What do you see when you search for “SEO Brooklyn”? Apart from the list of three top-performing companies, you can see a list of URLs that point towards the best SEO companies in the area. They are ready for more business, aren’t they?

That is precisely how Google search works. Your search for a business, product, service, or location, and Google returns the search with the best-fitting answers in the form of lists, featured snippets, image carousels, videos, and a set of related questions in the “People also ask” section.

Earlier it was challenging to find pertinent information on a topic due to the enormous volume of available data. After the Hummingbird update, the use of RankBrain and the implementation of the Broad Core update have made it easier for the search engine to “understand” the intent of a user’s search.

How has the face of SEO changed in Brooklyn over the last few decades?

Since intent has assumed a critical position in Google search, you need to focus on understanding the intent of your target viewers. You need to find out all you can about their search preferences and most-searched keywords. Demystifying the search trends of your target consumers can help you learn a lot about which type of content will perform better in the future.

For example, you are publishing content on the “Best Pizza Places You Must Visit in Park Slope.” You can expect the high-earning professionals, upwardly youth, and the residents to check out the blog. The mention of “Park Slope” in the title and body and the topic caters to the community.

However, in a post about Cafes in Bushwick, you will rarely see the same demographics among the viewers or readers.

That shows how much the demographics of a crowd influence their search intent. By following the search trends of the user demographics, you are targeting right now, you can predict whether a piece on pizza places will perform better than another on freedom of the press.

Is it time to worry about your business site SEO?

Content has always been and will remain one of the most prominent players in SEO. The Brooklyn crowd has always been smart, and you cannot please them easily. You should know that your visitors take only about 3 seconds to decide if they want to stay or bounce – and that depends on how fast your page loads. If it fails to load within the first 3 seconds, you can bid your precious web traffic, “goodbye.”

Once your content loads, the visitor takes only about 15 seconds to decide if they want to leave. Your post title and intro determine the bounce rate of your webpage. Higher the bounce rate, lower is the dwell time, and lesser is your chance of acquiring an impressive volume of traffic flow.

Bounce rate, dwell time, and page load speed are all critical ranking signals. These should be part of your SEO strategy long before your website shows any signs of illness – low earnings, undetectable organic traffic, and an unimpressive conversion rate.

Why is owning a business in Brooklyn tougher than ever?

Businesses in Brooklyn always compete for visibility. Although the web has no physical boundaries like the city, you need to be careful about how much competition you are facing every day.

Can you even imagine how many Brooklyn-based business websites are there? Stats from 2019 show that 4 out of 10 small businesses have websites. If even 40% of the small businesses in Brooklyn have dedicated websites, there would be roughly 95,884 websites active.

Depending on your field, you could be competing with thousands of similar companies over identical demographics inside the city limits. Unlike your land-based store, you cannot make your online presence more visible by hoisting new LED signs and employing people to carry branded banners.

What you can do is improve your SEO to increase your brand visibility.

Search engine optimization or SEO is not a magic wand. In fact, it is a calculated and sophisticated way to ensure that your webpages remain utterly visible to your target audience today and tomorrow, irrespective of the tricks your competitors pull out of their hats.

The mention of hat brings us to black hat and white hat SEO. You will find thousands of SEO companies in Brooklyn that claim to manage business SEO. These companies promise a brand the #1 rank on a related SRL. However, the truth is, it is impossible to promise someone the #1 rank even with the best SEO technicians at your disposal.

You should begin your search by filtering out the SEO companies that make such claims. Instead, look for SEO companies that show up high in the SRL when you search for “Brooklyn SEO Company” or “SEO Company in Brooklyn.” A company that secures a high rank definitely has an understanding of the technicalities that contribute to the Google ranking signals.

Why do you need white hat SEO?

Your business in Brooklyn is probably looking for ways to increase views, traffic, sales, and conversion rates. Sadly, that is precisely what your competitors desire, as well. So, what distinguishes your efforts from your competitors? Are you putting in some extra endeavors in gaining rapid visibility?

White hat SEO may take time. You may have to wait for 2 to 3 months before you see the positive effects. Nonetheless, it is the only set of SEO tactics that work. Google actively penalizes websites that follow Black Hat techniques like link farming and keyword stuffing.

Staying legit involves relocating resources to content development, revisiting keyword strategies, running website audits, and keeping an eye on the key performance indicators (KPIs). The only way to achieve that is by working in close quarters with SEO experts.

Now, most companies in Brooklyn don’t have the means to hire an in-house SEO team. More than 80% of the small businesses and startups in the US outsource their SEO, and SEM needs to reliable local companies. Investing in SEO is the only way to turn your expenses into long-term investments.