The importance of keyword research for local businesses

Website design By BotEap.comAn often overlooked aspect of successful local marketing for small businesses is doing proper keyword research. While all local businesses would love to rank at the top of Google for what they perceive to be the top keyword for their business, many don’t know how to do it or why it’s so important.

Website design By BotEap.comMany offline businesses that do not have optimized websites may not even think or realize how their website ranks within a search engine. This is a huge competitive disadvantage and cannot be taken lightly.

Website design By BotEap.comAnother important element of keyword research is finding out how customers find your site. If you’ve been using a website without proper analytics settings, you may not know how visitors get to your site. This is where products like Google Analytics, Omniture or Awstats come in very useful. Once you see how visitors are coming to your site, you can start optimizing for those search terms.

Website design By BotEap.comA good example is a fishing charter company in a tourist town. While the business may advertise in all local publications, they may not have considered increasing their online presence to compete with other businesses in the area. It is absolutely essential that a business is listed in Google Places and that it is also indexed in the major search engines.

Website design By BotEap.comLocal search engine optimization companies are springing up all over the place. However, before signing on to the services, make sure to ask for transparent results and proof of previous SEO success. A little help from an expert and a little love for website links will go a long way in driving sales.