Website Domination: 5 Keys for Small Businesses

Face it, we’re in a digital world where even small businesses require website domination if they have any hope of beating the odds against long-term survival (more than 50% of small business startups fail in the first five years, according to Forbes). Whether you run a physical store, an online store, provide services to local consumers, or even run a small non-profit, such as a museum or social service, attracting, serving, and retaining local customers is the key to your success. And that requires a website that meets the needs of these prospects by providing value. Read on to learn how you can dominate with a website that wows your local market.

Website domination begins with a well-crafted website (self-hosted, rather than one of those sites on Wix or Squarespace). This may seem like trekking up Mount Kilimanjaro, but building your website doesn’t have to cost a fortune (I build one for clients for around $150) and doesn’t require a course in website development. In fact, I’ve written an ebook to help you build your own website. The ebook is chock full of images that guide you step-by-step through the process, resulting in a high-quality website that rocks.

Once you have a website that rocks, the next step is to optimize that website so your target market finds it near the top of search results, which prompts them to visit your website. The reality is that 87% of shoppers begin their product search online and pages that show up near the top of search results attract the lion’s share of clicks (below is an image depicting the percentage of clicks attributed to links in the top positions on search). Since most small businesses target a local customer base, Local SEO (search engine optimization) gives you a leg up on reaching your market, which helps you compete with much larger brands.

Website domination: Strategies for success

1. Build your business website

Modern tools allow you to craft a compelling website without writing a single line of code. In fact, anyone with a little patience can build a self-hosted website in an afternoon. Of course, building your website is only the beginning. You’ll need to dedicate time to building website domination by adding fresh, valuable content regularly. I won’t go into all the arguments against using those website builders that promise easy, free websites, but here’s a great article from an expert on the topic. Below is a step-by-step guide for crafting your website.

Here’s a summary of the tasks necessary to build a website:

A domain name – usually this is your own name or pen name
Hosting
Connection between your domain and hosting
Installation of WordPress
A theme – which eliminates coding, so you get something functional and attractive with just a little work
Plugins – these extend the functionality of your website
Strategies to drive traffic to your website

Choose a CMS

A CMS (content management system) is the foundation of your website. It sets up how browsers will display your website’s content.

There are a few good choices for your CMS. WordPress dominates this industry with an easy-to-use tool that’s powerful, flexible, and scalable to any size business. You’ll need to first purchase a domain name (which is like your location, so think of names that resonate with your target market) and hosting (which is where your files will live). My ebook offers some companies I recommend for these tasks. Most hosting companies offer free domain names and allow one-click installation of WordPress.

Add a theme

A theme creates the look and feel of your website. WordPress installs a default theme, but there are literally thousands of theme options. I recommend a paid theme from a reputable reseller, such as ThemeForest, because their themes are more stable, easily customizable, and frequently updated. Themes come in all price ranges, but most are less than $100 (a one-time fee).

You want to search for themes that offer a responsive design (look good regardless of screen size). They are fast, have good reviews, and are compatible with drag-and-drop page builders like Elementor that mimic the best of those website builders without all the downsides.

Include a few plugins

Plugins add functionality beyond what you already get from your CMS and theme. Some themes recommend certain plugins to achieve the look they toute in their sample.

A page builder, like Elementor, makes it easy to drag-and-drop content to build elegant pages.
Local SEO (as well as general SEO) plugins like Rank Math and Yoast help you improve the rank of the content you create.
W3 Cashe helps speed up your website, while Smush compresses images so they load faster.
Adding MonsterInsights connects your site easily to Google Analytics, which we’ll discuss later.

Buy an SSL certificate

An SSL certificate changes your URL to include HTTPS rather than HTTP. It provides security and trustworthiness that visitors expect. This is mandatory if you collect money from your website.

Link to Google Analytics

Google Analytics is your greatest key to website domination. Connecting your website to a free Google Analytics account is easy using the MonsterInsights plugin. If you need help setting up or using GA4, the newest version, Google offers free online training.

