search engine optimization for local search
DESCRIPTION
Search Engine Optimization for Local Search. Mary Bowling Blog: www.MaryBowling.com Small Biz Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com. Twitter @ MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]. About Me. Optimized!. MaryBowling.com. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Search Engine Optimization for Local Search
Mary BowlingBlog: www.MaryBowling.com
Small Biz Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
Optimized!
LocalU.org
About Me
IgnitorDigital.com
MaryBowling.com
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
I Consult, Train, Write and Do
For Local Businesses
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
SEO is:Making it easy as possible for
people to find information about your business online wherever they may be looking for it
To Achieve That
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• Create and improve YOUR WEBSITE so that it will rank highly on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) to help potential customers find the business’ website
• Create and improve BUSINESS LISTINGS in important local places across the web to help potential customers find the business’ information on other websites
SEO Helps You Rank in 2 Ways
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PAID ADSLOCAL MAP
PAID ADS
ORGANIC RESULTS
LOCAL RESULTS
Google Gets the Clicks
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US Search Engine Market Share October 2013
Aim to Rank High on Page 1!
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#1 - 42.13%#2 - 11.90%#3 - 8.50%#4 - 6.06%#5 - 4.92%#6 - 4.05%#7 - 3.41%#8 - 3.01%#9 - 2.85%#10 - 2.99%
The SEO Process
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• Pick the right keyword phrases• Decide which pages on our website to optimize for
which terms• Implement the keyword phrases within the content
of your web pages appropriately • Link between your own pages• Gain links and citations from other websites• Eliminate technical problems
The Algorithms
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What the Search Engines Want
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To return the most useful - or relevant - answers for every search
Relevance = Relative Location
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Google knows where we are:• via automatic detection • via our settings and info in our Google account
The business’ location and distance from the searcher help Google determine usefulness.
Google Algorithm Super-Simplified
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Relevance = Keywords in
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HTML titles and headline tags we place on our web pages:HTML page titles appear in the SERPS
Headline tags (aka h tags) appear on the web page
Relevance = Keywords in
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The text content we place on our pages
Relevance = Keywords in
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The text in the links that point to our web pages
(A link tells Search Engines and humans what the page it points to is about )
Recap on Relevance Signals
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Our location in relationship to searcher’s location
Keywords in • page titles and html tags • Web site text• text in links pointing to web pages
On-Site Optimization
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(What we put on our own pages)
Start with Keywords
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We have total control over what we put on our own pages
Which Keywords?
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Don’t Just Guess
Keyword research = foundation of SEOIt enables you to learn:
• What terms?• How many searches?• How hard to rank?
What Makes a Good Keyword?
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Is someone searching for that term likely to turn into a customer for your business? Those are the terms to optimize for!
Use Google Suggest
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Use Google Trends
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To research keywords by location
Add search terms Choose locationChoose time periodSee Related searches
Keyword List Tip
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Put your terms into a free tool* to get an idea of how many people are searching for it and how hard it might be to rank for it
*see your materials for free tool list
Keyword Mapping
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Create a plan of how your keywords will be used to optimize your website
The higher up a page is in the site structure the more natural potential ranking power
Match Pages to Keywords
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There is no exact formula• What is that web page about? • What keyword term(s) best describe it?• How many people are searching for the term(s)?• How hard will it be to rank for the term(s)?• How much potential ranking power does the page
have?
Most competitive terms = home pageMedium competitive terms = pages in main navigationLeast competitive terms = blog posts and other pages
Sample Keyword Map
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Where to Use Keywords
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Use assigned keywords in the important TEXT areas of your pages: • URLs• HTML Page Titles• H1, H2 (headlines and subheads)• Text-based content• Navigation links• Other internal link text• Image file names, alt tags and captions
HTML Page title
URL
H1 headline
Content
Image
Navigation Links
H2 subheadlines
Optimize Search Results
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When a page appears in the SERPs, people usually see:
HTML Page title
URL
HTML metadescription
Page title + Meta description + URL = “Free Ad” in the SERPs
Check Your Ads!
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Make Your Ads Enticing
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Focus on the searcher, who’s thinking:• What’s in it for me?• What problem can this help me solve? • Why should I go to this page instead of another?
Include a call to action : call today, get a free quote, get help, learn how, download , etc.
Ads read better if they are not cut off in the search results. Guidelines-including spaces and punctuation:• Page Title: No more than 65 characters• Meta Description: No more than 130 characters.
Local Tips for Your Web Site
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Make Location Unmistakable
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Place your business name, full street address and local phone number on all pages of your website in text form
Consider using www.Schema.org microdata format for this:
Check Web Site Crawlability
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If the Search Engines can’t find or crawl your pages, they cannot appear in the Search Results
Is there is a large discrepancy between what Google sees and what you know is on the site?Can you find all of your most important pages?
See What Google “Sees”
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Check your home page and all other important pages
Internal Link Text
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When linking from one of your pages to another, use descriptive link text to tell SE’s what page is about
• Replace click here, view more, learn more, etc to location+keyword terms to point to the page optimized for those terms. • For a page optimized for Dallas Accounting, change
Click Here to See all of our Dallas accounting services or Tax advice in Dallas and Plano• Mix up link text – don’t use the exact same term(s)
over and over
Recap:On Site Optimization
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• Pick the right keyword phrases• Map keywords to pages• Implement keywords on chosen pages• Make your “ads” enticing• Put location information in text form• Use internal links but don’t over do link text• Check site crawlability• Look at how Google “sees” your important
pages
Off-Site Optimization
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(aka Link building)
Off-Page Optimization = Links
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Incoming Links
The more votes you get, the better, but quality counts and links from crummy sites hurt you
Link = Votes
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Improve Existing Links
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You can see links with this free tool: http://www.opensiteexplorer.org/
Look at the pages that link to you• Is all the information correct?• Can you add more detail? Description, photos, videos,
services, hours, payment types, etc.• Are you in the right categories?• Can you add a link?• Can you improve the link text?
Links from Relationships
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• Business groups • Social groups • Charities• Sponsorships• Local school and college websites• Clients and partners• Businesses you already have referral
relationships with
Links from Local Directories
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• AngiesList• CitySquares• MerchantCircle• CityVoter• JudysBook• Foursquare• Internet Yellow Pages
Pages
• Yelp• Kudzu• CitySearch• InsiderPages• DiscoverOurTown• Topix• WCities
Links from Local Sites
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• Better Business Bureau• Convention & Visitor’s Bureau• Local Media - Newspapers, Magazines, TV• Chamber of Commerce• Local Business Directories• Local city guides• Local blogs• Local and regional tourism sites
Links from Niche Sites
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• Blog Directories• Product Directories• Videos• Images• Coupons• In something• Near something• Kid-friendly• Pet friendly
• Free Wifi• ATM• Minority-owned• Woman-owned• Non-profit• Other Languages• Maps • Adult only• Handicapped accessible
Links from Social Sites
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Set Up Social Media Profiles here:• LinkedIn • Flickr • Facebook Fan Page • Twitter • FourSquare• YouTube Channel• Google+ profile
Recap: The SEO Process
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
• Pick the right keyword phrases• Decide which pages to optimize for which terms• Implement the keyword phrases appropriately on
your pages• Link between your own pages using good words• Make sure the Search Engines can see your pages
and what’s on them• Gain links from other websites – you cannot ignore
this step!
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
Mary BowlingTwitter: @MaryBowling
Blog: www.MaryBowling.comGoogle+: [email protected]
Get checklists:
THANKS!
http://www.IgnitorDigital.com/DataManagement
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]