An often overlooked aspect to successful local marketing for small businesses is conducting proper keyword research. While every local business would love to rank atop Google for what they perceive to be the top keyword for their company, many do not know how to go about doing so or why it’s so important.
Many offline businesses who do not have optimized websites may not even think of or be aware of how their website ranks within a search engine. This is a huge competitive disadvantage and cannot be taken lightly.
Another important element of keyword research is discovering how customers are finding your site. If you’ve been using a website without proper analytics set up, you may not be aware of how visitors are reaching your site. This is where products such as Google Analytics, Omniture or Awstats come in very useful. Once you see how visitors are arriving on your site, you can begin to optimize for those search terms.
A prime example is a fishing charter company in a tourist town. While the company may advertise in all the local publications, they may not have considered ramping up their online presence to compete with other companies in the area. It’s absolutely essential that a company is listed in Google Places as well be indexed in all major search engines.
Local Search Engine Optimization companies are sprouting up all over the place. Before signing on for services however, be sure to ask for transparent results and proof of previous SEO success. A little help from an expert and a little link love for the website will go a long way in boosting sales.
