Designs on Marketing: Getting Serious About SEO

While Joe’s Local Jewelry Store might not have massive ad spend, it does have an important place in its small town’s growing economy. Google wanted to honor that and give opportunity to small businesses by giving them a platform.

Not only can a business verify its address, but it can also add a logo, images, team members, hours and, best of all, collect reviews from customers or clients who utilize its services. 

Before we move away from the discussion on location, it’s important to know that this should also shape how you create meta titles and meta descriptions for each URL on your website. You might not be able to grab attention with “best jewelry store in america” but you can succeed with “where is the best jewelry store in Small Town, USA.”

Making sure your titles and descriptions always include your specific location is key, even when your business model is remote and not limitless.

For example, I live on the web and service clients around the country. However, for my own SEO, I’m constantly plugging the fact that my business is a digital marketing agency in Boulder, Colorado. Why? Because there are millions of digital marketing firms across the globe, but only hundreds in my local market. It’s a small way to make a big impact.

Another way to increase awareness about the amazing job you are doing? The three key factors for any powerful SEO strategy are:

1) Quality content;

2) Unique offerings and;

3) Establishing expertise.

These three factors haven’t changed over the years, but perhaps how we approach them has shifted with the advent of social media. 

Let’s jump into them in a bit more detail.

When you are building a website you need to ensure you are creating quality content that appeals not only intellectually but aesthetically to your audience. When someone lands on your page, are you proud of what they see? That’s a great starting point.

You also need to continuously prove that what you have is unique, like no other in the market.

That might seem daunting, but think about it. No two humans on this planet are identical. You are truly a one-of-a-kind natural treasure. You possess skills and talents that belong to no one else out there; now it’s just time to demonstrate that credo in the digital space.

You can do that by writing blogs, sharing knowledge and engaging in thoughtful conversation on all of your social media channels. Videos are a great way to establish this, as long as they are titled and tagged correctly. (Note: using the word “unique” is not going to help here.)

What’s the last piece of the puzzle? Oh right, now it’s about authenticating that I truly am an expert (i.e., don’t just take my word for it). You can do that with testimonials as well as reviews, but press from established institutions is key.

I write for National Jeweler because it’s fun, but also because it’s useful. By sharing my insight on marketing basics with all of you I’m also establishing clout with all of our friendly search engines, as I’m now an “expert” in my field. 

SEO might seem overwhelming and perhaps a bit dull. But when you get back to basics and realize you are just doing your part to help the internet librarians do their job well, it can suddenly seem rewarding and fun.

Taking the time to update your titles and descriptions while emphasizing location makes a big impact.

Making sure to update your site with blog postings, products or new content creates new URLs and gives space for more key search terms. Quality content is key and it offers a platform to demonstrate how special and, yes, our favorite word, “unique” you truly are.

Lastly, don’t be shy to get out there and make friends. Trade press journalists are your best advocates and a great place to start.

If you aren’t sending high-resolution images of your work on white backgrounds to Jennifer Heebner, Becky Stone of Diamonds in the Library and Amanda Gizzi of National Jeweler/Jewelers of America on the regular, you are doing yourself a huge disservice. These incredible writers want to see what you are up to!

Don’t forget to tune into this column in the coming months as we delve into all the moving parts.

Quality content is a key piece of SEO and each platform (your business website as well as your social media channels) has a different type of strategy. It all comes down to effective communication and authenticity.

You already have an incredible product offering; now it’s just time to make small tweaks to ensure everyone on the web knows it too.

A recovering jewelry designer, Jacqueline Stone has a diverse background in finance, marketing, advertising, product development, fine jewelry manufacturing, design and sourcing. Now she serves as the CEO of her own marketing consulting and coaching business, Bubblegum and Duct Tape. Stone can be reached at hello@bubblegumandducttape.com.