What Types of Dallas Businesses Need SEO The Most?
Almost any organization will benefit from search engine optimization, but is it truly essential for your category of business?
Consumers depend (almost exclusively) on search engines to connect them with the services they need each day. Telling a company manager that they could benefit from search engine optimization (SEO) is tantamount to saying “Oh my gosh! You should totally make money!” That being said, not every company shares the same level of dependence on SEO.
If you’ve recently kicked off a business, or if you are looking to take an existing enterprise further, you already know that you will have to engage people online. What you may not realize is the amount of time, expense, and customization varies wildly between different types of enterprises. Depending on your industry category, you may require practically zero effort or you may need extensive work.
So do you know whether your DFW business needs to heavily invest in SEO?
That’s the question we’re going to focus on today. We’ll tackle three big categories that rely extensively on search engine optimization (excluding online-only businesses). After spending 7 minutes or so reading through, you should know whether or not your company needs a greater investment into SEO, and how you can best direct your efforts.
Category #1 (of 3): Food Services
Take your phone and do a quick Google search: “Mexican restaurants near me.” You should see a map, plus a short list of search results with local restaurants. Click on the first restaurant that pops up and examine the information that’s provided. Finally, click on the “website” button and take a few seconds and describe what you see.
If you’re feeling hungry by now, that company’s SEO strategy is working as designed. The food services industry is one of the most competitive arenas for online search, and one of the most sophisticated.
If you’re managing a new restaurant or bar, you probably won’t survive without a working SEO strategy.
The good news: your strategy gets to be relatively simple (when compared with other industries). As you develop your business’ online presence, you’ll need to focus your efforts on these areas:
- Online Listings (Google My Business, Yelp, TripAdvisor)
- Website Visuals
- Simplistic Website Layout
Online listings ultimately determine whether or not a hungry potential customer ever sees you. If you haven’t filled out all the information necessary to complete your Google Business listing, do so immediately! Other third party rating organizations (such as Yelp and TripAdvisor) help you get noticed as well, but their purpose is primarily to establish your business’ credibility.
If you are in the food industry, the first thing searchers should see on your website is stunning food (or drink) visuals. Photos are a crucial element of SEO. A picture of a sizzling, cheesy pizza is 1000x more convincing than your company’s origin story.
Finally, a simplistic layout is the last, but equally critical element of your website SEO. It’s easy to forget that the optimization is more than just getting eyeballs on your business; it’s also about making it easy for people to connect with you. That’s why you should keep your website navigation concise, while putting your address/contact info front and center.
[For other tips on getting noticed in the food industry, check out this article.]
Focus your food service on hitting these key elements, and your SEO strategy will be well on its way towards sweet success!
Category #2 (of 3): Maintenance & Repair Services
One of the benefits of working in the maintenance/repair industry is that there is an abundance of high quality leads. Most people who visit a plumber’s website, for instance, are looking to find solutions immediately or within the next couple of days.
That being said, maintenance services also face quite a bit of competition online. There are several, if not dozens of identical services in the DFW metroplex. How well you make yourself visible (on the front page of results) will make or break online business growth.
So how do you make your plumbing, HVAC, roofing business, etc. stand out?
- Business Listings (Google My Business)
- Ratings and Reviews (Yelp, BBB, WordPress tools)
- User-Friendly Interfacing
Completing your Google My Business listing is obvious, but you can take advantage of the platform for other helpful benefits. For instance, you can create simple promotions and informational posts that appear on local Google Maps results. This is good news for people who aren’t particularly savvy with building ad campaigns in Adwords!
One of the pitfalls of maintenance services is disproportionate review ratings. Ratings and reviews are the lifeblood of local businesses, which makes it particularly dangerous when only your few unsatisfied customers remember to leave them! Want to make your website skyrocket in traffic? Install a reviews tool into your WordPress site, and/or embed your Yelp & BBB reviews into your homepage. This enables your business to create a sense of trust and credibility. Of course, you will have to ask your clients to actually leave a review!
What does a “user-friendly interface” consist of? First of all, your contact information needs to be immediately available at the top of every page. The navigation menu should only consist of a handful of your top service categories, your reviews, maybe a company blog. Drop down menus that cover the entirety of your users small smartphone screen are a big no-no.
Ranking on Google’s search results affects your perceived credibility.
Assuming good ratings, potential clients will deem higher ranking businesses as more trustworthy and dependable. Building a successful website in the maintenance industry takes time, research, and money, which is why many small to mid-sized businesses turn to local SEO services to do it for them. You can’t just toss up a picture of a thumbs-up plumber and expect results.
Category #3 (of 3): Local Shops and Niche Stores
Whether you run a comic book store or an independent clothing shoppe, getting your name among the big brands is a challenge for survival. This is especially true for those stores that live well off the major highways. Simply put, most of your potential customers won’t even know your store exists without a Google search telling them so (another reason to complete your business listing).
These are the SEO elements that you’ll need to capitalize on to succeed.
- Location (or Niche)-related Keywords
- Promotions and/or Events
- Ratings and Reviews
Unless you have the multi-million dollar budget to shop the most-expensive keywords available (2018’s top keyword came in at $54.91 per click), you’ll need to localize. Like any major city, Dallas hosts a wide variety of top brands in every major shopping category. That’s why small businesses need to develop a localized keyword strategy to get results that bypass many of the major players. If you have a niche shop (selling premium bikes, for instance), you’ll have an even easier time finding lightly contested keywords.
Regularly tying your seasonal promotions back into your website can have huge benefits for your store’s Google search results! Building a simple landing page that captures visitor information is a great way to expand your customer base. Promotions don’t always have to be limited to sales. As neighborhood comic book stores and video game shops teach us every year, Dallas/Fort Worth locals love quirky events just as much as a hefty discount (sometimes, even more). Hosting local events is a great way to boost ratings. Speaking of…
Yes, Google loves ratings and reviews! That’s why top results from local searches will almost always feature that familiar 5-star rating system. You don’t have to stop every customer in your store and ask for reviews. You should think about it though!
Parting Thoughts
There are other business categories that heavily rely on SEO. Practically any local company within a popular consumer product industry will have to develop a robust optimization strategy to expand business. As always, a great place to start is in the top Google search results of your field, examining competitors.
Search engine algorithms are continually evolving, meaning there are more and more chances for your business to get noticed. Don’t be afraid to get creative, or to reach out to a SEO specialist for help.
And, of course, good luck!
