Local SEO

Local business owners are busy people – you know that already. In a single day, you could be acting as an HR manager, marketing guru, IT expert, and cashier. That’s a lot for any one person to do.

For that reason, SEO can sometimes take a back seat. It’s understandable. When you’re the one doing nearly everything, you might be tempted to set SEO aside – especially if it seems like it’s not a money-making endeavour.

But it is.

The truth is that you might be making critical SEO mistakes right now that are driving customers away from your business instead of attracting them.

The good news is? There are just 5 common mistakes and they’re all easily fixable. They’ll take a bit of time, of course, but it’s nothing you can’t handle. Here’s what you need to know.

SEO Mistake #1: Not Optimising Your Google My Business Page

The most important thing to know about Google My Business is that it’s owned by – you guessed it – Google. That automatically makes it important for SEO.

If you haven’t already claimed and optimised your Google My Business page, here’s what you need to do:

1. Click here to claim your page
2. Provide all information that Google asks for, including your business address, phone number, URL, social links, map, hours, menu, and prices.
3. Use your most important local keywords in your descriptions.
4. Add pictures and relevant images to your listing.
5. Check your listing regularly since customers can edit it.

Once you’ve done these things, you should also plan on making Google My Business posts to promote your business.

SEO Mistake #2: Not Optimising Your Website for Mobile Users

Mobile search is everything when it comes to local SEO. In fact, as of 2018, 95% of ALL mobile searches happened on Google. That’s not a number you can ignore.

Here are some of the key things to improve to optimize your site for mobile:

1. Improve your page’s loading time. As of 2018, the average mobile site took 22 seconds to load – but the optimal loading time for conversions is about 2.4 seconds!
2. Do mobile user testing and make sure that your menus and buttons are easy to navigate on mobile.
3. Make sure your content doesn’t require horizontal scrolling (or squinting) to be read on a mobile device.
4. Make sure common actions and requests are easy for mobile users. In other words, make it easy for them to find directions to your store, view your prices, subscribe to your list, make a purchase, or follow you on social media.

On a related note, you should also think about mobile advertising. For example, Facebook has a “Call Now” button as an option for mobile ads.

SEO Mistake #3: Not Optimising for Voice Search 

Voice search is arguably the biggest trend in SEO. The increasing popularity of virtual assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Cortana is driving the trend. As of 2019, 20% of all online searches were voice searches and that number’s expected to skyrocket to 50% by 2020.

Fortunately, optimising for voice search isn’t difficult. Since people use voice search in specific ways – asking Siri a question, for example – you’ll need to think about the questions and problems that drive most customers to your website.

Here are some pointers:

• Answer common questions. Make a list of the questions that people are most likely to ask about your products or services and answer them on your site. Use the questions themselves as keywords.
• Focus on long-tail keywords. Questions are great, but so are keywords that include words like:
  • How to
  • Where
  • New
  • Best
  • Top-rated
• Incorporate local keywords. Most voice searches are local, and you don’t want to miss out on searches that include the name of your city or the words “near me”
• Make sure your site loads quickly. Mobile users have a bounce rate 10% higher than desktop users – and most voice searches are mobile.

Rethinking your content with voice search in mind is a great way to attract more customers.

SEO Mistake #4: Not Removing Broken Links (insert 404)

You already know that link-building is crucial for SEO. Both internal and external links are a must, and if you’ve got broken links, it can hurt your SEO over time.

Broken internal links are frustrating for users – and they can occur when you change the URL of a page or remove content from your site. Broken external links are also frustrating and can even hurt your Google rank.

If it’s been a while since you looked for broken links on your site, you might be losing customers without realizing it. You can try going through your site and checking each link individually – but if you’ve got a complex site with a lot of pages, that can take a long time.

Instead, consider using a broken link tool like this one to help you out. It will test your site, identify broken links, and make it easy for you to fix them.

SEO Mistake #5: Not Focusing on Reviews  

86% of all consumers read online reviews before making a purchase – and most read 10 reviews or more. Do you need anything else to convince you that online reviews are important for SEO?

If you’ve been neglecting your online reviews, it’s time to take them seriously. Having current reviews can make or break a local business.

Here are some pointers for getting your online reviews taken care of:

1. Claim your business listings on Google My Business (see above), Yelp, and other review sites.
2. Check your information to make sure it’s accurate.
3. Ask customers to review your business. If you’ve got regulars, you can simply ask them to leave a review. Link to your Yelp or Google My Business page on your website and print the URLs on your receipts.
4. Ask your Facebook followers to review your business on Facebook.
5. Designate a person to handle reviews, including responding to negative and positive reviews quickly.

