Let’s be honest: Memphis isn’t exactly short on flavor. The city’s got soul, grit, and enough pulled pork to power a small nation. But when it comes to digital traffic, even the best ribs joint or boutique florist can get lost in the shuffle. Memphis may move at its own pace, but online, you’ve got to be quick, visible, and unmistakably local. So if you’re running a business here, whether you’re slinging espresso in Cooper-Young or fixing HVAC units out in Cordova, here’s how to make your website the Beale Street of the internet—busy, local, and impossible to ignore.
Let’s start with the obvious.
Local SEO: Not optional, not negotiable.
If your business isn’t showing up when someone Googles “best ___ near me,” you’re already behind. Local SEO is your digital storefront; and in Memphis, that means thinking like a Memphian. People don’t search for “southern brunch cuisine,” they type “best brunch Memphis.” They don’t want “emergency plumbing services,” they want “emergency plumber East Memphis,” and they want it now.
Claim your Google Business Profile. Fill it out like your rent depends on it. Then get your name, address, and phone number identical across every listing—Yelp, TripAdvisor, the Memphis Chamber site, even that one directory that looks like it was built in 2007. Consistency is boring, yes; but it works.
Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to find Memphis-specific terms with decent search volume and low competition. Sprinkle them into your site copy, headers, meta descriptions, and blog titles like seasoning on fries. Not too much, or it gets weird.
Speak local, write local, think local.
Here’s the thing about Memphis: people love their neighborhoods. Midtown isn’t Germantown, and Binghampton sure isn’t Downtown. If your content sounds like it was written in a corporate office in Ohio, nobody’s sticking around.
So write blog posts that feel like they belong here. Try titles like “5 Wedding Venues in Memphis That Don’t Feel Like a Hotel Conference Room” or “How to Prep Your HVAC Before Memphis Turns Into an Oven.” Tie your content to events people already care about—Beale Street Music Fest, Cooper-Young Festival, Tigers basketball season. You don’t need to fake it; just be part of the conversation already happening.
And while we’re at it, collaborate with local influencers. Not the ones selling tummy tea. The real ones—food critics, neighborhood bloggers, folks with actual sway. A shared post from them can do more for your traffic than a month of PPC ads.
Backlinks: Still a thing, still matter.
If you want Google to take you seriously, you need other sites vouching for you. That’s what backlinks are; and in Memphis, there are plenty of places to get them if you’re willing to ask.
Pitch a guest article to the Memphis Flyer. Reach out to local bloggers who cover your niche. Join the Greater Memphis Chamber and actually use the directory. These links tell search engines, “Hey, this business is legit, and people here know it.”
Paid ads: Not cheating, just smart.
Sometimes, you’ve got to pay to play. And if you’re targeting Memphis, geo-targeted ads can be surprisingly efficient. Set your Google Ads to Shelby County or specific ZIP codes like 38104 or 38103. That way, you’re not wasting money on clicks from people in Seattle who’ll never set foot in your store.
On Facebook, get even more granular. Target folks who like the Grizzlies, follow local BBQ joints, or RSVP to events like Memphis in May. Then write ad copy that sounds like it came from someone who actually lives here. “Memphis-style” means something specific; and your ads should reflect that.
Social media: More than selfies and brunch pics.
Memphis has a loud, proud social media scene. If you’re not part of it, you’re missing out. Instagram and Facebook are where locals hang out, argue about barbecue, and share where they just spent $14 on a cocktail.
Use local hashtags like #Choose901 or
#MemphisEats. Tag landmarks, events, and other businesses. And when customers post about you, repost it. That’s user-generated content, and it’s gold. It’s also free. Win-win.
Mobile and speed: The silent killers of traffic.
Here’s a stat that should rattle you a bit: 61 percent of users won’t come back to a mobile site that loads slowly or looks busted. That’s not just a national trend; that’s your neighbor clicking away to a competitor because your homepage took seven seconds to load.
Use Google PageSpeed Insights to see where you’re lagging. Then fix the basics: compress your images, lazy-load what you can, and set up a CDN if your hosting is dragging. Mobile users are impatient. Memphis heat is real. Nobody wants to wait.
More stats and insights on this can be found at Think with Google.
Track what works. Then do more of it.
You don’t need to guess. Google Analytics and Search Console will tell you exactly where your traffic’s coming from, what people are clicking, and how long they’re sticking around. Look for patterns. Are your HVAC blog posts pulling in traffic from Midtown but not East Memphis? Maybe it’s time to write something more specific.
Segment your data by location. You might find that your audience in Bartlett behaves completely differently than your audience Downtown. That’s not a bad thing; it just means you’ve got more to work with.
So, what’s the takeaway here?
Driving traffic in Memphis isn’t about copying what someone in Austin or Atlanta is doing. It’s about knowing your city, your customer, and your corner of the internet. You’ve got to show up in search. You’ve got to sound like you belong here. And you’ve got to be fast, mobile-friendly, and just a little bit clever.
Because in Memphis, people can spot a fake from a mile away. But they’ll show up for something real. Every time.
That’s the view from the ground.
We’ll be back soon with more real-world insights.
Until then, keep building.
– Perfect Sites Blog