If you have a business website and you haven’t thought about search engine optimisation, you are virtually letting all your competitors take your business. Many SME business owners on the Gold Coast don’t realise SEO campaigns need to be tailored for local competition because your neighbourhood is often your most lucrative market.
Recent figures show that 78% of local searches made on mobile devices result in offline sales. This means people are searching for local businesses with the aim of buying a specific product or services then and there. This should be enough to convince you that you need to localise your Gold Coast SEO strategy for your business website.
Who’s looking locally?
Local online searches vary from general or global searches, so you need a strategy that accounts for this. Anyone can go online, order something from a supplier and have it delivered express the next day. That’s not what local searches are about. People are looking for what’s available in their province, precinct, suburb or region out of logic and convenience.
One of the many reasons people look for local businesses online is because they’re new to the area. If someone’s searching for a mechanic or hairdresser, for example, they won’t hop in the car and go looking for one. They’ll look for a nearby garage or salon online.
Many customers search for local suppliers on their mobile devices. The benefit of this is that because most people have their Location switched on in Settings, they don’t even need to type in the keyword suburb, but correct local SEO recognises your business immediately.
Take action now to reap the local rewards
There are some basic steps to improving your Gold Coast SEO campaign, which may involve extra content writing for a keyword-centric landing page. Another strategy is to claim local business listings, such as Google My Business (GMB), Yell or similar. These will ask for your NAPW (Name, Address, Phone number and Website URL). Any time your business is found online, these details will automatically appear.
Publishing company reviews online is also extremely important, as this allows customers to leave their comments. It’s better to have slightly negative recent reviews than out-of-date positive ones because search engine algorithms focus on when posts were left, rather than what they say. Also, this gives you a chance to improve customer service by positively responding to negative comments with helpful solutions, such as offering a free entrée if you own a restaurant or a product replacement if you’re in retail.
Talk to Gold Coast SEO experts
For more tips on improving your Gold Coast SEO, look up our specialist team at Gold Coast Websites or discuss your needs on (07) 5635 4224.
