Welcome back to Uncle Ron's Porch, where we delve into practical advice on leveraging search
engine optimization (SEO), social media platforms, and technology to elevate your local or niche
business and speak to your target audience. This week, Uncle Ron covered key topics in content marketing in the current digital landscape including:
● What Google considers valuable content
● How small businesses can have a competitive edge in the land of giants
● Value of long-tail phrases/ long-tail keywords
● Sourcing these phrases as a small business owner
● Importance of a Google My Business listing to boost your online presence
Let's walk through these digital marketing strategies one-by-one.
Google aims to provide its users with the most accurate and trustworthy information. Uncle Ron emphasized that you need to create relevant content that is mildly entertaining while being direct and informative. Google favors content that makes users feel confident they've found the correct answer, thus encouraging frequent returns to the search engine and higher conversion rates for you. Additionally, tailoring content for your target audience to be hyper-local or niche-specific can give your business a competitive edge. For example, an article on a roofing company offering no-cost inspections after a hailstorm is a far more powerful tool than just a general article about hailstorms.
Despite the vast resources and marketing budgets at the disposal of larger corporations, Uncle Ron assures listeners that small businesses have a competitive edge through local insights within specific geographical boundaries. Long-tail phrases should be highly specific so that your small business can attract adequate search volumes and conversion rates. Uncle Ron, who runs an insurance agency in Dallas/Fort Worth, points out the futility of competing on generic keywords dominated by big players. Instead, he offers the valuable insight
that targeting specific, localized queries offers a valuable strategy to grow your customer base.
Long-tail phrases are highly specific keyword combinations that potential customers use when looking for precise solutions. In this episode, Uncle Ron details how incorporating these phrases into your content can draw targeted traffic. For instance, rather than targeting a wider audience with a generic phrase like "how do I find a pediatrician?", local small businesses should target a more specific phrase like, "how do I find the best pediatrician for my young kids in Colleyville,Texas?" to attract a more relevant audience of nearby customers.
Long-tail keywords are most often open-ended questions that your ideal customer avatar is trying to answer. Answering these questions can also boost your search engine rankings. In addition, conveying a sense of active empathy with the use of relevant keywords helps you to connect with your audience at a deeper level. This enhanced user experience will keep people returning to your content and looking to you as a trusted resource. As a business owner, it is imperative that you compile a running list of frequently asked questions from customer feedback. This should be a key strategy in all of your marketing efforts, but especially to maximize your search engine optimization. Additionally, storytelling is a powerful tool to help connect your audience with your content.
Through use of this approach, you will more effectively sell your specific products and services through digital channels.
As a small business owner, it is essential that your Google Business profile is up to date and accurately reflects your business. You want your potential customers to understand what your business offers when they look through your profile. Additionally, you want your Google Business profile to be complete, listing your hours of operation, contact information and acting as the door way or front porch to your business. Also, your digital marketing efforts will go a lot further with an accurate Google profile that you are regularly updating with valuable content.
Here are the links that will get you to the individual podcast episodes that we summarized in this
post. Our daily 6-8 minute episodes will keep you on track to meet your business goals.
At Sprocket Expert Optimizations, we offer a variety of digital marketing services to help local small businesses grow their digital presence. We are a locally owned and operated digital marketing agency who specializes in helping our fellow locally owned businesses to increase their search engine rankings through the production of high-quality content and location-specific keywords.
If you are struggling to grow your small business, click the button below to have a conversation with Uncle Ron.