Search engine optimisation sounds technical, but for a local business most of the gains come from getting the basics right. Use this checklist to review your own site, or to check the work of whoever built it.
Your Google presence
- Claim and verify your Google Business Profile. See our step-by-step guide.
- Choose the most accurate primary category. It is one of the strongest local signals.
- Keep your name, address and phone number identical everywhere: your website, Google, Facebook and directories.
- Collect genuine reviews and reply to all of them.
Your website pages
- Give every page a unique title that says what the page is about and where, for example “Office furniture in Dar es Salaam | Your Company”.
- Write a meta description for every page. It is the short text under your link in search results. Treat it as an advert.
- Use one clear main heading per page that matches what people search for.
- Create one page per service instead of listing everything on one page. Each page can then rank for its own searches.
- Put your address and phone number on the site as text, not only inside an image.
Speed and phones
- Test your site on a phone using mobile data, not office Wi-Fi. If it is slow for you, it is slow for customers.
- Compress your images. Large photos are the most common cause of slow sites.
- Make phone numbers and WhatsApp links tappable on mobile.
Content
- Answer the questions customers actually ask: price ranges, delivery areas, how long things take. Those are searches.
- Consider Swahili content. Many customers search in Swahili, and fewer competitors write in it.
- Publish useful articles occasionally, like this one. They give people a reason to find and link to your site.
What not to do
- Do not stuff keywords into every sentence. Write for people.
- Do not buy links or reviews.
- Do not trust anyone who guarantees first place on Google.
Want a second pair of eyes? Our SEO service starts with a plain-language audit of exactly these points. Ask for one.