2. Website domination: SEO and content marketing

Content is king when it comes to website domination. Plus, your content is your key tool for driving visitors toward conversion, ensuring satisfaction by addressing concerns, and building relationships through consistent communication.

Don’t forget about content on social media platforms. Engagement on these platforms aids SEO, plus it works toward building a stronger, more trusting community.

When crafting content, think about your customers and prospective customers using the deep understanding you developed when drafting your marketing plan and the stages of the customer journey shown below. You need content designed to provide value to visitors in every stage of this process.

In addition to crafting content that compels visitors toward your goals with benefits, tools of influence, images, videos, and other valuable content (like instructions, recipes, and FAQs), you need to include other elements to dominate search engines. Here’s what you need for on-page SEO:

• Keywords that resonate with a local market. With the growth of voice search, keywords are becoming increasingly long (long-tail keywords), rather than a single word. Also, with generative engine optimization (GEO), you need to consider modifying your keywords to match the queries users enter into a search engine if you want to build brand credibility with AI tools.
• Include your keywords within your content as headings, image alt tags, meta descriptions, and embedded within your text. With generative AI, schema markup is increasingly vital for website domination. Some SEO tools, like Rank Math, include schema such as How To and FAQ blocks that help AI tools “read” your content better, so they can serve it up to users searching for that information.
• A blog is a crucial section for any website because frequently updated content is essential for search rank and GEO. Focus on local content, such as local news or events, as well as how your business serves the local community for local SEO. You might also have neighborhood pages for nearby areas.

You also need to consider off-page SEO, which involves improving site speed, making your site mobile-friendly, and improving navigation.

3. Local SEO

When we talk about website domination for a local small business, you need Google My Business, which is a free service from Google. The value extends beyond SEO, although local businesses show up first in search engines with enhanced listings that include ratings and phone numbers. Your profile provides a wealth of information to attract visitors to your website or physical store.

Here’s how to optimize your profile:

• Claim and verify your listing. After providing name, address, and phone number, Google sends a verification via snail mail to your address.
• Complete every section of the profile.
  • Choose the accurate business category
  • Write a compelling description
  • Add hours of operation
  • Include photos and videos that build trust and showcase your brand
  • Detail the services and products you offer
  • Include any special services, such as handicap accessible or no appointment necessary
• Manage questions by responding to them quickly.
• Encourage reviews by sending emails to your customers and responding to them, whether positive or negative.
• Post regularly by sharing updates, special offers, events, or new products.

4. Build local citations and backlinks

Ensure you provide information on your website, Yelp, Facebook, and the Yellow Pages to gain local backlinks, which are mentions of your business. By sponsoring local events or partnering with other local businesses, you gain public relations that provides local backlinks.

5. Nurture online reviews

Make it easy for folks to leave a review by providing clear instructions. Send an email thanking customers and asking for a review. If you respond to comments, whether positive or negative, it encourages others to leave a review.

Never buy reviews or use friends/ employees to leave fake ones if your goal is website domination. Eventually, folks discover your deception and it hurts your credibility.

Conclusion

Website domination takes time, so don’t expect anything to happen overnight. While we’ve discussed a lot about technologies that support your domination efforts, building a website that supports small business growth, whether you run an online business or one based in a local community, there’s a lot more involved.

You need to work diligently not only to implement these strategies but also to connect to your community by being part of it. Join local clubs, volunteer at local non-profits, sponsor local events, join community business organizations, speak at business events, have lunch with other business owners, in fact, do everything to build a strong community. Even if you aren’t actively engaging with your business, folks get to know you and they’ll recommend your business to their friends.

All these efforts work toward improving your online visibility. However, you must remain consistent to achieve website domination, as you’ll lose backlinks over time and folks will forget you if you don’t keep showing up for local events.

Start today and watch your business flourish over time.

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Hausman and Associates, the publisher of MKT Maven, is a full-service marketing agency operating at the intersection of marketing and digital media. Check out our full range of services.