Here are some basic steps on how to create an SEO plan for your business website. While this topic could easily fill an entire book, we’ll aim to keep it straightforward by providing a starter list of considerations.
Business-Specific Keyword Research
Use primary keywords or service keywords that you believe your customers might use when searching for your business. For instance, if you’re developing an industrial business website, consider keywords related to materials, manufacturing terms, and deliverables. For medical businesses, focus on symptoms or specific procedure names.
Many industrial sectors are members of industry organizations, possess safety certifications, or hold government designations required for business operations. Ensure these are listed and, if necessary, provide explanations for each. If you have a CAGE code and a history of supplying materials and services to the US Government, highlight this – it could interest potential customers. Feature them on your services page and in your website’s footer.
Local SEO
If your business primarily serves local areas or frequently works with nearby customers, you’ll want them to find your business based on geographic locations. A practical approach is to incorporate state and other regional keywords into pivotal parts of your website, such as the homepage and contact pages.
If you operate multiple offices, create dedicated pages for each one, designed for customers in that specific city or state, reflecting the scope of your business operations.
It’s crucial to maintain consistent business name, address, and phone number details across your website and other online platforms like Yelp, Google, and LinkedIn. For many enterprises, industry-specific directories can be valuable backlinks. However, ensure your information remains consistent and is correctly represented everywhere.
Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Feature customer testimonials prominently on your website. Since visitors often value reading reviews, Google prioritizes directing users to pages with such content. Ensure these testimonials are easily accessible, and when relevant, mark them up with the appropriate schema.
Highlight reviews from third-party platforms like Yelp and Google on your site. Link to them and encourage fresh reviews.
Technical SEO
Ensure your website is mobile-responsive. Given that many professionals in sectors like construction and manufacturing access sites on the go, it’s crucial for elements such as contact details. Facilitate a seamless experience for all users by verifying that mobile views are correctly configured.
Additionally, focus on optimizing your website’s speed and performance. Tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights and others can guide you and your web developer in identifying if your page loads too slowly and recommend fixes. Some websites can be slower due to poorly made themes or a host of 3rd party plugins. Slow-loading pages can deter visitors, which Google aims to prevent for its users. A robust hosting provider can also significantly benefit your site’s speed and stability.
Integrate structured data markup into your site. Google provides guidelines you can adhere to, ensuring your business information displays as intended, granting you some control over the presented data.
Conclusion
This overview is merely a starting point to ensure your business website is aptly represented on Google. Investing in these efforts is invaluable, given the potential to attract more visitors. Each visitor represents a prospective customer. Good luck!
