Friday, August 26, 2016

The Theory Behind Content Marketing

The theory behind content marketing is quite straightforward: people like good content, so why not use it as an advertising vehicle? Why not feed them all that good stuff to read and watch but lace it with a subtle plug? It’s not a new trick but the fragmentation of media and lowering of barriers to entry means a lot more people are doing it than before. As with social media it’s not the theory that’s controversial, it’s the execution. Smaller brands that might be much better off taking out a full-page ad and shouting BUY OUR STUFF have diverted money into what they think is a subtler, cleverer, more subliminal and more lasting medium to deliver “The Message."

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Content Marketing - What it Means for Your Business.

Content marketing means creating and sharing valuable free content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. The type of content you share is closely related to what you sell; in other words, you’re educating people so that they know, like, and trust you enough to do business with you. But what does content marketing actually mean for your business? What makes it different from what you already do to sell your products and services?  In the next few posts we will explore this.  Stay tuned! 

Friday, August 19, 2016

What to do with Keywords for SEO

Now that you have your keywords strategy down – let’s put it to good use. Looking at your keyword list, you will probably notice that you could group together similar keywords to form categories. Does your website have a page for each category listed from your list? It should. You don’t need hundreds of pages for your website – but your pages should target the primary aspects of your business. Your list of keywords is the starting point. As a best practice, your website should have no less than 6 pages, and be no longer than it needs to be . Looking again at your keyword list, make sure the primary keyword for a page is used as close to the front of the opening sentence of the website as possible and consider highlighting your keywords as bold. Same goes for the administrative elements of the website called the META – the part people cannot see, but search engines can.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

What's the footer have to do with SEO?

The footer is completely underused, the area at the bottom of your website (footer) holds tremendous usability and SEO value. First off - if you have a lot of html code in the header of your website - validation codes are most common – you can move it here. Doing so will reduce the amount of html coding that search engines have to read as they load your page making your page load faster - and the speed that a website page opens is an SEO element that affects ranking. Fast is good. Additionally, adding things like your contact information here will make it easy for people to connect with you - no matter what page of your website they are on. This is especially true on mobile devices. Have multiple locations - consider using a split footer where one side is for the local or satellite business - the other for the main location.

Friday, August 12, 2016

SEO Tips - Linking

Have other websites link to you. This is really, really important, when it comes to SEO. The bummer is that it’s not something you can necessarily control. Other than creating excellent content, the only thing you can do is ask (which occasionally works). My counsel is to spend the time you would trying to convince somebody to link to you on just writing great content. And, start guest posting on other blogs. Regardless of what you do, know that inbound links are essential to SEO.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Getting your Google+ Page Set!

A link to your Google My Business page is no longer available for searchers, but most of the info for your local business card (including your address, phone number, images, street view, etc.) is still taken mostly from that page. So, claim your Google My Business listing if you haven't done it yet, and do your best to fill out the important details:
  • 1. Add a long, unique description that's formatted correctly and includes links.
  • 2. Choose the correct categories for your business.
  • 3. Upload a high-resolution profile image and cover photo.
  • 4. Upload as many photos as possible.
  • 5. Add a local phone number to your listing.
  • 6. Add your business address that's consistent with the address on your website and local directories.

What's Old is New

In case it wasn’t clear already, links dominated the quantitative analysis of local SEO ranking factors. When it comes to Local SEO in 2016, if you are not invested in links and your website, and instead focus predominantly on traditional Local SEO areas like Google My Business and citations then you are going to be at a competitive disadvantage. This may seem obvious to many Local SEOs, but when trying to justify large budgets the anecdotal evidence of a Local SEO practitioner won’t always get the check cut. We have been there, and so likely have you.
Now don’t misunderstand, in markets and verticals with less competition you can likely do fine with just the basics… For now. However, given this study it seems like Google is working on expanding the scope of what it takes to rank in local search.

Thursday, August 4, 2016

More Words = More Local Rankings?

Several website signals showed a strong likelihood of influencing Google My Business performance. Keyword Usage and Words on Page, very traditional organic ranking signals, show that, despite claims that Google is moving to new and more sophisticated ranking methods, keyword usage and user engagement still matter. While we’ll always recommend relevant, well-written location pages, it may be that just piling on more words could be enough to push you up. Size matters…

Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Optimizing Voice Search

Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana… and soon, Google will have Google Home. Voice search is here… and it’s here to stay. Already, 60% of consumers are using voice search, according to the Local Search Association. The challenge for national brands that market locally is to adapt your SEO strategies to capture the unique intent behind voice searches. The words and phrases spoken by consumers are different than the keywords they type. And it’s up to local search marketers to ensure that their location data is clean, optimized, and accessible to these new search engine technologies.