One easy tip to help your Small Business • Digital Marketing for Small Businesses
Local SEO for Small Businesses
When you search, for example, "barbers near me" on Google, what do you see? Google presents you with a list of businesses that are local to your area. How do they get their business to appear here?
Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other browsers don't just produce these lists from thin air. Each of these small businesses has submitted their business to various online directories. Think back to the old days when you'd have a thick Yellow Pages catalogue full of contact numbers. These directories have now been digitised! By submitting your business to an online directory, you can increase the chances of your business being seen by people searching for your services in the local area. You'll even show up on Google Maps, etc. This is a HUGE boost to your traffic and impressions.
Here's a list of free directories where you can submit your business:
- Google My Business: The gold standard for local SEO, you can submit your business name, hours, location, directions, and much more. Not only that, but customers can leave Google reviews, which helps you show up first in the search results. Putting your business on Google My Business allows you to show up on Google Maps. Follow this link to Google My Business
- Bing Places: This is essentially the same as Google My Business, but for Bing. Your business will show up in the Bing feed and on Bing maps. Follow this link to Bing Places
You can use Moz Local Overview to see a list of online directories that your business hasn't submitted to. We suggest going through the list and adding your business where appropriate. This is spreading your net and building a web of connections in the local area. The more connected your business is in terms of local SEO, the stronger te search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo, will view your business, and they will rank you higher. It's completely free and generates you money, so why not?!
