Local SEO Masterclass for Local Business Owners

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Jonathan Foster@thejfoster42http://jfosterwebdesign.com/

Local SEO Masterclass for Local Business OwnersA simple guide to getting more exposure, traffic and sales from Google

Who I am:Name: Jonathan FosterLocation: Elkton, KY (but well go with Clarksville, TN area)


What I Do:I help entrepreneurs grow their business through high-converting websites, SEO and content marketing


A Bit About Me:Started a magazine a friend at a young age


A Bit About Me:Stumbled upon web design through that magazine - pretty much got addicted after that


A Bit About Me:I took my first paying web design job at age 12


A Bit About Me:Kept learning and practicing web design all through school until I moved out and started really supporting myself on it


A Bit About Me:Eventually Blake and I parted ways, but I have continued doing SEO and web design ever since


A Bit About Me:It didnt take long for me to start scaling up my business and looking for new ways to grow


A Bit About Me:It didnt take long for me to start scaling up my business and looking for new ways to grow


A Bit About Me:Ive spent my time building up an extremely flexible and scalable remote agency


A Bit About Me:I love SEO because its difficult, its always changing, and it takes a lot of studying and hard work to really get good at it


And now here we are!


Setting good goals and setting expectations is the first step


Good SEO takes time, and you need solid goals to keep you on track


Understand WHY you are working on SEO, and exactly what are you working towards


Set very specific, aggressive goals that you can really measure


Make sure you can actually track your progress and gauge where you are on your goals


What gets measured gets managed.Peter Drucker


Wear your best white hat!


Black hat SEO:Manipulates Google rankings in dishonest waysUses spamCreates a bad company image and user experienceIt is honestly a lot harder than white hat


White hat SEO:Complies with Google TOS (makes it really hard to get penalized)Contributes to a great brand and user experienceBuilds relationships, builds value, and builds trustYou wont feel like a dirtbag at the end of the day


White hat SEO:No penalties!White hat is future-proof and wont hurt you anytime soonContributes to building up almost every other aspect of your branding


Local SEO Audits


Step 1: Decide how you want your business information displayed


Step 2: Question time!

Which 3 keywords would you like to rank for?Which of those 3 will make the biggest difference?What are your primary goals in SEO?Why are you doing SEO in the first place?


Step 4: Audit any 301 redirects too


Step 5: Set up a Google My Business page


Step 6: Make a note if you have changed any business info recently


Step 7: Are you indexed by Google?


Step 8: Have you had SEO done before? Review their work.


Step 9: Check your authority metrics


Youve just performed a basic SEO audit!


On-Page SEO Basics


On-page SEO refers to ranking signals that Google gets from your website itself


On-page is a HUGE factor in your rankings, so its a great first step and forms the base of later SEO


Include your name, address and phone number (NAP) on your website


Make sure your page titles include keywords for your location, business name and products/services


Write meta descriptions so that when users see you in Google, they want to visit your site


Try embedding a Google map on your site with directions to your office


Include prices and payments accepted to make it easier to do business with you


Use Schema data to list reviews on your website - but do so cautiously


Add ALT text to all of your images - include keywords wherever possible


Make sure your page loads quickly, and optimize your websites speed


DO NOT use keyword stuffing


Make sure search engines can actually see what is on your website


*Make your website mobile-responsive*


Centroid bias


Centroid bias makes businesses closer to the center of a city or near government buildings rank higher than those on the outskirts


Use centroid bias to your advantage: focus on competing with businesses that likely get a boost from centroid bias


Boost Behavioral Signals


Boost Behavioral Signals


Behavioral signals show Google how people interact with your site & your business - their behavior


Good web design boosts behavioral signals:Clean designMobile-friendly siteFast page loading timeDescriptive headings, titles etc.


Reviews are a huge indicator that your business is VALUABLE to local searchers


Reviews on your site can help CTR, and shows social proof - encouraging people to interact with your site more


Google My Business reviews set you apart from your competition in local search


So how do you get reviews?


Ask!

Try emailing past customers, asking new customers, and hinting at reviews in your office


Spreading the Word: Citations


Spreading the Word: Citations


Citations are business listings that show Google where you are located and who you are


Citations are business listings that show Google where you are located and who you are


All citations must be IDENTICAL in order to benefit your local SEO


Before you build citations, figure out EXACTLY how you want your information displayed/formatted


Use tools like Whitespark to track existing citations and find new ones


Look for high-authority, niche-specific citation sources to list your business in


Barnacle SEO


Sometimes a citation outranks your website...and theres no chance youre gonna outrank Yelp


The solution? Start doing some SEO on the citation!


Link building...


Link building...is not nearly as important as most people think


Backlinks are like references - the more references you have from trustworthy sites, the higher you rank


Only build links from relevant sources that are trustworthy


1 trustworthy link is far more valuable than 10 spam links


Competitor Analysis and Replication


Competitor replication is a super effective way to match and then beat your competitors in search


How to replicate competitors backlinks:


Step 1: Determine your main competitors


Step 2: Use Majestic SEO/Whitespark/other to view their backlinks


Step 3: Determine which links are from trustworthy sources, and which links you can replicate


Step 4: Replicate the most valuable links and watch your rankings climb!


Continued Success Through Content


In order to benefit from content, you have to be consistent - you need a strategy


Make sure that your content schedule is maintainable for you


Plan posts that will bring value to your customers - answer their questions and educate them


Sequence your posts carefully - build a foundation, and then build on it throughout the month


Allow time for your writing - dont rush it or you will sacrifice quality


Building traffic to your content:


1: Syndicate your content


2: Share your posts regularly, but also share other relevant content that is not self-promotional


3: Promote your content on Viral Content Buzz


3: Promote your content on Viral Content Buzz


4: Share your content in carefully targeted social groups


5: Rinse and repeat


Test this strategy for a few weeks, then adjust and add to it


Thinking Long-Term


Thinking Long-Term


Much of the work for local SEO is done within a few weeks...but some tasks must be done regularly


Much of the work for local SEO is done within a few weeks...but some tasks must be done regularly


Blogging: plan your posts 1 month at a time, and choose a publication schedule that fits your business


Competitor analysis: Keep an eye on your competitors, and audit their links every few months for new opportunities


Citations: New citations will always help. Take an hour or two per month to look for new opportunities you may have missed


Review your progress each month and adapt. Let your past experience inform your future success


That wasnt so bad, was it?


Want my help?http://jfosterwebdesign.com/apply

Free website design and SEO analysis when you mention this session :D


Questions?

Email me: [email protected]


Local SEO Masterclass for Local Business Owners

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