How Small Businesses Can Improve Their Google Search Rankings
All small businesses, no matter who their potential customers are, should be working on improving their ranking in Google Search. Improving your presence on search engines can lead to more awareness, traffic, and sales – three things that small businesses rely on. If you’re looking to improve your search ranking, here are a few places that small businesses can start to make improvements.
Note: Here’s another article we wrote if you’re more specifically interested in getting your blog content to rank higher in Google.
1. Make sure you add tags to images
If you have images on your website, you need to make sure you add the proper tags to every photo. These “alt-tags” tell Google exactly what your pictures are – for example, if you have a picture of a glass of wine, your alt-tag for that photo could simply read “glass of wine”. This helps you improve your ranking in search, by giving more context to Google, and ultimately, the searcher.
2. Pay for good hosting
One of the most overlooked factors for ranking is site speed. If your website does not load quickly, visitors will leave quickly. This tells Google that your page is not relevant to searcher’s queries, and your ranking will suffer. Call your hosting provider and be sure that you’re paying for good hosting, not the basic package.
3. Solicit reviews
Too many business owners are afraid to ask for reviews online, but they shouldn’t be. It plays a huge factor in search ranking and can lead potential customers to, or away from your business. Make a list of your best customers, people who’ve worked with you regularly and trust your brand, and send them the link to review you on Google. If you have a five-star rating on the search engine, more people will click on your link, telling Google that you’re significant and provide value to their users.
4. Adjust your page titles
At Cave, we use Google Webmaster tools to see what people are searching for when they find our website. For example, many people found our real estate advertising page by typing “real estate marketing” into Google. When we saw that this was the case, we quickly changed the name of our page to match what people are searching for. This can quickly make you rank higher, and we recommend any business pay serious attention to their site visitor’s queries on Google. They can take you from the bottom of the page to the top in a hurry.