SEO
Search Engine Optimization
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, OR SEO, IS THE PROCESS OF OPTIMIZING A WEBSITE TO TARGET SPECIFIC KEYWORDS INTERNET USERS TYPE INTO SEARCH ENGINES, SUCH AS GOOGLE, YAHOO! AND BING.
Identifying these keywords is the first step in the optimization process. Keyword research identifies the search terms people actually use. Our experience will help you identify those keywords that will deliver quality traffic to your site.
On-site optimization applies these keywords in all the right areas of your web pages. This helps the search engines to determine the subject of your pages. Layout and navigation structure of your site also play a role in how search engines rate your website. Your website is only the starting point in the SEO process.
Beyond your web pages there are off-site factors that influence how search engines rank your website. Link popularity is a key factor in search rankings. To a search engine, a link is like a vote. The more votes you receive the more important your site must be. But not all votes (links) carry the same weight. Getting the right links is far more important than getting the most links. A link building strategy is the heart of any organic SEO plan.
ORGANIC SEO FOR LOCAL SEARCH
When first we began our local SEO services it was all about organic search. This was before Google began showing Maps results mixed into the search results when using a local search query ,combination of a business name, domain name, city name, state and zip code (Point of Interest). Today organic SEO is still just as important as ever. Not everyone bothers to click a Maps result. In fact most still scroll down to the main organic results.
Through organic SEO we can also target a much wider range of keywords. This is the ‘long tail of search”. People conduct their searching in different ways and not everyone goes for the obvious city name + business type. Some get very specific about the type of service they want. For example, somebody looking for a plumber might type “city name plumber” while somebody else uses “city name toilet repair”.
We maximize the local exposure for our clients by covering not only the obvious keywords but all those too more obscure ones, as well. The common keywords may deliver the most traffic but those little long tail searches tend to convert into real customers at a much higher rate as they indicate a very specific intent. And there are a lot of those little keywords that all add up to more traffic combined than for the big main keyword. So they are well worth going after.
KEYWORD RESEARCH THROUGH ONLINE TOOLS
Keyword research is an impoortant step in the local SEO process. It helps identify the best keywords to target. Below are some of the tools we use.
GOOGLE’S KEYWORD TOOLS
The Adwords Keyword Tool lets you enter a main keyword and it will list a number of associated keywords. It also estimates monthly search volume for those keywords which gives good clues to how many people tend to phrase things.
Google Trends shows a graph of keyword usage over the last few years. This is a great tool for seeing search trends – spotting rising and falling demand and seasonal trends.
Google Insights, similar to Google Trends, but with a little more insight, including heatmaps for geo-graphical areas (great for local search) and similar keyword suggestions.
PAID KEYWORD TOOLS
There are a number of paid keyword tools available, Wordtracker is a popular one. But for local business owners that monthly fee far outweighs the value you’d get out of it. You’re busy running your day to day business, leave the advanced keyword research up to your SEO provider.