Many business owners understand the importance of implementing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies for their website.  Others may have no idea what SEO involves. Some may be unconvinced that SEO is important for lead generation.

Google is the premier search engine for online users. More than 70% of all users trust Google to serve up the best content based on the search intent.

Have you been caught off guard after finding out your website doesn't show up in your local market when you search for your services? We know a lot of business owners that aren't even sure if their website appears in Google Search results for their local market.

Inbound marketing is a good way to drive traffic to your document shredding business. The concept is easy, but it must be done well for it to work properly. Inbound marketing means that your customers come to you instead of you chasing them down. The basics are to know your audience—which is nearly anyone since everyone must shred sensitive documents at some point. However, some may only shred sensitive documents around tax time and others may need your services throughout the year. Businesses may need your services on a weekly or monthly basis.

With online sales expected to grow exponentially by 2020, website marketing should be one of the more important pieces of your marketing plan and budget. According to Fitsmallbusiness.com, 9 percent of retail sales made in the United States was made online and that number is expected to grow by 12.4 percent by 2020. Statista.com reports that an April 2017 survey, 40 percent of those using the internet made online purchases several times per month. Of those, 20 percent said they bought products and services online on a weekly basis.

According to Wordstream, 2.3 million searches are completed on Google. If that’s not a good enough reason to use Google advertising benefits for your small business, then nothing will be. Setup properly, Google ads could be extremely effective in driving traffic to your website. Google has several tools to help set up your account, including Google keyword planner and Google Adwords Express.

How to Effectively Use Paid Advertising

Part of your advertising campaign is probably using free advertising through social media platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. However, you should also add these platforms’ paid advertising to your marketing plan. Using paid advertising Facebook places your ads on pages of people that are in certain demographics. Using paid advertising Instagram does the same thing.

Social media is a critical tool for modern marketing. The majority of today's companies hold a clear presence on at least one digital platform, be it Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or even Pinterest. Internet users are increasingly unwilling to seek out products or services from businesses not represented on social media.

It's no secret that search engines are of paramount importance in the modern digital landscape. While the powers that be at Google are typically tight-lipped about annual queries, they admitted in 2016 to handling over 2 trillion searches per year, compared to just 1.2 trillion in 2012. Search engines are the first place we seek out information, and as such, whether we see content or not depends largely on how well it is optimized. Enter search engine optimization (SEO) — the chief means of getting the word out in an oversaturated digital market. It's possible for businesses of all sizes to reach desired audiences, but only with careful use of SEO. Read on to learn more about modern small business SEO — and how internet marketing services can pave the path to a more effective digital strategy.

Basic Overview of SEO