Search Engine Optimization for Local Search

Mary BowlingBlog: www.MaryBowling.com

Small Biz Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com

Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + MaryBBowling@gmail.com

Optimized!

LocalU.org

About Me

IgnitorDigital.com

MaryBowling.com

I Consult, Train, Write and Do

For Local Businesses

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

• 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

PAID ADSLOCAL MAP

PAID ADS

ORGANIC RESULTS

LOCAL RESULTS

Google Gets the Clicks

US Search Engine Market Share October 2013

Aim to Rank High on Page 1!

#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

• 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

What the Search Engines Want

To return the most useful - or relevant - answers for every search

Relevance = Relative Location

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

Relevance = Keywords in

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

The text content we place on our pages

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

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

(What we put on our own pages)

Start with Keywords

We have total control over what we put on our own pages

Which Keywords?

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?

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

Use Google Trends

To research keywords by location

Add search terms Choose locationChoose time periodSee Related searches

Keyword List Tip

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

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

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

Most competitive terms = home pageMedium competitive terms = pages in main navigationLeast competitive terms = blog posts and other pages

Sample Keyword Map

Where to Use Keywords

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

H1 headline

Content

Navigation Links

H2 subheadlines

Optimize Search Results

When a page appears in the SERPs, people usually see:

HTML Page title

HTML metadescription

Page title + Meta description + URL = “Free Ad” in the SERPs

Check Your Ads!

Make Your Ads Enticing

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

Make Location Unmistakable

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

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”

Check your home page and all other important pages

Internal Link Text

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

• 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

Off-Site Optimization

(aka Link building)

Off-Page Optimization = Links

Incoming Links

The more votes you get, the better, but quality counts and links from crummy sites hurt you

Link = Votes

Improve Existing Links

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

• 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

• AngiesList• CitySquares• MerchantCircle• CityVoter• JudysBook• Foursquare• Internet Yellow Pages

• Yelp• Kudzu• CitySearch• InsiderPages• DiscoverOurTown• Topix• WCities

Links from Local Sites

• 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

• 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

Set Up Social Media Profiles here:• LinkedIn • Flickr • Facebook Fan Page • Twitter • FourSquare• YouTube Channel• Google+ profile

Recap: The SEO Process

• 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!

Mary BowlingTwitter: @MaryBowling

Blog: www.MaryBowling.comGoogle+: MaryBBowling@gmail.co

Get checklists:

THANKS!

http://www.IgnitorDigital.com/DataManagement

Search Engine Optimization for Local Search

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