Hey gang, it’s the Gravity Junction team again. Atlanta’s best digital marketing agency wanted to drop some SEO marketing knowledge on ya with a 3-part series listing SEO tips specific to a handful of industries that can use it most.

In Part One, we’re covering Commercial & Retail Construction, Retail Franchises, Restaurants, and Manufacturing. These are some of the most traditional and “old-fashioned” industries out there so just a little bit of proper SEO technique will launch you past your competitors. Your rivals will wonder where all the business went after you’re dominating Google.

In Part Two, we’ll cover Healthcare, eCommerce, Network Marketing & how to punch your ROI through the roof! We’ll chat about utilizing micro-moments, understanding search engine algorithms, and Online Reputation Management; all specific to the high touch nature of these industries.

Finally, Part Three will dive deep into the best SEO tactics for Influencers, Personal Brands, and Keynote Speakers. We’ll focus on how to best tailor your content to your target audience, how your brand can dominate the first page of Google, and a unique two-fold strategy geared just for Keynote Speakers!

We did the grunt work so you don’t have to.

Let’s Go!

What’s SEO and Why’s It Important?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s a list of rules that’ll ensure your website ranks higher in SERPs (search engine result pages like Google).In the words of Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.” And, while those may not be the most eloquent words, he’s definitely onto something. ESPECIALLY when it comes to the digital world.

The techniques to rank at the top are constantly changing and so are the search algorithms that determine where you place.

SEO works by optimizing a website’s pages, performing keyword research, and obtaining inbound links. These results are made visible once the webpage has been indexed and crawled by a search engine. Then, you’re placed on say, Google at a certain ranking.

There are a few ways of improving the SEO of your pages: title tags, keywords, image tags, internal link structure, and inbound links (or backlinks.)

Having your info on the first page of Google results should be the priority for your business, right? Guess what, your competitors have the same goal. With so many people after the same thing, how can you do it better? How can you tailor SEO to fit my niche specifically?

These are the problems we’ll be tackling quicker than Ray Lewis on a running back. If there’s one thing our digital marketing agency, Gravity Junction, doesn’t do, (yeah, we’re usually telling you what we CAN do); it’s leaves you hanging.

Let’s dive into some universal truths across all industries before we get into the specifics.

A Constant Across All Industries – User Intent

While the SEO tactics we talked about before are popular, they have to be paired with knowing the intent of your audience. Who do you want your readers to be? What are they looking for? What can you provide them to build a relationship & trust?

One of the most exciting parts of creating an effective SEO marketing strategy is that you have to think like your customer! Hmm… Maybe binging investigative crime shows is not a total waste of time. Let’s call in Sherlock Holmes, put on our detective hats, and truly think like our consumers.

Search intent (or user intent or query intent) refers to which category the user’s search term falls under.  There are typically three categories of intent: transactional, informational and navigational. “Do, Know, Go” is a popular reference to the concept.

Do – The searcher has a specific action they know they want to take, like to book a service or purchase a product.

Know – This search is knowledge-based like to answer a question, find further inspiration or learn about a topic.

Go – This user typically knows a specific website or location and its relation to brand or known entity queries.

User intent will be different from industry to industry, however the need for businesses to be agile in keeping up with industry trends is constant across the board.

Commercial & Retail Construction

SEO, when done properly, helps get your listings to the top of the first page that people are searching. So, what does that mean for your commercial & retail construction business? It means it’s only as good as how visible you are to those searching for your services. This is similar to how businesses will pay the extra dollar to be located or built on a street corner. Visibility is everything.

It’s important to think with that same level of strategy. When it comes to street corners, street access, and visibility of your store and sign, quality SEO is like having the highest sign in the whole town, located at the most convenient area, and giving your customers a flying car. They’ll see your sign immediately given its height, cut the traffic, and go straight to what it is you are marketing.

Team Tip:

Define Basic Keyword Strategy

General Competitive Terms (Head Keywords)

• “1031 exchange”
• “MLS”
• “Miami houses for sale”

Branded Terms

• Keyword terms that use your company (or property) name. You’ll need to make sure your site does enough backend work to outrank all the commercial real estate (CRE) listings that have your property listed

Specific Niche Terms (Long-Tail Keywords)

Keywords that fall under specific categories your commercial & retail construction company or property would be:

• “Boston class A space for rent”
• “Houston retail brokers”

Benefits:

1. Higher rankings for your listings
2. Increased awareness of your commercial retail construction company
3. More qualified traffic; the RIGHT buyers

Retail Franchises

From producing multiple landing pages to finding niche keywords, franchisors, like yourself, are aware of the hurdles of unifying information without duplicating it. The other question of how to present that information: Do I want one website for each location, or one unifying website that has ALL of the locations?

Ranking well in search engine results can make all of the difference when it comes to getting more eyeballs on your products. 81% of shoppers will do online research before they decide to purchase. This means they are right before the action stage, and you want to absolutely make sure your page lands in their search results!

In fact, 71% of consumers will click on a link from the first page of results. Ranking well in search engine results means you won’t miss out on potential buyers or more cash in your pocket.

