This is a classic post, but it’s still VERY relevant! I once did a consult for an auto repair shop in the Phoenix Valley. He had poor SEO and needed to boost the business to his local, brick-and-mortar shop. He had some social media profiles setup, but had no idea what to do with them.
I did a Google search for “auto repair _____ (his city)”. His listing came up about 3/4 of the way down on the 2nd page! (These days, you want to be in the top 5-10 organic spots since they no longer have “pages”. It just says “load more”.)
92% of searchers will pick businesses on the first page of local search results.
Renderforest.com
I was curious about the one that came up first in the Organic search results (non-paid). I clicked on his link and here’s what they had in common:
- The websites were similar with good calls-to-action: “Click here to schedule an appointment.”
- They were both members of the BBB and A+ accredited.
- Neither of them had a blog.
What’s the difference?
What gives one guy great SEO and the other nothing? #1 had:
- Links to Facebook and Twitter at the very top
- Links to AAA, BBB and other certifications
- A Facebook widget in the footer that pulled the feed from his Facebook page
- AND he was actively posting on Facebook
Obviously, if you’re not coming up on the top of Google for your major search terms, face it, the searcher will go to your competition!
What’s the Recipe for good SEO?
- For a LOCAL brick-and-mortar business – have your Google Business Profile set up correctly so you come up in Google Maps.
- External links to relevant sites: social media, BBB, organizations, associations, partners, etc.
- Actively posting and engaging in the major social media networks.
- Blogging 3 times a week.
- Strategically use Facebook and Instagram — here’s how.
So, if you’re marketing like it was the last century here are your choices:
- Hire someone to get you set-up properly
- Hire someone to do it for you
- Learn how to do it yourself, which, with a little “sweat equity”, it works!
Let’s start with a free 15-minute consult and I’ll review your current marketing efforts and give you some tips on how you can improve them.
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