Amy Fields is our go-to for all things digital. In this week's My RI Life, she's sharing a few more of her Rhody favs as well as some valuable insights for fellow bloggers, and small businesses, looking for effective ways to ramp up traffic to their sites. 

Food & Restaurants

Because I live so far south, I tend to hang out at a lot of places down in Westerly. For many Rhode Islander's, this is out of the question, but driving the extra 20 minutes south is so worth it. There's TONS of great shopping and eating down there that unless you're from the area, you probably don't know about. One of my favorites is Bridge. It's right on the Pawcatuck River in downtown Westerly. They have a huge restaurant inside for cooler months, but if you can get there during the summer, you can enjoy their massive patio right out on the water. Not only is the scenery awesome, but their menu (including most of the beer and wine list) is all locally sourced from New England farms and fisheries. Everything is super fresh and super delicious!

After dinner at Bridge, my husband and I really like to head over to The Malted Barley, right down the street in downtown Westerly (I believe there's one in Providence too.). They have a huge wall of beer on tap, many of which are local and seasonal. And you HAVE to get a gourmet pretzel! My favs are the asiago and parmesan as well as the cinnamon sugar if I'm in the mood for something sweet.

Shopping 

One of my most favorite local companies is Yoreganics. They're all organic skin care and laundry products, made specifically for people with sensitive skin. I tend to get reactions to anything with scents or unnatural ingredients, so the Yorebalm in particular is a lifesaver. Plus, the owner Kim is super cool, down to earth, and hysterical. She's always around for a laugh and doesn't take herself too seriously. She makes this whole natural and organic lifestyle thing more accessible, so it doesn't feel so "crunchy granola",which can be a turn off for me.

Getting Your Site Seen 

Whenever I use the term Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) around a small business owner, I always get that grimace in response. I bet you're doing it right now - and I don't blame you! SEO is confusing, frustrating, and, most of the time, seems downright impossible. There are tons of SEO "experts" out there who say they have the magic bullet or that one thing you can do to see instant results. Well, here's the truth: There is no magic bullet and there's no such thing as instant results. Good SEO requires hard work and commitment. It takes time and energy and can sometimes be just 'too much'. However, there is a reason SEO is such a popular topic, and marketing experts charge thousands of dollars to help small business owners do it right. It's because it works! Showing up on the first page of search is the #1 way to drive huge traffic and sales through your website without spending thousands of dollars on advertising. I know how valuable good SEO can be for a small business, and tomorrow I'm sharing my 5 best tips to move your website up in search - for FREE! 

I'm super excited to announce my complimentary master class - The 5 FREE Things You Can Do To Get To The First Page In Search on May 25th at 12pm and 7pm EST. It will show you:

• The #1 rule for creating and optimizing website content that Google will LOVE and want to serve in search results.
• The best way to show Google your site is fresh and updated, so it knows to serve it first over other sites.
• How to optimize your blogging content and news articles to get the biggest impact in search.
• What you should be doing on the backend of your website to start seeing your site on the first page.
• How to effectively track your work to see how it's working for you.

Click here to reserve your seat.

Can't wait to see you there!

Amy

Photo Credits: Pics from Bridge and The Malted Barley are courtesy of their wed site and Instagram respectively. All other pics courtesy of Amy.