Local Marketing – Struggling Small Businesses

Local Marketing Has Changed -- Here's How To Be Prepared

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past decade, Google has monopolized the online search aspects and has really shaped the way people search for information. For example, 20 years ago if you wanted to find a plumber, you’d pick up a phonebook and start thumbing through the “P” section. Taking a gamble if the plumber is certified, affordable, or even a respectable person. Thanks to search engines like Google, that work happens in a fraction of a second. We now have all this information at our fingertips.

Most Important Investment For A Small Business

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Many business struggle with staying afloat of the most current technology like digital marketing. Local Marketing which used to be radio commercials and flyers has swiftly evolved into local SEO. Mom and pop shops tend to have a hard time adjusting to these market changes or just refuse to adapt. Unfortunately, this can seriously kill a business since people rarely walk into a store without doing the research first.

A Local Businesses can struggle without these basic necessities:

Why Do I Need a Google Business Listing?

Google Business Listings is the new Yellow Pages, Just better. A Google Business Listing is Google’s directory for local business around the world. Google can create a listing on your behalf to attempt to make search fluid. Though it’s in a business’s best interest to claim and verify it. This helps increase your visibility online and tells Google ” Yes, I am a business and I verified the information to be correct”.

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Why Do I Need a Website if I Don't Sell Anything Online?

A majority of websites out there do not sell products online. Breaking down the purpose of a website comes to what I conclude to be 3 basic categories:

  • Informational – Educational, Delivers information, Gain knowledge
  • E-Commerce – Sell products, online purchase
  • Social – Facebook, blog , Portfolio

Get A Free SEO Audit

We maintain and grow your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your local business thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Common Concerns & Questions about Small Business Websites

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Common Concerns and Questions About Small Business Websites

It’s natural to have questions and concerns about setting up a website. Cost is a huge factor. Beyond an up-front fee to design the website, the ongoing costs can be minimal. Considering the long-term benefits, a website will pay for itself. The cost to design a good website should be well worth it the money.

Why Do I Need a Website if I Don’t Sell Online?

Many questions I see often relate to a business not seeing the need for a website or that it wouldn’t sell goods online. The simple answer to this is a business website can provide so many more benefits. Establishing trust, strengthening your brand awareness, offering better customer relations, and getting the word out to the world you exist.

Website With No Content

Another common concern is that you don’t have any content or you don’t have time to blog. Yes, content is important, especially for SEO. Though more activity and fresh unique content can generate more traffic, any web presence is probably better than none. Once you have a basic website, you can always add to it, as your business and resources grow.

How Much Does Web Design Cost For a Small Business?

A Web Designer can easily help with getting a practical and functional website for your small business. Depending on the needs of your business on average, a Web Design can cost from $1200 and up for a basic design and launch. Some more complicated and customized web designs can excel well over 5 or 10 grand.

Not sure what you need or how much to spend on a website? We can help, contact us today.

Why Am I Not Showing in Map Search?

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3 SEO Tips For Small Business With Big Results

It is more important than ever for small businesses — or any business, to do Search engine marketing. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the biggest and bestest investments you can do for your business.  To grow your business and strengthen your placement in whatever industry you’re in, acquiring new customers and building your brand should be a top priority.

Running a small business is no easy task — we know from experience as we were all there at one point. The list of responsibilities and duties are endless with sometimes things falling between the cracks. Unfortunately, it’s very common for to businesses to push SEO to the back of the priority list.

This can be a huge detriment to a small business. SEO lets your online content work to help find and draw in new customers and increase traffic to your pages. People use search engines to find what they are looking for, decide what they want, and answer questions. Optimizing this process can optimize every element of your business from the ground up. 

How Important is SEO for Small Businesses?

Shopify has reported that e-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.5 trillion by the end of 2021. With this kind of online business traffic its absolutely necessary to drive customers to your content and products. While not all your  investments in SEO will pay off immediately — sometimes taking a year or more to gain revenue profits. SEO is no comparison in the long run. The overall, long-lasting benefit for your business can be game-changing. Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1. Local SEO Is Important

Local business When someone searches, “best Chinese restaurant near me” or “tattoo shops Santa Rosa,” the immediacy of these results can mean everything. With the rise of zero-click searches, you don’t even need to leave Google to get all the information you need. Contact information, reviews, and Google Maps directions will come up instantly on Google. 

Keep these steps in mind when trying to optimize how you appear in local searches. 

  • Build backlinks from local companies
  • Create location-based content
  • Encourage local reviews and engage with local influencers and social media
  • Optimize for local keywords
  • Take advantage of Google My Business page features

2. Get Into Snippets

Featured snippets are  seriously important in SEO and will continue to be as long as people keep searching for answers. Snippets are sections of a websites content that pop up on Google when you ask a question — in hopes to answer your question. This is position zero and where everyone wants to be. Getting featured on snippets requires careful attention to header tag, relevance, and formatted content designed to rank with featured snippet. 

3. Keyword Research for Popular Search Queries

Keyword research is very important to your marketing plan. Local search results often rely on quality, relevant, industry-specific keywords to draw in traffic and local visibility. The importance of keyword research is so important that it is necessary for all venues of digital marketing. With Google’s Keyword Planner, you can find industry-relevant keywords and local keywords to build a focus campaign. 

Keywords are constantly changing due to fluctuations in trends and online behavior, social media, new events, and even pop culture.

While you may have a well put together list of relevant keywords right now, chances are they will different in the future. This is why constant SEO management is important. 

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