As a small business owner, competing against the larger businesses in your niche may be daunting. Many business owners quickly get discouraged when they’re up against companies with seven-figure marketing budgets.
But there are ways to get your business name out there, and all you really need to do is find the gaps in your competitors’ strategies.
Even if you have a very small marketing budget, you can compete with the “big fish” in your pond as long as you do it right.
Gather SEO Data
The first step is to get as much information as you can about your search data. Fortunately, tools like Ahrefs and Semrush exist to help you dig deep and learn what you need to learn.
Here’s what you should be focusing on:
Your keyword data - What are the specific keywords and terms you should be using to generate traffic on your site?
Estimated search volume - How many people are searching for specific phrases and keywords every month?
Traffic potential - How much traffic (a rough estimate is fine) is the top organic search result generating from a particular keyword each month?
CTR - How many searchers are clicking a website on the results page?
Ideally, look for keywords your competitors are using less frequently, but that searchers are using more often.
That’s your sweet spot.
Research the Competition
Now that you know more about your ideal keywords, you can focus more fully on your competition.
What is it about their websites that Google likes so much? What are they doing right? What are they doing wrong? And most importantly...
How can what they are doing be improved and utilized on your business website? Let me give you an example.
Let’s say you own a restaurant in downtown Philadelphia. There are a lot of restaurants in that part of the city, but none of their websites are specifically targeted toward the neighborhoods in the area. Instead, they’re very broad and only mention Philly.
You want to set yourself apart by providing value to potential customers, so you begin adding pages to your site that target:
Rittenhouse Square
East Passyunk
Fishtown
University City
Midtown Village
As a result, Google sees your content as highly valuable and gives your website a boost in the SERPs.
Mission accomplished.
Get a Customized Marketing Plan
There are so many things you can do to improve your visibility and website traffic, and eventually, you may be able to beat out your competition with consistent effort.
At Colwell Creative Content, Inc., we believe in the power of consistency, but we also know that no two businesses are exactly the same. We often partner with small businesses to help them improve their website traffic, and you don’t need a seven, six, or even five-figure marketing budget to work with us.
Want to get some tips for your specific niche? Contact us and Let’s Grow Your Business Together!