Search Engine Land released an article noting that search trumps social for local business information. Search Engine Land’s survey notes that of people who search online, most get information about restaurants, bars, and clubs from search engines, while third-party sites (such as Yelp) and social media linger behind. It makes complete sense when you think about it: It’s become second nature to jump on the internet to access any information you’re seeking, and usually, the first thing you do when looking for something, is Google (or Bing) it.
With this in mind, while SEO has many layers (metatag composition, adwords, paid advertising and more), understanding some general starting points is extremely important. Search engine optimization is basically the practice of optimizing your website for search engines; so that, when people Google a term related your offerings, your website comes up as predominantly as possible.
A good place to start is to check your website analytics to see what kind of search terms are being used to land people on your site. A search term is any term someone Googled that produced your link as a result. By checking your analytics, you can either maximize terms that are already working or assess ones that should be there, but aren’t.
A great tool to use is the Google keyword tool. Here, you can plug in a variety of keywords related to your brand, and the tool will spit back any and all related terms, and often they’re being for.
For the sake of example, let’s say you’re one of the only nightclubs in Charleston. There is no reason you shouldn’t be on the first page of Google’s results when someone’s looking for a club in Charleston, since there isn’t much competition. To really enforce your “relevance,” though, for lots of search terms, create a list of phrases that you would hope to rank for. Think of the variety of things one might put into Google.
So, stuff like: clubs in Charleston, clubs in Charleston SC, nightclubs in Charleston, Charleston clubs, Charleston SC clubs, Charleston nightlife, best nightlife in Charleston, etc.
Once you’ve identified your targeted keywords, there are two things you should do: insert them into your metatags, and sprinkle them naturally into your website’s content.
When Google surmises that you’re clearly a prime target for “clubs in Charleston,” it’ll deem you authoritative in that space, and thus when people search for that term, you’ll rank higher.
This is obviously a very basic touching upon the surface, but even tying these in should help increase your site exposure, even if only a little bit to start.
How social ties in: search engines look at your social pages as well. So if your club has a blog on your site where you’re constantly talking about topics related to Charleston nightlife, that then produces more opportunities for you to place content. More content = more keywords (often, without realizing it, too).
Excellent Advise! Thanks!
Great information letting businesses know the importance of SEO : )
Local businesses are the center of the economy, so it’s important for them to know and understand where to put their attention. Thanks for a good article.
Great, user-friendly tips for SEO. Important for any business in this day and age! Thanks!
Basic, but always valuable. I think too many SMB’s drop the ball here, and fail to do some of things to show up where they should…
Great information especially for local businesses. There’s many ways to increase exposure and SEO is part of the equation.
Thanks Debbie, this is something I need to do in the next few weeks, very useful:)
My pleasure – glad you found it useful!
Definitely! Thanks, Alison!
Definitely. Thanks, Steve.
Sure! Thanks for commenting.
Great point, Denise! Thanks for commenting.
Thanks!
My pleasure 🙂
Great info, very helpful
So, I’m hearing that I need to start optimizing my site for obscure search terms… Thanks!!!
Glad you found it helpful!
You can use google analytics and the keyword tool to find out which terms are bringing people to your site and optimize from there for those terms 🙂
That sounds too much like work 😉
The Vacation Homeowner’s Guide on Facebook has a bunch more tips on marketing vacation home properties. Check them out if you’re a vacation homeowner looking for renters.
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