FREE SEO Advice

kcupial · March 27, 2013, 9:17am

I had made a google listing a long time ago. I had it up and they took it off when google was taking off everyone’s listings. So it’s the pin that is the problem. I’ve emailed them numerous of times and its been 2 months and they still say they are working on it lol

Mirnes · March 27, 2013, 10:43am

I just made my listing yesterday and I was able to verify it by phone.

Tapatalking

Ben · March 27, 2013, 6:21pm

Make a new email account with google. Make a new listing. its that easy. My phone will not stop ringing. I cant afford for it to even die. lol.

Ben · March 27, 2013, 6:22pm

That’s great! Soon you will be getting customers of the competition.

mshramek · March 28, 2013, 7:22pm

ambservices:

Okay, here we go. It was a great webinar; they should be hosting another one in the next few weeks, so if I didn’t get your answer this time (or if you missed it and have a question you’d like me to ask), I’ll do my best. There are also a few pointers in here that you might want to review since SEO as a whole is changing big time.

Also, these are just my notes; I’ve tried to clean it up and organize it as best as I could!!

1. Are back links dead?
The short answer: NO. However, they do mean different things now than they used to.
It used to be that you could create as many backlinks as possible, with as many keywords as possible, in whatever location you could put them; and that would HELP your rankings.
Now it is different - the biggest factor in a backlink is “Is it natural?”. In other words, did a computer make it? Was it generated by a blog? Did you, the owner of the site, strategically place it somewhere? Those are NOT natural backlinks. A natural backlink is when someone likes your content, and links to it. Period. This does not mean that you, as a site owner, shouldn’t create backlinks. Just do so judiciously. Ask yourself, “Will this link help a customer or prospect?” If not, then don’t do it. It is ridiculous that search engines can tell the difference, but they can.
– SIDE NOTE – Many have questions about putting keywords in backlinks (aka <link>Pressure Wash Power Washing City Name<link>). Again, make sure it makes sense. Keywords are okay to put in a link, but make sure it accurately describes the page you are linking to (NOT what you wish it was instead). Here’s an example:

What I would do is:
Link to the ‘home page’ = On your site: Home / Off your site: ARC Powerwashing
Link to the ‘estimate/instant bid page’ = On your site: Get An Instant Bid / Off your site: Get An Instant Powerwashing Bid
Link to the ‘contact page’ = On your site: Contact Us / Off your site: Contact ARC Powerwashing

What I would NOT do is:
Link to the 'home page = Home of the Best Pressure Washers Anywhere for Raleigh Power Washing ARC Powerwashing 919-827-4376
Link to the ‘estimate/instant bid page’ = Get A Free Instant Bid Online in Raleigh For Pressure Washing That Will Rock Your World
Link to the ‘contact page’ = Contact ARC Powerwashing in Raleigh for Pressure Washing Today!

Also, it is also ‘Natural’ for your secondary pages to have just as many, if not more backlinks, than your home page. A quick peek at your Webmaster Tools report can tell you which pages have the most links, and from where. YOU CAN BE PENALIZED FOR HAVING LINKS TO YOUR SITE FROM SITES THAT ARE NOT RELEVANT.

2. How much weight is a keyword/service in a page title of a site?
This again, is more about being ‘Natural’. Keyword stuffing is no longer a good practice. Many of you are finding that the pages that did well before, are slipping in rankings for no apparent reason. This is because it used to be helpful and even good practice to put all your keywords in your page title. Search engines have caught on to this game and have no longer given positive impacts on rankings for doing it. In most cases it isn’t penalized, but it won’t help you either.

