by John Heida | Aug 22, 2022 | SEO
Local SEO is optimizing your website’s rank for local search engine results. This facet must be prioritized to improve your search ranking for local searches. Some factors that affect local SEO include your business name, your business address, your business phone number, and your business hours.
If you improve your local SEO rankings, you’ll see more visits to your store and more sales. Afterward, this will lead to increased traffic and revenue. If you don’t, several factors affect it and can cause significant losses. Here are some of and how you can improve them:
Your Business’ Google Profile
Google Business Profile is a free service that allows you to manage your brand information and how your business page appears on Google Maps and in local search results. When you claim and verify your listing, you can add photos, business hours, a business description, and more.
When creating a business listing, include as much detail as possible, so Google’s bots rank you as a legitimate business. This should include the name of your business, what category it falls under, your location on a map, the areas you serve, your phone number, and your website URL.
It’s important to keep adding high-quality Google photos to your business profile as they make your listing more visually appealing, help it appear higher in local search results, and make customer searches more accurate. Fail to do so, and you undercut a convenient way for potential customers to see your business.
If you want to improve your local SEO, one of the best things you can do is to make sure your business is listed on Google and that your listing is up-to-date and complete. You should also try to get good reviews and ratings on your listing, as this feedback may improve your ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Your Customers’ Reviews and Ratings of You
Aside from completing your Google Business Profile, the tech company has stated that online reviews greatly influence where your business appears in local search results.
Online reviews and customer ratings can help improve your company’s local SEO. This is because online reviews and ratings can make your company more “prominent” online.
Knowing how to handle positive and negative reviews is important to maintain a good reputation. Customers will more likely trust your brand if you’re responsive to feedback. Plus, responding to reviews can help create new content more likely to be picked up by search engines.
Avoid not responding to customer ratings, especially when customers take time to write down their thoughts. Reciprocate and address their pain points. Give them a discount coupon or a refund to appease them, or maybe even replace the item free of charge!
Asking customers or clients to leave a review of your business can be a helpful way to generate new reviews and improve your online reputation. This can be beneficial even if you already have a good number of reviews, as it can help to add more positive reviews and improve your overall rating.
Get Simple Local SEO Maximized with Silo Hill Media
Local SEO is about ensuring your business is visible on a digital map. Simply fill out your Google My Business profile with accurate information and clear photos while asking customers to leave honest feedback you’ll get back. Then, watch as your customer base doubles (or triples) because they can find you more easily than the competition.
Navigate these hurdles even better with help from Silo Hill Media! We develop affordable and effective strategies that synergize all your marketing efforts without a hitch. Visit our website to improve your local SEO!
by John Heida | Aug 15, 2022 | SEO
When formulating a foolproof SEO strategy for your company, you want to ensure all components are ready to work efficiently and drive traffic to your website. One of the most critical aspects of the SEO process is backlinks.
Backlinks are one of the most compelling ways to improve your website’s SEO services and create a more stable traffic stream. Search engines use backlinks to gauge the importance of your website and use them as a ranking factor for your website.
How Do Backlinks Affect SEO?
Google won’t release all their specific SEO ranking factors, but they have stated backlinks are one of the most important. Google’s algorithm looks for backlinks to your website and uses them as one of its primary ranking factors.
Google’s algorithm looks at two types of backlinks:
- Inbound Links – These links are a valuable asset for any website looking to rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). The more high-quality inbound links a website has, its chances of ranking are better. Inbound links can come from various sources, including other websites, blog posts, infographics, and social media profiles.
- Outbound links – When it comes to SEO services, outbound links are also an essential factor. By linking to other websites, you are essentially passing on link juice which can help improve your website’s ranking. Not only that, but outbound links also act as a way to increase your website’s authority and credibility.
How to Acquire Backlinks
There are many ways to obtain backlinks, but some are more effective than others. Here are a few ways you can get backlinks to your website:
1 – Publish Quality Content
SEO agencies have always advised companies that if they publish relevant and high-quality content, the ranking of their website will improve. It’s important to understand that when you post quality content, people are more likely to link to it, which helps improve your website’s ranking and authority.
This means you must ensure that the content you publish is well researched and up to date. If you don’t have the time or resources to do this, you can always outsource the content writing to a freelancer.
2 – Build Relationships
Building relationships is vital in every business and even more critical when it comes to digital marketing. The more contacts you set up, the more likely you will get backlinks from websites with high domain authority. You can build relationships by guest posting, contributing to other blogs, and leaving comments on other blogs.
