Lift Your Ratings with Local SEO


Are you looking for a way to boost your ratings on local online searches? Well, then you need to sharpen your local SEO skills with the help of a reputable agency such as Blue Hat Marketing Company (http://bluehatmarketing.com/.) Thanks to their qualified support and service, getting in touch with your target audience right at home could be easier than ever. When more clients know that you exist right in their own neighborhood, you can expect more business and profits to come your way.

Snag Views Right at Home

With local SEO services from a professional agency such as http://bluehatmarketing.com/, your business can rub elbows with the locals and capture the attention of consumers who are living right in your own neighborhood. You will actually be more likely to increase your client base if you focus on local strategies and techniques because people will be more likely to visit a company that is within walking or short driving distance. Being located in the area of your target demographic will also help you rank higher on search engines like Google and Yahoo! so that more Internet users are going to see you and give you some clicks.

Use the Right Tools

With the help of a renown SEO services company, your business can get the assistance it deserves, which will help it to boost its rankings and site traffic. What makes the SEO experts so helpful is that they already have the knowledge and expertise that can get you up and running in no time. Whereas you could school yourself on the ins and outs of search engine optimization, you could let a professional work alongside your business and do the legwork for you. These pros know how to use Google’s Web tools and other techniques to get your website linking to internal and external pages, utilizing the most suitable keywords, and fitting it all into a smooth and seamless web design.

Choose the Right Services

Thanks to incredible resources such as online directories and customer reviews, your business can speak for itself while you work on in-house projects. That is the great thing about search engine optimization techniques; they do a lot of the work for you so that you can focus on serving your current clients to the best of your ability. Using Yelp, Google, and other online tools will provide more information to potential clients who want to know more about your company.

Keep Track of Progress

Finally, it is of the utmost importance to keep a record of how your SEO strategies are working out. It’s great that you have employed the techniques and practices, but in order to make the most of them, you need to be able to see what is working and what isn’t. Also, keep an eye on the competition in your industry or market, because the Internet is a dog-eat-dog world, and there is only so much room for local businesses to share. So check out where your strategy is strongest, as well as where you could revise tactics. All of this planning will be worth it in the end.

How To Troubleshoot Google’s Local Ranking Failures?

 SEO pic 

After having put in a lot of time and effort towards building a flawless website, it can be daunting to encounter a fallout in Google’s local ranking. The trauma of suffering from a lower Google local ranking can lead into a reduction in the company’s reputation as a whole.

Fortunately, when there are problems, there are solutions as well. The same goes for reduced Google local rankings as well. Being familiar with the steps for troubleshooting this issue, you can easily combat the local ranking failure for your website. So, without letting you wonder anymore, let me walk you through a tutorial that will outline the steps that can turn beneficial when it comes to troubleshooting a website’s falling Google local ranking.

Step 1- Check for reports of mass issues or bugs
 
Searching Google for Local Rankings


As the first and foremost step in troubleshooting low or lost Google local ranking, you must gain an instant access to reports that contain a collaborated list of issues that might be present in the website. Look out for any unresolved bugs that might be interfering with the Google local ranking of your website.

Talking about mass issues, the thing that you need to discover is whether a single issue is causing your website’s Google local ranking fallout or whether there are a number of issues causing the problem. You can start discovering this by visiting the Google and Your Business Forum where you can search for the problem you’re experiencing with your website. If you detect multiple threads reporting your identical issue, right from the time you’ve been encountering the problem, then there are good chances that a specific bug or a recent Google update might have been the reason for the problem. Once you’re clear on the issue, you can re-access the forum for related solutions that have been provided by experts.

Step 2- Check out for any Google Quality Violations 


One of the most significant reasons behind a lower Google Local ranking is a possible violation of Google’s quality guidelines. So, if you’re a bit dicey about having violated any Google standard, then it’s better to go through the Google Places Quality Guidelines and check out whether your website follows each one mentioned here or has violated anyone of the rules mentioned here.

Check whether mistakes have been made in relation to the naming of your business, phone number, address and other related components. Remember, breaking even a single Google rule can cost you a lot on your Google rankings. Hence, be sure your website hasn’t violated any of these rules.

