Mom and Pop SEO
Go Local Business Go!
I try to make a point of supporting local businesses. Whether that means dining at family owned restaurants, frequenting used record stores or grabbing a cup of coffee from the tiny little shop in Elmhurst just across from the train tracks I make a point of being a returning customer and hopefully improving their bottom line. Sure, I make plenty of purchases from stores that have a national or global footprint but there is something really comforting about interacting with a small business.
But can small businesses survive online when the global giants have endless resources to build websites, launch massive Social Media campaigns, run PPC 24 / 7 and fund their own PR teams? Absolutely. Not only can the small business survive in the online environment, I believe they can use Local Search to surpass many of their monster rivals.
Traditional Small Business Tactics + Local SEO
Many small, locally owned businesses rely on word-of-mouth, print ads in local newspapers or participating in events such as a city street festival or 5K run. They invest very little in their websites and don’t really think of maximizing their potential via the web. Conversations with small business owners leads me to believe this is due to an inferiority complex. They look at competitors that build highly stylish websites with tons of interactivity and think it is a fruitless battle to wage. This shouldn’t be the case.
I love the smell of a family run business.
Searchers are becoming more and more sophisticated. People are getting very specific in their search queries. They are combining the type of product or service they are seeking out to include cities and zip codes. They want to know what the nearest possible door they can walk through to close the loop on the search they conducted. There is the opportunity for small businesses to thrive!
Look at it this way – when someone is conducting a search and are so particular they are including the city or zip code you don’t want to have a massive site with a Flash intro, motion graphics and lots of sizzle. Nope. That is noise at that point. A distraction and an annoyance. Small businesses can achieve a great deal with a small website that can be set up and designed with a cost-effective hosting company. I use BlueHost and have no complaints. It gets the job done.
Getting Started with Local SEO
A locally owned restaurant merely needs to communicate just that – its location! It needs to have a clear way to make reservations. This can be done with an email address or phone number. If the line is busy when people call it only can enhance your reputation as being exclusive and popular, no? A local coffee shop can get listed on the Google Local Directory, get written up on Yelp or Urban Spoon.
Anyone that pays attention to music now-a-days has read articles that vinyl is back and selling better than CDs. Small used record shops can do a fantastic business by setting up a website and listing their specialties (rock, jazz, pop) along with employee recommendations. Were I to open a locally owned music store today, I think Social Media would be a terrific tactic to pursue. Start a Facebook page or Twitter account. Let your customers interact with the in-store personalities and let them banter about online about which 1960s album by The Beach Boys they rank as their favorite (Can you really argue against Pet Sounds? Really?!?!)
Don’t Give Up the Fight
Obviously, there is plenty more to successfully optimizing a website with Local Search in mind. You have to draft content that mentions your location, you need Title Tags in place that list your location and you need to seek out websites that makes sense for you to get a listing for your store mentioned. The website doesn’t launch and then you’re done. The website still requires constant work and in the end word-of-mouth will still be the best marketing that you can get.
Use Social Media to talk classic albums.
To the small, locally owned business I can’t stress enough not to give up the fight against the giants in your industry. A well thought out web strategy can get you