You can also seek out people who leave detailed or inspiring reviews and ask them to write or film a testimonial for your business. Then, you can feature it on your website or social media.

SEO is constantly changing, but the 5 mistakes here are ones you simply can’t afford to make. Fixing them now can help you avoid missing out new customers.

Local marketing is a must, but if you’re like most local business owners, you’ve probably caught yourself thinking something like this:

I feel like I’m doing everything I can – why is my local marketing not delivering the results I want?

It’s a good question. After all, local marketing has a lot of moving parts. You’ve got to think about SEO, content marketing, social media and PPC ads – it’s a lot for anybody to handle.

The real key to effective local marketing is knowing what ideas are worth pursuing and which ones aren’t. Here are 10 killer local marketing ideas that can have a serious impact on your profits.

#1: Master the Art of Locational Marketing on Facebook

You should always be marketing your business to your local audience on Facebook. Increasingly, consumers are turning to Facebook for information about businesses. There are two types of ads that can help you:

• Brand awareness
• Website clicks

Starting with brand awareness can help you break down barriers and prime your local audience to visit you. Following up with a website click promotion will capitalize on your brand awareness campaign and help you attract new customers.

#2: Revisit Your Yelp Categories

You know that reviews are important – and Yelp has a huge SEO advantage. One of the best ways to boost your visibility online is to make sure that you’re using the right categories on Yelp.

A lot of local businesses choose their categories without giving them much thought. Go back and look at them – and keep your most important keywords in mind. Choose categories that highlight your capabilities and keywords and you’ll get more organic traffic from Google.

#3: Build Unique Landing Pages for Every Campaign

It might seem like a lot of work to build a unique landing page for every marketing campaign you run, but you can do it quickly using a tool like Unbounce. The benefit is that you’ll be sure that every click you get on an ad will lead people to a page that’s selling exactly what you’re advertising.

Conversion is an art and a science. The easier it is for people to draw a line between your ad and your call to action, the higher the chances that they’ll convert. Make it simple and you’ll see an increase in sales as a result.

#4: Use Remarketing Ads to Get Reviews

A huge majority of consumers rely on reviews to make buying decisions. The trick is getting your existing customers to review your business.

One way to do it is to set up a simple remarketing ad for people who buy from you or fill out a form on your website. Try a headline that says, “Happy with your purchase? Leave us a review on Google+, Yelp, or Facebook!” Not every customer will respond – but some will, and every positive review you get will help increase your visibility and credibility.

#5: Create Guides for Local Activities Related to Your Brand

Local marketing is all about embracing where you are – and helping your customers to do the same thing. For that reason, it makes sense to create a local guide for an activity that is likely to appeal to your target audience.

For example, if you sell cooking equipment, you might create a guide to local farms. Or, you could create a guide to hiking trails if you sell outdoor equipment. The key is to marry your local knowledge to your brand to give your followers something they can use.

#6: Automate Responses to Your Twitter Mentions

Social mentions can have a big impact on how your brand is perceived. One way to maximize that impact is to automate responses to your mentions on Twitter.

A tool I like is Zapier, which allows business owners to set up triggers that send out instant responses when someone mentions their company. It gives an instant boost to your engagement and makes the people who mention you feel valued.

#7: Use Third-Person Ad Copy

Sometimes, online advertising can seem like a relentless wall of noise. Everybody – including your competitors – is out there shouting about how wonderful they are. If you want to get through to your audience, you’ve got to stand out.

One way to do it is to use a third-person voice in your ads. For example, you might pull a line from a testimonial and use it as your headline. “Hiring ABC Company is the best choice I ever made” is a headline that will grab attention and use the power of social proof to bring you leads.

#8: Use Radius Location Targeting on AdWords

Targeting your ads on Google AdWords is really an art form. By using their radius location targeting, you can maximize the chances that your ad will be seen by the people who are most likely to buy from you.

In AdWords, set up a series of radius targets so that your store looks like the center of a bullseye. Then, evaluate your data and adjust your local bids accordingly. Doing this can make a huge difference in your ads’ performance.

#9: Mention the Distance to Your Store in Mobile Ads

The chances are good that more people are seeing your ads on mobile devices than on computers. Since that’s the case, it makes sense to play up your local connection by including the distance from your store in your mobile ads on Google.

It’s easy to do. Simply use the Google Search Console to find new ad groups in your area. Then, add your zip code to your headline and see how easy it is to steal clicks from your competitors.

#10: Add Storefront Pictures to Your Ads

As a consumer, you’ve probably driven by local businesses many times without going inside. One easy way to entice people to come see you is to add a photograph of the front of your store to your ads.

