Local SEO Tips and Best Practices

[Local Business] Search Engine Optimization
(SEO) Tips and Best Practices
December 14, 2015
Chris Raulf
Digital Marketing Expert
Founder & President
Boulder SEO Marketing
@swisschris
www.linkedin.com/in/chrisraulf
www.boulderseomarke.ng.com | 720.263.1736 | chris@boulderseomarke.ng.com

About Chris and Boulder SEO Marke.ng
Chris
•  Born and raised in Switzerland
•  Two amazing kids; love soccer, mountain
biking, hiking, yoga, rock climbing... and
cra=y Colorado beer
•  20+ years in digital markeBng

Boulder SEO Marke.ng
•  SEO Training and ConsulBng
•  SEO Site Audits
•  Content MarkeBng
•  Social Media MarkeBng
•  Online Lead GeneraBon
•  LinkedIn Training & More
www.boulderseomarke.ng.com | 720.263.1736 | chris@boulderseomarke.ng.com | @swisschris

My Co-Presenter
John Bailey
Founder & President
Elevation Digital Marketing
www.elevationdigitalmarketing.com
www.linkedin.com/in/denverdigitalmarketing
www.facebook.com/ElevationMarketing
E: john@elevationdigitalmarketing.com
Elevation Digital Marketing specializes in Search Engine Optimization,
Social Media Management, and Content Marketing for small to medium
sized local businesses. We’re truly passionate about understanding your
audience and connecting you with your customers online to help grow your
local business.

Where’s The Best Place To Hide A Dead Body?

A Goal Without A Plan Is Just A Wish.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery (French writer; 1900 - 1944)

Agenda
•  IntroducBon to SEO
•  How to idenBfy the iniBal target SEO keywords that
people are actually searching for
•  How to idenBfy and take advantage of the “low hanging
fruit” keywords that already drive traﬃc to a website
•  PuRng our keywords to work
•  How to idenBfy high-quality online directories and how
to properly opBmize a business lisBng
•  How to take advantage of LinkedIn and SlideShare for
local business SEO
•  Track and Measure
•  QuesBons & Answers

If you do …, then this could happen:

Search Engine Op.miza.on

Supply Database (aka
search engines)
Demand

SEO is Dead… Long Live Inbound Marke.ng
Inbound
MarkeBng
Content
MarkeBng
Social
Media
MarkeBng
Search
Engine
OpBmizaBon

~ 250
~ 3
3-5 6-8

Google’s Algorithm
Check out the en.re infographic at: hcp://www.entrepreneur.com/ar.cle/226884

Local SEO: Four Important Signals
•  On-page opBmizaBon -> Help Google understand
who you are and what you do!!
•  Backlinks
•  CitaBons / RecommendaBons
•  Accurate and Complete Business LisBngs
•  Content

The 5 Pillars of SEO
1.  Technical Health of Website
2.  Website FuncBonality
3.  On-Page Search Engine
OpBmizaBon
4.  Oﬀ-Page Search Engine
OpBmizaBon
5.  Social Media MarkeBng

Content Marke.ng
What is SEO? hbp://www.boulderseomarkeBng.com/what-is-search-engine-opBmizaBon-seo/

Build Your Digital Marke.ng “Credit Score”

SEO Requires a Strong Team
Resources:
•  SEO Manager
–  Develop strategy
–  Manage team and drive process
–  Analyze date
•  Content Creator
–  Web content, blog posts, in-depth arBcles, white
papers, case studies, etc.
•  Social Media Expert
–  Dra= and publish social media messages
–  Community management, etc.
•  Webmaster


SEO: In-House vs. Outsourcing
It depends:
•  Time
•  Resources
•  Knowledge
Outsourcing SEO:
•  Local vs. NaBonal vs. Overseas SEO agency
•  Monthly investment:
–  Local: $750+
–  NaBonal: $1,250 - $5,000+
–  InternaBonal: $5,000+
•  Hourly rate: $75 - $300

hbps://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35291?hl=en

The 5 Pillars of Search Engine Op.miza.on
1.  Technical Health of Website
2.  Website FuncBonality
3.  On-Page Search Engine OpBmizaBon
–  IniBal list of target SEO keywords
–  “Low hanging fruit” keywords
–  Meta Tags CreaBng
4.  Oﬀ-Page Search Engine OpBmizaBon
5.  Social Media MarkeBng

Content Marke.ng

[Quick Poll] Have You Done Keyword Research?

Ini.al Keyword Research
hbps://adwords.google.com/ko/KeywordPlanner/Home

Do You Know Your “Low Hanging Fruit” Keywords?
hbp://www.boulderseomarkeBng.com/webinar-seo-keyword-research-ﬁnd-keywords-that-will-improve-search-traﬃc-to-your-website/

Google Search Console

Boost Click-Through-Rates (CTR) to Your Website by
Crea.ng Op.mized Meta Tags

Components of a Snippet

Op.mize Your Local Business in Google Search Console

What Exactly Is Content Marke.ng?

•  Content markeBng (also known as "content recommendaBon") is
any markeBng format that involves the creaBon and sharing of media
and publishing content in order to acquire customers. This informaBon
can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white
papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, how-to guides, quesBon
and answer arBcles, photos, etc.
•  Content markeBng is focused not on selling, but on simply
communicaBng with customers and prospects. The idea is to inspire
business and loyalty from buyers by delivering "consistent, ongoing
valuable informaBon.“

Source: hbp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_markeBng

Content
Content development challenges:
•  High quality content / resources
•  Enough content / Bme
•  Cost

Tips:
•  Repurpose exisBng content (content inventory
spreadsheet)
•  Find other in-house content development resources
•  Outsource content development

[Quick Poll] Do You Have a Blog?

