![Record Store: use SEO so everyone can find you on internet [SEO checklist]](http://onlineyougrow.com/cdn/shop/articles/cov-seo-checklist-1_f6dcc941-ca6a-4bdf-9f15-33f12470dafb.png?v=1715867433&width=1100)
SEO isn't just for tech giants and e-commerce sites—it's a powerful tool that the best record stores in the world use strategically to attract music lovers.
We understand that you're busy managing your record store, and the idea of optimizing your website might seem like an added burden.
But here's the thing: you don't need to be an SEO expert or spend a fortune to make it work. Just a few simple steps can significantly improve your online visibility and bring more customers through your doors.
To help you out, we have created a free SEO checklist - also, for a comprehensive action plan, please check our pack of marketing tactics and strategies for record store owners.
Get the SEO checklist made for record store owners
The best record stores rank first on Google. Here is a free tool to to get you started.
What is SEO for record stores exactly?
Simply put, SEO is all about making your record store’s website more attractive to search engines like Google.
When someone searches for "best vinyl records in [Your Town]" or "rare jazz albums," SEO helps your record store show up in the results. The goal is to get your website higher up on the search results page so more people can find and visit your store.
Why is SEO Important for Record Stores?
SEO is incredibly important for record stores, and here’s why:
- Increased Online Visibility:
The higher your website ranks on search engines, the more people will see it. This means more potential customers discovering your record store online, especially when they're looking for music options.
- Higher Rankings on Search Engines:
Most people don’t look past the first page of search results. By optimizing your site, you can climb those rankings and beat out the competition. Imagine someone searching for "best vinyl records near me" and finding your store right at the top!
- Attracting More Local Customers:
SEO isn't just about getting anyone to your site—it's about getting the right people. Local SEO helps ensure that when someone nearby searches for a place to buy records, your store pops up. This means more foot traffic and more music lovers visiting your store.
Key Components of SEO
Now, let’s break down the main parts of SEO specifically for your record store:
On-Page SEO
This involves making sure the content on your website is optimized. It includes things like:
- Keywords:
Using the words and phrases people are searching for in your titles, descriptions, and content. For example, if you specialize in classic rock, make sure you use phrases like "best classic rock records" or "vintage rock vinyl" on your site.
- Content Quality:
Providing useful, engaging, and fresh content about your record store. Share your latest arrivals, special offers, upcoming events, and stories about your collection and staff.
- Meta Tags:
Using meta titles and descriptions that are relevant and appealing to searchers. For instance, a meta description for your homepage could be "Discover rare and classic vinyl records at [Your Store Name], the top-rated record store in [Your Town]."
Off-Page SEO
This focuses on actions taken outside your website to impact your rankings:
- Backlinks:
Getting other reputable websites to link to your site, which signals to search engines that your site is trustworthy and relevant. This could be from music bloggers, local news sites, or community event pages.
- Social Media:
Being active on social media with your record store’s page can drive traffic to your site and improve your online presence. Share your latest finds, customer reviews, and special events to engage with your audience.
Technical SEO
This ensures your website meets the technical requirements of search engines:
- Site Speed:
Making sure your website loads quickly. No one likes to wait, especially music enthusiasts eager to browse your collection!
- Mobile-Friendliness:
Ensuring your site looks and works well on mobile devices. Many people search for record stores on their phones while on the go.
- Secure Website (HTTPS):
Having a secure website that users (and search engines) can trust. This is especially important if you have an online store or reservation system for rare records.
Some record stores make 5x more profit than you!
We have studied the strategies of the best record stores in the world. Replicate them now!
Which keywords should you target for your record store?
Record store owners, like you, must target specific keywords in SEO because it helps your website appear in search results when potential customers look for the type of music or vinyl records you offer. This increases the chances that people will find and visit your record store.
For example, if you specialize in vintage vinyl, targeting keywords like "best vintage vinyl store" or "vinyl records near me" helps attract customers searching for those terms. This makes it easier for people interested in vinyl records to find your store online.
Here are some keyword ideas for you. If you want a more developed strategy with actionable steps, go check out our strategy pack for record store owners.
