No matter what business you run, you need a website. And that website won’t do you much good without search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO gets your website seen so your business can grow. And local SEO will even bring foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar location.
Here are the 4 most essential SEO tricks for local businesses. Use these tips to boost web traffic and foot traffic.
Google search platforms control more than 90 percent of the market. When Google alters something about the way search results are displayed, businesses have to catch up or risk losing customers.
The Google local pack is an especially critical feature, and Google recently made major changes in the way it displays top local results. What was once known as a 7-pack has now been pared down to a 3-pack.
Those terms may sound confusing, but they’re easy to understand. For one thing, neither a 3-pack nor a 7-pack has anything to do with beer.
Read on for a beginner’s guide to the Google 3 Pack.
Looking for new ways to market your business?
Wondering if you should be using local SEO techniques for your website?
Local search engine optimization services, or local SEO services, are invaluable for any business that operates in a specific regional location. While a website is a valuable calling card for your business, it’s not enough on its own. You also need to get the right visitors to your site.
If you’re operating any of the types of businesses listed below, chances are that you need local SEO services.
One of the most important aspects of running a website is having prominence on the web. It’s about being seen and attracting people to do what it is that your website needs them to.
In order to run a successful website, you need to know how to get found on Google. You would think it was easy, but when you consider the millions of other people trying to be seen as well, you can start to imagine that the whole process is very competitive.
The first step in having a presence online is working on your search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of adjusting your site to the liking of the search engine, thereby coming up higher on searches.
Here are 3 effective ways to improve your SEO.
There are multiple ways that a site can boost its search engine optimization, but here are a few that are tried and true, and certain to help your website boost traffic.
Search engines operate on algorithms. These algorithms attempt to determine how relevant a website is to the search at hand. Things like keywords, links, and traffic are all criteria that engines use to determine which websites best fit the search terms.
The more relevant links that are embedded in your site, the more valuable your site will appear. Not all links are seen the same, though, and link building is the process of developing a site with high quality, relevant links.
One way of doing this is starting a blog. Start a blog on various topics in your niche, all with a few, relevant links embedded in the text. Alternatively, you can reach out to other websites in your niche and ask for a “guest post” or see if you can have a link to your site embedded in one of their articles.
Guest posting is essentially the act of writing an article or blog post to be posted on a friend’s website. This article may or may not be a direct advertisement for your site, but it should certainly have at least one link embedded to your site.
Similar to links, citations are references to your site on other websites. You can liken this to having your number in the Yellow Pages; your name is out there and ready for people who are looking for it.
There are millions of directories and websites that list sources for relevant information. Start small by contacting these directories in your niche, then branch out and start to get into more general sites and forums. The more your name is out there, the more relevant you will seem to the search engine.
Another great way to boost your credibility is the old-fashioned “cold call.” Reach out to local news organizations or businesses and see if they will do a review on your website. When you’re pitching your website, be sure to sell the business on how relevant and important your work is to the functioning of their organization.
Even if you don’t see a clear connection between your website and the organization you’re contacting, do your best to make one. It never hurts to reach out in attempt to get some press.
Other people within your niche, successful or not, are likely to have some good insight into optimizing a website. Talk with people you know, find out how to get found on Google, and put your knowledge to work!
If you have any questions on other ways to optimize your website, be sure to contact us and we’d be happy to help in any way possible.
Everything happens online these days. We use the internet to connect with friends and family, meet new people, find new jobs, and learn pretty much anything.
Online services have transformed every simple task from getting a ride to going grocery shopping. Even figuring out our fashion sense or needed nutrients is possible with a few touches of a button now, too.
For consumers, such technological advancements make life easier to manage. For businesses, it might actually be harder to create the market presence they’re looking for.
It’s hard to reach your target market when there’s so much digital stimulation going on. That’s why developing a strong digital presence is more important now than ever.
To start getting ranked and boosting traffic, use the following search initiatives.
Your company website is the cornerstone of your digital presence. As such, don’t just buy a domain name and call it a day. Take the time to develop each landing page with all the right on-site optimization tools for you.
Note, you may need a web developer, graphic designer, or copywriter for this – possibly a mix of all three services. This is an investment worth making.
