One Simple SEO Trick To Boost Your Local Website
The world of internet SEO (Search Engine Optimization) used to be simple. Business owners and web masters could simply stuff the tags of pages, photos, and videos with their niche keywords and like magic their site would rank on the front page of Google. Then came the social media and web 2.0 era and sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Pinterest became the main focus of many web marketers. The theory was to neglect your .com for the greener pastures of social media because that’s where the people were. The problem with that strategy is social platforms rise and fall in popularity and in the end you run the risk of having a big social account on a platform that nobody logs into anymore. The reality of the situation is in order to keep up with the constant changes and fads of the internet it has to be your full time focus. In the past, basic strategies to get traffic to your website worked, but eventually the Google Search Algorithm got smarter. Recent updates like Google’s Penguin, Panda, and Pigeon have all changed the game putting more relevance strong backlinks, mobile optimization, and local search. As the days go by the Internet gets more competitive and more saturated with companies trying to carve out their niche on the World Wide Web. The truth is for most small to medium size business’s you need to hire a competent Search Engine Marketing company to dominate your competition, but if you insist on doing it yourself, follow this simple SEO tip to give yourself an advantage.
Create Your Google Pages Local Listing Profile
The most important thing you can do is harness the power of “local search” to leap frog the competition and rank above them in the Google 3–Pack and 7-Pack. The great news is most business’s have not properly filled out their Google listing and therefore will not be ranked in the Google Pack. I believe using SEO to rank your websites organically is important because essentially your getting free advertising from search engines. Studies show that over 90% of search is organic and we know most search is Google so why not give them the information they need to rank your website effectively?
Fill Out Your Google Local Listing Accurately
For example, if you have a plumbing business in Portland and a customer searches for “Plumbers in Portland Oregon” then your business will be qualified to pull up in the Google 3 or 7 Pack. The screenshot above shows what it looks like when you Google “Portland Oregon Plumbers” and you can see the 7-Pack is displayed. Remember, this doesn’t mean you will pull up in the Google pack. It just means your now officially listed and eligible too. In large cities with with tough competition it will take more work. In most small cities though you should have no problem appearing in the Google listings for most services. There are many other tactics you can deploy to dominate the Google Listings like using Citations and Backlinks but I’m not going to go into those tactics here. If your interested in those services you can Contact Morrisey Video Production for more information. In conclusion, there is no substitute for a competent search engine optimization company working on your website, but filling out your Google Listing properly at least puts your business on the playing field.
The first step is to create a Gmail account, then create a Google+ account with that Gmail. Once you have done that your now ready to create a “Google Page” and fill out your companies name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, and upload a few photos. The next step is to verify your address with Google. In about a week you receive verification card in the mail with a number you need to enter into your Google Business Page to prove that the address you listed is indeed your business address. Once this process is completed your business will now appear on the Google Maps. Now when your potential customers type in your service type with the geographic location into Google your business should be listed.