Now more than ever, it is important for businesses — small and large alike — to have a strong online presence. For months, COVID-19 rendered in-person business highly limited or, in some cases, all but impossible. Now some areas are in the beginning stages of reopening, while others are retracting reopening measures and mandating masks.
In all states, the large conferences and tradeshows that business-to-business (B2B) companies rely on for networking and sales are off the table for the foreseeable future.
How can companies across several different industries rise to meet these challenges and looming uncertainties? The simple answer is to invest in their online marketing strategies. A strong Internet presence can be a stable and reliable source of contact, engagement, and sales as the U.S. continues to navigate the ongoing challenges and aftermath of the pandemic.
SEO For Print Shops And Delivery Stores
A staggering 61% of businesses say their top inbound marketing strategy is building upon their search engine optimization (SEO) and organic search results. SEO and digital marketing is especially important for print shops and delivery stores, and there are particular ways they should go about it.
Printing services are accustomed to producing physical materials, like brochures, pamphlets, flyers, and newsletters. When making the shift to focusing on advertising efforts online, start with organic SEO. Currently, one of the best free SEO tips is to rank using natural language and search queries that answer a question.
For example, if you want to rank on a page about inket printers, you’ll want to use some long-tail keywords or commonly searched phrases in your content. Something like “Where can I find inket printers in St. Louis?” is a great question or long-tail keyword for local print shops in St. Louis looking to climb to the top of search engine result pages (SERPs). Why? While there are many printing services to choose from all over the country and it may be difficult to rank using those few words, adding a location and natural language that helps narrow it down considerably and gives businesses unique opportunities to earn top rankings.
Similarly, printers and delivery services can think outside of the box and try to rank for keywords or queries about the best font for posters, printing stamps at home, the best image resolution for brochures, etc. Brainstorm a list of questions your customer may ask and try to provide thorough, in-depth information to answer those questions. Aim to be of value to your customers while ranking on secondary, relevant keywords.
Digital Marketing And The Auto Industry
What are the best free SEO tips for the auto industry? The automobile industry is a wide-reaching business, covering everything from used four-door sedans to auto racing parts. Wherever your business is on that spectrum, the fact remains that, in order to be successful in these uncertain times, all auto companies need a strong digital marketing strategy.
As many as 95% of car buying experiences begin online. As for car parts, accessories, and purchases in general, a full 63% begin on the web.
One of the most important free SEO tips for automotive businesses, in particular, is to engage customers and keep them coming back. Buying a car, building a racing car, or purchasing car parts for DIY upgrades and repairs are all involved processes. Often, the automotive industry does not see impulse purchases or split-second decisions. That means it is important to attract potential buyers to your website and social media and to encourage them to visit more than once. What are the best ways to do it?
- Keep tabs on web activity. Create the optimal customer experience by tracking web activity and what customers most respond to. For example, one study by marketers revealed that 68% return to company websites for a second time after filling out a form or using tools to chat with company representatives online.
- Engage customers on social media. One near-guaranteed way to keep customers coming back is to offer them free stuff. Throw a contest on social media. Ask customers to share posts on social media for the chance to win. This will help you garner more exposure and keep your current prospective customers or existing customers coming back.
- Manage reviews. Across all industries, reviews tend to help or hurt your business. One of the wisest, free SEO tips for car manufacturers, dealerships, and all automotive businesses is to be mindful of reviews and reputation management. Because buying a car is such a significant investment, companies are that much more affected by a negative review. Address any customer concerns or questions as quickly as possible. Respond to negative reviews graciously and with promises to make things right (if applicable), and — remember — it doesn’t hurt to respond to positive reviews if you can make the time, either. Even short thank yous or acknowledgments show you care.
Advertise Transportation Services Online
Another industry that can greatly benefit from free SEO tips and ramping up their digital strategies is the transportation industry. The transportation industry must make concessions amid COVID-19. Even so, it is more than reasonable for individuals and small groups to see out public transportation. It would behoove transportation services to target these groups and put them at ease.
As with the auto industry, one of the best free SEO tips for transportation services — whether it is a limo service or ride-sharing company — is to manage their online reputation during this time.
By creating a strong online presence and managing it well, transportation services can send all the right messages: that they are taking due precautions and thoroughly sanitizing and deep-cleaning their vehicles.
It is wise to openly communicate with customers about COVID-19. Make masks mandatory for passengers and drivers, and encourage small groups and responsible social distancing. If possible, make hand sanitizer widely available and post about deep-cleaning practices that will take place during and after the pandemic.
Whether you are managing a limo service, ride-sharing company, or air charter services, one of the best ways to manage your online reputation is to listen. Ask for customer feedback. Gather information, and take action to demonstrate that you are listening. For example, if a customer expresses concern about access to masks or forgetting a mask online, consider having disposable masks available for passengers who may need them. Most importantly, make it known that you are taking action in response to customers’ concerns.
