The first thing you need to do is to check where your website is currently appearing when someone searches on Google. Amazingly many owners invest huge amounts of money in creating their website and then forget all about the importance of small business SEO, wondering why they get no traffic. Have you checked where your website ranks recently?

Don’t just use your company name or product brand for the search, chances are that your website will appear at the top of the results as these terms are unique to your business and there is little online competition. It’s easy to think that your website is at the top of the tree but unfortunately it isn’t for the terms that potential customers will use for their searches. Chances are that people will never have heard of your company or your brand just yet.

Small business SEO is all about creating a well thought through Internet marketing strategy for your online presence. This may sound grand and something that you think only large companies need to do, but it isn’t. Having a strategy for your website and taking action will bring significant rewards and benefits to your business. You need to think about the reasons people buy your product or service, think about what problems they are currently experiencing and how your business can help solve them. Once you start thinking that way, you will soon start coming up with those all-important search phrases that your customers use each day.

Why not try some of them out on Google to see where your website is ranking and more importantly, where your competitors are appearing. In an ideal world you need to be number one, the very first result that everyone will see. If you are lucky enough to be in that place, then well done, you should be getting around 40% of people who do that search, clicking through to your website. Looks like your small business SEO is all done and you now just need to turn those website visitors into customers.

I’m guessing that this might not be the case for your website, but don’t panic, you’ll be pleased to hear that most of your competitors won’t have given search engine optimisation and Internet marketing too much thought either. With some simple but targeted changes to your website content you’ll soon be in better shape than most of the competition.

The first thing you need to do is make sure that you use the search phrase in your web page title and in the page header; these are known as H1, H2 and H3 tags. You also need to make sure that you use the phrase in your page text at least once every 100 words and more specifically at the beginning of the first sentence. This will help search engines understand what your web page is all about and ensure that it gets displayed when people search. However, this is just the beginning and there are many more things you can do to increase the ranking of your website. Getting advice and support from an SEO consultant who is an expert in small business SEO will help make sure you get the very best position in the search results, number one!

Are you one of those business owners?

To be successful online doesn’t mean that you have to startup an e-commerce shop and actually sell physical merchandise using your website. Certainly there are numerous ways in which a business may well find significant advantage and earnings from their website, even so, many just fail grasp this opportunity. Does your website provide a clear and concise message to people visiting it? Does it have an obvious call to action that makes it straightforward for visitors to take action and afford you their custom? If not, then at best you are just informing them and at worse you are pushing them to your competition.

Surprisingly, quite a few websites today still echo the early days of the Internet when the idea was vogue to tell everyone your business history, how you grew your business from boy to man. The trouble is your potential customers could not care less about you and your business; all they care about is the problem they have right now, after all it’s the actual reason they are on your website.

Your website needs to tell a story, not about you, but about how your product or service could remedy your website visitors’ issue. You will need to start by building confidence and help to make it painless for them to find answers to everyday purchasing questions to put them at ease. Featuring reviews from current purchasers on your website is a great way to make them more comfortable. Most importantly, you will need to make it extremely straightforward as to how they can easily take the next step to resolve their particular issue. Exactly how can these people make contact with you, is your telephone number prominent without having to scroll down the page, do you intend to capture information in a form so that you can speed the sales process up?

Most people searching for a product or service on the Internet are actually going to make an immediate purchase today. Their search is a clear buying signal that does not exist with traditional advertising media such as newspapers. Unfortunately, if your website does not show up on the first page of the search engine results then in all likelihood they won’t be purchasing from you. Yes that’s right, you really need to take expert advice from a good SEO York Consultant to make sure that your website gets found by local people searching for your product or service on the Internet.

With the constant advancement of technology, be it computers or mobile phones, people have more and more ways to quickly access huge quantities of information. When they want to make a purchase, they will base their decisions on the latest and most relevant information available to them. Quite simply, they want the solution to their problem now and move on to the next thing in their lives. They are used to being able to transact online quickly and painlessly. They will no longer search through newspapers and magazines or look in telephone directories and make endless phone calls to seek out your business.

What does this mean for your small business?

As a small business owner, you need to get your product and service in front of as many people each day as you possibly can. However, these are not just any people; they must be people who have a problem that you can solve for them. This is why newspaper advertising just does not work anymore. Although hundreds of people may glance at your advert each day, unfortunately today is not when they need your service and by the time they do, your message has faded from their memory.

The first thing any small business owner needs to do is get a website to provide potential customers with information about their product or service. Many small business owners stop at this point and wonder why nothing happens. The Internet is vast and to be noticed you need to make sure that your website is properly optimised for search engines.

If your website does not appear on the first page of results then you won’t get many visitors. This is where an SEO consultant can provide search engine optimisation services to help you. Once you have people coming to your website, just informing people is not enough; you need to engage with your new customer in a way that builds trust. Once they are confident that you can help them, the next step is to make it very simple for them to take action. Without action, they are just a visitor to your website, a statistic that means nothing when it comes down to the bottom line, profit.

Amazingly, many websites just leave visitors clueless as to what the next step should be and consequently the sale goes to their competitor instead. Make sure your website sells rather than informs someone else’s customers.

How can you help promote my website?

