by Myra Stacey | Nov 8, 2018 | Search Engine Optimization, Web Design
Search Engine Optimization is a challenge for any sized business, but particularly for smaller companies. Obviously, a giant such as Coca-Cola can afford to spend countless hours and a nearly unlimited budget making sure they rank for any keyword they desire.
Your Raleigh or Cary business does not have such resources. However, that doesn’t mean all is lost. One of the key points about SEO for local businesses that works in our favor: all SEO is local.
What that means is that when you’re searching for terms in your preferred browser, that browser is making note of your location. It assumes you want to find something nearby, whether it’s a hair salon, a business coach, a marketing agency, or a dog walker. That search engine will therefore serve up results nearby first.
Consider these surprising local SEO statistics:
● 72% of consumers who did a local search visited a store within five miles.
● 30% of mobile searches are related to a location.
● 28% of searches for something nearby result in a purchase.
● Local searches lead 50% of mobile users to visit stores within one day.
● Nearly one-third of all mobile searches are location-based queries.
Of course some terms may produce national results. When you search for more general information, for example, such as “What does a business coach do?” That’s an informational search and less focused. SEO managers in the know often avoid these more general keywords and focus their efforts on lower-volume searches that are more targeted. You don’t have to rank No. 1 on the search page for every term. What’s more important is to rank well for terms that will actually get you new customers.
Position “Zero”
When you Google something, you often end up with several results at the top of the page that aren’t even considered the first organic result. Instead, you see advertisements. Then you see the map. To the right, you’ll see some general info that the search engine provides without you needing to click anything. Many business owners who strive to rank No. 1 for a term are forgetting that even getting that high means sitting near the bottom of the page. Getting even higher, in the section known as Position Zero, is difficult without paying.
Tips for Local SEO
Getting to position zero requires content strategy and a lot of long-term effort. While you can work on that in the meantime, if you’re seeking some short-term results, consider these options:
● Check your “Google My Business Page.” This is how Google lists your hours, website, and more information to the right of the search results. This is not the same as Google+ or Places.
● Pay for online advertising with Google Maps. When you’re searching local you may find yourself drawn to the map so you can zoom in and find what’s nearby.
● Make sure your website looks great on a phone and tablet!
● Check your assumptions about search with data. You might assume people search “lawyer” more than “attorney,” but that’s not true.
● Include geographic terms in your posts and on your website.
● If you are a home-based business, get a post office box or some other address to include on your site. The postal service and UPS now offer boxes that have a real street address instead of the P.O. Box.
● Work on getting some links to your site from other local sites. This may mean starting a meetup group or paying to join the
Chamber of Commerce (link and networking are worth the cost). You might partner with some related businesses that don’t compete with you.
If you have questions about ranking your business website locally, contact us about SEO for Raleigh and Cary businesses.
by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Increasing your SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is key to expanding your business’s reach online. When someone is seeking your service, having your website at the top of their search results makes it easier to find and more likely to be used. You might’ve heard some SEO tips and tricks thrown around, but do you know if they’re really going to help? Here are a few myths about SEO and the truth behind them.
Myth 1: Someone can guarantee to get you on the top page of search results.
Fact: If someone absolutely promises to get you to the No. 1 spot in search results, he or she is lying. Even Google advises against listening to anyone with that message.
Myth 2: SEO is all the marketing you need.
Fact: Businesses should never put their entire marketing budget into SEO. Instead, SEO should be one pillar of a larger marketing plan. How else are you working to make contact with your clientele? Are you using all of the available platforms and media methods available to you? Small and local businesses, especially, must connect with customers on many levels, through advertising, networking, branding, and more.
Myth 3: The more keywords, the merrier.
Fact: A 2017 article from Entrepreneur advises against keyword-stuffing, or filling up your website or domain with words that will make your company “pop.” While including a keyword can be useful (for example, plumbing businesses should use the word “plumbing” in their domain), too many can harmful. Google sometimes views this as a “spammy tactic,” and will refrain from pushing your website up on their results. Make sure you aren’t repeating keywords so much that it decreases the value of your content.
Myth 4: Higher rankings = more money.
Fact: Even if your website appears as a top search result, there is no 100 percent guarantee that you’ll receive more business. Customers might be early in their buyer journey when they find your website. They might click on it only to learn more about the product or service. While they might come back later, they may find an alternative they prefer.
