Canadian local businesses can rank well in SERPs too, don’t kid yourself, and branding fixes this.
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. You know, the results a search brings to page one when searching for a particular local business.
Let’s say you own a plumbing business in southern Ontario and you want to rank well for the city you live in, and let’s say that city is Toronto.
The competition for plumbing businesses in the greater Toronto and surrounding areas is rampant and you want your plumbing business to rank better for Scarborough (which is a suburb of Toronto).
This can be done easily, and you should do this first, as it is being offered to all business owners, for FREE!
For many small businesses, Google is the most important platform for their marketing.
And most often, it is the first place that potential customers go to find out about a business, and where they make their final decision to buy from you or not.
So, setting up your very own Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google MyBusiness), being sure to also take advantage of the FREE website (though super basic) that Google provides for you inside your Google Business Profile account.
And don’t forget about setting up and embedding on your website, a Google Map for your business too.
Like I’ve already stated, Google Business Profile is free to business owners, and it’s an easy-to-use tool that provides an online presence for your business.
It’s a great way to show customers what you have to offer, as well as connect with potential customers in your area, and collect testimonies from previous customers.
Next, make sure your website is presentable as it could be the first point of contact for your potential customers. It should be professional in appearance and kept up to date with the latest information, so that your visitors are impressed by what they see.
Your website should be easy to navigate and provide all the information your potential clients are looking for. This is the case for any business, especially those that are heavily reliant on their website for sales.
There are two ways you can go about this: you could either create your website yourself or hire it done for you, making sure that all of your information is properly presented; Even making sure that your address is presented EXACTLY the same EVERYWHERE that your business is listed on the internet.
It really is important to be consistent with your name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP).
According to searchenginejournal dot com…
NAP consistency is an important part of Google’s local search and Local Pack algorithms, which means that building citations with a consistent NAP on your Google Business Profile listing and other online directories and sites can influence your local rankings.
searchenginejournal.com
And, if you are a business owner, it is important to list your business on online directories too.
You’ll want to make sure that you are using the same name, address, and phone number and format everywhere.
In other words, if you shorten your street address to ST, or your province from say, Ontario to ON, then make sure that you use that same format EVERYWHERE online.
This will help you build trust with potential customers (and make Google very happy). It also helps your business’ credibility if someone decides to do a search for your company and they find your listing on multiple directories.
Though many of you may not want to believe this but social media accounts are another great way for companies to share information about their products and services.
These accounts also provide your business with a platform to get the word out about your business while creating quality backlinks, and meeting your potential customers where they hang out during their day.
Social media accounts are also an important part of any business’s marketing strategy and should be treated that way.
They help with your credibility, create a strong online presence, and increase your brand’s awareness.
And, these accounts can be used as an effective tool in building your online reputation and getting your message out there by sharing content that is relevant to your industry or niche market.
Be sure to take advantage of the social media accounts where you are most apt to find the type of customers you want to target, and be sure to post on those accounts regularly.
Only once you’ve taken full advantages of all of the previously mentioned methods for increasing the popularity of your local business will you be ready to take advantage of the next recommendations, I have to offer you here.
And, the next one is press releases, which need an updated website in order to have this work properly for you.
Many businesses are not aware of the importance of online press releases. You may be using social media to promote your business but neglecting to use online press releases.
Online press releases work as a marketing tool that can help you get the word out about your company. They are also an important part of your digital marketing strategy.
The problem with using only social media posts is that they don’t always generate the same amount of reach. This is because there are many more people who read and visit news sites on a regular basis than there are people who read your social media posts.
Public relations is a type of marketing that is used to influence the public’s perception of a business or product.
One of the most important tools in PR is the press release.
The press release is a brief, interesting, and factual statement about an event or achievement by a company that has not been released to the public.
The goal of a press release is to reach as many people as possible, so it should be written in a way that will grab attention and interest readers into reading more about what you have to say.
Then last but not least of all, you could consider the following options.
You can also create:
- slideshows and share them on slide sharing sites,
- videos and host them on video hosting sites like YouTube and Vimeo, and
- podcasts which can be hosted on podcast sites.
Should you find my last few suggestions overwhelming for you to even consider doing by yourself, I’ve got great news for you. I can help you.
My branding service will provide you with full details as to pricing, as well as what all that can be done for you.
And, for those of you who may be doubting, Canadian local businesses can rank well in SERPs when using online media sites who are mainly located on USA web servers.
Now, I’d like to share a recent conversation that I was privy to, between a local roofing business owner and a branding sales agent, as I feel this conversation explains the advantages of branding better then telling you.
So, here’s the recent conversation, and for the sake of transparency, only the names have been changed for the sake of privacy.
George says: “Look, I’m spending $5,000 a month on advertising. We’re EVERYWHERE! What do I need with branding?”
Sales Agent says: “Say someone who needs some roof work done and sees your ad for roofing services, then says to his iPhone, ‘Siri, who are the best roofers near me?’, and… your company is nowhere to be found. Who do you think they’re going to call?”
George says: “Ummm… well… you know… they need to ask for my business directly: Rapid Roofing.”
Sales Agent says: “Ads don’t do ANYTHING to help resolve these types of questions.”
George says: “Your article makes me think that advertising is becoming an artifact.”
Sales Agent says: “Ads may be good for brand exposure, but useless for people using Siri or Google for voice searches when looking for generic products and services. Branding helps to resolve this issue.”
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Branding truly is like publicity on steroids!
If you’re wanting your business to grow, branding is the best tool for creating appealing content that helps to spread the word about your business.
Branding helps to create engaging podcasts and articles, blog posts, and videos that are focused on your story, to help you spread word about your brand.
Our platform is used to share stories about your business on hundreds of brand name media sites that will help build vital connections with your potential customers and influencers alike.
To learn more about our branding packages for creating traffic-generating marketing campaigns, complete the following form here to book your free call, and see if you qualify.