You can also employ social media to connect with others in your niche. The more you interact with other businesses, the more likely you will get backlinks.
3 – Optimize Your Web Pages for SEO
To get backlinks from high-quality websites, you need to optimize your web pages for SEO. You need to target the right keywords, use the proper titles and descriptions, and include the right keywords in your content.
You must also ensure that your website is fast and easy to use. If your website is slow or difficult to use, people will not want to visit it, much less link to it.
Final Thoughts
If you want to improve your website’s search engine rankings or increase the traffic your website receives, you should focus on building backlinks. Backlinks help improve your website’s search engine rankings. Additionally, they can increase the amount of traffic that your website receives.
Silo Hill Media is a company that provides local SEO services for small businesses. Based in Caldwell, ID, our comprehensive internet marketing solutions will help you achieve your marketing goals. Schedule a call today for more information!
by John Heida | Aug 1, 2022 | SEO
If you haven’t heard this before, then we’re here to tell you that if you want your business to succeed, look within your community. Indeed, the success or failure of a small business may be determined by community support. Thankfully with local SEO, local customers can find and access your business easily. Read on to learn more about it today.
Understanding the Purpose of Local SEO
SEO increases website traffic through organic search engine results, allowing new and recurring customers to find your company online. Local SEO targets local clients. When used effectively, it helps your target audience find you in your store, online business directories, on your website, and on social media.
You can boost your online presence in a certain geographic area by doing the following:
- Specify the website’s localization. Examine your website’s crawlability and make sure your contact information matches Google My Business.
- Businesses can use Google My Business to verify their address and phone number, as well as engage with potential customers.
- Include keywords for your city, state, and region.
Investing in Local SEO for Your Business
Today, people use the Internet to find local companies, products, and services. Long gone are the days we turn to Yellow Pages to locate a laundromat or a coffee shop. However, if your website, company biography, and social media accounts are difficult to find, your potential customer may end up going to a rival company with higher local search ranks.
Local SEO involves investing money to acquire customers in your area rather than across the country. Local SEO has a good return on investment and is inexpensive.
Because of its concentration on internet users, SEO is one of the most cost-effective marketing tactics. When compared to cold calling, the inbound part of SEO saves organizations money. Cold calling can be beneficial, but it costs 61 percent more per lead than SEO. SEO focuses on clients who are actively looking for items and services similar to yours, resulting in more qualified traffic and cost savings for businesses.
SEO provides e-commerce and non-e-commerce sites with trackable and verifiable results, demonstrating ROI. SEO businesses may track rankings, traffic, and conversions. Comprehensive analytics provide precise demographic and engagement data to visitors. SEO services may track which paths visitors take to complete a transaction, down to the search terms they used to discover you before completing a purchase. Non-e-commerce websites can assess SEO value by looking at lead conversions, such as a Contact Us form submission.
Local SEO Fosters Improved Usability
SEO increases your website’s navigability for both search engines and users. SEO comprises making changes to a website’s architecture and linkages in order to improve page accessibility. This makes it easy for search engines to crawl and discover pages on your website, as well as for people to find information.
Because the top spots on search engine results pages receive the most impressions and clicks, ranking there can boost website traffic. SEO focuses on producing meaningful title tags and meta descriptions for result pages. Optimizing tags and descriptions enhances click-through rates and quality website traffic.
Local SEO Enhances Brand Visibility
Top rankings create a large number of impressions, thus, having your website there will boost its exposure. Being on the first page for your desired keywords helps users associate your firm with those terms and instills trust, as organizations on the first page are regarded as more trustworthy. If your sites and brand score well in search engines, they will be seen by more people.
Conclusion
The great thing about discovering ways to get in touch with your own community is that it doesn’t have to be difficult. As you capture and sustain your local audience with local SEO, you can strengthen your brand and gain more users’ trust and confidence. Thus, if you’re thinking about implementing local SEO for your business, this is your sign.
Are you in need of professional local SEO for small businesses? Silo Hill Web is here to offer tailored solutions for the success of your business. Get in touch with us today to get a FREE estimate!
by John Heida | Jul 4, 2022 | SEO
Right off the bat, we’re going to tell you that guest blogging is beneficial for local businesses, both in terms of attracting new consumers and enhancing the overall SEO value of your website. However, there are a few factors that distinguish local guest blogging from generic guest blogging. You have a few distinct obstacles – and unique possibilities – so generalist advice doesn’t always apply.