Seeing a photo will trigger a, “Hey, I’ve seen that place!” response from your audience. It’s a simple, inexpensive trick that can entice people to stop and visit you instead of driving past.

Don’t waste your time on ideas that don’t work…

Stop guessing which marketing ideas are worth trying. These 10 simple local marketing tricks can make a huge difference when it comes to attracting customers and growing your business.

You know that content marketing is still king. That’s unlikely to change and that means that it’s your job to create and share the kind of content that’ll bring customers to your business and help you improve your bottom line.

The numbers back up content marketing’s importance. Research shows that 91% of all B2B companies use content marketing, and the same is true of 86% of B2C businesses. However, only 63% of companies have a dedicated content strategy.

You can see the issue at hand. Content marketing is a must and yet doing it improperly – without a clear focus and strategy – can be a huge waste of time and money.

With that in mind, here are 8 content marketing types to help you build your strategy and grow your business.

#1: Blog Posts

Blog posts are hardly revolutionary in the world of content marketing, yet a lot of local businesses still aren’t blogging regularly. Those who do reap rewards:

• Companies that blog get 97% more links to their websites than companies that don’t
• Companies with blogs have a 434% higher chance of receiving a high Google rank compared to companies without blogs
• 10% of blog posts are compounding, which means that they attract more organic traffic over time

For the best results, keep your blog posts tightly focused. Optimize them for local and voice search and make sure to use a clear, easy-to-follow structure in each post.

#2: Infographics  

A lot of local businesses don’t bother with infographics and that’s a shame. They’re increasingly popular and perfect if you need to present a lot of data in a way that’s easy to understand.

While you might think you need to hire a professional graphic designer to make infographics for you, that’s not true. Online tools such as Canva and Venngage make it simple to create beautiful, shareable infographics.

Infographics can help you build authority and gravitas. They’re ideal for sharing on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook. If you’ve posted a data-heavy blog recently, consider transforming it into an infographic to share on social media.

#3: Customer Testimonials 

You already know that customer reviews and testimonials are essential forms of social proof to use in your online marketing. However, if you handle them properly, they can also be part of your content marketing strategy.

Consider shooting video testimonials that tell a compelling story and give people a reason to buy your product or use your service. Video testimonials can be posted on your website, emailed to your list, or shared on social media.

#4: Case Studies

The term “case study” can be an intimidating one but think of them as in-depth customer testimonials. A testimonial will usually focus on how the customer feels about your business. A case study shows how you or your product helped a customer.

If you decide to use case studies in your content marketing, make sure to:

• Tell a compelling story in an engaging way. Incorporating some suspense and emotion into the story will keep people interested and ensure they stick around until the end.
• Be as specific as possible. Don’t just say that you helped your client grow their business – provide metrics and numbers wherever it’s possible.
• Show your customer’s journey from start to finish. Make sure to explain where they started, why they came searching for you, and what happened after they found you.

Case studies should be featured on your website. They can also be shared on social media.

#5: Memes 

Memes are perennially popular and can be useful as a form of content marketing – but there are a few pitfalls you should be aware of.

It’s not a great idea to share random memes that have nothing to do with your business. Instead, it’s your job to find a way to take a popular meme and make it relevant to what you’re selling.

If you’re not sure how to use memes, check out Hulu’s social media pages. They use memes all the time, and very effectively. You can also check out what your competitors are doing.

#6: Videos 

Video marketing is still very popular. You can produce videos cheaply using your cell phone and a host of free online tools.

However, you don’t need to stop with traditional marketing videos. Here are some ideas:

• Create short videos (3 to 60 seconds) to share on Instagram
• Use the Boomerang app to string together a series of images into a short video
• Create GIFs using free tools such as Giphy or EZGif
• Try an animated or white board video

There are many video formats, so feel free to experiment and find out what resonates with your target audience.

#7: Checklists and Cheat Sheets

Some of the best content marketing provides actionable solutions to common problems. People don’t follow their favorite brands on social media for fun. They do it because they’re expecting to get something in return.

One easy way to provide it is by creating checklists or cheat sheets for your followers to use. For example, if you own a coffee shop, you could create a checklist to brew the perfect French Press coffee.

You can keep the checklists you create simple or design them to be downloaded and printed. Either way, you’ll be giving your followers something valuable.

#8: eBooks 

Writing an eBook can seem like a daunting task and for that reason, a lot of local businesses stay away from them. However, a well-written short eBook can help you attract new subscribers for your list and build authority at the same time.

Keep in mind that a lot of the eBooks sold on Amazon have 10,000 words or less. That works out to about 40 pages of content at 250 words per page. You have the option of writing the book yourself or of hiring a professional writer to do it for you.