Moreover, make certain to strategically integrate reputation management with other digital marketing strategies and SEO. For example, produce blog content and/or video content that reasserts your professionalism and constant engagement with customer feedback. Videos should be concise, professional, and relatively serious to inspire trust in your customers. Blog posts with a few, well-chosen keywords can address COVID-19 and any other customer concerns at length.
Personalizing The Legal Experience On The Web
What do free SEO tips have in common across some of the most popular industries? For the most part, ramping up digital strategies and SEO during the pandemic and its aftermath looks more or less the same for these industries, perhaps with small differences. For example, just as it is critical for the automotive industry to get as many positive reviews as possible to boost sales and for transportation services to use strategies to cumulatively build trust, it is wise for lawyers to use their online presence to communicate one very important message. That message is that lawyers are invested in their client’s individual cases and have their best interests at heart.
There are a lot of lawyers out there. Successfully relaying this message is the key to winning over clients. Lawyers can communicate this by showing up. For example, free in-person or virtual consultations, small gifts and electronic birthday and holiday messages, and fast response times go a long way to communicate to clients that you care.
Moreover, to enjoy the most success, lawyers and law offices should invest in local, geo-targeted keywords. This helps customers sort through the sheer volume of criminal defense lawyers, for example, to find you and your firm. Invest in locally based keywords. Make sure your contact information is available and prominently displayed, and target conversational or natural language for local customers or clients who are using voice search to find you.
Bail Bondsmen: Making A Name For Yourself Online
Searching for the cheapest bail bond agency is often a necessary measure. It should be the goal of every bail bondsman or bail bonds agency to also make it a pleasant one. Do this by focusing on the user.
When sorting through free SEO tips, prioritize strategies that improve the user experience. For example, bail bond services should focus on creating websites that are succinct and to-the-point. Make sure to optimize websites for viewing on traditional desktop computers and laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Remember, 60% of searches take place from mobile devices! Customers who are looking for quick solutions during the bail process are especially likely to search for your services using a mobile device.
Additional steps you can take to improve user experience is to speed up load times and to routinely check your website for broken or malfunctioning pages, links, images, or other critical web elements.
Keep text simple. Generally, one call to action per page is most effective. Carefully and strategically plan that call to action. For example, a 24 hour bail bondsmen should incorporate this unique edge directly into their call to action statement. Do not urge customers to simply contact you, urge them to contact you for bail bonds and bail bond inquiries around the clock, at any hour, day or night.
Dentistry and Digital Marketing Strategy
Lastly, what are the best free SEO tips and digital marketing tips for dentists? Whether you specialize in cosmetic dentistry or perform general dentistry, dentists of all kinds can benefit most from identifying user intent and carefully mapping out their webpages.
Let’s start by discussing the design and structure of dentists’ or dental practices’ websites. Without proper mapping, Google crawlers may mistake dental practices for other companies or services, like toothpaste manufacturers or individuals who write about home health and tooth whitening remedies. Use tools — or work with SEO services with the necessary tools — like latent schematic indexing (LSI). LSI uses mathematics and/or data analysis to pinpoint key terms that will not only help you rank higher but also help you rank as accurately as possible (i.e., your dental practice will show up as a dental practice and not a tooth whitening strips company).
Ensure your website design is simple. Optimally, your site should be easy to navigate and your content easy-to-read. Break up text using images and white space, and use tools like the Flesch Reading Ease Formula to determine just how readable your content truly is. The test identifies readability using numerical scores. Aim for a score between 60 and 70, indicating that eighth and ninth graders can easily read and discern the meaning behind most of your content.
In addition to structuring your website correctly, it is also important to determine the intent of those visiting your webpage. Keywords can be broken down by user intent. Some of the main categories include transactional keywords, informational keywords, and commercial keywords. Your patients are making transactional queries if they search for terms like “get a dentist” or “choosing a dentist.” Informational keywords may be best if they are looking up what to do about a cavity or what to do if their gums bleed. If customers are seeking out listings or conducting searches along the lines of “dentists in Palm Bay,” it is best to target commercial keywords.
Nearly all industries can benefit from ramping up their online presence and selecting the best free SEO tips in the wake of COVID-19. Remember, before the pandemic, an overwhelming 90% of customers, clients, and Internet goers used search engines to find local businesses. Now, the Internet may be the only way and/or the best way for new customers to find you. No matter what stage of reopening your state or local area is in or isn’t in, it is wise for you to invest in online marketing strategies and make certain you are plainly visible on the web, where people are showing up now more than ever before.