Step 3- Watch out for any duplicate Google+ Local Listings

Google Duplicate Listings
Excluding multi-partner practices like law firms, hospitals, restaurants etc. every business is allowed to have just a single Google+ Local Page per location. If your business website has more than one Google+ Local Page, it is likely to cause a lower/lost Google local ranking. While sometimes, duplicate Google+ local listings are created intentionally, there are times when they are built by spammers for undertaking hazardous manipulations. In either of the cases, duplicate local listings can cause a considerable harm to the website under focus.

Components that allow you to detect local listing duplicates include the name of business, address, phone number, product/service categories and product/service descriptions. Even if you find it challenging to detect any variance, it is better to check your website for duplicate listings, especially if your website is facing local ranking issues.

Step 4- Discover Website Quality Issues

Spelling Grammar Punctuation

Yet another critical reason behind a lower/lost Google local ranking is a bad performing website. As an entrepreneur, it’s your website’s on-page quality and methods you use for marketing it that play a vital role in the local search rankings. While troubleshooting local ranking issues for your website, it is recommended to look into aspects including the following:
  • Is your website optimized for the local search engines?
  • Do your website’s title tags contain related keywords?
  • Does your website feature clear and crawlable navigation?
  • Do Google Webmaster Tools indicate 100% crawling of your website?
  • Does your website look professional or is it full of spelling and grammar errors. 

Wrapping Up
So, these were the 4 basic steps, which if followed seriously can allow you to troubleshoot the lost/low Google local ranking for your website. I’m sure you’d have found these steps easy-to-follow. Don’t forget being friendly with Google means a greater customer base. Hence, make efforts to ensure that your website is in sync with all the standards that form the basis of a well-defined search engine friendly website.

Please don’t forget to share your views/opinions on the above post. 

Author Bio:
Edword Jones is a web developer by profession and a writer by hobby and works for OSSMedia Ltd a leading Custom Joomla Development company. He loves sharing information regarding Drupal, Joomla, Magento and Wordpress development tips & tricks. If you are looking for Joomla Developers for Hire then just get in touch with him.

3 Weeks Warning to Business Owners by Google to Save Their Listing

Business Owners by Google to Save Their Listing

Google has taken many steps to stop link spam and it not only crushes link networks but a large number of businesses are also hurt. It includes many networks who offer link exchange services to the clients but now the situation is changed to great level. Now it would be the wastage of money to buy links before realizing the right condition. On the other hand there are certain businessmen stating that they have got emails from Google asking them to make legitimate progress and save the listing by avoiding illegal means.

It is reported that these mails are legitimate and are coming from Google. The subject line of these emails is “Action Required: You have three week to save your Google Places Listing”.

Jade Wang explained from Google that they are making changes in Google places for Google Maps and Business. So on the basis of these changes, Google is asking business owners to submit reliable information about them. So they are asked to review and confirm their information in Google places accounts. Her further added;

Don’t worry if you have received this email. You should login and review your business information, change it or update it if necessary and then press submit. It is required to perform this step to save your listing and to stay in Google Map on or before February 21, 2014. Otherwise you have to undergo the process of PIN verification and Google Places. There might be certain reasons of it and some might be;

  • · It is possible that Google is testing a new variable which is looking to add in the algorithm with the name of “response time” and wants to see that how quick business owners respond it.
  • · Google does not believe on its algorithm, actually it is said that Google wants to weed out bogus businesses so it needs help.
  • · It can be a test to know that how many SEOs are still following the updates and wanted to remove those who are no more active from its SERPs.
  • · Google is trying to refine its list by removing irrelevant listings and keep only those who pick the phone when you call them.
  • · It is not an effort only to provide the right results and information to the users but the quickest one in performing it. There are people who take too much time on their queries so they can get quick results in less time with the help of these updates.
 
 
Author Bio:
Asjad Afzal
CEO
YourSeoCompany Australia
http://www.yourseocompany.com.au/
support@yourseocompany.com.au

Ways to Improve Search Engine Ranking

SEO, seo tips, search engine optimization, keywords, website, technology, internet,
If you are reading this article then it is safe to assume that you have a website and you are looking to improve its position on the search engine results pages. If this is the case then the first thing you need to do is perform an SEO audit. You will have to research into a current template/plan and follow it to check your SEO.