Or, maybe they click on your website but find it difficult to use. If your website does appear as a top search result, check to ensure that your site is well-made and easy to navigate. While SEO can help you reach a broader audience, it’s up to you to make sure that a client’s experience after that initial click goes smoothly!
Myth 5: I did SEO once. I’m all set, right?
Fact: You must continuously work at SEO to maintain your rankings. Think about it: new stuff is coming up all the time. Links to your website become old or disappear, search engines change their methods (algorithms), competition is working against you, and your content becomes old. Yours will begin to lose rankings if you don’t keep it going.
SEO can be tough to tackle. Let us help you get started.
by Myra Stacey | Jan 25, 2018 | Inbound Marketing, Search Engine Optimization
Facebook boasts more than 50 million business pages, and 65.8% of US companies with more than 100 employees use Twitter for marketing. If you have a business, you probably have at least one social media profile. (And if you don’t, you should, even if you’re a solopreneur.)
As you create your social media profiles, you are building a part of your brand online. The words you type into the “about” section aren’t only a description; they set the tone for your businesses’ personality.
Similarly, the images you choose have a lasting impact. According to studies, people are only likely to remember 10 percent of heard information three days later. But a relevant image paired with that same information can help people retain 65 percent of it days later.
On social media profiles, it’s important to select images that say something about your brand and resonate with the viewer. Here are seven things to keep in mind:
1. Size matters. Do not upload a tiny jpg for either your banner/background or your profile image. Check the sizes required for each social media platform and find an image that fits. Otherwise, yours will look grainy, stretched, or otherwise icky. What does it say about your work if the photos you post are low quality? If you are struggling to get your logo to fit in the profile image box, talk to your graphic designer (or to us) about finding creative ways to display your brand in the square box.
2. Be authentic. If you can, use an image in the banner that shows off your business in some way. Maybe it’s your team, your location, or your product. Avoid stock photography if possible. In some cases, you can tweak stock images to suit your needs, but customers can always tell the difference. You may consider working with a professional photographer to get a few good images of your service or product, which you’ll also use on your website.
3. Be consistent. Work with a graphic designer to put words on the banner image in the font that matches your logo. A general rule of thumb in graphic design is to have no more than two different fonts. The social media platforms have their own fonts, which you might want to keep in mind. Note that most are sans serif.
4. Use powerful text. The words you put on this image matter. What are you trying to say? Keep the message short and sweet. You’re going for impact, a feeling, not a full explanation of your company. Use this to showcase your brand or as a call to action.
5. Focus on the image. The banner image is a useful place to put some text. But most of the space should be about the picture. Facebook no longer enforces its 20 percent rule — no more than 20 percent text on the banner — but it’s still a useful guideline.
6. Think about the overlap. The profile (smaller) image overlaps with the banner on most platforms. Make sure the two work together and don’t clash. Some companies even have them blend into one another for a cool effect.
7. Don’t get stuck. Consider changing your banner and image once in awhile. You can create a calendar to check them for special events, promote a specific hashtag, mention a current sale, or push a product or service that’s on sale or not selling well. It’s OK to get creative.
If your business pages on social platforms need some oomph, we can help!
by Myra Stacey | Aug 28, 2017 | Search Engine Optimization
Business owners are always looking to improve their rankings on search engine results pages. After all, most people don’t click past the first page of results. You want your business to be in that top 10. Getting there takes patience and time, along with some careful work.
Search Engine Optimization has become so particular that it’s best to hire someone who focuses on your website for you. However, if you’re just not there yet and want to make some changes on your own, here are some things you can do:
- Get a physical address. Google Maps lean toward those with a brick-and-mortar building. Many service-based B2Bs work from their home or a coffee shop, and of course you don’t want to list your home address. However, you can rent a post office box with a real address now, so consider that if you don’t want to rent separate office space.
- Make sure your website is responsive. If your site is several years old, you will rank lower in the search results because it’s probably not built for mobile devices. More than half of internet browsers are surfing with phones and tablets, which means Google puts weight on sites that look good. If you have a separate mobile version of your website, that’s going to hurt, not help.
- Fill out the metadata on your website. The words you type in on the back end to describe pages and your website don’t carry as much weight as they used to, but it’s still necessary to fill out these sections. If you’re not sure how to do this on your WordPress or Joomla! site, contact us for help.
- Create a sitemap. A sitemap is one more way of telling the search engine spiders what your site is and what it contains. It’s just what it sounds like: a map of your website’s pages and content. You can check out these tools to create one or call us for help.
