Here’s a topic close to my heart… Small Business Marketing. I’m becoming more convinced that Small Business Owners need to take advantage of Internet Marketing. We’re seeing drastic declining use of traditional marketing, such as Yellow Pages/Yellow Book. So, what are people using to find products and services these days? Google.
I understand that most Small Biz owners are focused on running their business, doing their billing to increase cash-flow, and all those other important recurring tasks. However, I really encourage Small Business owners to take some time to look at marketing.
Here’s a recent story… I finally visited my local Submarina California Subs shop, and let me tell you… these are the BEST subs I’ve ever eaten. Anyway, the shop near my house is a pilot location. While I was munching on my tasty Triple Play sub, I decided to look up this location in Google Maps. Low and behold, Submarina was no where to be found! How will people find your restaurant if you’re not in any of the Local Map directories?
So, here are some easy things you can do. Enter/Update your business in all the “Local” services. Those would be: Google, Yahoo, and MSN. This ensures your correct business information shows up on Map searches.
If you do not have a website, I HIGHLY recommend having one built. If you have a website, I recommend updating it, and make sure your web person includes the following elements to make sure the search engines like your site.
- Enter your keyword phrase in your Title Tag. i.e. if you’re a plumber, make sure your Title Tag says “Tampa, FL Plumber” (insert your own city/state and business type).
- Have one prominent title for every web page, and plug those same keyword phrases in it.
- Have a sitemap and enter it into Google Webmaster Tools.
- Use Google Webmaster Tools to diagnose your site for errors.
Just these few simple things will go a long way to getting your site ranked highly for your LOCAL customer demographics.
Stay tuned for more Small Business SEO tips.
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