Just like fashion, search engine optimization (SEO) changes all the time. The struggle to stay on top of the latest topics and rankings takes more than a post (or two) a month. You have to invest the time and do the research to stay ranked and relevant.
With new competition entering your local market every year, it’s more important than ever to be easily searchable, informative, and consistent—especially as a small business. Finding easy ways to improve your local SEO can be a struggle for those just getting started as a small business. You want your business to grow, but being a small business can make that difficult. If your business and content aren’t populating when people run a local Google search, you’re missing out on the 97% of local consumers looking online for local businesses.
Mastering your local SEO is easier than you think! Here are five easy ways to improve your local SEO and help your small business rank higher than your competitors.
1. Utilize SEO titles and meta descriptions.
Crafting the perfect SEO title and meta description for your content is like going on a first date. You want to share enough about yourself to pique interest, but not enough to give everything away. It’s the same thing for your SEO title and meta description. You want to entice your customers with a unique title that shows them exactly what they’ve been looking for and a meta description that’s an extra bit of information telling them exactly what your page is about and why they should click through to your site.
Your SEO title and meta description are like a tiny ad for your content. They’re customizable elements of your HTML that reflect the content on your website. With Google’s recent reduction in search result snippets, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re using your space wisely. Just like your first date, you only have a short time to catch interest! For your title, it’s generally accepted that it should be between 50 and 60 characters, and your meta description should be between 160 and 200 characters. Make them short, sweet, and to the point!
The most important thing to remember when crafting your SEO title and meta description is that every character counts! Here are some tips to help you improve your local SEO:
Utilize your longtail keyword by adding it to your SEO title, meta description, and throughout your site.
Reach out to your local customers by including the name of the city your business is in or the area in which you do business (e.g. serving the Greater Lafayette area).
Put your company name at the end of each SEO title (e.g. Five Easy Ways to Improve Your Local SEO | Treefrog Marketing).
Optimize your slug (e.g. five-easy-ways-improve-seo).
If you’re not sure how your SEO title and meta description will look in a Google search, try using a source like Yoast’s SEO Plugin for WordPress. This platform will give you an idea of how your title and meta description will look, and how many characters you’re using. In the world of SEO, crafting the perfect SEO title and meta description that are compelling and unique is an art form. You’re competing in a sea of options. Find your way to stick out in the digital arena and own it!
Note: Awkward pauses are uncomfortable, but you know what’s worse? Ellipses! You don’t want the dreaded ellipses to cut off your SEO title or meta description. Not only does that cut off essential information, but it also chips away at your credibility!
2. Encourage clients to give you reviews on Google and Facebook.
When is the last time you wrote a positive review for a company or product without being asked? No, really. Take a second and try to remember the last time. Most of us will rave about a product or service we love until we’re blue in the face, but never post a review. Taking that extra step to write a review isn’t difficult, but for most of us, it’s something we never think of doing until we’re disappointed by a product or service.
Don’t underestimate the importance of online reviews on Google and Facebook. Many small businesses are behind the times when it comes to asking for and responding to feedback posted on their Facebook Business page and Google My Business page. Asking your customers to write a review will not only give you helpful feedback and build a relationship with your customers—it will also give you credibility with future customers. In fact, 85% of local consumers trust online reviews they see on your page just as much as they do a personal recommendation. That’s a lot of trust!
Monitoring your online reviews is key in making your business stand out. Google suggests that positive reviews from your customers can improve your visibility, implying that it may factor into your search ranking. That means by asking your customers for reviews and monitoring their responses, you’re not only engaging your customers in your business, but you’re also improving your local SEO!
Note: Software like Hootsuite allows you to monitor and receive alerts any time your business is mentioned on social media platforms. It’s a simple tool to help keep you on top of your platforms and anything people are saying about your business.
3. Have consistent listings on online directories.
For a small business, not claiming an online listing can mean lost potential customers, contradictory information, and a drop in your Google search ranking. Having an inconsistent listing is like sending out your resume with the wrong contact information. Your information is out there to reach and engage customers, but when they try to contact you, they can’t. Your phone number or address may be listed incorrectly, so customers get confused and frustrated—and move onto the next company. To improve your local SEO and make your business easier for your customers to find, you need to verify that your information is properly listed.
