Do you want to attract more clients or customers locally? Want to learn the ranking signals that will enhance your business’s online presence?
1. Google My Business
- Claim your business page
- Choose the correct category or more (less than three is ideal)
- Upload high-quality photos of your location, store, products, staff, and even your happy customers (with permission). These images will increase your business’s credibility and serve as a local ranking signal
2. Reviews
- Use other popular online directories and review sites such as Yelp or specifically in your local area, e.g., BC Marketplace for BC-owned businesses. Registering for those will carry a lot of weight in your business’s SEO.
- Included in your reviews, make sure to remind your customers or give an incentive for providing a positive review on your business, which will improve your visibility.
3. Social Listings
- Set up your Facebook Business page because, as one of the biggest social platforms, people use it also as a search engine to find local businesses.
- Here is where you can post timely updates on business operation hours or social engagement posts to gather leads.
- Now that you have a sense of the social media aspect on Facebook start accounts on other platforms! Create business accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
- Remember to try to stay active with updates or special news to gain a following and credibility.
- Pin posts inviting users to contact you or follow the social media you are most active on.
4. Be Mobile-Friendly
- If you haven’t done this already, you should begin creating a mobile-friendly website. Google indexes mobile sites first before your desktop site. You can test your site and its mobile responsiveness here.
5. Inclusive Design
- We discussed this in our previous blog post on the 2021 Digital Marketing Trends and how inclusivity is essential now.
- Being inclusive means you consider what other people don’t typically have, such as good eyesight or hearing. Inclusive design is when your website is optimized to support the full range of human diversity.
- While accessibility focuses on accommodating differing abilities between people, inclusive design incorporates differing perspectives, including people with disabilities.
6. Localized Content
- Remember to consistently publish content where you can organically include keywords and location (e.g., local events, local charity, and local news).
7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Location + Keyword Optimization
- Add local city to your keywords like “computer repair Vancouver.”
- Title + Meta Description
- Use the keywords you use in the title and meta descriptions.
- Internal & Outbound Links
- Use high-quality, credible, or local sites that Google and your neighbours trust and use your pages to create a positive loop.
- We have a more detailed blog article on SEO if you’d like to upgrade your online business.
This guide can be a lot of information and hours of work to do for your online business, especially when you’re already diligently managing that said business. Contact us if you want some help or guidance from the experts on our team. Also, feel free to check our services page if you want to learn more about our capabilities and how we can bring value to your brand.
If you are a BC-based business that doesn’t have a website for your business yet, or already have one but want to enhance your business’s online presence, apply for British Columbia’s Launch Online Grant program. “The grant will pay for up to 75% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of $7,500 per business,” working in partnership with a B.C.-based service provider, such as KIMBO Design Inc. All of the activities discussed in this article are covered in the program’s eligible services including developing an online store and booking system.
