Local SEO 101 – get your business found
Maine Local SEO - How can you get your business found?
As a small business in Maine, Local SEO optimization can play a huge role in generating quality leads and website traffic for your business. You want your potential customers to see that your business is legitimate, reputable and easy to contact. When done right, your local profiles and reputation management can serve as one of the most powerful tools in your digital toolbox.
What exactly does Local SEO do for you?
It makes it simple for desktop and (most importantly) mobile users to find your business. Whether that be through search engines, directories, or social media networks. The primary benefit of employing Maine local SEO is that it will target consumers in the vicinity of your business. A few of the things you can include are the services you offer, photographs and recent information about your company. All of this together helps provide your potential customers with a genuine feel for your business. Your sense of legitimacy can often times be the deal breaker.
Putting the methods into play
Local SEO might appear to be complicated at first, but can be easily done for any small business. The more challenging part is staying ahead of the competition in the race for Maine local SEO supremacy. The competition can be very tough across search engines and can appear even tougher when your company is attempting to improve its Google search ranks.
Here’s how you can get started and begin leveraging your Maine local SEO presence. 1. Target Local keywords, 2. optimize Google My Business profile, and 3. NAP (name, address, and phone) citations. Completing these steps can serve as the kickoff to a long fruitful relationship between your company and the search engines.
Google remains king
When paying closer attention to Google’s platform and how your Local SEO search presence appears there, it’s important to understand that it works a bit differently than standard google search. Here are some of the factors Google takes into consideration as you attempt to rank higher:
- Complete data
- Verified locations
- Accurate hours
- Manage & respond to reviews
- Adding photos
- Adding in-store products
- NAP citations
- Check-ins at the location
- Associated keywords
Per google, “Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. A combination of these factors helps us find the best match for your search.” Google also determines results on whether your business is geographically relevant to the user who made the local search though what they used for local keywords.
Start ranking for your business
The Maine Local SEO battle between your business and the competition is a long haul, making it ever more important for you to get started sooner than later. Contact us today to begin building your local presence.
Why a website is so important to your small business
Why a website is so important to your small business
It can be hard to understand why it is important to invest the time and money on a website when you’ve either never had one before or are just getting your business off the ground.
A few questions you might ask are: Is having a website really that important? Is it worth the time and money?
To be straight forward… yes, a website is essential to your business and your wallet will be thanking you in the long run.
An online presence creates a ton of opportunity. Users are searching for you and your products/services online more than ever and it is only going to become more intense. Through providing current and potential customers an easy way to access your offerings, you will benefit substantially.
Below are a few of the key points that I feel best-highlight the benefits of operating a website for your business/brand:
A website provides a customer business credibility
Much like you would look for a business in a business directory years ago, reputable businesses are found today through their website. If someone is looking for your business and they can’t find a website, they may raise questions in regard to credibility. When the competition has an online presence and you do not, it becomes an immediate disadvantage to your business in the mind of the consumer.
Provide 24/7 access
Don’t think it’s possible to have an employee working for you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Think again. Whether you operate an E-commerce website that can make you money while your sleeping, or host a simple brochure website that can provide answers to your customers’ common questions, your website is working for you 24/7.
Develop a reputation and build awareness.
With a website, you can easily to create connections between your own business and other existing companies that also have websites. This not only builds a stronger connection between your business and the consumer, but also establishes your authority within algorithms across the web. Build informative pages, write blogs and use them as a stage to market yourself across other platforms such as social media.
With proper implementation, the growth of your small business can be accelerated by a website. Without one, you will never understand the potential market share that could be gained.