Such services now create the foundation for your search successes later. They create a beautiful design with UX and UI in mind, which is also reflective of the latest search algorithm advancements.
One algorithm change making waves this year is the mobile-first index. This is Google’s way of recognizing that mobile is beginning to matter more than desktop content.
The catch is, though, your mobile and desktop content should already be the same. Not to say that all your web elements will display the same. Menus and landing pages should adjust between various sizes of smartphones, tablets, and computers.
But, there should only be one URL, one website with a responsive design. This is what makes your mobile strategy as seamless as can be.
It takes the old-school approach of having one URL for desktop purposes and a separate site for mobile and combines everything. The result? A single, fully-optimized site where you can track the strength of your digital presence from all angles.
As much as your website matters, it’s not the only thing that boosts how you’re found and recognized online. Social media plays a huge role in digital marketing, too.
Open an account on all the major channels if you haven’t already. Between a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Snapchat and/or Pinterest account, you’ll be set. Don’t forget about Google My Business either, although that’s more for search support than purely social initiatives.
Of all your channels, have a focus on one or two. But, make sure you’re interacting everywhere. Comment back to users, like what others posts, respond to tags and make a few tags of others yourself.
To keep the conversation going back and forth from social to your website, start a blog. This is your ultimate source of content. It’s where you can keep publishing new, relevant information that will boost your search strategy.
Not to mention, blogging reflects your expertise.
Write about updates in your industry or how your products work. Start writing guest posts to lead people back to your site from other online destinations, too.
Last but not least, tweak some of your SEO practices to have more of a local focus.
Local SEO includes tactics like:
Such strategies take your overall approach to search and make you more available to users in your immediate area. This is extremely beneficial if you only have on physical location, or when expanding into a new geographical market.
To really make the most of your digital presence, call in the experts. There are plenty of professionals operating in the SEO space to help businesses connect with their target.
But, you can’t just hire anyone for the job. Hire a team with a clear working knowledge of the industry and a strong history of creating search successes for clients; hire Rebel Fish.
For more on what we offer and how we operate, contact us today!
Research shows that more than half of all online traffic is driven by online search. For this reason, it’s essential for any digital marketing plan to include a strategy to optimize their search engine traffic.
Any effort that seeks to drive traffic via organic search falls under the umbrella of search engine marketing (SEM). Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important part of search engine marketing, but they are not one in the same.
Let’s take a closer look at the similarities and differences in SEO vs SEM.
Digital marketing is a blanket term that refers to a variety of online strategies marketers can use. This can include social media marketing, mobile marketing, and pay to click ads.
Search engine marketing is a type of internet marketing that focuses on reaching traffic through search engines. This can focus on driving either free traffic or paid traffic to your site.
The main way to drive paid traffic with SEM is through paid search advertising, also known as PSA. The most popular form of PSA is Google Adwords.
With Adwords, your ads will appear when a user enters a search query that is relevant to your ad. With these ads, you only pay when someone clicks on your advertisement. This classifies Adwords as a form of pay per click (PPC) advertising.
Other search engines, link Bing and Yahoo, have similar advertising options. Keep in mind, however, that these search engines are not as heavily used as Google.
The key to driving free search engine traffic to your website is SEO. The purpose of SEO is to tailor the content on your website so that it contains the kind of content search engine’s look for.
Every search engine uses an algorithm to determine what results to show to a user based on their queries. The algorithms typically look at both the relevance and the quality of the site.
The main way that a site’s relevancy is determined is through keywords. To make your site appear on results pages for relevant terms, you will want to make sure to include those keywords on your site.
But simply including keywords isn’t enough. Search engines also rank sites based on their quality.
One way a site’s quality is determined is by how many sites link back to it. Social media shares and overall traffic are also used to determine quality.
The best way to improve on these metrics is to produce great content. Producing great content is also a good way to increase the number of keywords on your site. These strategies can help bring more interested potential customers to your site.
Understanding the differences between SEO vs SEM is important. But it’s even more important to put principles of both strategies to work.
If you are ready to work on your website’s search engine strategy, contact us. We’ll work with you on a plan that fits your business’s needs.
Are you working around the clock, trying to develop your local SEO ranking, but finding that you’re way over your head?
