SEO (search engine optimization) is a low-cost and effective marketing strategy that you can use in order to increase organic traffic. SEO can help you increase your site’s visibility on search engines.
You will not be visible to your target audience if you don’t use SEO to help grow your online restaurant or bakery. This could significantly reduce your sales opportunities and online authority.
Don’t worry, though. You still have time to learn SEO and make the most of it. You don’t have to be an expert in SEO. These three tips will help you get started.
Place Emphasis On Local SEO
Local SEO refers to optimizing your website, content, and landing pages for a higher ranking in local searches.
Let’s suppose someone is looking for a service/product in a specific area. (e.g. “Japanese restaurant California”). Google and other search engines can customize results based on the user’s choice of location.
The searcher in the above image is not located in California, as you can see. Even though the search keyword includes the word “California”, the search engine results pages are customized to the location of the searcher.
How To Implement A Local SEO Strategy For Your Business:
Here’s how local SEO can help you if you own a bakery or restaurant in your area.
When deciding the keyword that you want to rank for, think about your main product/service. Common adjectives can help you rank higher in search engines. Instead of using the word “bakery” as your keyword, you could add modifier words such as “best”, “cheap,” or “affordable” to make it more appealing.
Find out which keywords your competitors use: If they rank for these keywords it is a sign that they are doing something right. Find out what your competitors are using to rank higher, and then apply that information to your own business. This can be done with software tools such as SpyFu or Semrush’s Competitive Research Tool.
You can list all geo-targeting keywords that you have the ability to use. Geo-targeting keywords are specific to a particular location. List all keywords that you can think of if your bakery is located in New York City. These are just a few examples:
- “Best bakery in New York City”
- “Affordable bakery in New York City.”
- “Best Affordable Bakery in Queens, New York City”
Register your business in local directories and Google Business Profile. These directories allow search engines to find you, your location, what you do, and how people can contact you. Register for Google Business Profile and local business directories (previously known as Google My Business) to get all the information you need. Also, make sure to use your keyword(s) in the description.
Create content. Include keywords in your blog posts and pages.
Make Your Website Mobile-friendly
Hitwise estimates that 60% of all online searches take place on mobile devices. Your website will be more visible to a wider audience if it is not only well designed but also responsive to multiple devices.
Mobile Optimization: How to Optimize Your Website
You can improve your website speed by using plugins. You can also compress images and choose a reliable web hosting provider. Ubersuggest offers a free SEO Analyzer tool to help you determine the speed of your website.
Pick responsive themes only: Only select mobile-compatible templates
Sidebars and navigation menus are important for making your website easy to navigate. Texts should also match your brand, and make sure they are readable and professional-looking.
Avoid pop-ups. Although pop-up forms can be useful for lead generation, they are not compatible with mobile devices and can cause a disruption to the user experience.
Viewport meta tag: This will allow you to adjust your website based on the device used by the user. Users won’t have to scroll side-to-side to view text or images.
Start A Blog
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by creating a blog, and all the questions about what to do and not do. Here are some tips:
You should create content that is relevant to your audience. If you offer Japanese food, for example, you could create content about Japanese cuisine, the dos and don’ts of eating in a Japanese restaurant, and how to properly eat ramen.
You need to have a clear understanding of what you want to write. Before you start writing, it is important that you search for blog ideas. When choosing topics for your blog, think about the larger picture. You will not get distracted if you have a plan.
Do not sound robotic. Write naturally, as if you are talking to your readers. Avoid complex words and jargon.
Include statistics and data wherever you can: This will show that your research has been thorough and provide evidence to support your claims.
Blogs: The Benefits
Blogging is an excellent way to reach your target audience and drive traffic back to your website. Blogs are more than just selling products and services. You’re building relationships with your audience.
Blogs can convert visitors to leads which can then be converted into customers. This is a cost-effective and long-term content strategy.
SEO: How To Optimize Your Blog
Now it is time to optimize your posts for search engine optimization. These steps should be followed:
HubSpot suggested this method to organize your content. This is the act of creating multiple posts on a broad topic and linking them to the main page. This will improve link building and make your content search engine-friendly.
Look for long-tail keywords. Long-tail keywords are generally 3-4 words in length and less competitive than shorter ones. Instead of targeting Japanese food, you could instead target “how to eat Japanese Natto.”
Your keywords should be used strategically. Once you have chosen the right keyword(s), you must include them in your blog. They should be used at least once in your headers, and several times in the main text. To avoid keyword stuffing, you should use the relevant terms.
Visual content is important: Videos, images, and infographics can make your content more interesting and help you to explain complex concepts visually.
Optimize your URL, title, and alt texts. You should include keywords in all three. Make sure your title is clear and add alt text to the most important images on your website.
Make changes to existing content after a few months, or even a year. Go back to your content to see what information should be changed. Google will rank content that is already in existence higher than new content.
Conclusion
You should take advantage of the fact that more businesses are now going online. Although it may take some time to see results from your SEO efforts, it is worth it. These tips will help you see improvements in your rankings and leads.
This post was written by Kristian D’An. Kristian is the owner and SEO Specialist at Lux Digital Marketing, a St Pete SEO company. Kristian has been optimizing websites successfully for over 7 years. He has helped his clients achieve the #1 position on Google in several different industries.