimum visibility towards your target market. However, making sure your on-page search engine optimization is spot on isn’t going to cut through the noise as quick as hoped for. It’s more than just good content and analytic data.
Five Things That Affect Local Online Visibility
Multiple Channels of Access
It is important that your company identify the different channels of access that target markets can see your business website. Social media networks are just one category. Email marketing, pay per click advertising, affiliate marketing, and others can work to your company’s advantage. Each one has different nuances. These channels can give your business advantage depending on which type of target market you have.
Easy to Use Website
Google’s new algorithm prioritizes websites with mobile versions or responsive designs. Now is the time to upgrade your website if you haven’t yet. However, it is not enough that you have a website that displays properly in all resolutions.
Aside from navigation, Google also measures page loading speed, offline availability, overall server and hosting stability, and overall site experience. You can use this information if you wish to compete against ranking keywords in SEO, or if you just want to improve the overall customer journey in your website.
Companies must guarantee their site is running consistently. A minor setback, such as a few hours of offline activity, can mean huge penalties in your ranking especially in a close-knit campaign with competitors.
Local Search Ranking
Search engines in social media and topic-specific websites, such as TripAdvisor for hotels and Yelp for local restaurants and other amenities, work to your advantage because they deliver results based on the user’s location. If you’re in the nearby area, you can be “pinned” and delivered to the query of a random social media account owner.
To do this, you can geo-tag your business in Google Place and Google Maps. Make sure the address you set on Facebook and Twitter are accurate. If you wish to improve your visibility, use hashtags that identify your location accurately.
Traditional Google SEO still works for local search rankings, but you have nothing to lose if you exploit the other markets that are gaining considerable use nowadays. Make sure that all information in the listings are consistent.
Social Media Presence
Keep your social media posts and your website’s blog section ever present with updates and content that will keep your audiences curious, confident in your brand, informed, and above all, have a positive experience with your brand each time. The market’s positive experience with your company pays off by making it possibly easier to make your content viral, earn patrons, and the best brand recognition you can ask for.
However, make sure your posts are not only random status updates but prepare content that is compelling and memorable. Use Facebook’s video algorithm to your advantage. Post updates that ask opinions and outlooks from your audiences. Get them to react to a factual article related to your business.
Review Websites
Localized search engines often have a review snippet regarding your past customers’ experiences using your products or services. “Scrubbing” these reviews “clean” helps improve your rankings in these review sites.
You can do this by responding positively to troublesome comments and ensuring its resolution within the allotted time or earlier. If you cannot resolve the issue quickly, provide a consolation, such as a gift check or anything of value that the customer might be happy to have. In this way, you can keep your chance at converting them later while you resolve the problem.