Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results. This means getting your website ranked in the search engines in order to generate traffic. Most of us are familiar with SEO for general keywords (i.e. weight loss, make money from home, dog training etc.) however for offline marketing we will do SEO for local keywords. This is the foundation to which I built my offline marketing business. I provided businesses with high search engine rankings for local keywords. This training will show you how to develop and implement an SEO campaign for a local business.
Local SEO
Local SEO is built on keywords that have local modifiers. This simply means you will be combining a location to the niche. For example if you are focusing on dentist in the New York area your keywords would be similar to: dentist New York, teeth whitening New York, emergency dentist New York etc. You will need to discuss with your client some of the top keywords to target as well conducting your own keyword research. Once you complete you keyword research you are ready to start your Local SEO campaign.
Onsite Optimization
A key part for any SEO strategy is the onsite optimization. This means your website is structured in a way to show Google that your website is related to your target keywords. You will be able to find a lot of information on the Warrior Forum about proper onsite optimization. Here I will give you some basic information about how to structure a website for local SEO.
Title Tags: The title tag is what shows up in the search engines for a website. It is also one of the most important parts of your onsite SEO strategy. If you are working with a WordPress website you will be able to easily adjust the title tag. I have found that the following is the best title tag structure:
Primary Keyword City ‘ Secondary Keyword City, ST ‘ LSI Keyword
Dentist New York ‘ Emergency Dentist New York, NY ‘ Teeth Whitening
Description: The description is important not necessarily for SEO purposes instead it used to increase Click Through Rate (CTR). First you should include your primary keyword because it will become bold in the SERP’s. You should also include a Call To Action, this can be anything from: click here, find out more, learn more etc. Finally also include the phone number of the business. This is a ninja trick that helps gets more calls for your offline client.
Keywords: Keywords have very little effect on SEO, typically I will include the primary keyword, some LSI keywords and finally the business name.
Content: The content of on the website is still KING. Typically the content on a page should be 350 words minimum. There should also be about a 2% primary keyword density. The real secret is to adding LSI keywords throughout the content as much as possible. Also be sure to add your keywords throughout your meta tags. This means you put your primary keywords in your header tags, bold keywords and underline keywords.
Another important aspect on content that is over looked by most when dealing with local SEO is that the content added needs to be ongoing. This can simply be a blog that gets high quality optimized content added every month. Personally I will 3-5 articles created for my offline client each month that is added to their blog. This helps bring in a lot more traffic from random keywords and builds an “authority” website.
Offsite SEO
After you have completed your clients onsite SEO it is time to start with offsite SEO. This is the SEO service that you will be providing for your clients on an ongoing basis. Offsite SEO helps build the ranking over time and shows the search engines that people find your website helpful. Typically offsite SEO is all about getting backlinks from different sources. However after the Google Panda and Penguin updates certain backlinks have started to hurt websites. Also when doing local SEO there is a special type of backlink that needs to be included in your overall strategy.
Backlinks : After your competition analysis and the use of Opensite Explorer you should have a good idea of your competitor’s backlinks. Use this information to you advantage and start getting backlinks from the same sources if possible. You will also need to create a backlink strategy for your client’s site. It is important to get a constant flow of quality backlinks each month to your client’s site.
Citation : Citations are a form of backlinks that are vital for any Local SEO strategy. This is the mention of a business Name Address Phone Number (NAP) on different websites. Common citation sources are sites like Yellowpages, Angies List, Dex Knows etc. However you can also leave a business NAP on any page and use it as a backlink to the business website. Like normal backlinks you must create new ciations on a monthly basis to help increase your clients search engine rankings.
What’s Next
Local SEO is a somewhat different than normal SEO however it can be easier to rank for local keywords. Your local SEO strategy will consist of two parts, onsite SEO and offsite SEO. Onsite SEO is very similar to any SEO you have done in the past. It consist of showing the search engines that your clients website is related to a particular keyword. Offsite SEO is more of the ongoing service that you will have to provide for a client’s website. You be providing a constant flow of backlinks and citations to help boast website rankings. Usually it takes between 3-6 months before your SEO efforts start to drastically improve rankings. The most important thing with SEO is establishing clear expectations with your clients. Keep this in mind when creating proposals for potential clients.
Local SEO is a great way to build an Offline Marketing Empire. When done correctly this can add a lot of value to any business and you can charge premium prices for your services. To get more information about Local SEO visit the Warrior Forum. If you have any question about today’s training or building your business please feel free to contact me.