- The local search queries have made it far easier for small businesses to contend with big corporations for visibility.
- Users making local search queries are far more high intent than typical users, with as much as 83% of local searchers wanting to make a same-day purchase
- Claiming and optimizing your GMB (Google My Business) profile is number 1 on our list of small business marketing tips with half of the replies mentioning its importance to small businesses.
Small businesses have the toughest fight to stay in a market. Luckily, nowadays, it’s easy to turn to our phones, tablets, and laptops to discover great products and services. Local small businesses need to know that they are not being lost in the “vastness” of the internet. Despite the global nature of the digital world, the stats show that local search is still massive. Google said that about a third of mobile searches were location-specific and showed signs of continued growth that surpass even the growth in mobile search itself.
The internet helps even out the playing field for small businesses battling for visibility in a world of global corporations. Small business SEO, or search engine optimization, is an often overlooked and misunderstood marketing tool. Although SEO may take time to nurture and see quantifiable results—sometimes up to 12 months—its lasting benefits can completely overhaul a small business’s marketing reach and bottom line.
Local Search and the Bottom Line
Users are increasing searches with local intent, and searchers looking for local goods or services are much further along the sales funnel and more likely to buy. Here are some stats small business’ should keep in mind when:
- 83% of people doing a local search want to make a same-day purchase
- 75% of local searchers visit the business within 24 hours
- 30% result in a purchase
If you could turn nearly a third of visitors to your website into customers, what difference would that make to your bottom line? Starting to understand the importance of small business SEO?
Small Business Marketing Tips
This blog focuses on simple and low-cost small business marketing tips from the Redefine Marketing Group team. These tips focus on the most beginner level SEO, and many of these small business marketing tips need only be done once to have a positive lasting effect.
We posed the question: “What are your marketing tips for small business owners looking to get into SEO?” Our diverse team of experts offers their insight.
Victor Lopez – SEO Specialist
1) Claim your Google my Business profile no matter your industry, but even more if your business depends on foot traffic.
2) Take advantage of Google’s free tools for your website. Google Analytics and Google Search Console are essential tools to understand your users, and Google wants you to have all this free data.
Stephanie Fehrmann – Co-founder
I think the most important thing a small business can do to improve their online presence is to make sure they have a GMB profile and that all their information (contact info, hours of operation) are updated. Another really important but somewhat easy thing to do is have an active social media platform. Even if it’s just Instagram, it’s important to be where your audience is looking, and in a lot of cases, that’s social media.
David Roy – Co-founder
Optimizing your Google My Business account should be a top priority for every small business that wants to be found in search. Doing so is free, requires minimal effort, and can help you become competitive in local rankings in just a short period of time.
Another low-hanging fruit opportunity for small businesses is syndicating business information to relevant local listings through tools such as Localeze, Yext, or SEMrush. The effort to impact here can’t be overstated – you simply upload your relevant business information once, and you’re set (maintenance is only required if there has been an update to the name, address, or phone number of your location). This is a powerful way to be found in popular local directory platforms and organic search.
Michael Gomez – Content Manager
1.Create content regularly. Content marketing isn’t an on and off switch, you won’t see instant results (unless you go viral), but over time, you’ll start to notice the increased interactions and traffic.
When just starting out, you should aim to create at least two pieces of original content per month, but one per week is ideal. Pick a medium (written content, audio, or video) that you’re comfortable with or your audience connects with and create consistent content. By setting a sustainable schedule, you take some of the intimidation out of things and start getting your foot in the door.
2. Take pictures! Whether you use them or not, it is so much better to have pictures than not have them. All of those pictures can be used for a variety of purposes: social media, website images, blogs, newsletters, Google My Business. If you eventually hire a marketing firm, you can share the images with them and give them a backlog of usable images. The more pictures you have to work with, the better.
Mauricio Moreno – Co-founder
1) Ensure that you are providing all the trust signals that Search Engines look for in a company. Provide your address in the footer of your website. Clearly provide how customers can contact the company, either provide a phone number on every page and/or have a clearly labeled contact us page. I would include a contact phone number and email us link (with email address or link to contact form) within the footer of the website. Also, ensure that you have a clearly labeled privacy statement, terms of use, and, if applicable, return policy.
2) Although a bit more complicated, it’s important that all websites are ADA compliant. This adds another level of trust in the site as well as can provide additional ranking signals to search engines. It also can protect a business from a lawsuit, which has been rampant in the last few years, which can cost a business thousands.
Jason Martinez – Marketing Coordinator
1) Engage with your followers on social! It can be hard after a long day to jump on Instagram and respond to comments but, actively engaging with your followers is key. It’s one small change that can make a world of difference for engagement and, ultimately, foot traffic.
2) Be sure you’re interacting with other local businesses in your city on a regular basis. Introduce your audience to theirs, allow them to introduce theirs to yours. This can help boost engagement, grow audience size, and increase backlinks for your website.
Final Thoughts On Small Business Marketing Tips
While competition is stiff, for small businesses, taking care of these SEO basics and following our tips is often enough to put them ahead of the competition. Use this knowledge to create or modify your existing business plan, and start growing your business one step at a time.
If you want more help feel free to reach out to us and keep an eye out for our Small Business Tip Friday posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
