5 Things Small Businesses Need to Know About California SEO

Are you finding that your Californian store isn’t doing as well as you’d hoped? Everyone’s walking by, but nobody’s walking inside. Sound familiar?

More than 21.5% of small businesses fail in the first year, and a large part of that has to do with access to target markets. Business is changing, and it’s the responsibility of the business owner to figure out how. In most instances, the change comes in a shift toward digital.

If you want to succeed in the digital world, you need to know how to market yourself. We’re talking about California SEO today, giving you some insight into what it is, how it works, and why it matters.

Let’s get started.

1. SEO Provides Visibility

Almost all search traffic runs through Google. While Google might seem like a mysteriously brilliant web tool, it’s easier to understand than you might think.

Google doesn’t release the particulars of its search algorithm to the public, but that doesn’t mean that the public doesn’t understand it. Digital marketing professionals have narrowed down the key things that the search algorithm looks for.

When you “optimize” your site to meet the needs of the search algorithm, you get better rankings for particular keywords. Once you’re there, you get a top spot in the search rankings. This equates to limitless, free advertising.

Plus, a spot at the top of the stack expresses authority.

2. You Can Start Optimizing Now

There are some difficult aspects of optimization. Fortunately, there are tens of thousands of professionals out there who can help you with those aspects. These SEO companies are good options.

On the other hand, there are hundreds of things you can do on your own. Tuning up your website and Google MyBusiness page could improve your rankings almost immediately. That’s sure to drive sales as well.

So, the next time you get a minute, go through and update your website. Read a short, simple SEO guide while you’re having your coffee and implement one or two things when you sit down at the computer.

One of the best things you can do on your own is to ensure that all of your information is updated on all platforms. Make sure there aren’t any conflicting pieces of information that could be bottlenecking users.

3. SEO Can Drive Sales

Optimization can help you sell products whether you’re an online or in-store business.

One of the beautiful things about optimizing your site online is that you can tailor your efforts to achieve almost any end. You might want to sell products, get newsletter subscribers, get brand visibility, or drive people to your brick-and-mortar store.

All of these are possible with the right keyword research, copywriting, linking, and implementation. You’ll likely need the help of an SEO professional for those first steps, but you might be able to take it upon yourself once you know the ropes.

4. SEO is Very Measurable

If you’re looking to do some SEO in California, you might be worried that tit’s just another fad. You could wonder how in the world you’ll ever know if it’s working.

The beautiful thing is that SEO is one of the most measurable marketing efforts of all time. Previously, traditional marketing tactics were only measurable based on how much your profit margins changed while ads were running. Now, you can see how many people viewed, clicked, engaged with, and followed through on your posts, links, rankings, and ads.

You can use these metrics to adjust your strategy. For example, Take an ad that’s viewed by thousands and clicked by only a few dozen people. You can compare that ad to one that was successful, find the missing variable, then tweak the ad.

You can do this kind of A/B testing with almost every aspect of your website. This is only possible because you can measure your metrics for success with extreme accuracy. Furthermore, you can do this across platforms.

Data is measurable on social media sites, search engines, and everything in between.

5. SEO Can Reach Local Customers

Finally, it’s crucial to note that SEO isn’t just a shot in the dark. You’re not necessarily boosting your search rankings on the off chance that someone in your area makes a relevant search.

Instead, you’re finding the keywords that people in your area are searching for. Once you find an optimal keyword, you can optimize for it with a regional focus. This is called “local SEO.”

Local SEO also involves a handful of additional tricks that improve your local standing. Things like incentivizing business reviews, updating Google Maps and MyBusiness information, and more can all help your local standing.

These are the methods that bring real-life human beings into your door. When someone searches for a product or service these days, the odds are that they’re making a “near me” Google search.

When that happens, they’re confronted with the top rankings, the image-laden “snack pack,” and a decision to make. That decision is which link they want to click.

In most cases, people click the first or second link. That’s where you want to be.

California Marketing Doesn’t Need to Be Hard

You can run local SEO and organic SEO campaigns starting right now. It’s not too difficult to get the ball rolling, and doing so will start to improve your standing immediately.

It’s best to work with the professionals, though. These are individuals who can polish your website, manage it to keep it up-to-date with SEO best practices, and more. Further, you can ask that they keep you updated with all of the data and changes in the numbers.

That way, you can clearly see whether you’re getting a return on investment. If you don’t like the SEO company you choose first, you can always move forward with someone else.

Want to Learn More About California SEO?

Hopefully, our look at California SEO was useful to you. There’s a lot more to learn, though. We’re here to help.

Explore our site for more ideas on optimizing your website for success, digital marketing in general, and much more.