As a business owner, do you ever feel like you were born in the wrong era? It feels today that owning and running a business is becoming increasingly more complicated, with miles of red tape and all manner of necessary workloads required to remain competitive. Take SEO as an example: it’s no longer enough to have a shop and some fancy signage; today you’ve got to have world-class digital marketing strategies in place if you wish to crush your competition and dominate your space.
With over 65,000 businesses in Dallas, it can feel like a towering impossibility. However, rest assured that as complicated and demanding as it feels, bolstering your online visibility and demonstrating your authority is actually far simpler than you might imagine. Read on and we’ll tell you why…
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Know your audience and your competition
Most businesses aren’t prepared to conduct the necessary research required to truly understand their target audience – and indeed the competition that they are up against.
Do not underestimate the power of data. The more information you are able to collect on your ideal customer’s demographic, the better positioned you will be to tailor your content creation strategies to resonate with them.
Similarly, understanding your competitors and what lengths they are going to, to mark their business online, can help you fill in the gaps and excel in certain areas that they are lacking in.
Sure, there are thousands and thousands of businesses in Dallas, but how many of them are in direct competition with you?
Formulate a killer local SEO strategy
After conducting extensive competitor research, you’ll be able to identify which of your competitors are working on their local SEO, and which are neglecting it entirely (which is often the case).
With that data, you can start to formulate a local SEO strategy that will put you in good stead to outshine the local competition and carve out your own, delicious slice of the pie. Here are some quick tips for getting started:
- Claim / setup your Google My Business page.
- Add your contact details.
- Conduct thorough keyword research and create unique content.
- Include accessibility info (e.g., directions, parking, disabled access).
- Encourage customers to leave reviews and engage with everyone.
- Post high-res photos.
These are just a handful of the basics, however, many businesses fail to include most of the above – which will give you an advantage if you are thorough.
Engage with your community
The key to quality local SEO lies with being as involved in your local community as possible. Either take part in local events – or arrange and host your own. This will invariably lead to all manner of social signals, including people ‘checking in’ or ‘tagging’ themselves at your events. It all adds up when Google is deciding on which local listing is worth mentioning in its results pages.
Similarly, submit your business details to as many reputable local directories as possible and increase your online awareness.
Prop up your fellow business owners and create local-centric content
While conducting competitor research, you can also look for other local businesses that are not direct competitors, but in fact can be allies. For example: if you own and run a boutique hotel / bed & breakfast, you’ll likely rely on a number of local businesses to operate (e.g., local farmers, dry cleaners, accounting firms, etc.). When creating blogs or social media posts, as part of your content marketing strategy, write about your fellow business owners and link to their websites – and then ask them to return the favour.
Similarly, when creating content, make sure that you write about your local area and community as much as possible. In keeping with the boutique hotel / bed & breakfast example, you’ll have an endless supply of subject matter for your blog (e.g., best things to do in the local area, getting around, top restaurants to try, child-friendly day trips, etc.).
Invest in the experts
Finally, if you truly want to crush and outrank your competitors online, you need to invest in a Dallas SEO expert.
Broadly speaking, there are three types of business owners in regards to SEO and online marketing:
- Those who want to save money and handle everything in-house.
- Those who invest in SEO but keep their budget to an absolute minimum.
- Those who do their due diligence and find the most reputable and capable SEO agencies, and then put time, money, and effort into growing their organic presence online, earning an attractive ROI, and going that extra mile.
Remember; if you do your research and ask for case studies / study an SEO agency’s social proof, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a world-class provider worthy of your trust.