In the modern day, small businesses have to compete in both the real and virtual worlds, which makes it more challenging than ever before to beat competitors in sales. Refining techniques to keep internet traffic high and bounce rate low, as well as converting new customers into long-term, loyal ones isn’t impossible but can take some work. If this is something you’re considering, or are working on, here are some tips to help you on your way.
What do you provide customers?
When you look at this question, what you’re looking at is:
- When and where do customers choose to use your product? Is it when they have some free time or throughout the day?
- On what device? Are your users mainly tablet or cell phone users?
- Why do they decide to use your service? Is it to have a good time or because they’re bored?
As you begin to get to know your customer’s habits, you’ll have a better understanding of the language they’ll use when finding your business. This will go some way towards your content creation, like when it comes to blog posts, and keywords to generate traffic to your website.
Beat your Competitors to be the Best you can Be
Competitors online may not necessarily be restricted to your local area. They could be anywhere. This means your business needs to set itself apart from others in your industry.
A prime method used in the digital era is comparison services online. In particular, consider how other sectors such as the online gambling industry use comparison directories to effectively rank competitors within this market. As most people are aware, there are thousands of online casinos, with the best online slot sites seemingly well-reputed as a result of numerous factors. For example, big brands offer lots of payment methods, competitive promotions and bonuses, consistent high reviews from players, and a unique selling point (USP) on top of all that. It’s perhaps no surprise that these offerings tend to rank highly on comparison sites: they’ve got the whole package.
This is often a product of listening to customers and constantly trying to ‘one up’ other brands. What can you take from this? Awareness of what other businesses in your sector are doing. Once your business has its USP, you’ll want to do all you can to maintain your market lead.
Fix any SEO issues, fast
Common search engine optimization (SEO) issues include broken links, duplicate content, poor speed, and incorrect canonical tags (small HTML code that tells a search engine that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page). You’ll only know if anything’s wrong with your website if you’ve tried using it, or have done a technical SEO audit. However, this should be done before you embark on any major campaigns because if your site isn’t working properly, you’ll lose business.
Optimize your Pages
This is so important. What it requires you to do is have every page on your website properly structured, with high-quality content writing, whether it’s a short form or long form. The text should be free from keyword stuffing, instead, use only those high-ranking keywords that your customers will use the most.
Making use of titles, subtitles, bullet points, and visual aids will also help with your ranking. If a competitor has used the same keyword, and they’ve happened to rank higher than you, look at why and do better than them. For instance, if we go back to online casinos, and the keyword is “real money online casino”. You’ve written a long-form piece of 1,500 words and a competitor has a piece with 2,000 words with more pictures than what’s in your article. To improve on your piece, ensure you’ve added more text, perhaps 1,000 words more, use subtitles, and include pictures and video footage, as well.
These are just a few steps you can take to boost your business rankings. But just because you’ve taken these steps doesn’t mean it ends there. Just as the internet doesn’t sleep, neither will your website. Just like a bricks-and-mortar store that requires cleaning and replenishing of stock, your website will also require some form of housekeeping. The more you keep on top of it, the better it will rank.