Keep in mind that your eBook should be relevant to your business and valuable to the target audience you want to attract. eBooks are best used as lead magnets. You can advertise them on social media to get people to download them and subscribe to your list.

Content marketing is here to stay – and the 8 types of content marketing we’ve listed here can help you build your following and increase your profits at the same time.

The change from Google’s 7-pack, to a reduced 3-pack has had a major impact on local SEO. Many businesses struggled to get featured when there were seven spots available. Now getting into the top three can seem like rocket science. The good news is that this goal is not impossible.
However, it does take time, skills, and knowledge to get it done. Being seen by local consumers just as they’re searching for your type of product or service is the most targeted type of marketing known today. But getting there can be tricky unless you really know what you’re doing.
To help you get started down the right path, here are three helpful tips:

1. Get more citations
   When it comes to ranking your local listing, one thing Google pays close attention to is how often a company is mentioned in other sources. In other words, it looks for “citations” to validate your business. A citation is a mention of your business name along with another piece of business information anywhere on the web – with OR without a link back to your website.
   The additional information could be your phone number, website URL, or physical address – combined or individual. In order to count as a citation, the information must be an EXACT match to the information on your Google My Business listing.
   Citations help prove to the search engines that you are a real company; therefore, the more of them you have from quality sources, the better your local listing rankings will be.
2. Add photos to your listings
   It’s no secret that consumers love photos. The more, high quality images you have on Google local listing profile, the more appealing it will be to potential customers. This goes farther than Google; Yelp has even published advice on how to optimize your business listings, claiming that photos make a massive difference. It even goes as far as to say that according to research from Review Trackers, consumers spent 2.5 times more of their time on listings that featured photos.
3. Get as many reviews as you can
   Reviews are an important part of getting noticed online these days. Consumers love writing reviews about businesses and they also like reading them. Google has taken note of this. It wants to promote the best local businesses and what better way to determine who those businesses are than through positive user reviews? If you want to really increase your rankings, encourage your customers to leave reviews whenever you can.
   Getting your business to show up on Google’s 3-pack is a lot more challenging than it was with the 7-pack; obviously, because there are less spots. The tips above will help, but you will need to continually keep up with local search changes and ensure all of your company’s information is listed correctly and updated going forward. Not only that, but make sure you make smart use of categories and strategic keyword placement within your profile to give it strength.

Content is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use in today’s digital world. When written correctly, it has the power to draw in millions of new visitors, increase conversions, build up brand image and develop strong relationships with both new and existing customers.
However, it’s not always easy to get it right. If you’re wondering how to create the most effective copy for your small business website, below you’ll discover three tips that will help.

1. Start with the most important pieces of information first
   The thing many small businesses forget, is that your website has just a few seconds to grab the visitor’s attention. It isn’t enough to have an eye-catching design; you also need to have captivating copy. It’s important to open the page with key pieces of useful information. For most businesses, this means focus on the pains, wants, and needs of your target audience. Make them want to keep reading to the point where they want to find out more about your products or services.
2. Always split the content up
   It’s one of the simplest tips to follow, yet one that so many businesses forget. Always make sure the content is split into sections, with ideally no more than 3-5 sentences per paragraph. Nobody wants to read long paragraphs of text.
   You can split the content up in a number of ways, with subheadings and bullet points being the most favorable.
3. Avoid keyword stuffing
   Back in the day when search engine optimization (SEO) was first introduced, it was encouraged to use certain keywords as much possible in your website copy. That was how search engines determined how highly a site should rank in results. This, unfortunately, led to a high level of sites offering almost incomprehensible, junk content. This is called keyword-stuffing and these days, sites are penalized if they use this practice.
   Your focus should always be on creating informative, useful content that’s easy to read. Don’t focus solely on specific keywords. There are tools out there that can help such as keyword trackers, to ensure you’re not overdoing it.
4. Don’t forget to the call-to-action
   Every page on your site should have a call-to-action telling visitors what you want them to do next. Calls-to-action have been a primary part of marketing for as long as anyone can remember. Contrary to popular belief, they’re even more important for digital marketing. This is because the digital space is filled with competition and other distractions that can easily take a consumer’s attention off of your business.

Writing effective website copy is extremely important; yet, it’s not as difficult as many businesses make it out to be. Some of them write too much about themselves and leave out the benefits to their target audience. Others create long, boring, ill-formatted content that simply turns visitors off. Others skimp on the content all together and suffer due to a lack of traffic and conversions.
Content will forever be a critical piece of having a highly-effective website. Having a beautiful design is good, but without the right content, it’s not going to do much to increase sales and profits.