Nearly 85% of people on the internet go directly to a search engine to find the information, products, and services they require, and almost 75% of these users go immediately to Google. To give you an idea as to the size of the internet, it is said that Google has indexed over 1 trillion unique pages. But don’t let these numbers discourage you, Google is the best at narrowing down search results and only gives users the most relevant pages. Search engines may not be the only place to improve the visibility of your business, but they are the most crucial.
Use Relevant Keywords
As a small local business, the first thing to remember is that you are trying to bring in new clientele and these clients are not yet familiar with the name of your company. This means you have to think like your future customers and figure out what they would be searching for when they are looking for the services or products you provide. Say for example you own a carpet cleaning business in Chicago, you should be targeting keyword phrases such as “Chicago carpet cleaners”, or “carpet cleaning services in Chicago”. Keyword phrases are the most important aspect when establishing a new website and should be completely relevant to your business.
When coming up with proper keyword phrases it is important to make sure they are actually being searched for in the search engines. One of the best ways to research your keyword phrases is by using Google’s free Keyword Tool. This tool allows you to see how often your keywords are searched for each month and how much competition each keyword has. It is important to find keywords that are highly searched for and have low to medium competition. If you neglect to do this you could potentially be optimizing your site for keywords that are rarely searched for and in some cases not at all.
Create Relevant Content
The next aspect to remember is that the search engines are looking for unique and relevant content pertaining to your area business. If the content throughout your website consists of the keywords you are targeting then you are on the right track. Make sure you do not excessively use your keywords within your pages as it is highly frowned upon by the search engines. The content should flow naturally and captivate the reader.
Gain Relevant Links
The search engines look at what websites link to yours and see if they are in someway related to the information, services, or products on your site. Quality links can be difficult to obtain and are therefore highly regarded. This is beneficial because the search engines will view your site as having pertinent information and in return will rank your site higher in the search results. It is also helpful if the links pointing to your site contain your keywords. So if the link says “Chicago carpet cleaners” the search engines will determine that you are a carpet cleaning company in Chicago. This too will help to give you a boost in the search engine rankings.
So in conclusion, having strong keywords, unique content, and quality links will help get your website to the top of the search pages.