Note: Local SEO grants franchises digital real estate when local consumers search for the services or products they provide.

Team Tip:

Have Multiple Sites For Each Location

• Get SEO tracking software that allows you to see how duplicate keywords are performing in more than one region
• Optimize pages for local keywords
• Customize ranking based on location

Benefits:

1. Multiple websites means a far smaller limit on ranking for keywords
2. Keyword strength can vary by region
3. Microsite SEO tactics produce great results
4. Easier time doing PPC
5. Region Specific Keyword Traffic Increase:
   • • Retail searches are extremely specific, unlike many other marketing methods
     • SEO content for retailing can focus on exact products sold by the company
     • Increases chance of your website showing up in top search engine results

Restaurants

60% of consumers search for local restaurants and cafes online, so having your restaurant’s SEO strategy on lock is absolutely essential to thriving. Also, you’ve been hangry before, right?… You know potential customers aren’t getting past the first page with that rumbling tummy.

We’ve whipped up some meaty and delicious tips and benefits for you, so we kept this part short…

Consider it a small… “appetizer”! Bon Appétit!

Team Tip:

Optimize Your Restaurant Web Content For Conversions

“Restaurant near me”

• • One of the top keyword searches in relation to the restaurant industry
  • Define your target audience and specific geographical location
  • Tailor your SEO strategy and content around those customers
  • Research keywords specific to those prospects

Your Story

• • • Write what makes your restaurant unique – Family-owned? Locally sourced? Does the ambiance mimic space??!! ( That’d be pretty cool.)
    • Should be on home page
    • Video makes it even better!

Easily Accessible Contact Information

• • • Add business address and phone number to have location information for search

Upload menu to website

• • • Be sure to keep this as current as possible depending on how often the menu changes
    • Long form and on one page
    • Note: PDFs are not readable by search engine crawlers and aren’t as easily displayed on phones
    • High-quality photos even better

Photos of interior of restaurant

• • • Catch your customers’ eye and “wow” them with your interior

Calls-to-action included in blog

• • • Visit restaurant
    • Make purchase online if delivery is available
    • Get on mailing list

Online reservations

• • • Should be one click of a button and without having to leave the page

Online ordering

• • 67% of people who have placed an order online are more likely to come back than those who haven’t had an online order before

Benefits:

1. Bringing guests into your door by having geographic-specific keyword searches
2. The content & images not only make your restaurant stand out, but also deliver a personal experience for the user, even online
3. Making each action easy for the user means they are more likely to convert
4. Set yourself apart from the rest in a competitive, OVERLY-saturated market
   • SEO will push you to take a good, hard look at your restaurant’s current website
     • What sets it apart from the rest?
     • Are those characteristics stated and easily seen right from the get-go?

Manufacturing

Things have changed a lot in recent years when it comes to marketing to manufacturers. These days, your buyers have grown up with technology at their fingertips. They’re moving up in the companies that you’re targeting.

They know how to use search engines to find what they want. They’re self-starters, knowledge-sharers, and that means your manufacturing company needs to build and establish its brand with low-volume, high-value keywords, and publish fresh & authoritative content.

You can sink or swim when it comes to elevating your business through SEO & this tip is actually one of our favorites. Because with the right research, you can reach Michael Phelps level potential and move past your competitors in the race!

Team Tip:

Take Advantage Of Low-Volume High-Value Keywords

• Produce A Shortlist
  • Manufacturers have a VERY unique sweet spot for volume and value, and with the right investigation of keyword research, you can experience BIG wins for business!
  • Seize the opportunity to take advantage of the thinness of industrial, engineering, and manufacturing content that is out there in order to boost your OWN content and thought leadership

Benefits:

1. Become An Industry Authority
   • Pumping out current, SEO friendly content will boost your credibility and establish you as the golden standard of a great manufacturer

Final Thoughts

The internet is a massive universe & we know it isn’t always easy out there. It can take a lot of time and effort to work your way up the results pages.

If you follow the tips we’ve outlined, you can optimize your website, content, or product listings & immediately begin soaring up the rankings and driving serious ROI. You want more hungry customers right? Of course you do. Let these tips be a guiding light and watch your VP of Sales sprint across the room when he sees the results.

The team here at Gravity Junction truly wants to make sure our readers out there are fighting the good fight with all of the BEST digital strategies. Think of these tips as your digital weapons and armor! We’re so excited to share this 3-part series with you, and truly believe there’s something for everyone in each of these blogs.

We hope you learned at least one new thing today! As always, we’d love to get to know you. Feel free to reach out with any concepts we missed, tools you’ve used for SEO Marketing within your specific industry, or questions! We’re all ears, and are here to help.

Stayed tuned for SEO strategies for the following industries: Healthcare, eCommerce, and Network Marketing. This info chock full of SEO goodness even if you’re not in one of those industries; stay tuned!

The Gravity Junction team is predicting lots of traffic in your future! Without the honking, road rage, fender benders, or intermittent curse words & middle fingers of course.

Read Part II and Part III…..