What I would do is:
Home page title = Raleigh’s Most Recommended Pressure Washer | ARC Powerwashing

What I would NOT do is:
Home page title = Pressure Washing Power Washing Window Cleaning Gutters Roofs Decks Raleigh ARC Powerwashing

3. BING has been doing some serious advertising for their search engine lately, how do we maximize our ranking with them? Can we do that without hurting our google ranking?
One issue with trying to optimize a site for a specific search engine, is that you may lose your ability to rank on another. A simple solution to this is to just provide good, unique, quality content and an easy user experience. That’s my ‘official’ answer.
With THAT being said, Bing & Yahoo have joined forces. But really, they JUST WANNA BE LIKE GOOGLE. Microsoft has been left in the dust with Google’s algorithms (or the tech behind the search rankings). They simply watch and copy. You can push the boundaries more with Bing/Yahoo, however, it doesn’t seem like a good choice to make. Google still holds 87% of ALL US SEARCHES. That means Bing/Yahoo and all the others share 13%. If you push your site to do well on Bing/Yahoo, and get penalized on Google, was it worth it? No. Give Bing/Yahoo some time, they’ll implement the same things Google is doing at some point.

4. How to set up a mobile site in GWT so big G doesn’t see it as duplicate content? Mobile site is on a m. subdomain.
This can be solved by:
- Making sure you have a mobile site map
- Submitting that sitemap in your webmaster tools as a MOBILE sitemap

That’s it. Google and other search engines are reading the trendlines, they know that mobile is on the rise and is overtaking desktop searches. If you properly submit your sitemap you won’t get penalized or dropped for duplicate content.

5. How do I make my site more “local”? (Seems like google really likes “local”)
This can be accomplished simply, but CAREFULLY. It is easy to say that you are simply listing your service areas, but get penalized for ‘spam’. Include your primary city name in your page titles (see #2 above). Tell your customers in logical places around your site that you service these particular areas. Don’t get too general, listing a few counties won’t suffice. But don’t get too detailed, no one wants to see a zillion zip codes either.

What I would do is:
Add a bullet point list in the sidebar or footer that says:
We proudly serve the following ares: 1)Raleigh 2)Cary 3)Garner 4)Knightdale 5)Wake Forest 6)Durham 7)Morrisville

What I would NOT do is:
Add a huge paragraph in the footer of each of my pages that lists every city, county, and zip code within a 100 mile radius.

6. How does one increase their google places ranking?
Google Places has a lot of smaller signals than your website, and it depends a lot more on REAL stuff, not so much on SEO. A lot of Google Places listings got suspended or put on eternal “Pending Review” for being too spammy. They are looking for real photos, real reviews, real videos, real websites, real services, real categories. Make sure your listing isn’t duplicated somewhere, it is 100% complete, and has a real address. DO NOT stuff keywords into your descriptions, categories, additional info, etc. Add items, photos, descriptions that will actually improve your business. ASK for reviews.

7. The easiest cheap way to record how your website is doing on search terms?
I did NOT get an answer to this one!!! But I have submitted it…there are some tools out there to track rankings, but Google is slowly shutting them out of their API’s. They aren’t cheap either. Searching yourself is haphazard and can be completely inaccurate. Localized searches are also affected by a person’s search history/social interaction, previous visits to other sites, on & on. This is Google’s goal, to make search PERSONAL. So I am assuming this problem will not only not get solved, but get more and more elusive…sorry Trey!

Here are a few notes I took that didn’t have to do with anyone’s questions:

The New SEO
Depends more on natural links, creation of good content, providing a good user experience. It’s also lot less technical. You no longer need to know php, html, asp, and all the other coding languages. Just make your page/site a better answer to the search query than the rest. It’s also a lot more about not shooting yourself in the foot - don’t break the rules, don’t keyword stuff or use ‘spammy’ techniques.

Rankings are no longer: “If you build it, they will come.” You have to engage your audience, network, blog, social interaction.

That’s all I’ve got at the moment. Hopefully I’ve given you enough to digest for the moment. To be continued…(said every marketing person, ever.)

In regards to #7, use Google Analytics. It’s free and is updated every 24 hours. It shows you what keywords are being used when people find you, where they are coming from, demographics and everything else you could possibly need. You just have to stick the little html code in your site.

ambservices · March 28, 2013, 8:16pm

Googles analytics is definitely a must for tracking traffic, and what keywords people are using to find your site. I think what Trey meant though was a SERP tracker. I suppose you could look at your Google Webmaster Tools and go to queries. It’ll show your average position in searches.

