Why Brick & Mortars Need to Prioritize SEO

A shop’s physical location can be crucial to its success. Business owners invest a lot of time and energy into choosing prime real estate for their business, but what about digital property? As the world integrates online more and more every year, a website designed for local SEO should play a key role in any modern marketing plan focused on generating more traffic online – and offline. Read on to learn what you can do to improve your business website’s SEO in order to bring in more traffic to your brick and mortar location.

What’s SEO?
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, the methodology of strategies and techniques used to increase the number of visitors a website receives. Good SEO secures a high-ranking position on the results page of a search engine (Google, Bing, Yahoo!). Experienced SEO strategists aim to secure prime digital location for a website, effectively boosting the website above its competition. Many search engine users do not click through multiple pages of search results, relying on the first page of results to satisfy their inquiry. Higher rankings in search results make a website more accessible to the online community, improving chances for visitors to find and click through to a website they find in top results from a search engine.

Mobile Domination
Smartphone use continues to rise, and an increasing number of users visit search engines through their mobile phone’s browser to find just about anything and everything. In 2015, Google reported more searches on mobile devices than on desktops or tablets (combined) in the United States, Japan, and eight other countries, which indicates rapid growth of mobile search.

Now, Google and other popular search engines often utilize the user’s current location to prioritize search results in their area. Naturally, websites that are optimized to indicate the location of related brick and mortar storefronts rank higher when a user is searching for relevant stores and products near their search location.

SEO experts highly recommend that all websites adopt mobile responsive themes, which allows customers to properly view a website from smaller device such as a tablet or smartphone. Responsive website design ensures a website is constructed to position the structure of all content and images in a way that is as functional whether the user visits a website via a mobile device, a tablet, or desktop PC. For example, the images, categories, and product positions on the VapeRanger website change as a browser window contracts or expands.

Responsive website design can influence higher conversion rates and increased customer satisfaction. Because of the smaller screen size of a mobile phone, non-responsive websites will show up in a way that is not functional or user-friendly, which discourages website traffic and conversion. Since Google encourages efficiency and optimal user experience, Google prioritizes ranking mobile responsive websites. A responsive website design also ensures a more streamlined experience if a user shares a website from one device to another device or user.

Choose Keywords Wisely
The purpose of search engine optimization is primarily about ensuring search engines understand what a website has to offer a potential visitor, so it’s vital to choose the right keywords to target for their business. Selecting the right keyword list allows search engines to help prospective customers easily find the best website to suit their needs, whether that includes answering a question or purchasing a product.

When creating a keyword list, a business should put itself in the mind of their customer. Keywords should match the search terms that potential customers would use to find the products or services a company offers. Think about the main categories the business operates in, and the corresponding terms or phrases associated with that category of products or services. A thorough keyword list may include a mix of broad keywords, specific keywords, various brand names, types of products, and slang or commonly used nicknames for products. For example, “custom eliquid”, “vape juice”, or “best starter kit”.

Businesses should target short-form keywords with one to three words, as well as long-form keyword phrases such as “tanks and mods shop in Upper East Side Manhattan”. Longer or more specific keywords may not target a higher quantity of visitors to a website, but it can ensure more qualified leads and increase the likelihood of conversion. After all, businesses don’t just want more traffic, they want the right customers to enter their physical or digital space. Keywords should be incorporated into text, image tags, and infographics. Ultimately, the best keywords for a specific business are words and phrases that (1) are highly relevant to the business’s products and services, (2) are popular search terms that potential customers would use, (3) don’t have overwhelming competition from other websites in the same industry or niche, (4) include search terms of products and services that people are purchasing instead of just browsing.

Video Reigns
As Google and other search engines continue to update their search algorithms, websites with the highest quality content continue to rank more highly. Websites with more valuable content naturally attract more visitors and engage them, prompting users to share a website’s links to a their user networks (including email and social media). One of the best types of content is video, though it tends to be underutilized by brick and mortar shops. Websites that incorporate video content into their online marketing and social media strategies can benefit by standing out in a sea of competitors. When used correctly, powerful video content can increase a website’s search ranking and visibility. In fact, SEO experts have reported that video can make a website 53 times more likely to appear on the first page of Google search results (when compared to websites without video content).

Video content should be optimized to target relevant keywords. The keyword list we spoke of earlier is great place for a business to begin creating valuable video content for potential customers. For example, a vape shop might create a video about the “best starter kits” and include reviews of various products and brand names. Relevant keywords should be included on each video in the title, description, and meta-tags.

Capitalize on Local Search
When a brick and mortar shop aims to use its website to generate more foot traffic to its physical location, several factors are essential to optimizing the website for local search. A website should include relevant keywords when creating text content, URLs, titles, headings and subheadings, ad copy, image tags, and meta-descriptions. Websites should also list the physical address and phone number of the brick and mortar shop. An important tool to leverage is Google Places (google.com/business), which helps websites rank for keywords in their brick and mortar’s location.

To increase a website’s authority and create more social trust in the eyes of potential customers, importance should be placed on securing external links to a website. To begin accomplishing this, local retailers can register their website on Yellow Pages, Yelp, and other online directories. Any profiles created on these directories should be verified and ensured for accuracy. It is also vital to list identical names and addresses across all online directory profiles, optimizing searchability. Authentic online reviews on directories such as Yelp also help to boost SEO and increase social trust. Brick and mortars can encourage customers to leave honest feedback online, leveraging user feedback to influence potential customers.

In our digital society, SEO can boost a company’s success both online and offline. Prioritizing all of the strategies listed above can greatly optimize a website and increase traffic to retail shops.

Kyle Freedman is President at Optimize.Solutions and SEO Consultant for VapeRanger.com. For the past seven years, he has combined his knowledge of product development with his passion for the tech industry by focusing on search engine optimization and digital marketing techniques to secure top Google rankings for his clients. Mr. Freedman can be reached at (516) 784-8993, via email at Kyle@Optimize.Solutions, or online at www.optimize.solutions.