Been Busy with SEO, But I’m Back (Selling Out)
Since it has come to my attention that some of my followers still think I work at MEA Digital, I decided to post an update. I’m no longer an Online Media Specialist at MEA Digital. I quit back in December 2008. Since then I’ve been working as a link building specialist ;) at SEO by the Hour in San Diego, CA. I’ve been keeping busy with affiliate marketing and other website duties since the turn of the year.
Because I haven’t cared enough about this blog to make it a money maker, I’ve been neglecting it…
Every time I sign in, I see more and more comments I should respond to. I sometimes prefer just to go back to working on something else. But since I’m an SEO Specialist and this is my SEO blog, I might as well utilize (monetize) it.
So I’m letting all my readers know now; this blog back, but is selling out. I’m going to have banners, review sites, hold contests, update my wordpress and more. That’s the only way I’ll be able to set time aside to give you guys fresh SEO content, MORE OFTEN.
On the bright side, I’ll blog about everything I’m doing so you can follow along.
Read MoreLocal SEO Tips Pt. 1 of 3 – Creating a Profile
I have helped a number of websites get on top of Google’s local business results (just above the organic listings) by doing pretty much the same optimization strategies to all of them as I would to a regular web site. This blog post will show you how to create a SEO’d profile that has the best chance possible to rank on Google’s local business.
First let’s create a profile for your business. Treat this profile like your very own web page. I actually have a a friend who doesn’t have a website, but has the most robust Google business profile I’ve ever seen. He has the #2 spot in local business results and the way business is going for him, he may never need an official website. Depending on your time and effort, it may even be worth while to treat your profile with more respect than your own page, just for the simple fact that your profile page has the ability to rank higher than natural listings and it can be found through almost any of Google’s other services.
The profile should be completely filled out and accurate to the best of your knowledge. ALL sections; basic info, description, categories, hours of operation, payment options, photos, videos & additional details should be completed with SEO in mind. Since this page should be treated like the home page of your business website, optimize each and every section possible.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when creating a new business profile.
- The company name is like a title tag. So you can use this for branding or SEO, or both!
- Make sure the company address is in the city you are targeting. If you aren’t physically located there, rent out a mail space in that city and just have all mail going to that address forwarded.
- City, State, ZIP – Make sure it’s the city you are targeting.
- The phone number should be a local number. This one is so major that it may be worth considering getting a local land line or cell phone that has the local area code if your company uses an 800 number.
- Email addresses that are domain email addresses work better than free service emails like gmail, yahoo, aol and hotmail.
- Make sure the URL is correct. Make this URL a link to a page on your site with your targeted city in the title tag. Like your contact, directions of location pages.
- Use all of the 200 characters allowed for your company description. Make sure your targeted keyword phrase is mentioned here at least once.
- Categories are very important. Go back to the Google SERP and visit the top “local business result for ….. in ….” link to figure out in which category your company should be in.
- It’s best if you specify that there’s a time you are open. This will show that you aren’t just a website, but actually a person or establishment that isn’t open 24/7. And if you are open 24/7, specify that as well.
- Check off all payment options accepted. The more payment options you accept, the more legit you are considered.
- If you have 10 photos, submit all 10 of them. Just make sure the 1st one you submit is your logo or a picture with your company name in or on it.
- If you have a video, upload it to Youtube. Give it a keyword related title then add the video’s url to your business listing. This is what gives many websites with top local business results the edge.
- For the additional details section. Add as many areas around your city or variations of your city name possible.
- Your specialty should be the keywords you are targeting and the services you mentioned in the category section.
- Select ‘add another’ and give Google and customers a reason to pick you.
Just like traditional search engine optimization, local business results compose of 3 parts; On-page Optimization, Off-page optimization and User experience. Part 2 will be about how to optimize your company website to create synergy between it and the and link building.
I hope this helps your company climb closer to SEO success.
Read MoreBack to Taking SEO and PPC Notes
I haven’t written a post in a long time. Recently I have been investing my time into other tasks that add money to my pockets. I can either spend a hour writing a post that may contribute to making the SEO & PPC industry more competitive or work on a client or affiliate that has been faithfully paying me a check every month, what would you choose?
However, my name is all over this blog so I feel I have no choice but to maintain this blog and at the same time, maintain my name’s reputation. Originally, this blog was created to rank #1 for ‘james harrison‘, serve as a place to post my SEO & internet marketing notes, and possibly learn from contributors visiting the site. I believe that the SEO world is ever-changing and expanding therefore there is something to learn everyday and if I want to be successful I must continue to learn. I may not be making money from this site in the short term however I believe the knowledge I acquire from teaching and sharing information will give me a competitive edge in the future.
So from now on, whatever notes I take throughout my days will be published here on my blog.
I’m still not sure how often I will post, so don’t get all excited. But I do learn a lot about SEO & other internet marketing tactics everyday, so you never know.
Other Places you can find some of my notes
Sometimes, I’m just too busy doing other things…
My French Bulldogs & Girlfriend
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