Without looking at your online business, there is not an appropriate, generic answer for that question. Each online business is unique. Each online business will have different challenges, different needs. That’s why the best online strategy for your business is to create a unique one for you and you alone. That means cut out the general dos and don’ts of the SEO community and really dig into what makes sense for you. Whether you specialize in Albuquerque party rentals or kitchen remodeling in Austin, there are things that make sense for you to do that others should not and vice versa.

Since you need an individual plan for your website, the best thing to do is to look at what you’ve got to work with. Are you a large, national company with plenty of marketing funds and advertising resources? Or are you a small online business with virtually no marketing capital and a product or service that is only catered to local customers? If your company fits the prior description, the best online strategy is to hire a firm with the knowledge and tools to help you with your online marketing efforts. They should be working on link building, social media management, PPC campaigns and such. If your company fits the latter description, your best strategy is to focus on only pulling in local customers.

The key to pulling in local customers to your website is to select local keyword phrases. For instance, if you sold sailboats in Los Angeles, use the words “Los Angeles” in every keyword phrase you try to optimize for. Every embedded link should be a phrase that includes your location. Every blog post should mention the area in which you service. It doesn’t make sense to advertise to someone in Wyoming when they have such a small chance of actually utilizing your services. A small business has to be as efficient as possible with their marketing efforts which means they should really focus on only bringing in local, relevant traffic with local keywords.

A national online business is very different from a local business. It makes sense to advertise to anyone in Wyoming, California or anywhere else in the states for that matter. Since that is the case, focusing on more general keywords for what your business does makes more sense. Higher traffic keywords should be targeted and a specific group of professionals should dedicate a great deal of time on these marketing efforts since there will undoubtedly be much more competition for such things. Remember that no one strategy works for every type of company. This is not a one-size-fits all industry. When selecting your online strategy, be sure to pick one that is most appropriate for your level of resources and needs.