An SEO audit is a set of checks that you can do to see how well your website is optimized. It involves checking things such as keyword relevancy and broken internal links. Once you have completed your SEO audit, it is time to start fixing your website’s SEO. If you fix the SEO problems then you will rise higher and faster through the search engine results pages. Here are a few tips to help you fix the things you highlight in your audit.

Is your internal website navigation good, usable and bug free?

Your websites navigation needs to easy to use. Your navigation system must be intuitive and must be easy to see. For example, you should make sure that the search bar is at the top of the page, and that any small sitemaps are on the footer.

You must have at least three internal links coming from every page, and the anchor text to the internal links should be optimized. For example, you could have a link back to your homepage on every page, and you could call the link “home page”. But why not vary it a little on each page, such as having “back to our Home page” or “Go back to home page”.

The navigation should be bug free. In other words, you should be able to click a link and have it take you to the page it describes. The link should be clickable and should never lead to the web page freezing.

Are your pages too heavy?

Every web page that a person looks at must be loaded onto their computer. Thanks to broadband Internet, your web page should take less than three seconds to load. If it does not then there may be too much to load, and you are going to have to lower the weight of your page. You may have to make images smaller, lower the weight of elements, or spilt certain parts of one page so that it makes two. The longer it takes for your web page to load then the lower you will rank on the search engine results pages.

Some people create very good web pages that are very attractive and very salable, but the trouble is that some people (especially those with 3G) are going to have to wait longer for it to render (appear) and load. Some people simply do not have the patience for such things, and why should they? The Internet is so bogged down with crappy content that most pages people visit will be abandoned within seconds.

Does your website have relevant keywords within it?

This is a tricky subject, which is why it is a good idea to do a lot of keyword research. You need to find out what sort of keywords your target audience are using to search for your web pages. You should also check to see what keywords your competitors use, because they too are aiming to attract your target audience. You should research the correct keywords for each of your pages, since each page is most likely going to differ from all the others.

You should use keyword tools to check to see if a keyword is used a lot, but you should also think about keywords that come to your mind. What would you type into a search engine? You also need to be aware of what you would write and what your target audience would write. For example, you may choose keywords such as “X for sale”, but remember that as a buyer, you may actually search for “Buy X” or “Where to buy X”. Try to put yourself in your target audiences shoes and use a little bit of common sense and gut instinct.

Where can you get your information from?

For a start, you should never take the word of things you read from articles and websites online (an odd thing to say within one of those very articles). The fact is that a lot of online content has not been created by true experts. A large portion of it has been created by people who are making up plausible lies. The rest of it is created by well meaning (but misinformed) fools.

There is some very good advice to be found online, but you must take it all under advisement (with a pinch of salt). Your best place to start is with Google itself. They have a lot of tutorials on their Google webmaster section, and even some forum answers from their staff which are very handy.

Books are an okay place to look, but you really (really) need to get a book from a company that is highly respected for being correct. There are some books out there that look like they know what they are talking about, but that are filled with misinformation. Try an updated version of the “For Dummies” books. Make sure you go for the updated versions, because the version they printed around three/four years ago is already out of date. For example, social media is hardly mentioned.

John Kravz is a representative of proessaywriting.com that provides excellent help on your writing assignments such an critical essay.

4 Questions To Ask An SEO Company

4 Questions To Ask An SEO Company

Ever wondered why your site never received as much visitors as your competitor's or why your ranking never improved? Well, you'll be glad to know that you aren't under some evil spell and that you could be getting as many visitors as your competitor or even more but only if you get the right SEO company to work for you. By 'right company' am referring to a company that is all about taking care of your business' needs and ensuring you achieve your goals. Didn't think companies like that exist, did you? Well they do and this read is going to help you find one for yourself.

In the midst of all the struggle to get the best SEO services, a number of quacks and incompetent SEO agents have cropped up. These breed of unscrupulous and unprofessional crooks prey on unsuspecting webmasters who are looking for a quick fix. Better hope you don't fall for their tricks; you'll be in for one rough ride. Enough about the crooks, how do you find a reliable SEO company? Here are some few questions to ask your prospective SEO agent;

1. Who are your current clients?
If you are dealing with a reliable company, then you will be provided with a list of clients. This shows that they provide high quality services and thus easily attract clients. Along with the list of current clients, you should also ask for samples of previous or current projects. An agent that refuses or is reluctant to provide any of the above should be avoided or better yet scrapped off the list of potential SEO companies.

