SEO TIP OF THE WEEK: THINKING ABOUT SEO IN A DIFFERENT WAY

Summary: 

it’s a peculiar idea to think that Google might actually want your website more than you want them…

But that’s the case for so many websites out there which have content users really want and owners who just don’t care about where the traffic comes from.

You get this a lot with hobby websites or academic websites which have research papers that have valuable information in them. Of course,

if you have a commercial website which has nothing special to offer, you’re probably not that wanted by users and therefore Google.








Tip 1: think about your website from the point of view of a user. Would they miss you if you were not in the search results?If you think they wouldn’t miss you, what can you do to become more special to users?

Tip 2: believe it or not, Google don’t care that much if your website is beautiful or not, they are much more interested in what it delivers to the user.That’s why sites with long lists seem to do well, because they get more engagement and fulfil users needs better.

Tip 3: if you want to understand what Google really cares about when they evaluate a site, read Google quality rater guidelines 2014.It gives you huge depth on exactly what things they are looking for when they decide whether a website is good or not.

This document is for quality rater is to help train their algorithms so they can automatically identify trustworthy and authoritative sites.

11 Effective Ways Of Doing Local SEO

Now that the designing of the site has been completed, your job is done, right? Wrong. In fact, it has just begun. Your beautifully designed site with menus and submenus is nothing but a page unless it is accessible via the World Wide Web. This is achieved only when you get high ranking in search engines.

Ranking in local search results of Google is next to impossible. Once you start with you local search engine optimization you will have tons of hands guiding you to follow various practices. By following every practice, you might end up doing worse for your site.

Google lists a site higher only if it is visited often. You cannot ask your potential customers to visit the site often. It is automatically done once it is listed high in search engines. If you are not doing well in your area, then you can let your competitors take the plunge to rank high in search engines. You surely do not want your competitors to beat you in rankings. This is well achieved when you pay attention to local SEO. You must have heard and read a lot about local SEO. Though many companies opt for it, not many know what exactly it is. It is surely a confusing topic.


What exactly is Local SEO?

If you own a local business you will understand the challenges as an owner you have to face. Local SEO is all about getting higher search engine ranking when a customer types a specific area. It is believed that around 97% of users tend to search for local services and products. Apart from this, around 90% of the Google search results do not ever pass the results that are loaded on the first page itself. The second page is often considered as second preference. This type of SEO is needed when you want to get noticed in the home market. This is achieved when the site is optimized for local SEO.

Is Local SEO different from traditional SEO?


Ranking of the site according to Google and other search engines is done based on the number of links received from other sites. The site that gets more links tends to get higher ranking and ultimately more traffic. However, when talking about local sites, these sites are only relevant to local areas. As a search engine, it needs to take care of many aspects than just links. No matter how small, medium or large your business is, opting for local SEO is highly recommended.

Types of Businesses for Local SEO

Any company that does business locally should not neglect the importance of local SEO. It can be anything from a local restaurant, dentist, lawyer, doctor or even a retail outlet. It is somewhat the same as local Yellow Page directory.

Benefits of Local SEO

There are innumerable benefits associated with Local SEO. Mentioned are some benefits of it:

1. It helps in improving and enhancing the search engine ranking.
2. It helps your business to get front page ranking on various major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
3. It helps in increasing the leads, sales, and even conversions.

Now that you know all the information on Local SEO you should know how to do it. If done correctly it can reap huge benefits. But a single mistake is more than enough to get your site down rather than ranking high. Mentioned are 11 effective ways of doing Local SEO:

Create Local Place Page

This is the prime step towards local SEO. Ensure you have a great local business page for all the search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. Creation of the local page is easy as all you have to do is to offer accurate business information like hours of working, contact number, location and so on.

Online Reviews

It is believed that Google largely takes into consideration reviews when getting ranked high. You should know that reviews serve as a direct platform for customers to get easy information on products and services. The reviews are for Google users who take your business on SERP. One of the best ways to get easy reviews is by adding a button on your webpage itself. This makes easier for your visitors to post prompt and quick reviews.

Photos

It is rightly said, “A picture can speak a thousand words.” Remember this aspect when getting high local SEO ranking. When a client searches for your business locally they surely want to see pictures. Google+ allows you to post around 10 pictures at one go. Ensure the photos posted are not fake and of your products and services alone. Photos help your visitors to get easy information.

Target Right Keywords

Keywords play an important role when talking about getting a high ranking. When it comes to local SEO, the limelight goes on long and geo-specific keywords. Instead of using the keyword “plumber”, when using local SEO it is wise to target “plumber in Pennsylvania”. When you take a closer look you will find it actually changes the whole dimension. This further helps you to compete effectively with your competitors and rank high in search engines.