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 8:25pm

Ben, after reading this I need to say that although I respect you, you probably shouldnt be giving SEO advice.

Ben · March 28, 2013, 8:46pm

I respect you too but you need to be more specific in what you are saying.

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 8:52pm

#1 - Showing your address as a service area based business is a violation of Places guidelines will eventually get you dropped off of Google maps.

#2 Google Maps and Places are the same inherent thing. This wasn’t true a year ago, but now it is.

Every few months you’ll see a thread here about someone getting dropped off of MaPlaces because they listed their address. Its d@mn near impossible to get your listing back in a timely fashion once that happens. The Googlebot is a fickle SOB. Not only that, but their human callers will ban you because they dont like the bass in your voice. They call every few months for me.

Ben · March 28, 2013, 9:01pm

My address is shown, and so are the other listings I just looked up. I have had my listing on Google 2 1/2 years. I get free $100 advertising gift cards every 3 months or so and have received 0 calls from Google. Maps and Places are not the same. I had to create a listing a few weeks ago for a painter friend. He got a call from a competitor yesterday wanting to know who he was. All the guy mentioned was that he knew every painter in town and not heard of him and wanted to know how he showed up on Google. Meaning… I know what is going on. I been doing it for over 2 years. Remember, I am a spammer.

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 9:09pm

Its gonna catch up with you… remember I said this

Ben · March 28, 2013, 9:14pm

Even IF it that does come in to play I still have my top page ranks for videos. They could take local away forever and I would not care.

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 9:18pm

Like I said, you shouldn’t be giving SEO advice. But Im going to transition out of hijacking Anya’s thread now.

Ben · March 28, 2013, 9:18pm

Oh and lets not forget my top ranking for my LinkedIn professional profile. It all comes down to the special phrases

diamondridge · March 28, 2013, 9:21pm

Ben, FTW!

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 9:30pm

Your top results for “Window Cleaning Columbus GA”

1 - The thread that got you banned here in 2011, not a good look.
2 - LinkedIn, which is a login-only service. In onther words, if people arent members of LinkedIn, they cant see a thing about you.
3 - Google Places, which you “dont need”

Then its random companies, until the 12th organic result, which is on the second page, ant thats your first video.

I hope you’re not relying on YouTube to drive in business. It may work where you are, but to me its like going to McDonalds to buy jewlery… people just don’t do it.

You are on top of the mountain, but its really icy up there. Maybe someone like Ambidextrous Services could help you solidify your presence.

michaelmole · March 28, 2013, 9:33pm

Fify.

ChrisTripleC · March 28, 2013, 9:40pm

Dangit, I just “liked” a Mole post

diamondridge · March 28, 2013, 10:18pm

Now you have to go like 10 of my posts!

Ben · March 28, 2013, 10:36pm

Dont get me wrong. I LOVE me some GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, LINKEDIN, YOUTUBE,and TWITTER. I am grateful for their presence bringing me lots of free enterprise. I do advertise my key phrase in many ways. Regions could very well be different pertaining to the key phrases people look up in their area. Maybe its how I have marketed my company on FREE. I have free website on Facebook that is on my business card, i tell people about window cleaning Columbus Georgia on Google and I socialize with ppl in my free time online through messaging by introducing myself with Facebook and LinkedIn. Customers tell me they saw my Google listing. Then look at the fan page. Or I am already a friend on so and so on the phone.
I like what it has brought. This may not work for everyone. But it has brought me an investor, now a partner. About to Inc. and get a retired veteran loan. Yes, it may require me giving 51% for him to invest another $xxx,xxx with a veteran loan. Automatic approval. Shop for customers to come to-paid for, mine. Expand our service to every type of window cleaning service for ten floors and jump in to recreational rappelling. Our city is about to open the white water project. I would like to offer an alternative while the tourists are here. He is down for it all. Oh and thanks WCR for providing all the FREE information.