Understanding How Your Chamber Membership Benefits Your SEO
Most business owners recognize the benefit of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and digital marketing to promote their business, but many don’t realize how being a member of your Chamber of Commerce can benefit your SEO. Joining your local Chamber of Commerce, with a specific shoutout to the Dulles Regional Chamber, provides a multitude of valuable networking and educational benefits to members, but that membership can also deliver high-quality backlinks to your website, as well as strengthen your own expertise and authority, both strong components of SEO.
Here are a few ways becoming a member could give you a better return on your investment when it comes to SEO.
Chambers Deliver Quality Backlinks for Your Business
Quality backlinks to your business or organization's website, is a strong factor considered by Google when determining online rankings. For backlinks to be considered ‘quality,’ generally these links need to be from websites that are relevant and rank for your market or geography, or subject matter. Chambers of Commerce generally are recognized as high-quality websites, therefore the links from a chamber website provide more value and are higher-quality.
As part of your membership, each member of a Chamber of Commerce will have a link to their website included in their directory profile, and Chambers provide other opportunities to get more involved, by volunteering for committees, speaking engagements and others, which in turn provide additional opportunities to get quality links.
Additionally, other businesses you meet via the Chamber can present partnership opportunities where you can potentially collaborate to get more links, via their website, blog, social media, etc. Make the most of these partnerships and consider writing content for one another’s blog, that will include backlinks to your website, helping your SEO.
Targeting Customers Who Want to ‘Buy Local’ & Search ‘Businesses Near Me’
When searching for businesses that provide the products or services they need, many people prefer to support locally owned businesses. Being listed with your local Chamber of Commerce also proves that your business is truly local and helps people want to connect with you.
These member links back to your business are not only valuable for SEO, but they also help make it easier for people to find you when doing specific geo-searches that correspond with a Chamber’s location as well. This can reinforce your ‘local area search’ visibility and credibility in your community.
Chambers Help Members Build Their Professional & Subject Matter Credibility & E-A-T
E-A-T means Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The days of being able to write and rank on Google generic white paper content say for your blog, without an author with E-A-T, are behind us. Specifically, on YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics, Google wants to know that you are a reputable source for this content and are trustworthy, which your active Chamber of Commerce membership can help build and convey.
E-A-T is a guideline that Google developed and uses to determine what content is high-quality, and therefore in turn should be recognized as higher quality and ranked higher in search. So as you develop content to market your business and promote SEO, Google needs to know that you are an expert or have significant experience with respect to this subject matter. If Google sees that you are a featured speaker at Chamber of Commerce event(s) on specific topics, that can build your credibility or E-A-T on that topic and strengthen the visibility on search for content you generate on that and on related topics.
See a Better Return on Your Chamber Membership
Your local Chamber of Commerce provides multiple opportunities to strengthen your SEO and digital marketing, which is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of. In summary, SEO benefits from your Chamber of Commerce membership can include:
- Develop quality backlinks from Chamber web properties to your website
- Improve your visibility for local business searches
- Strengthen your authority and expertise on specific subject matter by speaking and/or writing on it via the Chamber
Learn More SEO Strategies for Your Business
Gazz Consulting can help you enhance your SEO efforts and generate more business leads with a comprehensive digital marketing campaign. Contact us to learn more today by visiting GazzConsulting.com or call (703) 457-6687.
