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Local Marketing and SEO: Website & Google Local
Local Marketing and SEO: Website & Google Local
Local marketing is potentially the most effective way for a small business to promote themselves, they will usually supply to their geographical area so it is essential to work on getting your brand seen online to a local audience.
The important factor to bear in mind is that Local Marketing should be a constant & continuous process, unlike large nationwide brands that will launch short term campaigns, your local marketing needs to be continually working & building relationships with your local clients. Small businesses work far more on relationships & repeat customers so give some time & effort to your online presence in your local area.
In this article we take a look at how you can build your Local Marketing SEO strategy via your website and Google Local.
Website
An important fact to know is that ranking highly in local searches is much more achievable than other searches, search engine algorithms are well set up for geographical searches & Google will bring up local businesses above those further afield. Therefore, you need to ensure that your website has the right keywords & searches that your local audience will use. Use geographical keywords & search terms such as ‘plumber in Muswell Hill’.
The more localised the keywords the greater chance of your ranking higher so if your company services all of North London you may want to add keywords for specific locations within that area as well as using North London in your SEO.
Create blogs and news articles which local customers might find of use to read. Are there other businesses in the area you can cross-promote? They could give you a little mention and you can mention them in return.
Double check your website is mobile-friendly. Local searches are more likely to happen from a phone to search for directions, reviews or contact information.
Finally, keep your website constantly updated with good information. Gone are the days when customers or clients will give you a call if they have a query, they are much more likely to search for you online.
Google Local
Your Google Local entry is an essential part of Local Marketing. Make sure your profile is optimised with all the current information, such as opening times, telephone number etc.
Do check your location is marked correctly on Google Maps, you can move the marker if for some reason Google has your location wrong (this has happened with a few of our clients).
Add good images & ask for Google Reviews, you can add a link to your email encouraging reviews. You should also monitor your Google Reviews & respond. If by chance you get an unfavourable review if you act quickly you can get your reviewer to remove it or indeed approach Google if you feel the review is unfair.
Lastly, Google Local does now allow you to post to it, much like posting to your other social media, each post lasts a week & it’s a brilliant way of bringing more information & valuable keywords to your Google entry.
If you would like help with your Local Marketing then send us an email lindsay@reddesk.co.uk
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Project Management
Project Management
As project managers we work to deliver a project that fulfils our client’s goals and objectives. Within that process there may be the need to adapt the brief in order to fulfil the project within the criteria and time schedule, but always with a full focus on the client’s requirements.
Here lies the core of successful project management; foresight, technical knowledge and management skills that ensure all aspects of a project are met.
Our current project management clients are varied and span a wide range of business sectors, here are a few examples:
• Delivering Workshops for a Soft Skills Charity – we have been supporting a soft skills foundation on delivering employability workshops at Further Education colleges throughout London. Our starting point was to identify the key stakeholders at each college who would agree to the running of these workshops, the middle was organising the delivery of these workshops (finding convenient times for both the facilitators and the colleges) and the end was seeking feedback after the sessions, and building relationships in order to run more workshops there in future
• Website Build for a Construction Company – we work closely with our web developer to deliver a website that fits with our client’s brand and services. With our knowledge of all aspects of website build we can bridge the gap between the client and the developer. We ensure that all the technical requirements are met and work with the client to create SEO-friendly content that ensures the website, once built, will be found by search engines. As part of the process we also work across the client’s online presence from Social Media to Google Entry to ensure a well-managed online reputation.
• Assisting a Property Project Manager – for many years we have supported our property client. Property development is a complex process and we work to document every aspect of the build from the work schedule to monitoring the budget. We keep detailed budgets projecting costs and managing spend as well as retaining all paperwork that is then passed to the client at the end of the project.
• Events – we work extensively in the local business community organising local events and find creative ways to fund the events. We have applied for grants, run crowdfunding campaigns, identified which businesses would be able to offer sponsorship and put together attractive advertising packages for other small businesses. We have a good working relationship with many stakeholders within the community and have made amazing things happen on a shoe-string budget.
If you need help with an upcoming project or are thinking about creating a new website do get in touch for a chat lindsay@reddesk.co.uk
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