Search Engine Optimization For Local Search Optimized! Optimized! Mary Bowling Blog: Google+: Mary Bowling Blog: Google+:

For Local Businesses, SEO is Optimized! Optimized! Making it as easy as possible for prospective customers to find information about YOUR BUSINESS wherever they may be looking online for you or for the goods and services you sell!

To Achieve That, We Need To: Optimized! Optimized! 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 Optimized! Optimized! PAID ADS LOCAL MAP PAID ADS LOCAL RESULTS ORGANIC RESULTS

Who Gets The Clicks? Optimized! Optimized! US Search Engine Market Share January % GOOGLE Other 5% Bing 16% 12% Yahoo BingHoo 28% Bing provides organic search results for Yahoo! Search Source: ComScore

Aim for Ranking on Page 1 ! Optimized! Optimized! # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # % # %

The SEO Process Optimized! Optimized! 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’s the secret formula?) Optimized! Optimized!

Google Algo Super Simplified! Optimized! Optimized! Incoming Links On page Keyword Use Everything Else

Google Says: Optimized! Optimized! “People often talk about “the Google results” but the truth is there is no single “Google” — at any given time there are different versions of our core algorithm out in the wild. Millions more when you realize your search results are personalized to you and you alone.” In other words, we are all seeing differing results all the time. Source:

What Search Engines Want Optimized! Optimized! To return the most relevant and useful results for every search query. So, we have to demonstrate and reinforce the relevance and usefulness of our pages to searchers.

Relevance=Location Optimized! Optimized! 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.

Relevance = Keywords in Optimized! Optimized! HTML titles and headline tags we place on our web pages: Headline tags appear on the page Page titles appear in the SERPs

Relevance = Keywords in Optimized! Optimized! The text content we place on our pages

Relevance = Keywords in Optimized! Optimized! The text in the links that point to our web pages Link text: insurance agent Link text: Cannizzaro Insurance Link text: austin renters insurance Link text: car policy Link text: affordable auto coverage A link tells Search Engines and humans what the page it points to is about.

Recap on Relevance Signals Optimized! Optimized! Our location in relationship to searcher’s location Keywords in page titles and html tags website text text in links pointing to pages

On-Site Optimization (What we put on our own web pages) Optimized! Optimized!

Start with Keywords Optimized! Optimized! On-page Keyword Use We have total control over what we put on our own pages

Which Keywords? Don’t Guess! Optimized! Optimized! Keyword research = foundation of SEO It enables you to learn: What terms? How many searches? How hard to rank?

What Makes a Good Keyword? Optimized! Optimized! 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 Optimized! Optimized!

Research Local Keywords Optimized! Optimized! Google Trends Tool trends/explore Add search terms Choose location Choose time period

Keyword List Tips Optimized! Optimized! 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 handouts for a list

Keyword Mapping Optimized! Optimized! Create a plan of how your keywords will be used to optimize your website. Critical step that will guide all of your ongoing search engine optimization efforts Begin by reviewing your site structure.

Map Your Site Structure Optimized! Optimized! The higher up a page is in the site structure the more natural potential ranking power it has.

Match Pages to Keywords Optimized! Optimized! 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 that page have? There is no exact formula for doing this!

Sample Keyword Map Optimized! Optimized!

Where to Use Keywords Optimized! Optimized! 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

Page Title URL Header (h1) Subheader (h2) Navigation Content Image WHERE TO USE KEYWORDS

Optimize Your Search Results Optimized! Optimized! When a page appears in the SERPs, people usually see: HTML Page title HTML metadescription URL Page title + Meta description + URL = “Free Ad” in the SERPs

Check Your Own Ads! Optimized! Optimized!

Make Ads Enticing Optimized! Optimized! 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 Page Title: No more than 65 characters Meta Description: No more than 150 characters.

Local SEO Tips for Your Website Optimized! Optimized!

Make Location Unmistakable Optimized! Optimized! Place your business name, full street address and local phone number on all pages of your website in text form Consider using microdata format for thiswww.Schema.org

Check Your Website Crawlability Optimized! Optimized! If the Search Engines can’t find or crawl your pages, they cannot appear in the Search Results.

Check What Google “Sees” Optimized! Optimized! Check your home page and all other important pages on your website

To Rank for Multiple Locations Optimized! Optimized! With a physical presence (you have an office, shop or store in a location) you qualify for a Google business listing for each location. It is eligible to rank in Google Maps and in the organic Google results. Without a physical presence (you service the location, but do not have an office or shop there) you do not qualify for a Google business listing and you are not eligible to rank in the Google Maps results. You are eligible to rank in the organic results.

To Rank for Multiple Locations Optimized! Optimized! In either case (with or without a physical presence), create a separate website page for each location. Unique, useful page for searchers about that location Optimize the page for main service or product + location Use good internal linking (between your own pages) Build external links to each page (from other websites) For each local page on Google+, point your link to your website URL about that location

Optimized! Optimized! Manhattan Insurance Office Located Here Bronx Insurance Service area – No Office Brooklyn Insurance Service Area – No Office Website pages Queens Insurance Service Area – No Office Manhattan Insurance Local Business page on Google+ Maps SERPs Organic SERPs

Internal Link Text Optimized! Optimized! 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 Austin Accounting, change Click Here to See all of our Austin accounting services or Tax advice in Austin Mix up link text – don’t use the exact same term over and over

Recap: On-site Optimization Optimized! Optimized! Pick the right keyword phrases Map keywords to pages Implement keywords on chosen pages Make your “ads” enticing Put location information in text form Give each location you wish to rank for its own unique page useful to searchers

Off-Page Optimization (aka link building) Optimized! Optimized!

Off-Page Optimization = Links Optimized! Optimized! Incoming Links

Links = Votes Optimized! Optimized! The more votes you have the better, BUT not all links are equal. Quality counts and crummy links can hurt you!

Improve Existing Links Optimized! Optimized! You can see links with this tool: 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 Optimized! Optimized! Business groups Social groups Charities and sponsorships Local school and college websites Clients and partners Businesses you already have referral relationships with

Links from Local Directories Optimized! Optimized! Yelp Kudzu CitySearch InsiderPages DiscoverOurTown Topix WCities AngiesList CitySquares MerchantCircle CityVoter JudysBook Foursquare Internet Yellow Pages Pages

Links from Local Sites Optimized! Optimized! 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 Optimized! Optimized! Free Wifi ATM Minority-owned Woman-owned Non-profit Other Languages Maps Adult only Handicapped accessible Blog Product Types Videos Images Coupons In something Near something Kid-friendly Pet friendly

Links from Social Media Sites Optimized! Optimized! Set Up Social Media Profiles here: LinkedIn Flickr Facebook Fan Page Twitter YouTube Channel Google+ profile

Recap: The SEO Process Optimized! Optimized! 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!

THANKS! Optimized! Optimized! Mary Bowling Blog: Google+: Class information: search-optimization/local-search- classes-at-planet-ocean/