When it comes to SEO (search engine optimization), being found online is what it's all about. And ANY company, no matter how small, can benefit from SEO.
However, if you have a generic company name, like "Columbus Tax Service" or "Ohio Medical Marijuana," it's just not as easy for your prospects to find you by Googling your (generic) company's name.
Why is that? When someone Google "Columbus Tax Service," Google assumes that person is looking for any and all tax services in Columbus (because they're such broad keywords).
So unless you're willing to put a lot of time and effort into SEO by:
- Updating your site often, which means monthly – at a minimum,
- Which translates into writing regular blogs, and
- Incorporating your company name in those blogs both in the copy and behind-the-scenes.
From experience, we've found the problem with a generic company name, and expecting to be easily found through search engines, is because there's just too many other companies with elements of YOUR company name. Or your company name reflects an entire industry. It's likely Google doesn’t understand the three words "Columbus" and "Tax Service," specifically means your company's name.
How a generic company name becomes an issue.
Let's take "Columbus Tax Service."
The words "Columbus" and "Tax Service" are generic words, since both are used by so many businesses. In addition, the city of Columbus uses "Columbus" in hundreds of ways, so the competition for that word alone is huge. Looking at the monthly search results below, you'd think using those words together would result in a lot of people finding your company since each are searched so often.
"Columbus" and "Tax Service," are both considered "broad search terms," and hundreds of other entities, companies and organizations are using those same words. Because of that, it's almost (though not totally) impossible for a company called "Columbus Tax Service" to turn up high in a Google search.
Of course, submitting your website’s sitemap to Google would get your site on their radar. But without regular promoting of your company name, other uses of those words would quickly overwhelm your company in search engines.
What wouldn't be considered a generic company name?
- A name that has a person's last name in it (like Mary Shipley Interiors or "Sayegh Surgery"), or
- A name that's unique that has words in it not many other companies have (like "Rust Belt Broncos" or "Advantage Media")
If your company is using generic words for it's name, you might not want to hear it, but changing the name – to something more unique – might help.
Updating your Google My Business listing helps.
Having your Google My Business listing up-to-date is a huge help, too, because it gets your company name (and website) on Google's radar. Here is a screen shot of our Google My Business listing, which you can see in it's entirety, here.
When it comes to SEO, having a physical address also helps.
Should you be working out of your home, that could also work against you, since Google prefers businesses have business addresses. At least at this time, they don't see home businesses as credible as ones with actual business addresses.
Maybe once working from home becomes a permanent thing, that could change.
And finally, there's something called "Structured Data" that can help.
There’s a thing called Structured Data, which has been around for a while, though not widely used. Read about Structured Date here. Basically adding Structured Data to your website is a way to communicate what your website is all about to Google (or any other search engine).
Bottom line is, when it comes to SEO, there's a lot to consider, whether you have a generic company name or not. But by not having a generic company name, you're one step ahead.
