Monday Marketing Minute
Every Monday, the Stingray Branding Team does a weekly Monday Marketing Minute on our Facebook Page. Tune in every Monday at 3:00 pm EST for a quick Facebook Live marketing tip of the week from your team of Stingrays. We would love to hear any questions you have and help you learn how to improve your marketing strategy. In case you’re busy on Mondays though, we will also put together a blog discussing what we talked about on the Facebook Live and post the marketing tips on our YouTube Channel for you to check out at your leisure. This article will complete our latest series with Local Branding: Part II, including the topics of Local SEO and Becoming a Subject Matter Expert in Your Community. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!
Local SEO
What is Local SEO?
- The algorithm that Google uses for searches that occur within the local area of your business.
- This is different from a generic Google ranking (from a random location) because Google wants to ensure that you can find businesses near your quickly and with ease.
- A large factor that goes into this algorithm is going to be your proximity to the business and the keywords that are used to target the geographic area.
Why Does Local SEO Matter?
Your potential clients are most likely in your local area. Your local SEO directly impacts how you rank in searches for local businesses. Simply put, local SEO is about having your business rank higher when your potential customers search for what you do.
How Do You Improve Your Local SEO?
There are many ways to improve your local SEO. Here are a few of the best methods:
- Google My Business
- Google 360 Photographer like PBG Virtual
- Optimizing your page with quality descriptions, complete services, photos, correct NAP data
- SERP- search engine results page- emphasizing your address, phone, and name (NAP) being uniform throughout Google
- Website Optimization
- Using keywords for the geographic area you are targeting in your page titles, descriptions, header tags, and content.
- Ensuring backlinks to your site include your geographic keyword
- Having other local websites that are credible creates backlinks to you through stories, profiles, or ads. This could be Chambers, GBN, local papers, local news stations, or local event websites.
- Reputation Management
- Ask customers to leave you reviews and always strive for 5.
- Respond to lower reviews and try to correct the reason that you got lower than 5 to ensure you are taking care of your customers. Hopefully, by ensuring they are happy, they will also change their number/review.
- Schema Markup- coding to add to your website highlighting your local business contact information and your rating/number of reviews
- Social Media
- Your posts and social profile listings play a very large factor in your local SEO ranking. Google utilizes your content and profile information to build credibility as a local business and to build a profile of your customers.
Become a Subject Matter Expert in Your Community
There are several ways you can become recognized as a Subject Matter Expert within your community. Here are some of the most effective:
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Attend and host industry events
Host informational meetings with local Chambers and networking groups, take on leadership roles in these groups, and volunteer to appear on panels. You can also create groups related to your industry or that play a prominent role in the community
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Social media
Social media platforms like FB, IG, and Twitter, are great ways to show that you understand your industry. You can create posts and share articles that provide tips, and advice, and share your knowledge.
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Create a blog on your website
Write relevant, current posts that cover your industry. Also, encourage comments. You can interact with guest commenters and provide input, proving even more that you know your stuff
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Share your content
Share your blog with local news sites and local blogs, ask to appear on news channels, and generally try to find any local source of news and commentary that would benefit from input from your industry. Here are some specific examples:
- Pest control: go on the news and talk about how to control mosquitos
- Restaurant: talk about solutions for feeding kids during the summer who may be hungry and host a food drive event at your restaurant
What Are The Benefits of Becoming a Local Subject Matter Expert?
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- When customers are searching for a product or service, they will recognize your business as a leader
- Builds trust, develops confidence that you know what you’re talking about
- By getting your business to appear on local news and media outlets, you are creating a stronger brand identity, solidifying your business as a large part of your community.
Your Marketing Team
If you have any questions about how to get involved with your local business community or how to grow your business by supporting the local community, reach out to our team at Stingray Branding. We are networking gurus and love to support our community! We can get you set up with some awesome branding and then teach you how to go out and run with it!
