Optimizing your website for local search results can seem a bit daunting, even when you only have one business location to worry about. Having multiple locations complicates things even further. How can you ensure outstanding results when you are juggling multiple addresses and phone numbers?
In 2019, SEO is local. That’s doubly true for brick and mortar businesses, which thrive on being easily discoverable by search engine users in the immediate area. That’s ultimately what gets people filing into the restaurant or the store, and as such, it’s no exaggeration to say that local SEO can make or break your broader marketing efforts.
“Link building” has long been a popular phrase in SEO circles—and not without reason. Links to other websites can play an important role in developing your own site’s reputation and authority. Sometimes, though, the emphasis on link building is a little one-sided, slanted toward the inclusion of external links, as well as backlinks from relevant third-party sites.
Few things frustrate an entrepreneur or a marketing team more than investing money in high-quality content, then getting little or no audience engagement. Often, there’s a simple reason why content falls flat: It’s not that it’s bad, just that nobody can find it. Content always needs to be optimized for discovery, and made more visible among search engine users. In other words, content creation always needs to be married to sturdy SEO.
For years, Google My Business (GMB) has been a no-brainer among business owners. As a platform created by and expressly endorsed by Google, GMB plays an obvious role in bolstering search engine visibility. In fact, having a GMB profile is crucial for maintaining a presence in local searches, including the Google Local Pack. GMB is an easy platform to operate and makes it simple for even SEO novices to enhance their online presence. Best of all, the service is free. Or at least, it always has been. But now, that may be changing. Google recently sent out a survey to GMB managers asking their thoughts on some pay-to-play options within the platform. It’s the first serious sign that Google may be putting at least parts of the GMB service behind a paywall, and it’s created a bit of a stir within the SEO community.
It’s easy to be overwhelmed by search engine optimization (SEO). It seems like every day there are articles about new trends and techniques—and the fear that your brand is missing out, being left in the dust by competitors, can be very real. While it’s an exaggeration to say that there are new SEO methodologies every day, it’s true that the Google algorithms are constantly changing—and it takes a lot of effort just to keep up.
Much ink is spilled on the topic of search engine optimization—but at the end of the day, there’s one perspective that matters the most. Of course, that perspective is Google’s.
To that end, Google has reported that roughly two thirds of smartphone users are likely to purchase from companies that take the time to localize their online presence—that is, tailoring their online information to the end user’s geographic location.
To put it differently, consumers are using Google to locate businesses near them—and the companies that accommodate are the ones who will win those consumer dollars. How, though, can your business ensure a properly optimized, properly localized presence?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is many things—but simple isn’t one of them. Effective SEO requires you to keep many balls in the air, including both on-site and off-site elements. What’s more, the rules are changing all the time: While Google’s basic principles remain static, the specific algorithmic formulas evolve and adapt all the time. Indeed, SEO professionals can count on at least one or two big, disruptive algorithmic updates each year.
At enCOMPASS Agency, we’re proponents of integrative digital marketing. What that means, in a nutshell, is that there are many channels for effectively marketing your company, ranging from SEO and PPC to social media and video. These channels work best when they work together in tandem; indeed, the most efficient way to market your company is to combine different digital channels, aligned to a common goal and a comprehensive strategy.
When marketers talk about search engine optimization (SEO), it’s often assumed that they have Google in mind. It’s true that Google is the world’s biggest search engine, but #2 on that list might surprise you. It’s YouTube—and as video content becomes increasingly popular, it’s never been more beneficial to master video SEO, ensuring your company’s videos are highly visible and easily discovered on the world’s second most important search engine.
We use microdata on all of the sites we build to make sure important details like address and business hours are passed on to Google and other search engines, making it easier for your customers to find you both on and off the web.