Content Crea.on

Content Crea.on: Outsourcing

Phase 1: Ini.al On-Boarding and Project Setup

Ini.al Interview and Research – They want to learn about you, your target market and what you
want to accomplish with your content

The Writer Audi.on Process – Based on your speciﬁc industry and needs, they use their crowd-
sourcing tools to search thousands of writers to idenBfy a handful of matching writers

Building a Trusted, Reliable Wri.ng Team – You are presented with a custom-wriben sample from
each matching writer so you can choose which writers you’d like to add to your team

Phase 2: On-Going Project Management

Keyword/Topic Research – Come up with a target list of keywords and topics to write about. Using
Keyword Research Tool and other resources.

Title Development – Every month or quarter, develop a list of interesBng, compelling page Btles

Editorial Calendar Planning – Assign target publish dates for each Btle so you can view a detailed
publishing schedule

Assignment, Produc.on, Edi.ng, and Publishing – Manage the enBre producBon and editorial
process. Deliver or publish ﬁnished content to your site.


Beneﬁts:

Immediate access to SEO and
research tools – without the learning
curve.
•  Integrated Keyword Research Tool:
They will ﬁnd the best keywords
and topics to help you accomplish
your goals
•  Title Research and Development
Tool: They analyze trending data
to determine the hobest Btles in
your segment
•  Editorial Calendar: They will plan
out your content for you – months
in advance


What’s the catch?

Content is King Op.mized Content is King

Content Op.miza.on Tips
ü  OpBmized meta tags:
•  Title [50 - 60 characters]
•  DescripBon [150 - 160 characters]
•  Keywords [2-4 target SEO keywords]
•  Alt / Images
ü  Blog posts: At least 350 - 500 words
ü  In-depth arBcles: 1,000+ words
ü  Include links to other related pages on your site and other high quality
websites
ü  If possible, add an image and include an alt tag with a target keyword
ü  Place keyword(s) in applicable H1, H2 & H3 heading
ü  Try to include an important target keyword in the ﬁrst paragraph as well as
the last and hyperlink it to an applicable page
ü  Don’t forget to include a call to acBon!
•  Share on social media
•  Click / call to request a quote
•  Download a white paper / view webinar, etc.
ü  Set up Goal tracking in Google AnalyBcs

Oﬀ-Page Op.miza.on: Lis.ngs in Search Engines
hbps://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en

OpBmized Business LisBngs in Major Search Engines

–  Google:
•  hbps://www.google.com/business/
•  hbps://www.google.com/+/business/
•  Yahoo!
–  hbp://lisBngs.local.yahoo.com/basic.php

•  Bing
–  hbps://www.bingplaces.com/

Oﬀ-Page Op.miza.on: Lis.ngs in Search Engines

hbps://plus.google.com/+BoulderseomarkeBng/about

Google+ Business Lis.ng

hbps://www.gybo.com/faq

High Quality Directory Lis.ngs

High Quality Directories and Business Lis.ngs

hbp://businessdirectory.bizjournals.com/denver/new-lisBng

Oﬀ-Page Op.miza.on: High Quality Directories
and Business Lis.ngs and Reviews

LinkedIn, SlideShare and SEO

LinkedIn and SlideShare Are Part of Three of the
Most Important Google Ranking Signals:

Quality Referral Traﬃc

Op.mizing LinkedIn Company Pages for SEO

✔ Add an image if possible
✔ 3-4 target SEO keywords
✔ 90-100 characters
✔ 150-160 characters
✔ Include variaBons if
possible
✔ 256 characters
✔ Make sure to ﬁll in the
appropriate informaBon

SlideShare

hbp://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/improve-your-seo-with-linkedin-and-slideshare/

Measure and Manage

Got Data?

Tools to Measure Your Data

How to Track Your Data

Keyword Rank Tracking Tools
•  Google Search Console:
hbps://www.google.com/webmasters/tools
•  Swiss Made MarkeBng:
hbp://swissmademarkeBng.com/ranktracker/
•  Moz Rank Tracker:
hbp://moz.com/tools/rank-tracker
•  SEO Book: hbp://tools.seobook.com/rank-checkers/
•  SEO Centro:
hbp://www.seocentro.com/tools/search-engines/keyword-posiBon.html
•  WhatsMySerp: hbp://www.whatsmyserp.com/serpcheck.php

•  Plugins, etc.

Upcoming In-Person Trainings
hbp://www.boulderseomarkeBng.com/seo-and-social-media-classes/upcoming-events/

AddiBonal Resources

•  hbps://moz.com/blog/everybody-needs-local-seo
•  hbp://localseochecklist.org/resources.html
•  hbp://www.standardmarkeBng.com/2014/10/10-
item-local-seo-checklist-2015/
•  hbp://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/07/30/the-
ulBmate-guide-to-local-seo-ranking/
•  hbp://searchengineland.com/13-semanBc-markup-
Bps-for-2013-a-local-seo-checklist-143708

Thank You! Questions?
December 14, 2015
Chris Raulf
Digital Marketing Expert
Founder & President
Boulder SEO Marketing
@swisschris
www.linkedin.com/in/chrisraulf
John Bailey
Founder & President
Elevation Digital Marketing
www.elevationdigitalmarketing.com
www.linkedin.com/in/denverdigitalmarketing
www.facebook.com/ElevationMarketing
E: john@elevationdigitalmarketing.com

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