Get Ready For Less Competition

When you do business nationally or internationally you have to compete with a larger audience. However, this is lessened when you opt for local SEO. You will find the competitions are reduced to certain organizations or businesses in that certain area itself. The reason for this is because the keywords you use are location specific. This actually works in the favor of your business as you will not be competing internationally, but just local businesses.

Citations

When talking about local search engine ranking, citations play a major role. Google actually takes them as votes. However, it is of paramount importance that the citations match the details that are posted on your site and Google local page. As compared to traditional SEO, Local SEO is more into citations. It is basically a non-link mention of the address, contact number, brand name, and more. It mainly aims at listings on various directories and also getting positive reviews. You can put an icing on the cake by considering some common techniques of including blogs and quality links.

Conversions

No visitor likes to wait for minutes and hours in order for the site to load. They will obviously prefer other sites that are offered as second or third suggestions. This leads to losing your customers. It is seen that conversions tend to drop drastically when a webpage takes the time to load. To boost and enhance the conversion rates ensure the pages load quickly. Normal time for any page to load is 0-5 seconds. If it exceeds more than that you know you are lagging behind.

Results

Not many companies understand the importance of getting fast results as long as SEO is concerned. It is seen many of the SEO companies tend to continue with the optimization process until there are some great results to show. However, this can be effectively avoided with Local SEO as it offers faster results.

Solutions That Are Readymade

As compared to traditional SEO in which an expert makes use of various tools when it comes to managing the processes, there are certain tools that help in your Local SEO.

High ROI

It is believed that Local SEO helps in getting higher ROI easily. There are a number of reasons that shows why local businesses get high ROI. One of the main reasons is because it is basically physical providers. As you do business locally you can expect less competition, and thus better chances of getting high listings in Google and other search engines.

Social Media Integration

Social Networking sites have made a great impact on getting high exposure. You are highly recommended to have a healthy dose of effective social media contact. It is a great platform to reach out to a larger local audience. It is a great recipe and should not be neglected in any way.

Ensure you have a great presence on various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and more.

These are some of the most and effective 11 ways to do Local SEO. It is your easy ticket to getting high ranking and exposure on Google search engine. If your business largely relies on local customers and visitors, then local SEO is surely made for you. It is one of the best ways to be seen on the first page of Google and other search engines. In this way, you can expect a lot of businesses.


Once you opt for Local SEO you will actually notice the difference and establish a strong online presence. You should know that most of the searchers never ever go past the results other than the ones posted on the first page. Make use of this aspect and get high ranking and the much-needed exposure. Do not make your customer wait for long! Make use of Local SEO techniques and get high listings easily.

3 (Simple) Reasons Why E-Commerce Websites Need SEO

Columnist Trond Lyngbø argues that a solid search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is critical to the success of any e-commerce website. Here's why.

In the fairy tale, “Jack & the Beanstalk,” a magician gives the little boy three magic beans. His angry mother flings them out of the window. Overnight, a giant beanstalk springs up, helping Jack climb to a kingdom in the sky — from where he makes a fortune.

For your e-commerce website, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is like the three magic beans. It will make you a fortune, too!

Why Do E-Commerce Websites Need SEO?

It doesn’t matter if your company is big or small, a bootstrapped startup or a Fortune 500 firm — you need SEO to maximize your e-commerce website’s profitability.

The tips I’ll share in this report are based on 10+ years of hands-on, real-world experience with SEO and e-commerce.

Each recommendation is based on analysis of hard data, not intuition or gut instinct.

These hard-earned lessons come from helping real clients with genuine situations.







Reason #1: SEO Is Critical For Helping Customers Find You

Having an e-commerce website without SEO is leaving cash on the table — and plenty of it.

But don’t take my word for it. Log on to your analytics tool. Look at where most of your traffic, conversions and sales come from. I’m positive that, in most cases, organic search will rank as one of your top sources of revenue. For many businesses, Google drives the lion’s share of profit-producing traffic. (And if it doesn’t for yours, then you’re making some big mistakes somewhere.)

The way technology has evolved over the years has transformed the way consumers purchase products. Search is now an integral part of the decision-making process, with 89 percent of consumers using search engines to inform their purchase decisions.

Thus, ignoring SEO means you’re taking the risk of not being visible during your customers’ buying journey. When you aren’t visible on search results, fewer customers know about you, you sell less, and your growth slows down. At the same time, your competitors will increase sales and profits — and you’re letting them grow stronger.

Look at it from another perspective. Your potential for growth is tremendous. Too often, I find clients satisfied with average rankings on Google’s organic search results. They don’t understand that they could expand sales and revenue massively by improving further.

