Search engine optimization can be a drain on your capital, especially with the cost of specialized SEO these days. However, when you get down to it, some facets of SEO aren’t all that difficult. Increasing your local SEO is simple enough so that you might not actually need an SEO firm at all! We already know that SEO can impact your business and your bottom line in massive ways. How about doing these things yourself?
Social Media
Most companies have leveraged social media as a means of spreading the good word about their products and services. When you come down to it, social media is one of the easier methods of getting visibility out to your target audience. It doesn’t take a genius to manage social media and most people do it already. If you manage social media personally, why pay someone to manage it commercially? There are a few differences between personal social media and commercial social media, but thanks to the prevalence of the Internet, it just takes a little research to figure out what you should and shouldn’t do on a commercial account.
NAP Consistency
This is something you can ensure on your own as well. In local SEO rankings, any mention of your name, address, and phone number (NAP) should have all the elements consistently across the board. This makes it more likely that the people who are looking for you in your area will be able to find you. NAP consistency translates to a larger quantity of local traffic and potentially in-person conversions. All it takes is to make sure that all mentions of this block of information is consistent throughout whatever medium you decide to pursue in your marketing strategy.
Developing a Strategy
This one will require a bit more research than normal, but it’s not impossible. There are a number of different competing theories on the most effective way to develop a marketing plan and a content strategy that complements it, but it’s only when you actually look into the details that you can really tell if what you have in mind will work. Understanding SEO to a greater depth will benefit your business even more in the long run and will enable you to understand SEO on a whole different level. Instead of paying a consulting SEO firm to tell you this, you can puzzle it out yourself. All it takes is some dedicated time and effort.
Should I Get a Local SEO Firm?
The fact remains that, overall, you can get by without the aid of a local SEO firm. However, some of these things take time to learn, and in the world of business, learning might cause some serious hurt on your turnover. You should be wary of the SEO firms that you hire as well. As Dinson Kadudhus, Director of Internet Marketing at Avila Web Firm explains, “There’s no shortage of folks who claim to know internet marketing, SEO, and modern web design, but the brutal truth is that many lack the technical background and will often take advantage of unknowing business owners looking to get exposure on the web.” It comes down to how necessary it is to get your business up and running and how dependent you are on it to meet your obligations. You can consider hiring a local SEO firm in the short term while you delve into the world of SEO and teach yourself for the long term. The time investment is definitely worth it.
Image Credit: Jay Mantri