Mastering local SEO is no easy feat, but with hard work or outsourcing to the right professionals, you’ll attract loads of customers and see your business booming.
Do you find yourself struggling to successfully implement SEO on your website? Here are 5 telltale signs your business needs a local SEO expert.
Whether you’re a physical business or not, you basically don’t exist if you don’t have an online presence. There are places local businesses “hang out” to make it simple for customers on the go to locate businesses.
80% of searches for local businesses result in purchases, says this study. People are turning to the web to find businesses while they’re out, which makes it critical for you to have a strong online presence.
89% of searches on Google for local businesses are done on mobile, so if it’s not part of your local SEO strategy, you need a local SEO expert.
Chances are you’re not carrying around your computer if you’re traveling or just out on the town for the night. If you’re looking for a restaurant, hotel, or other business while you’re out, you’re on a mobile device.
Mobile SEO can even help while potential customers are not on their mobile devices. 78% of local searches on mobile will result in an offline purchase.
Conducting research on your competitors is crucial to any SEO campaign, but especially local businesses.
By studying your competitors, especially the highly successful ones, you’re able to see what works for them and where you have room for improvement.
If you haven’t even thought about your competitors, or don’t have the time, reach out to a local SEO expert.
Let’s face it: SEO, in general, is difficult to grasp for your average person. Then add local SEO to it, you’re left with quite a tall task.
There are many factors that determine how well your local SEO is performing, but if you don’t understand those factors, it’s time to outsource.
The reason any of us seek out a business is when we can’t do something ourselves, or we’re looking to purchase or get help with something.
The biggest reason to contact a local SEO expert would be lack of results.
If you’re not showing up on page one of Google, chances are you won’t be found. 75% of people are not combing through Google search results past page one. And it’s not a simple task to get there.
If you’re not seeing a return on your investment or making money from your SEO efforts, your business needs assistance.
As an entrepreneur, it can be easy to juggle everything and wear all of the hats at first.
But as your business grows, or if you want your business to prosper, you’ll have to outsource at some point.
If that time is now, let us help you achieve those results. You can contact us here anytime.
Thankfully, if you’re struggling to maintain your online presence or have no clue, you can simply pay a Local SEO company to take care of it for you. But for that, quality comes with a price tag and you’ll get what you pay for. There’s usually an upfront set-up cost, and month to month fee depending on the package you choose with the company. Ideally, with a good SEO company, they should be utilizing a strategy that gives your website and service new reviews, citations, social media shares, and backlinks almost every month.
The short answer is Yes, Local and National SEO is an on-going process. While it takes a lot of work to get off the ground initially and gain movement, in a few short months you’ll notice that your website’s ranking will start to improve.
You will need a steady flow of positive reviews of your company coming into Google My Business, social media shares of your business and other social signals, a steady flow of new citations of your business around the internet and anything else positive about your business mentioned on the internet. The reason why you’ll continually need Local SEO and reputation services is simply because of the local competition in your geographic area.
Your type of business may have a lot of competing companies in the local and surrounding neighborhoods. Using an ongoing strategy of Local SEO for years to come will ensure that you have the edge over your competition.
To rank successfully on the first page of Google for your industry top keywords and maintain it for the long haul requires both a great local SEO agency, but is in combination with the business having a culture of customer service that rivals the competition. There are only 10 organic positions and 3 Google Maps positions, so there are only 13 spaces on page one of Google for any given keyword or search phrase. It is safe to say your competition wants to be on page one as well.
There are some determining factors to gain a successful ranking:
• The number of citations across different websites
• The number of reviews on Google My Business (and other sites)
• Is your website SEO friendly and is your GMB claimed & verified
Google takes into account a combination of the above factors, including backlinks to your website (other websites such as social media, news, other businesses linking to your website) to help determine your business’s ranking in the search engines. Perhaps the most obvious factor that carries the most weight is the number of positive reviews your business has on Google My Business and other review websites. If you want to know what sites you have reviews on currently, now this is a basic audit, we do an in-depth audit to find every possible site you are reviewed on or could be reviewed on for your industry. Do a search on Google for the name of your company + city and scan the first page or two and if you see stars under your name it is probably a review website like Yelp, Google Maps, Facebook, Yellow pages or a specific review site for your profession like Vitals which only reviews doctors.