Your business’ name, address, and phone number need to be listed consistently and correctly on the top online directories, like Yelp, Citysearch, and, for local Lafayette businesses, Greater Lafayette Commerce. It’s also key that all your information is listed properly on every platform where it’s mentioned. Any inconsistencies—like incorrect punctuation, spelling, abbreviations, phone number, or suite number—can confuse Google’s search engine. If Google isn’t sure which information is correct, the wrong information could be featured, making your business that much harder to find and trust.
Note: Adding your business to major citation data aggregators like Infogroup can also help your business be more easily searchable.
4. Claim your Google Business listing.
Go! Click away right now and claim your Google My Business listing if you haven’t already. Yes, it’s that important. Google My Business, or GMB, is free and can help your business get amazing exposure in your community. Plus, if you do it correctly, your business might be one of the first featured sites in a local Google search.
Claiming your business is easy. Simply visit your Google My Business page and request a verification. Once you’ve begun the verification process, Google will send you a postcard with a verification PIN number to your business. With the verification postcard, log in and enter your unique PIN number to verify the business.
Once you’ve claimed your business, the next step is to optimize your listing so you can improve your local SEO. To make your business page as helpful as possible for your customers and Google’s search engine, you’ll need to add a unique business description, business hours, logo, categories, types of payment, and every other field requested. Photos of your location and products or services are a great source for your customers as well.
Note: According to Google’s terms of service, only the business owner can claim a business. If you’re working with a digital marketing company, you can grant them permission to be a manager of your page. This is a safeguard for your business in case you terminate the relationship with your marketing company.
5. Remember: content is king.
Content is the king, queen, and honestly the entire court. Creating authentic content that is unique, useful, entertaining, and informative will get you the crown every time with your customers. Your content is so crucial to your business that underestimating its influence can hurt your business far more than you might expect.
Creating and publishing consistently relevant and unique content with strategically placed keywords can ultimately help you improve your local SEO by exposing your brand to more digital customers and increasing your ranking. By writing useful and helpful content for your customers, your brand is creating authority and building trust with your customers. Your content is answering the questions your customers are asking, often without them even having to ask. When you’re creating content correctly, your customers will know that you’re a trusted source in your industry.
If your content is as amazing as we think it could be, your customers will pause in their constant scrolling and potentially even comment, like, or share your content on their social media profiles. Your amazing content could be seen by thousands of people through one outstanding social media post and the share button. The market is already saturated with brands pushing their sales, but by creating content and establishing your brand, you’re moving your customers through the buyer’s journey (often without them noticing)!
Note: Building a relationship with your customer base and having a sense of authority in your area will help you generate leads without bombarding your customers with sales pitches.
It’s okay to feel a little overwhelmed when you’re first learning to master the ways to improve your local SEO. Optimizing your business for search engines can be tedious at times, but the results are well worth all the hours spent deep diving in to your site. Seeing your business in the top rankings of a Google search will give you a feeling of pride and satisfaction every small business owner should enjoy!
Our proven marketing protocol helps companies make more money, free up time, and plan an effective strategy.
Treefrog Marketing is an agency in Lafayette, Indiana focused on small business. We specialize in strategic marketing and advertising, graphic design, web design, social media, SEO, and more. For more information, please visit our website. You can also connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Taking your small business to the next level requires experienced marketing leadership.
As a cost-effective alternative to hiring a full-time CMO, a fractional CMO allows small businesses to access top-notch marketing expertise—but without the hefty price tag.
Here are a few frequently asked questions to help you decide if partnering with a fractional CMO is right for your business. You can also learn more about fractional CMOs by tuning in to “Episode 111” of The Priority Pursuit Podcast.
Is outsourcing a marketing director something new?
No. In fact, many organizations already recognize the value of outsourcing executive functions such as the chief financial officer role.
Typically, for organizations with an annual revenue of $2M+, they need a CFO’s expertise to stabilize and protect their business—but not on a full-time basis. The same philosophy applies to partnering with a chief marketing officer.
What do fractional CMOs do?