If your revenue were to drop by 50 percent, alarm bells would go off instantly — yet that doesn’t happen when you miss a chance to grow by 50 percent. That opportunity is just waiting there for you to grab with a superior SEO strategy.

Reason #2: SEO Is A Cost-Effective Way To Grow Your Bottom Line

My more successful clients allocate most of their time and resources to activities that are essential for meeting their goals — and cut down on areas with lesser potential or impact. When the fundamentals of your sales and marketing strategy involve correct analysis of your situation, market and competition, and your plan is tailored to your resources and strengths, your efforts will be more cost-effective.

In highly competitive industries and niches, paying for website traffic can run to many dollars per click. Or maybe you’re forced to buy costly banner ads. With effective SEO, you are less dependent on this traffic. Of course, you can still buy ads. But if finances are tight, SEO can be a lifesaver that keeps sales and profit flowing.

Unlike paid search traffic, the traffic from organic search is “free” — no cost per click, no cost per conversion, no cost per impression. No wonder SEO has always been so popular. You can attract quality traffic in large volumes without paying for it directly. (Of course, there are costs associated with hiring and retaining an SEO professional, though this is true for any online marketing discipline.)

Successful e-commerce companies have prioritized SEO efforts to optimize their websites for Google (and other search engines). I’ve seen small Norwegian local e-commerce websites dominate niches with stiff competition from leading international brands. Remarkably, they do this even with relatively small budgets and limited resources. Some have done it just by following simple SEO best practices.

These successful companies have a unique mindset. Their approach, preparation and planning is different. They integrate SEO with an overall marketing strategy, tying it in with activities like content marketing and social media marketing, guided by an experienced SEO consultant.

Integrating SEO with other marketing activities has a twofold benefit: it increases the effectiveness of these marketing activities while also improving your organic search visibility. This saves you time and money and brings down your cost per conversion. You’ll achieve more by spending less.

Reason #3: SEO’s Effects Are Long-Lasting, Making It A Great Investment

Search engine optimization delivers results that are targeted, cost-effective and measurable — and long-lasting.

SEO doesn’t have a shelf life of weeks or months. No one “pulls the plug” on SEO. With paid advertising, the minute you stop paying, the traffic drops. SEO just keeps going and going, working night and day.

The long-term effects of a solid SEO program are clear. Unlike most forms of marketing, where you start with a clean slate every year, SEO builds upon itself to grow stronger over time. You can layer upon what you did last year and keep growing, until you own your niche and dominate your market.

In some cases, you can even take a break or focus on other things for a few weeks or months and return to find your SEO just as effective as before (or close to it). Unlike paid advertising, the stream of customers and sales won’t stop the moment you put the brakes on. If you run short of cash, you could pause your other ads and still be visible to your audience through organic search results.

SEO For Your E-Commerce Site Is No Longer Optional
My biggest challenge when working with clients is getting them to see just how deeply Google is embedded into the day-to-day life of consumers. As a result of this, SEO has become critical to e-commerce business’ financial results. Since clients don’t always see the “problem,” SEO doesn’t get the attention and budget it deserves.

This oversight means they are limiting their own growth. Instead of taking their business to the next level with professional SEO, they leave money on the table. They plan without correct analytics data, and then half-heartedly execute a few SEO activities without any plan or strategy guiding them.

You shouldn’t fall into the same trap and lose the throne to others. Search engine optimization has the potential to boost your e-commerce site’s sales and revenue and make you the market leader in your industry. And the good news is that your investment in SEO will even pay for itself in a very short time, while its effects will last for many years.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land.

Facebook Adds Public Posts To Search, More Frequent Updates May Be Coming

Company sees 1.5 billion searches per day, has indexed over 2 trillion posts.

Facebook has announced some incremental search improvements and a new “channel” for its newsroom (Search FYI) that will provide updates on the evolution of search at Facebook. This suggests to me that we’ll be seeing more “search activity” going forward.

In a blog post announcing the improvements, Tom Stocky, Facebook’s VP of Search, said that the company sees “over 1.5 billion searches per day and over 2 trillion posts in our index.”

Facebook said that as of today users will see or be able to:

More timely and more personalized search suggestions (There apparently will be a real-time dimension to the suggestions, as with big stories or news events)

The ability to search public posts, as well as friends’ posts (In December, the company rolled out the ability to search friends’ posts)

Search public conversations

About the latter item, Facebook said, “When a link gets shared widely on Facebook, it often anchors an interesting public conversation. Now there’s a new way to quickly dive into that discussion. With one tap, you can find public posts about a link, see popular quotes and phrases mentioned in these posts, and check out an aggregate overview of sentiment.”

These updates are going to be first available in (US) English for iOS, Android and the PC. It’s mostly about mobile, however, which drives 87 percent of daily active usage and 76 percent of ad revenue (Q2).