You may not realise it but right now, as you read these words, people are looking for you.

You might not know who they are, and that’s a pity. You should…

The reason is, once you got past that “getting to know you” bit, it could turn into a highly valuable, mutually beneficial relationship that lasts for years and brings an entirely new income and referral stream to your front door…

So why isn’t this happening?

Because they don’t even know you exist!

You may just be two ships, passing in the night. But you can change this- transform yourself into the lighthouse they see from far away, shining like a beacon.

To achieve this (and here’s the best part), you don’t need to fork out tonnes on your marketing budget or spend weeks crafting a highly-detailed plan. It’s all down to three key words:

Search Engine Optimisation

So here’s 5 ways to boost your SEO rankings and get found- so easy you’ll kick yourself for not having thought of them already:

#1: Research Your Keywords

You want to apply the same keywords your online audience use when they’re searching for your specific industry in your specific area. So, if you were a real-estate agency in North Lakes, you’d want your main keyword phrase to be something like ‘Real Estate North Lakes’ or even ‘Realty North Lakes’.

Sure, you might have a bit of competition for those main search terms- but what about the secondary search terms? This is where your area of speciality comes into play. What do you provide that your competitors don’t? What sets you apart from the rest?

Overall, your priority here is to understand the language your target audience uses when  they go searching for a business like yours.

#2: Optimisation

You want to include a reasonable amount of quality content across your website and social media platforms. I don’t mean stuffing your content full of keywords (the bad old-fashioned way), although it might help if you update your meta tagging to include terms that are user-friendly.

I’m talking about including a page for legitimate testimonials from happy customers. Get video testimonials whenever you can. Have a Q&A section and a page with profiles for each of your staff. Content like this is useful for your site browsers but also online search engines like Google.

If you’re a local business, you definitely also want to include a ‘Contact’ page with a business address, primary phone number and an embedded GEO site map (which can be easily done right here: Geosite Map Generator

#3: Google Local

Local Google+ pages gives you more exposure, while also helping you to open up a two-way communication path with your customer by responding to reviews and creating post updates. You can find out more on Google+ here: Google Places for Business vs. Google Local

#4: Consistency

Inconsistency can negatively affect your online presence, which is why you need to be consistent when you list your business name, contact number and address across all your online pages. This makes search engines like Google happy, and it also makes your customers happy. Make it as easy as possible for them to know who you are and how to get in contact with you.

#5: Get The Word Out There

Collecting reviews from happy customers on Google+ or via video testimonials, is one of the most traditional (and authentic) ways to stand out online. Make it easy for your customers- let them know they only have to write a review once (if writing one) and if they don’t have a Google+ account, that’s ok. Let them give you a glowing review on LinkedIn or Facebook instead!

Whether they want to type your testimonial or speak it out loud, the most important thing to remember is: always be authentic. Don’t bribe them or ask for positive reviews. People can spot a fake easily and you’re better than that, anyway.

The best word of mouth is when its’ genuine.

I’ll leave you with these easy action items for now, but let me know how you go covering these 5 steps. Sharing your success stories is always welcome!