Sacramento SEO - The Good The Bad and the Ugly

As one of a number of professional Sacramento SEO companies advising local businesses in how to get their presence found online using local Search Engine Optimization, you’ll find that while we all take slightly different approaches and have slightly different opinions, we also all agree on a few main points.

As a result, we are going to kick off a weekly series of the good, the bad and the ugly about what makes up a good local Sacramento SEO campaign. 

1. Local SEO is NOT a “set it and forget it” proposition.

What most business owners don’t realize is that SEO is an ever-changing target and there really is no “set it and forget it” like many unscrupulous SEO vendors will claim.

The rules (read algorithms) are ever changing. Google produces minor changes to it’s rules daily and weekly and has accelerated their major changes from annually to almost quarterly in order to heighten their customer’s (searchers) positive experience.

So, if you are have spent time in the past doing local SEO, you probably need to revisit your efforts as many may no longer be effective and some may be counter-productive.

2. Don’t try to “punk the system”

Building links organically takes time. Every search engine is now looking at the quality of every link, including directories.

You can buy listings in 1,000+ directories in Romania, Bulgaria, and literally all across the globe. But don’t. Google will assume that you don’t provide a quality experience to their searchers, based on the fact that you tried to “buy your way” to the top.  They will ignore you and in some cases, ban your site.

Google and Bing are looking for real local listings, preferably with reviews from real people who either like or dislike your product or service.

 3. Your Company Info is your Ticket

You need to have your company name, address and phone number displayed in each and every page of your website.  A post office box no longer suffices. The search engine uses that information to match up to other sites that talk about you. This is where you are awarded your authority for local searches.

If a directory or social review site lists your company name, address and phone number, then that generates the equivalent of a back-link or recommendation.

4.  Ask for Reviews

Increase the level of interaction and engagement by asking your customers (preferably happy ones) to give you a review, a +1, Share or Check-In.

Hint: Don’t put all of your reviews in one place. It pays to spread the love around by asking different customers to post reviews in different review sites.

5. Don’t be afraid of bad reviews.

Data shows that conversions actually go up when customers see a not-perfect review. As long as the review or comment is acknowledged and commented on with an explanation or solution by the business, most people will forgive or ignore the occasional critical review. We all know that it is impossible to please everyone so this brings ”realness” to your business. Just don’t ignore it, even if the reviewer is mean spirited and wrong. We’ll talk about how to address these in a future article.

Remember, interactions lead to higher authority and higher rankings in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERP).

6. Local Call To Actions and Landing Pages

Does your local directory listing point only to your home page? You might want to try pointing your URL to an offer, a coupon or a special service that is tailor made for your city or target a geographic location. This technique allows you to point interested visitors directly to a locally branded landing page where you can make them an offer they can’t refuse.

Try offering an eBook, discount coupon, free trial in exchange for their email address. As 78% of most web visitors aren’t ready to buy, you can “lead nurture” them over time, giving them value and establishing trust for when they do decide to make a buying decision.

Contact A Professional

So, whether you are a local business or a multi-location business needed to do local SEO for each location, give Go Time Marketing a call, chat with us online or fill out the our contact form. We are always happy to talk about your particular business strategies.