Everyone wants to top the search engine rankings of the industry’s giants — Google, Yahoo and Bing — but the behavior of search requests has shown that often people are conducting local searches. These are searches that include a geo-targeted location, like Online Potential + Orlando, FL. The city and state portion helps the search engine narrow down specific results, which are considered local. One of the best things you can do for your business is to rank well and be a part of local directory listings so you can appear near the top of the search results as well as having your contact information and mapped address appear.
Getting the Most Out of Local SEO
At Online Potential, we can help you zero in on your target location by finding out which geographical areas your company appears in local searches. This helps us narrow down the right search engine optimization content to help you dominate the market. With Google’s Pigeon update, it appears that the search radius has been narrowed, so your business may no longer show up in the same searches as it did before.
Many business owners believe that their company should be listed at the top of a city-wide search. But if your services are limited to a neighborhood or borough, then you need to put emphasis on that area. Being the top search result for Chicago isn’t great if it’s taking consumers too long to get across the city to your location. Rather, focus on your immediate service area and reel in the best results.
One of the easiest ways to increase your local SEO potential is to join Yext’s PowerListings. This is a network of directory publishing sites that includes more than 220 million businesses. These sites include Yelp, Yahoo, Bing and MapQuest, and this network is the most common way people are finding business listings. You want to ensure that your company is listed on all the top sites that already rank well, and PowerListings can make that happen. Ask us about our partnership with Yext and how we can manage your PowerListings profile so it’s one less thing you have to worry about.
Don’t Let Spam Get You Down
Google’s Pigeon algorithm update in July 2014 put a lot of focus on local search engine optimization, and it seems that Google’s updates can go one of two ways: legitimate businesses fall in the rankings for being marked as spam, or spam is raised in the rankings for following one or two of the new update guidelines. Immediately after a major algorithm update, website owners rush to do whatever it takes to get back on top of the rankings. But here’s why we think you should sit and wait — Google often tweaks its updates after release. If a website that is obviously spam has been raised above you, report it. Don’t ever try to lower your content to spam’s level; it will only hurt your credibility in the end. Online Potential can continue to provide you with quality content and the best local SEO practices so that when those incoming tweaks finally happen, you’ll be back above the dregs of the Internet.
What’s the Answer for Local SEO?
We tell our clients that the best way to get the most out of local search engine optimization is to create quality, informative content on a highly functioning website that employs interactive and unique, yet undistracting, designs. We create content for your users, whether they’re on your site for information, to make purchases or to complete a call-to-action. We help you create a local SEO strategy to manage advertisements, social media and blogs so that you can reach your intended audience. And we work hard to make sure your company is accurately represented on directory sites so your business is easier to find.
