7 Effective Strategies on Marketing Your Business Locally

When I was studying for my business degree and before my company was formed, I was in need of an outlet to be around other like-minded women. Years previous I was a member of the local Valley Women's Network so revisited their luncheons. Even though funds were very tight at the time, it was important for me to have some human interaction - even if only once a month. Little did I know, going to these meetings ended up being the catalyst for our birth.

During this time I connected with women entrepreneurs who were either eager to start a new business or take their business to the next level. Being the former webmaster for the Vancouver Sun and Province, it was a natural thing for them to ask me questions about branding and websites. I was more than happy to share my knowledge. Eventually conversations evolved into them hiring me so they could get the help they wanted with their marketing presence. The next thing I knew I was in business as a web developer!

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How To Verify Your Small Business Listing on Google - Video

Have you verified your small business listing on Google My Business?

If you haven't, you are missing out on a golden opportunity to promote your small business especially to your local community.

Watch this video on how to verify your small business on Google My Business.

By Martin Goldthorpe

How to Optimise Your Website for Local Search - 13 techniques to improve your rankings locally

If you run a store-front business or offer a service that is within a specific local-based geographic area, then you will want to focus your marketing efforts on getting in front of local traffic.

Since many marketing initiatives are of a more global nature that don't help you at all, there's actually a few specific things you can do to ensure you get visible in front of the local people that you want to attract to your business.

Aside from using targeted Facebook and Google Ads, local search optimization can help your business be found in searches when people are looking for a business likes yours in their area.

So what can you do to get your website to rank better for local search?

Here's 13 techniques to improve your rankings locally:

How to add or claim your small business on Google

How does your business appear on a Google Search or in Google Maps? If it is not as good as your competitors it may be because you haven't claimed your business on Google!

This really helps you as you can update your profile, add your opening hours, gather reviews and start getting found.

This video, from Google shows you what you need to do help your small business and your Google rankings.

Local Marketing Efforts That Will Gain You Strong Foothold In Your Community

If you are a small business looking for ways to trounce your biggest competitors in the industry, it would be a big idea to focus first on dominating the local market. The local strategy does not mean that you do not have big dreams for your business, but it is rather a plan to gain that strong foothold to the people closest to you before spreading your wings to the rest of the world.

Businesses that have a strong presence and good reputation in their localities have better chances of easily penetrating other areas. A local marketing plan will therefore always get you great rewards as long as you know how to best approach it. Below are some of the ways you can localise marketing efforts to find strong grounding and foundation right at home before exploring other markets.

1. Enhance Google local profile 

5 Tips for Writing Website Content for Your Small Business

Regarding your online presence, your website is, in essence, an ambassador for your business. 

Through it, you present your small business to your customers so they can understand all you offer.

Are you conveying a clear and compelling message through your website content? Here are 5 tips for writing website content that engages your niche market:

1. Make your copy current

Don't assume you can toss any old article or other form of content on your website to fill up space and engage your site visitors. People check out... and stay on... websites that offer timely and useful information. Update your site regularly on what products and/or services your business offers.

2. Have a focus for each page on your site 

Search Engine Optimisation: Why Small Business Gets SEO Wrong

Like it or loath it, search engine optimisation (SEO) is a necessary part of your online marketing strategy.

Many believe it involves gathering together a list of keywords, sticking them into a website and people will find you.

Sadly it doesn't work like that, which is why so many businesses are getting it wrong.

People also have the view that SEO is incredibly complex and time-consuming. In truth, it's not. 

Granted, it takes a bit of getting your head around it, but the on page stuff is easy to grasp, although you will need a web designer who understands SEO to get all the 'behind the scenes' stuff right. The problem is many can't be bothered to invest the time it takes to get to grips with what needs doing, and that's when it all goes horribly wrong.

So, what are the most common SEO mistakes that small businesses make? 

SEO Tips : Mobile Friendly Websites

For some time now Google has been making recommendations around the mobile experience; so it's really no surprise that it's now becoming a part of their algorithm.

One point we should highlight since writing that article, is that Google has refined its interpretation of 'Mobile Friendly'. Simply being able to use your site on a mobile device (i.e. not using flash etc.), is no longer sufficient; the new algorithm requires that you now either need a dedicated mobile site, or a mobile responsive site in order to gain Google favour.

So what does this actually mean? 

Learn the basics of Google My Business

Simple video here on the basics of how a Google My Business listing helps you reach customers on Google Search and Maps. 

How to add or claim your business on Google

Simple Tips To Take Advantage Of Google+ For SEO

Undoubtedly, Google+ is an amazing social layer that helps to boost the ranking of a website and allow you to interact with a new audience. It is one of the outstanding additions to Google, which has the capability to add something that can be unlimited for the growth of your business. Search ranking is a must for the website success that helps you to carve your position in the high competition. And if you want to boost the ranking of your website, Google+ helps you out for this - how? See the below-mentioned points and you will get the answer to your questions.

Optimize Your Google+ Page And Profile For Search Engines: Optimizing your business page and profile will help the search engines to easily crawl your website, which in result increase its visibility over the World Wide Web.

How to Add Your Business to Google Maps

Previously known as Google Places, the Google Maps Function presently belongs to the dashboard of Google My Business, the dashboard of Google to track and manage your digital presence across different platforms of Google with the inclusion of AdWords, Google Analytics, Google+, Google Maps (Google Local).

If you are getting ready to start listing, just remember that in some situations, Google will show businesses from communities around in the Local search results; however, you are just permitted for registering your business in the city or town in which you stay physically.

Claiming or adding your business on Google My Business:

Google My Business Product Overview