Is SEO worth it for a small business in a small town?

Why does a small town change the answer?

Local results on Google depend mainly on three factors: relevance, distance, and prominence. In a small town, fewer businesses in your trade compete on those factors. That makes the basics matter more. A business with a complete profile and a good set of reviews can stand out without a large budget.

Distance also works for you. Google shows customers nearby businesses first. If your customers are in your own town and the towns around it, you do not need to win a national search. You need to be the clear local match.

What does SEO involve for a local business?

For a local business, SEO is mostly three jobs:

• Your Google Business Profile. This is the listing that appears in Google Search and Google Maps.
• Your reviews. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking.
• Your website. It should state what you do, where you work, and how to contact you.

Google states that you cannot request or pay for a better local ranking. Any pitch that says otherwise is wrong.

What can I do myself before I pay anyone?

Most of the early work is free and takes only your time. Follow these steps.

1. Create your Business Profile and verify it. Google says verification tells it you are authorized to represent the business.
2. Fill in every field: address or service area, hours, category, and other details such as parking.
3. Use your real business name. Do not add taglines, phone numbers, or keywords. Google can suspend profiles that do this.
4. Choose the fewest categories that describe your core business.
5. Keep one profile per business. Duplicates cause problems on Google Maps and Search.
6. Add real photos of your work, your shop, and your team.
7. Ask happy customers for reviews. Reply to every review, good or bad.
8. Check your website. Make sure your name, address, and phone number match your profile exactly.

When is it worth paying an agency?

It is worth paying when you lack the time or skill to do the steps above, or when you have done them and want more. It is not worth paying for work you can do in an afternoon. It is also not worth paying for a promise.

Ask what the agency will do that you cannot do yourself. Good answers are specific: fix a duplicate profile, build a review process, write service pages, or repair a website problem.

How do I know it is working?

Google gives verified profiles a free Performance report. It shows views, searches, calls, direction requests, and website clicks. You can set a date range and compare periods.

Look at the actions, not only the views. Calls and direction requests are customers who intend to visit or buy. Also ask new customers how they found you. A simple tally on paper works well.

Be patient, but do not accept silence. Search results change slowly, and an honest agency will say so. It should still show you what it did and what it plans to do next.

What should I watch for in an agency pitch?

Use these checks on any agency.

1. Promises. Rankings cannot be promised. Walk away from anyone who does.
2. Paying for rank. Google says you cannot pay for a better local ranking.
3. Ownership. You must own your Business Profile and your website. Never give an agency the only login.
4. Reports. Ask for reports that match your own Performance data.
5. Fake reviews. Never buy reviews. Misleading reviews can break Google’s rules and may also raise issues under the Competition Bureau’s rules on false or misleading claims.
6. Contract terms. Read the cancellation terms before you sign.

Where Georgian Bay SEO fits

Georgian Bay SEO, a local SEO agency in Collingwood, Ontario, runs this site. We have a commercial interest in this topic. Judge any agency, including us, by the checks above, and ask for specifics before you pay.