Before I dive into the more involved tactics on getting your answers found in search results, I want to make sure your company is getting top billing for local searches. This means establishing your business location by claiming your Google Business<\/a> and Bing Places<\/a> pages on these popular search engines. By doing this, you\u2019ll show up on a Google map when someone searches for your product or service in a nearby zip code.<\/p>\n The benefits to doing this?<\/p>\n So what about reaching prospects who haven\u2019t allowed Google to use their location or that might be a little further away from you? That\u2019s when we think about some long term and short term tactics that will help increase your small business\u2019s visibility in search results.<\/p>\n The best way to show up in search results is \u201corganically\u201d. This means showing up as a search result that Google or Bing has determined highly relevant based on the content of a webpage (includes copy, images, and links to and from the page).<\/p>\n For experienced searchers, organic search results are considered the most trustworthy answers to search queries. You\u2019ll notice in this example above, I was searching for \u201ctrustworthy mechanics\u201d and the top organic search result is by Edmunds, an automotive resource. What this immediately says to me is that there aren\u2019t any mechanics out there blogging about what they do and why they do it \u2013 or perhaps they just haven\u2019t spent much time optimizing their web presence. This means there\u2019s an easy opportunity for mechanics near me to start blogging now and gain a digital advantage reaching me as a prospective customer in need of a car repair.<\/p>\n As a searcher, reading the Edmunds article will be helpful to me because I\u2019ll be learning how to find a good mechanic, but at the end of the day it doesn\u2019t provide me with an immediate answer to my question. Edmunds establishes itself as a trustworthy resource because they\u2019re providing me with helpful information — perhaps I\u2019ll trust their recommendation for a mechanic near me. But imagine if the top search result was published on the blog of a local mechanic? A mechanic who blogs about the different troubles one might need a mechanic for and who shares his or her own personality and style diagnosing and treating car troubles through his blog posts? If I found a mechanic through his own unique answers to my problems on his blog, I\u2019d have an opportunity to get to know his or her business better before stopping by. Each blog post offers another opportunity to build trust and develop a relationship.<\/p>\n If you feel like your company page showing up in Google maps isn\u2019t far reaching enough and you need to get found quickly in search results, that\u2019s where PPC (Pay Per Click) ads come in. It can take some time to establish authority with Google\u2019s search algorithm and that\u2019s where PPC may help.<\/p>\n A PPC ad is a kind of digital ad that shows up alongside search results.<\/p>\n PPC ads show up above or along the side of search results which can be good for visibility but at the same time, some searchers see ads for what they are \u2013 ads \u2013 and deem them less trustworthy than organic search results. PPC ads show up for certain keywords you decide you\u2019d like your ads to show up for. A mechanic might bid on the search term \u201cbrake repair\u201d and create a PPC ad and a blog post or landing page that speaks directly to brake repairs on their website that the ad will link to.<\/p>\n PPC can be quite an undertaking for someone who hasn\u2019t encountered it before. If you can allocate 10-20 hours a week for a couple of weeks to setup your AdWords account and campaigns, once you get your campaigns running it takes much less time to maintain and optimize them. Google and Bing both even have resources available to help you understand how AdWords works<\/a> and how Bing Ads works<\/a>. You can even get in touch with a Google or Bing representative who will help you optimize your campaigns. Alternatively, there are PPC marketing agencies out there that you could enlist to manage your PPC campaigns for you.<\/p>\n Consider trying PPC if you have a decent sized budget (it can easily get expensive and should be monitored closely early on) and either a trusted partner to run your campaigns or you can seriously commit to the time it will take to setup your campaigns. The reason I suggest PPC ads over display ads for small businesses is because you can reach prospective customers in their time of need and<\/em> you only pay when someone actually clicks on your ads. It\u2019s a little less of a guessing game than display ads can be, where you\u2019re left wondering if you chose the right website, the right time of year, and the right messaging.<\/p>\n As we noticed earlier, a blog post on Edmunds was the top organic search result when I looked up \u201ctrustworthy mechanics near me\u201d. While Edmunds may not be a mechanic itself, Edmunds is establishing itself as an automotive resource for consumers. As a mechanic, you could consider contacting Edmonds to see if you could sponsor a couple of articles on their website or ask if there are other ways to develop a partnership to the benefit of your small business and Edmunds. At the end of the day, the goal for both parties is to help consumers answer their automotive questions. Why not work together towards success?<\/p>\n Similarly, other small business owners that offer services might find that websites like Angie\u2019s List might be a good place to monitor and highlight their business listing online. Local storefronts might see more success being active on location based review sites and apps like Yelp or Foursquare. Don\u2019t be afraid to ask your customers how they found you and where they go when they\u2019re searching for products and services like your own! This kind of information is key to optimizing your digital content to have stronger online conversations with your existing customers and quickly reach prospective customers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Are you trying to get found in search results? Let\u2019s face it, when it comes to small businesses and local services, owners can often feel every dollar as it\u2019s spent, lost, or earned. The pressure to produce income and bring in qualified leads can also distract from creating an impactful marketing strategy. So let\u2019s talk about the marketing tactics that small business owners should cover as a bare minimum \u2013 to reach their most qualified prospective customers. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":11158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,26],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Cara-Search-1-e1463607860665.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\n
#2. Blog Regularly to Invest in Your Long Term Search Results Visibility<\/h2>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Cara-Search-2.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n#3. Try PPC Advertising to Show Up Immediately in Search Results<\/h2>\n
![\"Get](\"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/Cara-Search-3.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n#4. Don\u2019t Reinvent the Wheel \u2013 Invest in Channels Your Customers Already Use<\/h2>\n