| Keyword | Competitiveness Level | Tips and Initiatives |
|---|---|---|
| Best record store in [Your City] | High | Optimize your website with high-quality images of your store and records, gather customer reviews, list on local directories, and use local SEO strategies. |
| Where to buy vinyl records | Medium | Create blog posts or pages on your website highlighting your best records, use keywords naturally in content, and engage with local music bloggers. |
| Record store with good atmosphere near me | Medium | Use beautiful imagery of your store's ambiance, gather positive customer reviews, and ensure your Google My Business profile is complete. |
| Best place for vinyl records in [Your City] | Medium | Feature specific genres prominently on your website (e.g., rock, jazz), use local SEO tactics, and promote special collections on social media. |
| [Your Genre] records in [Your City] | High | Highlight unique aspects of your collection, create SEO-friendly content about your records, and engage with the local community online. |
| Top-rated record store near me | High | Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews, optimize your website for mobile, and ensure accurate information on local listings. |
| Affordable vinyl records in [Your City] | Low | Highlight affordable options and specials on your website, use keywords related to value, and promote deals on social media. |
| Where to find rare records near me | Medium | Use local SEO strategies, create content around rare finds, and ensure your website is optimized for mobile users searching nearby. |
| Popular record store in [Your City] | Medium | Use social media to share popular records, engage with local influencers, and gather customer testimonials to build credibility. |
| Best record store for collectors in [Your City] | Low | Create collector-friendly content, highlight rare and unique records on your website, and host collector-themed events to generate buzz. |
What really matters when you do SEO for a record store
Actually, we think that SEO often follows the 80/20 rule, meaning that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. For record store owners, like you, this means it's crucial to focus on the right strategies to maximize impact without feeling overwhelmed.
| Action / Initiative | Why It Matters / How It Helps Bring New Customers |
|---|---|
| Optimize Google My Business profile | Ensures your record store appears in local search results, provides essential information (hours, location, inventory), and collects reviews to build trust. |
| Gather and respond to online reviews | Positive reviews build credibility and trust. Responding to reviews shows you value customer feedback, encouraging more people to visit. |
| Create high-quality content with targeted keywords | Helps your website rank higher in search results for relevant queries, attracting customers looking for specific genres or rare records. |
| Optimize for local SEO | Ensures your record store shows up in local searches (e.g., "record stores near me"), driving foot traffic from nearby potential customers. |
| Ensure website is mobile-friendly | Most users search for stores on their phones. A mobile-friendly site provides a better user experience, leading to higher engagement and conversions. |
| Use high-quality images of records and store ambiance | Attractive photos entice potential customers, showcasing your inventory and atmosphere, which can significantly influence their decision to visit. |
| Include an online catalog with keywords | Allows search engines to index your inventory, helping you appear in searches for specific records, and makes it easy for customers to see what you offer. |
| List your store on local directories | Increases your online presence and backlinks, improving your search engine ranking and making it easier for customers to find you. |
| Engage with local music bloggers and influencers | Generates buzz and word-of-mouth, reaching a wider audience and attracting customers who trust these local voices. |
| Promote special events and offers | Creates a sense of urgency and excitement, encouraging potential customers to visit your store for unique experiences. |
| Utilize social media to share updates and engage with customers | Builds a community around your store, keeps customers informed about new arrivals, and drives traffic to your website. |
| Ensure accurate and consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information across all platforms | Prevents confusion, helps search engines trust your business information, and improves your local SEO ranking. |
| Offer online ordering and reservations for rare records | Makes it convenient for customers to purchase records or reserve rare finds, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction. |
| Create blog posts about your records and store experience | Attracts visitors to your site through informative and engaging content, improving SEO and showcasing what makes your record store unique. |
Copy the tactics of the best record stores in the world!
There are record stores that make way more money than you do. We have studied their tactics. Get them now!
What is always useless when you do SEO for a record store
We have studied a lot of record stores when we built our strategy pack and we saw a lot of SEO-related initiatives that don't help attract new customers. We explain here why they might be a waste of time or even counterproductive.
| Action / Initiative | Why It Doesn't Matter / How It Doesn't Help Bring New Customers |
|---|---|
| Using meta keyword tags | Search engines no longer use meta keyword tags to rank pages, so focusing on them doesn't improve SEO for your record store. |
| Keyword stuffing in album descriptions | Overusing keywords in album descriptions makes them hard to read and can be penalized by search engines, turning away potential customers. |
| Paying for backlinks from unrelated websites | Backlinks from non-music related or low-quality websites don't improve your SEO and can even hurt your ranking if considered spammy by search engines. |
| Using exact match domains like bestvinylrecords.com | Having an exact match domain has minimal impact on SEO and can appear spammy, especially if it doesn't reflect your brand well. |
| Creating multiple pages for the same album | Duplicate content confuses search engines and can dilute your SEO efforts. Focus on one high-quality page for each unique album or topic. |
| Using Flash for album previews or store pages | Flash is outdated, not supported by many devices, and negatively impacts SEO. Modern alternatives like HTML5 should be used instead. |
| Focusing only on desktop optimization | Many customers search for record stores on mobile devices. Ignoring mobile optimization leads to poor user experience and lower search rankings. |
| Using automated link-building tools | These tools often create low-quality or spammy links that can be penalized by search engines, hurting your record store's SEO efforts. |
| Ignoring structured data for albums | Structured data helps search engines understand your album listings better. Ignoring it means missing out on potential SEO benefits like rich snippets. |
| Not updating your online catalog regularly | Outdated catalog information can frustrate customers and harm your SEO. Regular updates keep content relevant and maintain search rankings. |
| Using irrelevant stock photos on your site | Low-quality or irrelevant images can negatively impact user experience and SEO. Use high-quality photos of your actual albums and store. |
| Over-optimizing anchor text in links | Using exact match keywords for every link appears unnatural and can be penalized by search engines. Use varied, natural anchor text instead. |
| Ignoring page load speed for your website | Slow-loading pages frustrate users and can lead to higher bounce rates, negatively impacting your record store's SEO. Ensure your site loads quickly. |
| Using too many ads above the fold on your homepage | Too many ads at the top of the page can be off-putting for users and may be penalized by search engines, impacting your SEO negatively. |
Should you pay someone for the SEO of your record store?
