SEO For Local Search

SEO For Local Search

Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comMary BowlingTwitter: @MaryBowlingBlog: www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgSEO is Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comSearch Engine Optimization

www.LocalU.org2For Local Businesses, SEO is Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comMaking it as easy as possible for prospective customers to find information about YOUR BUSINESSwherever they may be looking online for you or for the goods and services you sell!

www.LocalU.orgTo Achieve That, We Need To: Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comCreate and improve our 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.

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SEO Helps You Rank in 2 Ways Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comPAID ADSLOCAL MAPPAID ADSLOCAL RESULTSORGANIC RESULTS

www.LocalU.orgWho Gets The Clicks? Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comUS Search Engine Market Share August 2012

66%GOOGLE Other5%Bing 15%14%YahooBingHoo 29%

www.LocalU.orgBing provides organic search results for Yahoo! SearchAim for Ranking on Page 1 ! Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

#1 - 42.13%#2 - 11.90%#3 - 8.50%#4 - 6.06%#5 - 4.92%#6 - 4.05%#7 - 3.41%#8 - 3.01%#9 - 2.85%#10 - 2.99%

www.LocalU.orgThe SEO Process Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comPick the right keyword phrasesDecide which pages on our website to optimize for which termsImplement the keyword phrases within the content of your web pages appropriately Link between your own pagesGain links and citations from other websitesEliminate technical problems

www.LocalU.orgThe Algorithms(Whats the secret formula?) Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgGoogle Algo Super Simplified! Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

Incoming LinksOn pageKeyword UseEverything Else

www.LocalU.orgGoogle Says: Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comPeople often talk about the Google results but the truth is there is no single Google at any given time there are 50-200 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:http://www.google.com/insidesearch/playground/underthehood.html

www.LocalU.orgLocal Organic Search Trends Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comGoogle increasingly favors businesses with powerful websites that are well-optimized for local terms.There is much more personalization of results, including personalization for the searchers locationIts getting harder and harder to spam, which helps legitimate businesses

www.LocalU.orgTo Dominate the SERPS Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comOrganic SEO (optimizing website)+Local SEO (optimizing location)

www.LocalU.orgWhat Search Engines Want Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comTo return the most relevant, useful results for every search query.

So, we have to demonstrate and reinforce the relevance and usefulness of our pages to searchers.

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Relevance=Location Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comGoogle 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 the Search Engine determine relevance.

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Relevance=Keywords in Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

HTML titles and headline tags we place on our web pages:

www.LocalU.orgRelevance=Keywords in Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comThe text content we place on our pages

www.LocalU.orgRelevance=Keywords in Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comThe text in the links that point to our web pages

Link text: insurance agentLink text: Cannizzaro InsuranceLink text: austin renters insuranceLink text: car policyLink text: affordable auto coverage

www.LocalU.orgA link tells Search Engines and humans what the page it points to is about.Recap on Relevance Signals Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comOur location in relationship to searchers locationKeywords in page titles and html tagswebsite texttext in links pointing to pages

www.LocalU.orgOn-Site Optimization(What we put on our own web pages) Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgStart with Keywords Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

On-page Keyword Use

www.LocalU.orgWe have total control over what we put on our own pagesWhich Keywords? Dont Guess! Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comKeyword research = foundation of SEOLearn:Search termsSearch volumesCompetitiveness

www.LocalU.orgFree Keyword Research Tools Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comGoogle AdWords Keyword Tool generate keywords and get competition dataKeyword Discovery generate keywords and get competition data WordTracker Questions Tool see questions people are asking in the search boxesMarket Samurai use for research and competition data lots of free training material

www.LocalU.org Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgGoogle Keyword Tool Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comSign into your Google account Use phrase match numbersSearches include all the words in the phrase in any order (bike austin, buy a bike in austin, austin bike rentals)Local Monthly Search numbers are NOT for your particular location. They are for the entire country. https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

www.LocalU.orgWhat Makes a Good Keyword? Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comHow many searches?Ideal = low competition and high volumeHow competitive? And how strong is your website?MOST IMPORTANT: How likely is the searcher to turn into a customer?

www.LocalU.orgFocus on Most Targeted Terms Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgBWI airport hotel with pool and free wi-fiBWI airport hotelhotelResearch Local Keywords Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comGoogle Trends Toolhttp://www.google.com/trends/explore

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Add search terms Choose locationChoose time periodKeyword List Tips Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comAfter youve done your keyword research:EliminateIffy termsVery competitive terms (unless you have a strong website).Terms without search traffic Organize your list in a way that works for you and your website.

www.LocalU.orgKeyword Mapping Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comCreate 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 effortsBegin by mapping your site structure.

www.LocalU.orgMap Your Site Structure Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comThe higher up a page is in the site structure the more natural potential ranking power it has.

www.LocalU.orgMatch Pages to Keywords Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comKeeping the terms you choose relevant to the content on the page, match a pages potential ranking power with the competitiveness of the term.

www.LocalU.orgFocus Your Optimization Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comTarget 1-3 closely related keywords per page: Okay to optimize for only 1 term, especially on interior pages and new/weak sites. The more closely related the terms are, the easier it will be to rank for all of them. Match a more competitive term with 1-2 longer tail terms.

www.LocalU.orgSample Keyword Map Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgWhere to Use Keywords Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comUse assigned keywords in the important TEXT areas of your pages: URLsHTML Page TitlesH1, H2 (headlines and subheads)Text-based contentNavigation linksOther internal link textImage file names, alt tags and captions

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Page TitleURLHeader (h1) Subheader (h2)LocationNavigationContentImage36Optimize Your Search Results Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comWhen a page appears in the SERPs, people usually see:

www.LocalU.orgHTML Page titleHTML metadescriptionURL

Create Good Ads Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

Page title + Meta description + URL = Free Ad in the SERPs

www.LocalU.orgMake Ads Enticing Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comFocus on the searcher, whos thinking:Whats 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 resultsPage Title: No more than 65 characters Meta Description: No more than 130 characters.

www.LocalU.orgLocal SEO Tips for Your Website Optimized!www.MaryBowling.com

www.LocalU.orgHelp with Location Trust Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comTo make your location absolutely clear to the Search Engines:Place your business name, full street address and local phone number on all pages of your website in text form.Consider using www.Schema.org microdata format for this

www.LocalU.orgContact or About Page Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comUse the natural ranking potential by:Putting business name, city and phone number in page titleEmbedding a Google Map showing your location on pageWriting out directions to your location on the page

www.LocalU.orgTo Rank for Multiple Locations Optimized!www.MaryBowling.comWith a physical presence (you have an office, shop or store in the location) you do qualify for a business listing for each location. It is eligible to rank in Maps and in the organic results.

Without a physical presence (you service the location, but do not have an office, store or shop there) you do not qualify for a business listing and you are not eligible to rank in the Maps results.

www.LocalU.orgTo Rank for Multiple Locations O