Running a small business is hard. There are dozens of things to think about, and you have a limited time to get them done. When it comes to SEO, the best thing you can do right now is focus—focus on your audience and what they’re searching for. This will help you develop a strong SEO strategy for your business. The following article discusses 4 specific points to help kickstart your strategy.

Choose the local provider

Since a local SEO agency or consultant is largely going to be based in your local area, it means that you can meet with them face-to-face if you choose to. There are many benefits in being able to talk with the people who are handling your search engine optimization campaign rather than solely relying on online communication channels. Following your meeting, you may be presented with various strategic ways to optimize your site to receive high search engine rankings. The benefit of working with the best SEO providers  who are based close to you is that you will then be able to get an update on these measures by having another face-to-face meeting.

Say no to overseas outsourcing

SEO campaigns that are carried out overseas often result in poor workmanship. If you aren’t fully versed in SEO yourself, it can be hard to know whether the site is being optimized correctly. Additionally, if you are not also monitoring the progress, you may not realize that there are issues until it’s too late.

Customized SEO strategy

SEO needs to be customized for every site. There are no generic answers, nor are there magic keyword lists that I can give you. That is the whole point of SEO. If you are looking for an answer that fits all websites, then that’s not what you need to be reading. Instead, take some time this evening – or at least some uninterrupted time tomorrow – and reflect on your site. Consider the last six months of data you have gathered. How often does your competition come up in search results? How about on your own site? What are the common terms they used on their website? When they wrote blog posts, how many links did they create? Are their backlinks coming from old sites or brand new sites? Customized SEO strategy is a must for all-platforms marketing. Nowadays, search engines are affecting the buyer journey and every step of the marketing funnel, so companies need to use multi-channel campaigns.

Progress report

“I’m no longer an employee there, so I’ve stopped getting regular updates. How can I get the latest info if I don’t know it is happening?” When you speak with your local SEO provider, make sure they are transparent about what is going on in your online search campaign.

I’ve heard and read a lot of horror stories about companies who refuse to give their clients progress reports. What this means is that your SEO company is keeping you in the dark about where they’re at with your website’s local rankings. Some agents will give you a vague report which may or may not be actionable, and some will go as far as to lie to you and say there are no updates. If you use an agency that refuses to give you a progress report, run away because they aren’t doing what they should be doing for your business.