- Fix broken links. Broken links will lower your ranking. Make sure you don’t have any links on your site that send people to closed websites. You can install broken link checker tools on both WordPress and Joomla! websites.
- Create content. Update your website’s content at least once a month. A blog or news section is the easiest approach, but if you cannot publish regularly, you can make changes to pages instead. Google puts weight on sites that are consistently offering fresh information.
Managing SEO is a mixture of art and science. Find out how we can help improve your rankings.
by Myra Stacey | Aug 3, 2017 | Search Engine Optimization
Website owners might be hearing more about SSLs lately. If you’re a busy business owner (is there another kind?), you probably wondering what that means and whether you care. The answer to the last part is: Yes, you do. But let’s back up a minute.
What is an SSL Certificate?
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. The simple explanation is that this is a way of keeping files secure online by encrypting data as it is transferred between websites and servers. Websites that handle credit card transactions, data transfers, and passwords use SSL to prevent hackers from grabbing that information. You obtain and then install an SSL Certificate on your server to establish a secure connection. Websites that use SSL have “https” instead of “http” in the URL — the “s” standing for “secure.” You will also see a padlock or green bar and the word “secure” at the top left of your browser.
Why Do I Need an SSL Certificate?
Many business owners have not needed this type of security. B2B businesses, for example, use their websites as lead generation tools and brochures, but may not directly accept credit cards or handle sensitive information. However, Google is now giving more weight to websites with SSL Certificates. Remember, Google and other search engines want their customers to feel confident when searching the web. So they are going to push more secure pages higher in the search engine rankings. The king of search engines has made it clear that SSL is the new normal. While the SEO weight of an SSL is not as high as many other factors, it is making a difference.
How Do I Get an SSL Certificate?
Speak to your website provider or host for more information about obtaining an SSL Certificate. You can, of course, buy one through Green Geeks and other domain sites, but you might be paying more. Check with your web expert about the best place to get one. This certificate will cover your website and all of its pages.
What is a Wildcard SSL?
If your website has subdomains, you will need to buy a wildcard SSL Certificate. The wildcard certificate will cover an unlimited number of subdomains. For example, your site might be awesomebusiness.com with pages such as awesomebusiness.com/about. That’s covered under a normal SSL Certificate. But a subdomain such as myra.awesomebusiness.com would not be included.
Confused? We understand! Contact us with your questions about how to manage this and maintain a secure website for your business.
by Myra Stacey | Jun 8, 2017 | Search Engine Optimization
Keywords are something you will hear about as you begin marketing your business online. It’s one of those things everyone seems to know about already. If you’re new to online marketing, you may feel silly asking. Don’t worry; we’ve got your answers.
What are Keywords?
Keywords are just that — words. You choose specific words you want to focus on, words people type in when they search for your business online. Your keywords will include something related to the type of service or product you offer. They may include your city or town name as well.
Long-tail keywords refer to a phrase or sentence. When you search online, you might type “Cary restaurant.” But if you type in “where do I find the spiciest Thai food in Cary?” that’s a long-tail keyword phrase. Long-tail keyword searches make up 70 percent of the search traffic online.
Choosing and Using Keywords
If you work with a marketer or SEO expert, he or she will guide you in choosing keywords. If you do not, choose keywords that relate to your business. What would you search if you were trying to find your business? You might ask a friend or colleague the same question. But keep in mind that some keywords are more commonly used than others. That’s one reason (of many!) you may search for your business service and not find your website on the first page of results.
Google has planning tools that demonstrate which keywords are more competitive. Small business owners have more success choosing less competitive words, meaning those that are searched less often. Choose long-tail keywords: those searches will convert more often because the searcher is more specific about what he or she wants. He or she is no longer just browsing, but has narrowed down the search and is now seeking a place to buy.
Once you’ve selected yours, use those words on your website pages and, most importantly, in your title tags. Don’t stuff pages full of those words, however. This is called keyword stuffing. Search engines are smart enough to recognize it and will penalize you for this behavior. Check out our on-site SEO guide for more help.
You also want to use keywords in blog posts. But not every blog post you write will contain the same words. Use variations and use longer-tail versions. Remember, a search engine’s goal is to deliver the best results for people, so those people keep using that search engine. Your goal, then, is to write for humans, not just robots.
Now that you know what keywords are, you might prefer not to worry about it! Contact us for help with your online marketing.
