The harsh reality is that if your business doesn’t rank on the first page of Google, your clients aren’t going to find you. After working with companies across the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire, we’ve compiled a list of steps your company should take in order to improve you ranking on Google and get more web traffic to your business.

1. Claim your business on Google

If you play Google games, you win Google prizes. The second your company gets a physical location; you want to claim your business on Google. The process is relatively simple, Google will mail a security code to your address and you’ll be able to complete the registration process online. When potential clients search for your company, your business will popup in local traffic. If you claim your business, you’ll be able to control which images popup and what services Google says your company offers.

While Google may be the most heavily trafficked company, you’ll want to register with other companies to make sure your business indexes across the Seacoast. For instance, claiming your company on Yelp, Bing and Tripadvisor (depending on your industry) can also improve local search engine results.

2. Run Google Ads

Alright, this one may go without saying—but it’s hard to beat the cost-efficiency of pay-per-click ads. At only around $2 per click, Google ads are an effective way to drive traffic to your site with individuals who are already searching for services like the ones you offer. And perhaps the best part on pay-per-click ads are that you only get charged if someone actually clicks the link. That means that your website and company name still get noticed for free when people don’t click on the ad. In this brief moment in history, our own ad is the top local search result across Portsmouth, NH when people search “video marketing”—our signature service (see below). You just can’t beat that form of advertising.

3. Make more landing pages

Last week, we wrote an article about creating effective landing pages. Sure, they’re not the most appealing way to get clients quickly. In fact, it may take months to gain clients from creating landing pages, as it takes time for Google to index that content and for it to appear in searches. But why not take the time to invest in landing pages now and reap the rewards in a few months. Sure, you don’t need 40+ landing pages like us (we have to compete with all the other marketing agencies in Southern New Hampshire), but having a landing page for each of the services/products you offer isn’t a bad idea.

4. Blog until you drop

Every company should have some form of in-bound marketing approach. The easiest to adopt is a well-maintained blog. Blogs work for a variety of reasons. First, they allow you to create localized SEO content that paints you as members of the Seacoast community. Second (and perhaps more importantly) they allow you to make meaningful connections with your target audience. A well-maintained blog should build a bridge between your company and a prospective client. Offer them some free knowledge, give them something for free—it doesn’t have to be much! Just don’t bore them.

5. Have a strong social presence

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen companies’ social media accounts index higher than their own websites. If you have an engaging Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or YouTube presence, it can often rank relatively high on Google. We’ve made guides in the past to creating a social media presence, but the main takeaway is that you want to create those accounts and keep them active. You don’t have to post every day, but your company shouldn’t start out strong and then teeter away after a month. Posting a couple times a month for years is more effective than posting seven days a week for a few months. Also making appealing content—like our post below—isn’t a bad idea.

Get a Custom Quote on Video Marketing Services!

6. Don’t skimp on the website

So you’re adopting quality landing pages and a frequent blog? You’ll want a quality website to go with that. A website that is in-depth (i.e. goes over all your services, has SEO optimized language, and auto generates a sitemap daily) is a great way to perform better in search engine results across the Seacoast Region. In the past, we’ve discussed the importance of hiring a copywriter during the web design process. We recommend getting one when designing (or redesigning) your website, as it will allow you to both have engaging and SEO optimized content. That’s essential these days. You can usually find a decent copywriter on Fiverr—as long as they have a high rating and have lots of reviews. Or you could give us a call. Sorry for the shameless plug, but we love producing quality SEO content.

7. Get your company featured in local news

If people try to Google your company and a positive news story appears, that can only be a good thing. Reach out to news outlets across the Seacoast Region, like Seacoastonline.com and the Union Leader. You may have to strike up a friendship with a reporter overtime, but it’s always a good idea to forward a press release or other PR materials to local reporters before your company hosts an event or charitable service. Because news outlets are so heavily trafficked, this content ends up ranking very well in Google searches. And as long as it’s a positive story, that content will be perfect for your company’s reputation.

8. Get an SEO audit

We’ll do it for you for free. But you can also go to sites like Fiverr and smaller marketing agencies across the Seacoast to do it for cheap. A quality SEO audit will go through your site and see areas where SEO can be improved. For instance, your pages may not have meta descriptions—a simple fix that can drastically improve your search engine ranking. Or maybe your images are missing alt descriptions. An SEO audit is a quick way to see what your company is doing wrong (or right) when it comes to ranking higher on Google.

Ranking on Google is an ever-evolving science. Google’s algorithm seemingly changes every month, leaving companies bewildered as to how they can increase their own rankings. But if you adopt some of the strategies listed in this guide, it’s possible for your company to gradually improve its ranking throughout the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire and beyond.

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Need help with digital marketing services in the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire? Get in touch with us.

Mintleaf is a creative marketing agency located at 159 Middle Street, Suite 2B, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It serves the greater Seacoast Region and specializes in videography, content marketing, social media and web design. Additionally, we also offer digital marketing and SEO services.