A CMO is an outside c-level executive position brought in to understand, refine, develop, and manage your marketing initiatives, spending, resources, and staff in order to improve your overall sales.
Who needs a fractional CMO?
Usually, companies with $2+ million in revenue that may have a marketing manager, but lack strategic marketing leadership required to grow their business to the next level—or are not happy with their current marketing strategies—can benefit from hiring a fractional CMO for small businesses.
What are the benefits of hiring a part-time marketing director??
A fractional chief marketing officer assumes a critical role in shaping a small business’s marketing strategy and execution. With their wealth of experience, they can continuously analyze marketing performance, identify areas of improvement, and fine-tune strategies to maximize ROI.
Fractional CMOs enter a company with a fresh perspective, allowing them to provide insights about your current marketing initiatives and systems. Additionally, they are usually responsible for:
Vision clarity
Marketing strategy and systems development
Leadership and marketing team oversight
Growth optimization
Strategy implementation
The benefit of partnering with Treefrog is that our professional agency teams have been helping small businesses implement their marketing strategies for more than two decades. Not only can we provide exceptional marketing leadership, but when warranted, our agency can also complete the implementation of projects such as brand development, brand messaging, copywriting, website design, SEO, and more.
When should you partner with a fractional CMO?
The best time to partner with a fractional CMO is when you’ve reached a sustainable revenue in which you can afford one (usually $5+ million) and when you’re not satisfied with your current marketing results.
It is important to note that the partnership is best served when a company has either an internal marketing person or external vendors (or both) in place to execute a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Are there limitations to a fractional CMO?
A fCMO is not a full-time employee or someone who will personally execute specific marketing campaigns or tasks. This partnership is designed to lead the overall marketing strategy for your company, oversee the implementation, and manage your marketing department—even if it's a department of one—and any outside vendors.
If you don’t have a marketing team, our agency team would be happy to partner with you on a contractual basis. At Treefrog, our professional agency teams have been helping small businesses implement their marketing strategies for more than two decades. Not only can we provide exceptional marketing leadership, but when warranted, our agency can also complete the implementation of building your marketing foundation.
How do I find a qualified fractional CMO?
Research indicates that about 36% of those presenting as fCMOs lack the skills and experience needed to perform their duties. But, there’s actually a way to quickly weed out less-than-qualified candidates.
Simply focus on the types of questions your potential fCMO asks. If they ask questions about your overall business, structure, products, current challenges, competition, and market fit, you’re off to a good start.
However, if they ask questions about marketing strategies currently in place and then immediately want to discuss implementation and execution, that’s not a fractional CMO. They’re a marketing manager in disguise.
How much does it cost to partner with a fractional CMO?
The agreed upon duties will play into your overall investment. However, most fractional CMOs charge an hourly rate of $200 to $500 per hour.
Additionally, it’s important to take into account the amount of time needed by a fCMO to learn the relevant aspects of your company. Since this is an executive role, they will need to become very familiar with your company—which won’t happen overnight.
On average, you should budget for at least 20 hours a month, but your specific needs will determine the final rate.
Leverage Kelly's 25 years of marketing leadership, to grow your business.
As the founder and chief marketing strategist at Treefrog Marketing, a co-host of the Priority Pursuit Podcast, a StoryBrand Certified Guide, and fractional chief marketing officer, Kelly Rice has spent more than two decades helping small businesses take their companies to the next level.
By providing trustworthy leadership, building strong marketing teams and systems, and implementing effective marketing strategies that drive results, she works along side of dedicated business leaders who want to make a difference for their companies, employees, and communities.
If you're ready to simplify your marekting life and take your company to next level, connect with Kelly by scheduling a discovery call today.
Designed for small businesses that want to get to the next level, but don't have the time, desire, or in-house talent to build, implement, and manage an effective marketing strategy.
Investment
Begins at $6400 per month with a 12-month commitment
Best suited for small businesses that are looking for resources, guidance, and oversight when learning about, building, and implementing their own flywheel marketing strategy.
Investment
Begins at $3500 per month with a 12-month commitment
Provides access to resources and 6-months of professional guidance to those wanting to develop the first two steps of their flywheel marketing strategy; messaging and website.
