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Happy New Year! Make your website have it's best year ever! - Search Engine Marketing & Optimization
A blog for truly small businesses

Happy New Year! Make your website have it’s best year ever!

We are working on several minor changes in our SEO strategies. Of course, the biggest challenge continues to be how to use Facebook instead of Facebook using us. The other big challenge is that Google is really focused on “local” results.

So how do we deal with this? Well, first of all you have to look at your business – is it a local business? You’ve got it made! Just focus on adding content to your site that helps Google to realize how your business meets the needs of the locals. Make sure to include the name of your town/service area in your content where it makes sense. Use keyword phrases like “handyman services for the Portland, Oregon area” or “fitness training in Vancouver, WA” or “Home cooked food served at your favorite Vancouver, WA Restaurant“. If you are posting this content on another website (say you have a blog on Yelp or you are posting it on your Facebook page) make sure that you use these keyword phrases and make them links to your website – this really helps Google to understand what your website is about. You also need to “claim” all of your free local listings.

Are you a national company? No worries! You still serve customers in their local areas! No, you can’t claim a local listing on many sites unless you have a verfiable physical address and telephone number… but don’t worry! You can still use those keywords that tell the world you are available in their area! Create content on your website that is directed toward each of your “local” markets – be cautious about “duplicate content” though! Find unique ways to write interesting content on your site where you can be very “local”. For example you could have a page on your widget site called “Why Our Widgets are Popular in Topeka Kansas”. Now do your homework! Find out what makes people that use (or would use) your product in Topeka Kansas unique and write an article on this page that addresses them directly.

Speaking of Facebook…. yep – they have 540M (more by the time you read this) users and growing exponentially… you cannot ignore them but you can make sure that anything you post there drives traffic to your website and make sure that the things you do on your website get your content posted on Facebook in a manner that drives traffic to your website. For example, don’t say “become a fan on Facebook” and send people to your Facebook fan page – instead, say “Like” this page (article, whatever) and then that page/article/content will be highlighted on the person “liking” it’s Facebook wall!

Want to have a “pretty Facebook URL”? (i.e. http://www.facebook.com/seodominance) just get yourself 25 Fans and you will be able to create your “alias”.

How do you get fans? Use your website tools such as your blog and newsletters – INVITE them! Ask them! People LOVE to help … let them!

Look for more on these subjects in upcoming posts. If you have some specific questions please post a reply to this post and I’ll do my best to answer.

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