Building websites for clients, you always need to be marketing adviser as well as web developer and IT support specialist. I love this diversity about my job and I embrace most of the things I need to deal with.

In order to get a better understanding of marketing I worked through „The Marketing Seminar“ by Seth Godin (nowadays you find the course on Udemy) in 2017. It gave me lots of insights and I truly learned a lot. Sticking with it for more than half a year and discussing things back and forth with other participants made things a lot more tangible.

One of the big insights for me was the way Seth Godin explained about SEO. He uses the term „generic search term“ which describes a very general term for the service/product you provide, like „coaching“ or „smartphone“ or „chocolate“.

Let me quote Seth:

„[Today] no one is easily winning the race for the generic [search term]. …
The way to win is not by spending a lot of money to win the battle for the generic search term, the way to win is to create enough impact that people search for YOU.“

Well, that’s not really new, but that’s it, put in a nutshell.

Myths about scoring with Google

So what does that mean for you and me and the coach next door?

There are a lot of companies out there offering a similar service to what you provide. So when someone searches the web, it is very hard or nearly impossible to find your website on page one for a generic search term. The only exception is if you are offering your service locally.
That is, if you are THE local barber shop, a well-known dentist, or an optician in a medium sized city your chances to appear on page one for the term „dentist“, „barber“ or „optician“ are fairly realistic. But that’s due to the fact that search engines behind the scenes decide to add the location to the search term.

If you are trying to appeal to customers near you, that’s perfect. If not, don’t waste your time and money.

I believe that most of the people visiting your website actually don’t get there because they were searching Google for a coach, a web developer or whatever it is you are offering.
Would you hire a coach or a lawyer you just found with the help of Google? Probably not.

Most of the people who visit your website come because of you. They found you on LinkedIn, they got a tip from a friend or colleague, they met you at a conference. So they either knew the URL of your website or they put your name in the search field.
That’s when Google really should be able to find you. Make sure it does!

So how can I actually reach more people?

Losing the option to be THE #1 might feel like a disadvantage, but I believe it is an advantage.

Yes, you need to get visible, you need to go out there and connect with people. That’s not easy, I know. But this way you are the one in control. You can actively work on reaching the people you want to serve.

Go out there, see which social network suits you and your purpose best, start showing up and connecting with people.

Once people met you and liked what you offer, they will manage to get to your website and check out the details. From this moment on you are not in competition with thousands of others any longer. Now they are willing to invest some time. Use this advantage to really make a difference.

The post SEO and marketing has first been published on start the loop_.

You have a local business? In this case you need to see to that your website and online activities focus on that fact. A good place to get started is Google MyBusiness. Secure your page and fill in all the necessary details. This is fairly easy and does not take a lot of time. What else do you need to keep in mind?

Local Search is different.

Google uses a different algorithm to search for local businesses than it does for other search requests. Reading through Google’s support documents, you will find that it states that “Relevance, Distance and Prominence” are the three factors that highly influence the ranking of your business. If you take a closer look you will find that a whole bunch of smaller criteria are adding up: Local Search Ranking Factors.

To cut a long story short: The most important factors are ratings, proximity and how much relevant information Google has on your business, e.g. via Google MyBusiness. Google values ratings that were placed directly via Google or a different large platform (think facebook, yelp, …) much higher than ratings that appear only on your website.

What can you do to improve your business’ ranking?

First on your list: Your company’s website. It should meet modern web standards, that is nowadays it needs to be responsive, that is easily accessible on all types of devices. Small smartphone screens as well as large monitors. In addition, you ought to secure your domain with the help of an SSL certificate.

Answer your clients’ questions

At best, your website helps your prospective customers to get an idea about who you are. And if they want to be YOUR customer.

Do you know what the most frequent questions of your customers are? This sounds like a simple question. In reality, many business owners do not have an answer to this. A good way to figure this out is to think about some of your current customers and remember the questions they had. Another good option is to publish case studies of customers. All of this helps your prospective customers to understand what you really do. At the same time, it might be valuable content to feed to search engines.

Cultivate local relationships

Another good way to gain relevancy is to commit yourself locally. Are there non-profit organizations you might be able to support in one way or the other? Is it possible to sponsor events, help organize a fund-raiser?

There might be a couple of other local businesses in your vicinity who are not your competitors. Maybe you could work together, craft a network to boost general visibility. This could range from cooperation to events you host together. Get creative!

What you should not forget, though: You need to share these activities on your website and in social networks. Write about it, talk about it. Not just once but regularly.

How important are social networks like Facebook?

Some SEO experts say that every local business ought to have a Facebook page. They say that people are more likely to by from companies they have gotten to know already via social networks.

Google also seems to use content from Facebook ratings for its Knowledge Panels. Which means that Facebook content could be an additional source to influence search engine ranking.

If all others are on Facebook, don’t I have to be there as well?

A Facebook page can make a big difference for your local business. But it’s also a lot of work. Especially small businesses often find it hard to allocate time for maintaining it. We believe it is important to think about who will be taking care of this Facebook page and develop a strategy. And if you get to the conclusion that there is no one who would LIKE to do it AND hast the time to do it, just really don’t do it.
We feel it is better not to have a Facebook page than to have one nobody takes care of. Imagine unanswered questions of prospective clients, nasty comments nobody ever reacted upon etc. This type of Facebook page is not inviting at all. And it definitely won’t boost your ranking with search engines.

In the end every entrepreneur has to decide for herself. There is no need to sell your soul, people crave authenticity. Showcase your company in way that feels trustworthy and inviting.
If Facebook isn’t for you you probably won’t be able to create a convincing Facebook presence. But maybe you take a lot of pleasure in connecting with people in your local community. Or your service is so outstanding that people rave about you and are more than willing to write outstanding ratings on Google.

But I am sure everyone will find her spot. Trust yourself and talk about it!

The post Local SEO – Are local businesses different? has first been published on start the loop_.