5 Ways to Increase Website Traffic

We recently covered why you need a website on our last blog post. Your website is your long-term, branding home for your business. It establishes trust and credibility with future customers. It’s an absolute necessity. The next step is how to drive local, organic traffic to your website where your website pops up in the first page of search results when someone goes looking for your business.

Have you ever wondered how businesses show up in search results on the first page? These websites use search engine optimization (SEO) by incorporating relevant keywords to be easily found by search engines. The key is to optimize for local searches especially if your business operates within a specific location.

According to GoGulf, “46% of all Google searches are looking for local information.” It’s essential to optimize for local results in order to drive traffic locally. Most people are looking for businesses nearby to quickly meet their needs and they’re ready to make a decision within days, sometimes hours.

Let’s discuss the steps to take today to be sure your website is SEO optimized.

1. Create and verify your Google My Business page.

2. Post on social media consistently and work to engage with your followers.

3. Optimize your homepage.

4. Optimize your metadata.

5. Add your business to other local directories.

Create and verify your Google My Business page.  The Google Business page is where most people will find your business. Profile information includes name, address, phone number, business hours and services. It’s important to fill out this information completely and accurately. It’s also important to be sure that all information matches wherever you post it. Conflicting hours or other information can be confusing to potential customers and erodes credibility. This listing is how your business will show up on Google and other mapping apps, so it’s of great importance.

Businesses can also use this listing to reply to Google reviews, post status updates, offer sales, or publicize special events. It’s an additional, free way to market your business online. Whatever content you post on social media, you should also post to Google Business.

Replying to Google reviews is important. The goal is to have happy customers who love your product or service. Ask for their reviews online and share with them a link or QR code to make reviews easy. Reply to all reviews by thanking the customer. The algorithms work well with engagement on all the platforms, and your response to the review will be visible to other customers who see the original review.

Post on social media consistently and work to engage with followers.

Consistent social media posting and engagement is necessary to success on those platforms. Ask questions to solicit responses from followers and then be sure to engage with those comments online. Share these posts and comments as a Google Business status update.

Optimize your website homepage.

Think as if a customer who lands on your homepage will not proceed to other pages. They need to know what your business is about just by visiting the homepage alone.

Tell them who you are, where you’re located, what you do, and why you’re the best at what you do. Be sure that your homepage includes your name, address and phone number. Your page title tag should reflect your general location along with what you do.

Optimize your metadata.

Metadata is information about data contained in your website that provides additional instruction to search engines on where your information should be found in search results. Using metatags on images will enable search engines to include images found on your website in search results.  There are descriptive, structural and administrative metatags. They all serve different purposes. They are built into the backside of your website and all of the website builders (Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, and others have them. WordPress has a plug-in.)

For a thorough explanation on metadata, this article from Netsuite.com is packed full of everything you ever want to know about the topic. 

Add your business to local directories and other online directory options.

In the US, there are data aggregate companies that provide map data for Apple, Yelp, Bing, Google and other map-based sites. Be sure to include your consistent listing information across these for the most comprehensive map coverage.

·      Express Update

·      Neustar Localeze

·      Foursquare

·      Factual

Accurate, consistent information is the key. If your information can’t be verified across the four directories, Google may exclude it completely.

What does Flywheel do?

SEO is the key to appearing in search results on Google and Bing. Without great SEO, the chances are slim to find your page without someone searching for it by name. Flywheel offers SEO audits to provide information so you can get started today. We also provide SEO services designed to get you results within the algorithm rankings.

We would love to work with you. Click the button for a free consultation, and we can start today!