One frequent question is, “How do I increase my online authority as a local business?”
Online authority may seem difficult to establish, but we have one word; CONSISTENCY.
We know you have concerns about your online authority and visibility. You work hard and deserve to know how to build the most authority possible. Let’s get to it…
How Do I Increase My Online Authority As a Local Business?
These are the top 3 ways. But, really… it’s only two!
- Google My Profile
- Quality Blogging
- Consistency With 1 & 2
Google My Profile
You must maintain your Google My Business profile if you’ve already completed it.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Make sure your profile has the proper information.
- Make sure that your profile is consistent with other information across platforms.
- Check that your profile is always up-to-date.
- Add photos & images.
- Add reviews.
I want to focus on the last two bullet points for a minute.
Photos & Images
Adding photos is great, but quality photos will be best. It’s not difficult to take quality photos these days. Most (if not all) smartphones can capture great shots using several different effects and filters.
However, I will say that you don’t want to represent anything false; remember, you’re marketing to your ideal customers, and you want to be authentic. Taking the most organic and quality photos that represent your identity will help you establish more of a brand presence and will be intriguing and attractive.
Real estate photography is a great example of a false identity or advertising with photos. I’ve walked through many a home that looked completely different in the online images than in person, and I always feel like my time was wasted when I visited. Not a great way to make friends!
If you’re still not ranking well on Google, follow that link for tips.
Reviews
Collect those reviews! Nothing sells better than a testimonial from a happy customer. Remember, you’re not going to make everyone happy, and some people are just plain miserable. That’s okay. Plenty of people are willing to give you a positive shout-out when you’ve nailed it.
If you’re brave enough to ask for reviews, we say go for it! The easiest way to collect great reviews is to ask a customer once they’ve given you a compliment. Ask them which platform they use for reviewing businesses. how to identify a Yelper Follow this link for tips on how to identify a Yelper versus a customer that uses another platform.
If they’re only on Yelp and not on Google, that’s okay. Your backlinks will help you here.
Google’s job is to find the most authoritative match for the searcher. If it’s for local businesses, then it will be the best match in the local area. So, the business owner’s job is to BE the most authoritative match possible.
Quality Blogging
Quality and consistency in blogging will help you a ton. People need to be informed, and you’re the person to inform them of the products and services you offer. You’re the expert! Use blogs to write quality content that informs your customers. Answer their questions and address their concerns. This is a fantastic opportunity to establish trust by being more informative and helpful than your competition.
Writing and uploading good blogs regularly, using backlinks, linking to outside sources in your local area, and linking to review sites for your business will help you build the authority you need.
Are you familiar with the StoryBrand Framework for marketing?
Consistency With 1 & 2
That’s it. That’s the stuff. Not much more to say other than consistency will pay off. We’ve seen it happen repeatedly, and it’s the exact strategy we use to build and maintain online authority for our business and all of our clients.
Want to know how your website is stacking up? What would you spend your time on if you could focus on things other than SEO and ranking?
Schedule a call with us today, and we’ll do an audit to help you find out what you need to do in order to rank higher so that you can focus on the fun things you want to do.
