Too many small print shop owners miss the point about search
engine optimization (SEO) for their websites. It may be because they have
forgotten their real target audience or the purpose of SEO. Whatever the
reason, it's relatively easy to fix. Here's how…
The first step is to understand your print shop's target
audience. For smaller print shops, the target audience is generally constrained
by geography: those people wanting print services within a radius of 10, 25 or
some number of miles. If your shop is in Daytona, you probably aren't trying to
attract customers from Detroit, Denver or Des Moines. So…develop a list of cities
and towns where your audience lives and works.
The second step is to consider how your target audience expresses
what they want. Many customers, these days, aren't very familiar with printing
or the printing process. They won't understand or use terms like
"offset", "NCOA", "#10 window" or "duplex".
Instead, they look for letterhead, postcards, brochures, etc. and expect you to
handle all the details to give them what they want. So…develop a list of the
more general terms for your products and services customers want.
Now, take your two lists, put combinations of your places
and products into your favorite search engine and see how your website ranks. For
example, if you search for "printing Daytona", how does your website
rank? How do "printer port orange" or "letterhead new Smyrna"
rank (Port Orange and New Smyrna border Daytona Beach)? Do this "product +
location" search enough and you will see exactly how manage your SEO.
Make sure your business location appears on every page and can
be indexed. Use simple keywords plus locations in your website text. If you remember
you aren't doing SEO for 4over or Vistaprint, your job will be much easier and
effective.