The Advantages of Guest Blogging for Small Businesses
If you’re a local business, you may benefit much from guest blogging, both in terms of publishing and submission. What are those benefits?
1. You Position Your Brand as More of an Authority
The benefit here is obvious. When you guest blog for a publication, you’re telling the audience that you have the expertise to be contributing to the site. As a result, you can use the blog to build up your brand as an authority in a field.
If your blog is highly targeted to a niche, you’re going to want to make sure that you’re contributing as an authority within the niche – otherwise, readers might look upon your content less favorably. However, if you can demonstrate that you are an expert in your niche, publishers will be happy to have your brand on their site.
2. Enhance Domain Authority
Another major benefit to having your brand’s content on a publication’s site is that it helps your site’s overall domain authority. Getting your content on a high-authority website can help your own content rank better.
However, if you’re a local business, you’re going to have to do some research to ensure that the publication is reputable. If your company is years old and highly reputable, putting your content on a site that’s less than reputable won’t necessarily have a negative impact on your company’s brand. However, if your company is new, you really can’t afford to risk meeting with a bad reception from readers – a bad association could hurt your SEO over the long term. So, it’s important to be careful about the publications you choose and ensure that your brand is in-line with the site’s content.
3. Establish Ties with Peers in the Industry
Another benefit to guest blogging is that it allows you to establish a network with other local businesses. As a small business owner, it’s important to establish ties with other local businesses and to make connections that can benefit your company down the road. Guest blogging is a great way to make those connections.
It’s important to note that not all guest blogs are equal. Many of the blogs that are available are horror shows – they either have no internal structure or they’re poorly designed and put together. If you want to get in on the guest blogging game, make sure that the blog you’re going to contribute to is a high-quality one. It will not only look better to your readers, but it will also be better for your domain authority and for your own personal brand.
4. Drive Long-Term Results
This benefit is a little more nebulous. Guest blogging can provide long-term benefits that don’t necessarily show up in your SEO results. For example, guest blogging can help provide leads for your business down the road, and those leads can lead to long-term revenue. However, to access those benefits, you must be willing to build up an audience of readers – which takes time.
Conclusion
If you’re a local business, guest blogging can be a tremendously valuable and effective way to promote your brand on the national and local levels. However, there are some considerations to keep in mind – your business tone and the position of your business within your market are two of the most important factors in making sure that your blog will be a good fit.
Are you looking for a digital marketing agency for small businesses? Silo Hill Web creates tailored marketing strategies for your internet presence at fair pricing. Leave the work to us and contact us today!
by John Heida | Jun 27, 2022 | SEO
You may be here because you want to boot your small business’s online presence and reputation. Well, we’re here to let you know more about local SEO and how it could impact your business.
Small companies benefit from local search results. As such, available local search packs today include significant neighborhood businesses’ Google My Business (GMB) profiles. These help struggling small businesses when they compete with major corporations that may struggle to rank for competitive keywords.
As a small business owner, you must look into local search and local SEO to gain significant exposure. Without further ado, read on as we discuss the eight ways to get better local SEO rankings today.
Response to Reviews and Google feedback
Respond to both positive and negative feedback. Google Reviews will help local SEO. Google recommends that businesses reply to client comments. Responding to client reviews demonstrates that you value their input. If your clients trust you, search engines will as well. Responding to reviews raises your company’s visibility and boosts the likelihood of a sale.
Assess and Increase Your Relevance
Local SEO rankings on Google are determined by relevance, prominence, and distance. According to Google, the best method to make your GMB page valuable is to include accurate and thorough business information. First, you must claim your listing. Once that is done, double-check your NAP, business hours, category, and services. Keeping your Google My Business profile optimized and up to date keeps you relevant to local clients looking for your services.
Encourage Reviews
Nowadays, reviews are a critical part of your success online. Because the amount and quality of reviews influence local search engine rankings, it is critical to gather consumer feedback. Even if it feels strange, try doing things naturally. Include a link to a review page in your thank-you email. Never underestimate the importance of reviews for local SEO, and always ask for them frequently.
Examine Your Competitors
I’d start by researching competitors. Find out what has worked for local businesses in your field. You will also need to undertake demographic research to provide the best possible service to your clients. Any SEO approach must include keyword research.