Well, let's be upfront. Here’s the thing: SEO can get pretty intricate, and having some support can really make a difference. Imagine trying to juggle running your record store, managing inventory, keeping customers happy, and then on top of that, diving into the world of search engine optimization. It’s a lot, right?
Having someone handle your SEO means you can focus on what you do best—running your record store. SEO experts know the ins and outs of getting your website to rank higher on search engines. They stay updated on the latest trends and algorithms, which means your site will be optimized correctly and consistently. This can lead to more people finding your record store online, and ultimately, more customers walking through your doors.
- But here’s the kicker: there are a lot of low-hanging fruits in SEO that you can tackle on your own, even if you don’t know much about it.
You will find a lot of low-hanging fruits that cost nothing, are quick to implement, and will make your record store’s website much more visible in strategy pack for record store owners.
Simple actions like optimizing your Google My Business profile, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, and using relevant keywords can significantly improve your online presence. These tasks don't require deep technical knowledge but can make a big impact.
So, should you increase the marketing budget of your record store and pay someone to manage your SEO? If you can do it, it’s a worthwhile investment. But don't underestimate what you can achieve on your own. Start with the basics, see the results, and then decide if you need more specialized help.
Make your record store more profitable
We have studied the strategies of the best record stores in the world. All their tactics are explained in our pack!
Useful tools record store owners can use for their SEO
Here are some essential tools that our team has collected and listed, to help you improve your record store's online presence and SEO.
| Tool | How It's Useful |
|---|---|
| Google My Business | Ensures your record store appears in local search results and Google Maps, provides essential information (hours, location, catalog), and collects customer reviews. |
| SEMrush | Helps identify the best keywords for your record store, analyze competitors, and track your search rankings. Provides insights to improve your content and visibility. |
| Yext | Manages your record store's listings across multiple directories, ensuring consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone) information to boost local SEO. |
| Google Search Console | Monitors your record store website's performance, identifies issues, and provides data on search traffic and keywords to optimize your SEO strategy. |
| Yelp | Collects customer reviews and ratings, which improve your record store's online reputation and visibility in local search results. |
| BrightLocal | Offers tools for local SEO audits, citation building, and review management, helping your record store improve its local search presence. |
| Moz | Provides keyword research, link building, and site audit tools to enhance your record store's SEO efforts and improve search engine rankings. |
| Ahrefs | Analyzes your record store's backlink profile, identifies top-performing content, and tracks keyword rankings to boost your SEO strategy. |
| Screaming Frog SEO Spider | Crawls your record store's website to identify technical SEO issues, such as broken links and duplicate content, helping improve site health and rankings. |
| AnswerThePublic | Generates content ideas by showing what people are searching for related to your record store, helping you create relevant and engaging blog posts and pages. |
| Canva | Helps create visually appealing social media posts and graphics for your website, which can improve user engagement and indirectly boost SEO. |
| Hotjar | Provides insights into user behavior on your record store's website through heatmaps and session recordings, helping you optimize user experience and reduce bounce rates. |
Copy the SEO tactics of the best record store owners
We understand why many record store owners might shy away from SEO and marketing.
Running a record store is already a full-time job, and the concept of SEO can seem vague and foreign. The terminology can be confusing, and it often feels like marketing is a luxury only big corporations can afford.
Plus, there's the constant worry about costs and whether any marketing efforts will actually pay off. We get that you prefer to focus on immediate, tangible improvements to your store rather than dive into something that seems complicated and uncertain. No need to deteriorate your store’s budget here.
That's why we've created a "marketing pack" specifically for record store owners like you.
Our pack is designed to address all these concerns head-on. It includes easy-to-follow guides that break down SEO and marketing into simple steps, so you don't need to be a tech expert to understand. We offer cost-effective strategies that fit within tight budgets, and our step-by-step plans ensure that you can implement a good marketing strategy for your record store without feeling overwhelmed.
Plus, we've included real-life examples and tips that have worked for other small record stores, so you can see the tangible benefits before you even start.
Our goal is to make marketing accessible and practical, helping your record store thrive without adding extra stress to your already busy life.
Your record store could make more money!
Most record store owners don't know how to grow their business. Let us teach you the right strategies.
