If you are NOT marketing your business then you really have NO business. But while it used to cost a lot to get the word out and do top quality marketing, the internet has changed the game. It is now much easier for the small business owner to compete with firms that have very deep pockets. Enter, SEO — But that’s if it’s done right.
Search engine optimization (SEO) will send vast amounts of traffic to your web property. It doesn’t matter if it is a billion dollar concern or just a one-man show. You just need to get a number of things right:
1. Website Design
What’s the point in getting a million visitors to your site if they are all going to click away in a heartbeat because your site looks bad? So it is very important that you get a good (if NOT great) design for your site. It helps you improve your standing with search engines when people stick around longer on your site. That isn’t going to happen if it looks like the work of a two-year old.
A good site design is critical to having a good bounce rate.
2. On-Page Factors
The rules have changed after the Panda and Penguin struck. However, you still need to get a number of things right on-page. One area you simply can’t afford to trifle with is your content. Make sure you have top quality content on all your pages.
While it is still important to have your keywords blended in, it has to be done with a lot of care. The best way to optimize these days is to keep it low on your target keyword. There are different opinions. You just have to find out which works best for you (or hire experts to handle the entire process for you).
3. Link Profile
Whatever anyone tells you, you’ll rank or tank based on your in-coming links profile. This is NOT the place to tell you what amounts to the perfect link profile. However, it must be pointed out that you just can’t have great content and expect to rank high (unless you are targeting meaningless keywords).
You still need good links. What has changed is what constitutes a good link and how you can go about it.
4. Local Search Listing
You simply can’t ignore the amount of traffic that can be driven to your business via local search listings. It, therefore, behoves you to take every step possible to ensure that you appear for relevant local search phrases. This is particularly true if your business is specifically tied to servicing a location or locations.
5. Social Signals
What’s happening on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites? It is an open secret that search engines now factor in the “noise” on these sites in order to rank other sites. If a site is that popular (and so deserves top ranking) then people have got to be talking about it.
6. Reputation Management
What are people saying about your business online? Well, you can wait until an unscrupulous competitor goes all out to rubbish your good name or you can have a strong reputation management plan in place. Silence isn’t golden online it is disastrous especially if they’re saying negative things about your business.
The flip side of good reputation management is that it would help you improve your link profile and so raise your search engine rankings.
