5 Common Local SEO Mistakes
5 Common Local SEO Mistakes
http://www.ramblinjackson.com/2015/01/09/5-common-local-seo-mistakes-video/
Watch today’s video to learn the top five local SEO mistakes and how to avoid them!
Oh, hi! Welcome to the 153rd feature of Friday’s Ramblin Ramblin Roundup. We’ve decided to retire the number jokes. It was fun while it lasted, but honestly, there just aren’t enough number jokes out there after we surpassed 100….
I recorded this video in the library at Trail Ridge Middle School after doing a presentation about SEO as part of their PowerTalk series. It was a lot of fun! One student managed a website and uses Google Analytics! How cool.
Happy new year! Today, let’s take a look at five common SEO mistakes we saw a lot of businesses make last year so you can start year off on the right foot.
5 Common Local SEO Mistakes
1) No Page Title Tags
The page title tag is one of the most influential part of SEO. Many businesses leave their title tag with something lame like “home” or “about” or “services”, and that doesn’t help search engines know what their site is about. It’s important that your page title tag includes your keywords your business name as well as whatever city you’re servicing if you are a local business.
2) Lack of geographic modifiers in content
If you’re a chiropractor, in which do you offer chiropractic? Many businesses often leave out do graphic keywords like their city or state of service in their web content – which continues to be a top ranking factor based on our experience as well as the 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors.
3) Lack of Inbound Links
Ever since its beginning, Google has said that links are an important part of their ranking algorithm. With over 60 trillion web pages in its index – Google looks at the number and quality of links pointing to site to determine which sites are popular. Links are critical to your rankings – especially in competitive markets – but many small businesses don’t focus on this aspect of their online marketing and end up missing out on a bunch of new business. Learn more about how links affect Google’s algorithm… from Google!
4) Conflicting Name, Address, or Phone Numbers (NAP) in Local Directories
As we mentioned in a previous blog post about Local SEO Nightmares, having conflicting information online about your business name, address, or phone number can cause major local SEO problems. Businesses change names… move… and this creates major issues if it’s not cleaned up properly.
Take a look at this example of a NAP mess for Hoffbrau Bar & Grill, a local pub in Westminster Colorado that recently moved from Arvada. There are inconsistencies in their name as well as their address. You’ll notice they don’t rank well when you search for “pubs westminster, co”.
5) Lack of reviews and/or unanswered reviews on Google My Business, Yelp, and other review sites.
Lastly, let’s say you’re doing the first four things right. You have great marketing and people are finding you online… but what are they finding? One of the worst mistakes I see small businesses make is a) they don’t have any reviews online and worse b) have a bunch of negative reviews with no response from the owner. Do you just neglect your customers! Always reply!
90% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchasing decisions, so be sure to actively seek reviews and always respond to bad – and good – reviews about your business.
Need help with your online marketing? Contact us for a free Million Dollar Marketing Meeting!
So, we hope you don’t make those five mistakes in 2015, and if you’d like our opinion of your current SEO strategy, feel free to contact us for a Million Dollar Marketing Meeting.
Thanks again to Trail Ridge Middle School. Do you want to speak there?
Speaking to Trail Ridge Middle School was a total blast. They have a great program called PowerTalks in which motivational speakers and industry experts give presentations in the library. If you have a motivational presentation or something relevant to their Science Technology Education and Math (STEM) program, let me know and I’d be happy to introduce you. Learn more on their website.
Video produced by Ramblin Jackson, a web marketing + video production company in Boulder, CO.
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