Thursday 17 January 2013

Top Tips For Local Businesses - Part 3

Ok, its Thursday and I'm knackered :) So, I'll keep this final installation brief. If you want to read part 1 and part 2 then you know where to look.

The last 3 top tips for local businesses wanting to maximize their search engine exposure are.. cue drum roll..

7. Get Social. Your social following usually contains a lot of people from your local area and those people know others who know... you get the idea. Twitter users can follow influential local businesses and spokespeople, and Facebook users can do likewise. Take time to build up a local following - personally I try to follow 10-20 people every day, and remember to un-follow those who don't follow you back. Eventually  you will have a good list of people to get your content, offers and promotions out to and, of course, being local they will want to pay you a visit and use your services. Social signals also form part of the Google ranking algorithm now and can help you get your blog pages or web content indexed much quicker than normal so remember to link back to your site at every opportunity. Generate a local buzz by tweeting or posting about local news stories and interacting with your followers. You don't have to go silly, just set aside a few minutes every morning and a few every afternoon and stay on peoples radar.

8. Become A Local Hero. Following on from the point above, generate offline interest as well. Take part in 10k races - why not get a t-shirt with your web address on it? Get your car wrapped in your branding - its free advertising as you drive around town. Speak at the local Round Table, networking groups, charity events, in fact wherever you get the chance to raise your profile  Remember no publicity is bad publicity - unless you get caught weeing in the shop doorway  on CCTV!

9. Make Sure Your Website Is Responsive. Responsive web design isn't just another passing fad, its essential if you want to capture local buyers. Picture the situation; you are a restaurant just off the main street. People all around you are browsing for a good quality restaurant that specializes in organic cooking but they don't usually pass your door. These days, they are likely to go online, search for restaurants within a few hundred meters of their current location and check out the menu. Can your website handle this or is it a mess? Make sure that it works on tablets, smartphones and iPads and you may well draw people in that might otherwise have never found you.

I hope that you have found this quick series of posts interesting, and if you would like to know more then please swing by my main website at www.graniteseo.com

1 comment:

  1. Good information about the local business.It gives both advantage and disadvantage of doing local business.Social media is one of the marketing to improve our business.Seo Services Bangalore

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