Local SEO - On-site Elements 1

When we talk about on-site SEO there are several components that need to be taken into consideration, near the top of this list should be the "Title Tag".

In local SEO we will break the title tag down into three parts:

1. What you do
2. Where you do it
3. Who you are

Let's take a look at our catering business in Grand Rapids MI.  We will call them "Grand Party Food".

After we have done our keyword research, we want to start ranking higher for the keyword phrase "catering grand rapids mi" because it has real volume.

The page we want to start directing potential customers to will have to have a relevant and concise title tag (Google stops listing after 60 characters).  The analogy for a good title tag is like asking a librarian for a book and then not being able to see the title on the cover of the book.  In having a relevant and concise title tag we have given the search engines a much easier time letting them know a little bit about us and what we do.  We will look at content, meta tag and other on-site components in later blogs but for now lets break down our relevant and concise title tag.

Catering Grand Rapids MI | Grand Rapids MI Grand Party Food

What do they do?  Catering Grand Rapids MI

Where do they do it?  Grand Rapids MI

Who are they?  Grand Party Food

At 59 characters we are under the recommended 60 characters.

We want to have each page of content that we are trying to rank for be about one topic.  This way of writing title tags is the first step in ensuring the search engines and ultimately your potential customers get exactly what they are looking for.

-Matt Bonofiglio
Senior Sales Consultant - SEO Specialist
MLive Media Group

mbonofig@mlive.com

Local SEO - Ranking for the RIGHT keywords

We've all heard it before "Ya, I rank #1 for <insert your favorite zero volume keyword here>".  I want to talk about what should be the first step in undertaking a good SEO strategy - KEYWORD RESEARCH.

The first mistake made by many local businesses with regards to SEO is that they think they already rank high for what customers, THEIR potential customers, are searching for.  After sitting with many local business owners and listening to what they need be relevant for it's easy to go back and figure out where the foundation for their SEO should start.

When we talk about Local SEO we are always talking about the "what" plus the "where".  This is a logical step but one that is often missed.  If I am looking for a caterer and I live in Grand Rapids MI, do I care if there are some exceptional caterers in say Chicago, San Francisco or New York?  Not really.

After some quick reconnaissance and keyword research you can come up with a comprehensive list of keywords that are relevant AND have significant search volume.  Once this list is generated you can then use your favorite rank checker to determine where your client is actually ranking.  I always double check the rank checker results with some actual searches to verify SERP results.

This is the foundation to where all your title tags, meta tags, content creation, etc will be born.  This is a quick and easy step but one than not only local businesses don't know about but one that many SEO professionals will skirt, shorten or all together skip.

-Matt Bonofiglio
Senior Sales Consultant - SEO Specialist
MLive Media Group

mbonofig@mlive.com