Getting your local business on the map can be a difficult marketing feat. However, the use of search engine optimization, or SEO, is a great marketing tool to help benefit your business and draw online traffic to your website.
Search Engine Optimization
4 out of 5 consumers use search engines — 84% on the computer or tablet, 88% on smartphones — to conduct local searches. SEO is an internet marketing technique that operates around search engines’ processes. Through an algorithm of keywords, titles, links, and popularity, search engines such as Google or Yahoo! filter web content to provide their users with the best results.
When a business uses SEO, they’re structuring their business’ web content to make it search engine friendly by using specific keywords or backlinks. The more the keywords are utilized in the business’ web content such as online articles or blogs, the more likely the business will show up within the first couple of pages on a search engine’s website.
Visual marketing appeal
However, while SEO is a great internet marketing tool, a local business may also increase online traffic by making their website visually appealing by applying the skill of web design. In the case of responsive web design, a website that is user-friendly and adapts to a consumer’s phone, computer, or tablet screen is more likely to receive a positive reaction and the consumer is more likely to stay on the website.
Consumers are also more likely to think positively of a business that utilizes good graphic design, i.e. ensuring text legibility by choosing a good quality font and appealing colors. Creativity marks the difference between businesses in the world of internet marketing and this can be used to your business’ advantage.
By using SEO, responsive web design, and graphic design, your local business can increase its online presence and thus its online traffic and potential client base. However, don’t just stop at your business’ website. Extend these marketing techniques and your creativity to your business’ social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram to create a sense of consistency for your consumers. A consistent, creative, and cohesive look will make you familiar with your client base and more memorable for future services.