CityPages.com
GEO or city pages help with local SEO. These web pages or blog posts are part of your content marketing plan. The keyword is the city’s name. If you want to promote your Dallas, Texas services, make frequent use of the city’s name and location on your website. The city should appear in the title, subheading, introduction paragraph, and two to three other places in the piece.
Provide Online Consistency
Sometimes, you will need a local SEO provider like Brightlocal to help us rank at the top of local search engine results pages. Brightlocal, Moz Local, and other local search engines will contain your name, physical address, website address, and phone number. They can handle many locations inside the same city or state, which might be difficult.
Use Hyper-localized information
Small enterprises benefit from hyper-localization. A viable keyword strategy is required for hyper-localization. A well-thought-out keyword approach finds a balance between volume and authority (DA). Small businesses with less than 50 domain authority should target keywords with fewer than 1,000 monthly searches. After you’ve finished your keyword research, write an 800-to-1,000-word post with hyper-localized portions such as neighborhood, suburb, and city. Hyper-localization is only useful if you can give location-specific information.
Understand the Search Intent of Local Customers
Effective SEO necessitates the usage of relevant keywords in the appropriate context. Include keywords and details in your description. Many small businesses do not keep their Google My Business listings or store hours up to date. Consider how your target audience might find you. Understanding their objectives and ambitions will help you generate SEO keywords.
Conclusion
Small businesses are here to cater to the community that surrounds them. This reiterates the need to implement effective local SEO strategies. Thus, keep these tips in mind as you improve and enhance your online presence for your small business!
Are you looking for a digital marketing agency for small businesses? Silo Hill Web creates tailored marketing strategies for your internet presence at fair pricing. Leave the work to us and contact us today!
by John Heida | Jun 20, 2022 | SEO
Local SEO is the process of optimizing a piece of content or an entire website for local geographic searches. This benefits businesses that operate in specific regions, whether they’re eCommerce businesses or brick-and-mortar ones.
Internet marketing agencies provide various services, one of which is focusing on search engine optimization on a local level. This positions the client’s products and services better on a regional level.
When developing a local SEO strategy, it’s important to consider what factors influence ranking. What should businesses, whether they have a physical location or not, know about ranking so that their target customers in their area can find them?
Dos
Make Sure Your Company’s Contact Information Is Consistent
A physical address should be included on each page of your website, including a map and directions. Other contact information should be included, as well. This may include phone numbers, email addresses, social media links, and chat lines.
Make sure that the information on your website is consistent and that it’s accurate. It’s important to verify the information regularly.
Sign up for Google My Business. This will help your business rank higher in search engine results for local queries. It also allows you to update your business information.
Publish Content That’s Relevant to Your Region
If your business solves local problems for local people, then make sure that your content addresses those issues and concerns. This can help your business rank higher in local search results.
Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews
Local business reviews are important for local SEO, so it’s important to encourage customers to leave reviews for your business. If you already have reviews on Google, Yelp, or another site, that’s great. But even if you don’t, you can encourage people to write a review.
Let your customers know that you value their feedback. Review your website and make it easy for people to leave reviews.
Don’ts
Don’t Forget to Optimize Your Subdomain
Local businesses should include their city name in their subdomain. For example, if your business is a building contractor in Caldwell, ID, then create a subdomain with “Caldwell” in it.
Use the right keywords. For example, “Caldwell building contractor” should be included in the subdomain, as well as on the homepage.
Don’t Forget to Do A/B Testing
You should perform A/B testing for any changes to your website. A/B testing is a process that compares two different versions of a webpage. This allows you to see which version performs better and leads to more conversions.
Don’t Go Overboard
Be careful not to spam your website with too many local keywords. This might work initially, but search engines will penalize your website in the long run.
The same goes for link-building. Building links to your site can help your rankings, but the links must be natural and earned. The last thing that you want is for search engines to notice and penalize your site for being overly optimized.
Conclusion
Search engine optimization can help local businesses rank higher for local search queries. It can also help them attract more customers, no matter whether or not their business has an actual physical location.
Understanding how search engine optimization works on a local level will help you to attract the type of customers that your business needs. However, it’s not enough to simply understand local SEO. You need to come up with the right strategies to make sure that your local business gets the attention it deserves.
Silo Hill Media is a reputable company that offers local SEO services in Caldwell, ID, at affordable rates. Contact our team today to find out more about our solutions!