2. What are the tactics that you employ?
Unless you want your site penalized and/or banned, you are best off keeping away from SEO agents that use dubious strategies and techniques. And since few agents will be willing to admit that they do use these unethical methods, such words as 'trade secrets' will be flung around to avoid or change the subject all together. Do not fall for this trick, keep firm and get a precise answer.

3.How regularly will you send reports?
You may not be able to interpret the graphs or make sense of the figures produced but your agent has an obligation to provide regular reports on the progress of the optimization project. Not only are you part and parcel of the project, but you also deserve to be kept in the loop. As for the reports, they need to be comprehensible; even if it means creating reports that have been made more comprehensible for you.

4. How long will it take before I see the results?
While some companies will go about claiming to provide results in the shortest time, let's not forget that good SEO takes time. Professional company however will provide you with a time frame for each different technique. For instance, while paid ads may provide results almost instantly, it takes longer for SEO to yield results. An experienced SEO agent is aware of this and won't be afraid to explain what to expect and why.
In the SEO world, the more you know, the better for you. Hopefully this read will come in handy on your search for the best SEO company.

This post is written by Larry Smith, the Director of Marketing at Cloud SEO, who is an expert in Online Advertising and SEO and a specialist in the management of Google AdWords Advertising Campaigns.

Social Media's Role In Reputation Management

Social Media's Role In Reputation Management
It hasn’t escaped the attention of the savvy business that online reputation management is becoming more and more important pretty much by the day. With almost everyone now turning to the Internet before making any real spending decisions, it’s hardly surprising that what’s said about you and your brand online counts for more now than largely any other form of feedback. There were once only select service industries that were dependent on positive online feedback – the same now extends to every business and service across the board. But here’s the real kicker – a full 23% of people admit that they will take to the web to say bad things about a brand if need be, but less than 10% will sing the brand’s praises when absolutely delighted with their services or products. As such, the vast majority of online feedback has the potential to be negative and paint a picture of a brand that’s neither balanced nor fair – especially where everyday social network gossip is concerned.

This makes it hugely important to tap into the power of social media for positive reputation management and promotion – here are a few tips from the pros on how to go about this:

Optimize Social Media Pages

If and when it gets to the point that entering your brand name or other keywords returns a list of results where several are negative, you’re in trouble. The last thing you want is for the first thing people to see about your brand to be negative comments and reviews in Google. In order to prevent or treat this, optimize your social media pages and create more pages to optimize, in order to get these higher in the rankings and push the negative feedback further down while you go about addressing it.

Choose Social Media Carefully

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking the world of social media begins and ends with Facebook. Not only is this not the case, but Facebook might not be the best platform for you to choose – not even close. Take into account the various platforms out there in accordance with the target market you’re trying to reach, in order to tailor your decision accordingly. The power of Pinterest and LinkedIn for example cannot be overstated for a great many business areas.

When You Find Praise, Run With It!

Without getting carried away and coming across as desperate, it’s never a bad idea to spread the good word about you and your brand every time something positive is said about you. If you happen to find some really glowing feedback in a dark corner somewhere that most folk won’t come across, bring it to light on either your primary page or via social media. Likewise, be sure to draw further attention to any glowing praise you receive by responding to it or leaving your own comment thanking the reviewer. In addition, don’t ever be worried to reach out to your target market and actually ask them to leave you a positive review. Assuming of course you haven’t let yourself down and did a great job living up to expectations, some will be more than happy to do so.

Embrace the Criticism

It might not appear so on the surface, but negative criticism can actually be better for your business over the long-term. Not only does it show you where you need to improve, but you can turn any negative into a positive by following it up and responding to it in order to win over the part responsible party and anyone else coming across it.

Listen and Learn

And finally, the most important thing of all to take away from social media in terms of reputation management is constructive feedback as to where you’re going wrong and what is going down well with the punters. Don’t weigh up what you read against your own biased views of the business, take them as the most valuable insights you will ever have as to how you can better your operations.

Author Bio
Rocky John Tayaban, for the past 8 years, has been helping small and large companies all over the world in their online marketing. At the moment, Rocky is the managing director of iSolutions Media - a search engine marketing firm in the Philippines. Follow him on Twitter @SmartOnlinePros to stay updated on all the latest in social and search.