Small Business Boost: SEO, Online Reviews and Your Ranking

Getting the most out of your small business online marketing strategy is crucial to the survival of your business. Most businesses overlook their SEO and ranking, and the fact is, many small businesses that have an online presence find it extremely difficult to achieve a great ranking on Google. Let’s discuss how to get a small business boost.

Positive Reviews Increase your SEO Ranking

According to Google, the number of reviews and your overall review score affect a businesses local ranking. In fact, recent studies show that reviews round out the top seven factors in determining your ranking and can have as much as a 10% impact. That may not seem like much, but Google only groups and highlights the top three (used to be five) businesses into a visual window – you want to be in this group to maximize traffic.

Where to Optimize?

So now we know that positive reviews increase your SEO ranking, so are you optimizing for your online reputation AND your SEO? Here are some vital places your online presence needs to be optimized and get a small business boost:

  • Google My Business (GMB) – Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.
    “Every brand has a story and every story has a brand.” –Star Johnson
  • Industry-Specific Review Platforms – For those business that are industry-specific like restaurants and hotels, industry-specific review platforms such as TripAdvisor for hotels can be a great place to optimize your online presence.
  • Social Media – We have spoken on social media in our previous blogs but having a social media presence is necessary currently due to a large population utilizing social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are among the top platforms that your business should use.

Your SEO Strategy

Every small business would benefit by having an SEO strategy in place. Making a list of the most important keywords to go after should be top priority. Also, being cautious on how you utilize keywords throughout your website is key in not getting penalized for keyword stuffing. You can also learn from your competitors. Completing a competition analysis on your top competitors will give you a leg up on where you stand in the running.

Manage Your Business Online Reputation

Online reputation management is a process of managing search results and reviews of a business which shows up in search results. If you want to make your business website get leads and business, you should improve your business online reputation. Contact ReviewInc for a detailed report on your business and how to get a small business boost and the leg up on your competition. ReviewInc will show you how to improve on your SEO so that your online business reputation is at its best. ReviewInc – Where Reviews Mean Business.