The package is designed to help local businesses increase revenue from their websites. Perhaps you have a website already, but lack traffic and real customer conversions. Don’t worry, this is a common problem with poor SEO. This package will help you correctly optimise your website so that you will soon see an increase in site visitors and profits.

Having a website with a large number of visitors is only the start and does not necessarily make you any money. I will help you develop an Internet marketing strategy that will identify your online USP and show you how to convert casual browsers into customers. Even though you may not sell anything directly from your website there are still many ways you can engage and create relationships with your visitors that encourage them to buy your product or service. My SEO York can provide a full analysis and detailed report on your website.

Google Places

Google gives your business a free website that is already indexed and ready to go. It already includes information about your business and is optimised for people searching for your service in York.

All you have to do is to take control of your Google Places entry and create in a message that will make your business really stand out.

This is where my SEO York package together with Google Places can bring customers to your website for very little cost.

I will develop a premier Google Places entry that will gain you a top position for local search results. This will include pictures of your business and even videos to show visitors what you do.

Customers can also leave reviews and comments about your business and the more reviews you get, the higher your position in the results. They may already be talking about your business on Google Places and it is therefore very important that you get involved in the conversation as soon as possible. I can provide a very quick and cost effective solution to getting the best from your free entry.

SEO Consultancy Services

I provide a number of comprehensive search engine optimisation services that represent real value for money and a great ROI when it comes to increasing your profits with online marketing. I focus on driving traffic using sustainable and natural search ranking rather than the use of paid advertising wherever possible. There may be situations where paid advertising such as pay per click (PPC) is appropriate. I also provides email services that allow you to engage with your website visitors using automated newsletter sign-up or other free offering. These can be fully automated and provide huge value at low cost. Email also helps you build relationships with your visitors helping you convert them into customers.

I only practice white-hat and completely ethical SEO techniques. This means that your website will not get banned by Google or that your ranking will disappear once we finish working together. Be careful, there are many unscrupulous SEO companies out there that implement black-hat methods which will deliver only short-term and high risk gains.

My SEO tips will help to get your website appearing on the first page of search results on Google, Yahoo and Bing. Ideally, you want to be in the top position as this can provide a click-through rate of over 40%. Do not underestimate the importance of being on the first page of the search results, being on the second or third page is like not being there at all.

Getting traffic is very important and is certainly the first stage of improving your online revenue stream with Internet marketing. However, traffic alone won’t make you any money, you need targeted traffic, traffic from buyers who want to make a purchase today, buyers who will convert into your customers. When these buyers arrive on your web page will the content persuade them to take action and become your customers? This is what Internet marketing is all about.

I deliver a wide range of search engine optimisation service options that are priced to be attractive to all sizes of business.

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Thanks

Google Places for York presents a map and list of local businesses in this area that match the search terms people are using to find your product or service.

You may have noticed that Google has recently added an option to update your location on the search results page.

This, along with the local directory provides a powerful solution that helps people find local products and services quickly.

Not only do they see your Google Places entry but it also blends in your website into the results as well. This means that getting your website optimised for search results is now very important as it helps to improve your ranking in Google Places for York searches.

Not all search terms will trigger a map and local directory listing but one great new feature is the Places link in the left hand menu that allows you to search locally for any product or service. This is just one of the clear signals that Google is intent on dominating the local search directory market. This will quickly become the way customers find suppliers rather than looking in the Yellow Pages.

How can my business benefit from a Google Places in York?

The great thing is that each business entry has the ability to create its own authority. This means that as a business owner you are in control and have the opportunity to utilise your free entry to the fullest and get seen by customers searching locally for your product or service.

The first thing you need to do is claim control of your business entry.

Initially, you will get a basic entry created automatically from archived information. If one doesn’t exist for your business then one will need to be created.

You are allowed to add a description for your product or service, select up to five categories, upload pictures and even videos. Used correctly, this information can portray a very professional and positive image of your business.

Customer feedback

Whether you like it or not, customers can leave feedback and reviews about your business and it is therefore even more important that you get involved with these conversations and take this opportunity seriously.

I can’t cover everything here, and to be honest, trying to get the best out of Google Places can seem a little daunting. Don’t worry, I can help you get maximum benefit by driving customers to your business and getting you on top of the search results for your main key phrases.

You can’t improve what you don’t measure

Search engine optimisation is dependent on around 200 different parameters and search engines are constantly refining those rules. What worked today may not work in the same way tomorrow.

SEO is all about testing change, making small changes and observing the effect. To be successful you need to understand your journey, where you started, the path you followed and where you are today. Most importantly you need to understand the changes and their impact.

Monthly reports provide an insight into your ranking position on any number of keywords and even those of your competitors.

Search engines like to see websites that are constantly changing and bringing fresh content to their users.

Creating a large amount of good quality content when you first launch the website may give you an initial uplift in search ranking, however, the search engines will soon replace your website with those that have fresher content over time.

It is important to add to your website content consistently. This could be by adding a news section, adding product reviews, getting your customers to add their feedback and testimonials or by creating a blog.

Creating content may seem like a daunting task, however, there are many ways that I can help you solve this problem. Content creation is just one part of your overarching SEO strategy. To gain maximum benefit you must align it with your keyword and link building strategies.