Image via Wikipedia Most of the conversations I've had lately with current and prospective clients have been around the topic of executing the mechanics of SEO and local SEO. Meaning, what are the actual steps / actions we need to take [...]
We decided to come to Hilton Head, SC for Thanksgiving. The weather is beyond perfect, and we are staying in Water Oaks Villa in Palmetto Dunes. We rented some bikes to explore the beach and surrounding areas. And besides my sore lower back [...]
It’s a powerful thing when a business earns enough authority in Google local search to become the "featured business" for their most valuable keyword phrase. When a business reaches the featured spot, Google removes all other local search results, which means the featured [...]
Center (or Centroid) of metro Atlanta Rank #1 in Google local in surrounding cities One the biggest challenges in local SEO is how your business can compete in a large city if you are located outside the center of that major [...]
I consider local SEO to be both an art and science. There's data attributes, entities, and risks that must be accounted for (science), and there's nuances and techniques that only come from experience (art). This is one of the reasons I love the [...]
Local SEO Tips for 2018 Local SEO strategies are changing all the time as Google changes up their algorithm to show local search results from Google Maps. You can see the 20 local SEO tips from last year below this updated section. I'd [...]
Law Firm & Lawyer Directories for SEO When it comes to getting your law firm ranked in Google local search results, or Google Maps search results, a lot of the local SEO ranking power comes directly from your citation portfolio. What's a citation [...]
Creating City Pages To Rank for City + Service Keyword Phrases #1 ranked city page for keyword phrase "ac repair in atlanta" If you own a business in the suburbs of a large metro area, you might be frustrated because you wish your website ranked in [...]
Local SEO for Dentists What's the big deal about being a featured dentists in local search? Every local business wants to be ranked #1 in Google Maps, or letter A in the 3 pack local listings. And rightly so, because the 3 pack is [...]
One of the benefits to working with law firms over the years is the insights we've gained into effective content strategies that get pages ranked in search, even for their most competitive keyword phrases and practice areas. Law firm websites are typically made up [...]
So what's the secret to success in search? Is there a magic button that can be pushed and boom... your website is suddenly ranking in the top search results in highly competitive markets? I don't think so. There is no magic button to [...]
How to Increase Google Maps RankingsThere are a few ways to go about increasing your Google Maps rankings fast in the local search results... the equivalent of local SEO on steroids. Not all of them are the preferred method, as I tend to [...]
Enterprise SEO & Localization About a year ago or so, we noticed something changing on the front of Google search results for one of our enterprise SEO clients. For several of their top tier global keyword phrases, we started seeing a larger percentage of localized [...]
Wouldn't it be great to have a system that could generate high ticket cases and clients for your law firm on autopilot? Ok, the autopilot idea is a bit of a stretch as you'll always need "a little" human intervention. But the beauty of [...]
Here's a quick video tutorial on how to add closed caption to Youtube and Facebook videos. Adding closed captioning to a video is how words or text appear at the bottom of the video. This is especially useful on Facebook videos since the [...]
Law firm websites have a tendency to be very self promotional, often emphasizing the awards the law firm has won or the accolades of their lawyers. This problem with self promotion goes beyond just law firms, as I see it across many SMB and enterprise level [...]
I was recently asked to answer a question on Quora about local SEO. The question specifically was Are There Any Apps of Extensions That Can Assist With Doing Local SEO for my Website. At first glance, my mind started to run through all of [...]
If you are an attorney, you more than likely heard of Nolo.com. Nolo is one of the most authoritative legal resources on the web with a domain authority of 85 (DA 85) and part of the Martindale-Nolo Legal Network with over 15 million unique visitors per [...]
Law Firm SEO Strategies SEO for law firms is challenging, especially in large metro areas where thousands of people a day are searching for the best lawyers to meet their needs. More than likely there are hundreds of competing law firms in your [...]
I just did a search in Google and saw something that I don't remember ever seeing before. Check out the pic below, and you'll see a beveled / raised border around each of the search results: Versus the search results that I'm used [...]
Over the past 10 years or so, I remember many times asking myself "what's the one thing... above all other things... that we can do to impact search rankings the most?" I mean, I really searched long and hard to find that ONE [...]
Nothing is more frustrating than seeing your toughest competitors in the top search results in Google whenever you type in your most profitable keyword phrases. The stories I hear on a regular basis range from corporations losing tens of millions of dollars [...]
I've been thinking a lot lately about what I call "the economics of keyword phrase targeting" for search optimization. Which means for any given business, product, or service, you can generate a long list of keyword phrases to target and optimize for search. But out of [...]
There's actually a huge difference between marketing attribution and marketing automation! I was speaking with a colleague the other day about how enterprise level clients are seemingly fixated on marketing automation; purchasing, setting up, and leveraging marketing automation systems like Marketo, Pardot, InfusionSoft, [...]
If you're a local business or agency running local SEO for clients, you may have noticed the Google local business phone support is no longer available. I was working on a client issue the other day and, as I normally do, went to request a [...]
Local SEO for Apple Maps When it comes to local SEO, everyone seems to be fixated on the Google maps search results. Of course, this is justified considering the scale and marketshare Google Maps has in the local search market. But I was [...]
Due to recent algorithm changes at Google, most website owners and agencies are petrified of notion to manually build backlinks to your website. And rightly so! For the most part, manually built backlinks are full of deceptive and spammy techniques that can get your [...]
I believe one of the most prolific opportunities in B2B marketing exists right now in social media. For B2B marketing, you can no longer think of social media as the place where you share photos of cats, or tweet about brushing your teeth, and share [...]
Implementing effective local SEO For plumbers comes with its own unique set of challenges and circumstances. First, there's a strong sense of urgency from customer demand because, quite frankly, people do not think to call a plumber unless there's an emergency. And second, when [...]
Well, it depends... If your customer base is defined by a geographic region or metro area, then local SEO will be key to increasing phone calls, driving more foot traffic, and converting local leads into customers. If your customer base exceeds a specific [...]
I could've taken the easy road with the question of "what business categories benefit most from local SEO?", by saying that all local and small businesses should be leveraging local SEO! But that would've been cop out... And I know you clicked thru [...]
Someone just asked a great question on Quora about the best way to structure your title tags for local SEO. This is a great question because most people don't realize the impact your website has on your local search rankings in Google. In [...]
How To Improve Google Maps Rankings I remember when one of our clients said to me, "Bobby, I could care less about the organic search results in Google. If my business is not found in the Google Maps local search results - [...]
Getting Letter A Google Maps rankings is quickly becoming the #1 objective for local and small businesses. And rightly so... according to recent studies on local search behavior, nearly 60% of all searches have local business intent, and 78% of local searches resulted in [...]
Enterprise SEO in 2016 - When it comes to implementing an enterprise SEO strategy, things are different for a local or small business than they are for an enterprise level company. For one, the enterprise level companies would naturally carry more "brand relevance" in the search [...]
Thinking about rebuilding your website in 2016? Ask yourself these questions: Have you updated your website in the past year with new pages and fresh content? Is your website generating new leads and sales for your business? Are you seeing increased traffic and [...]
Google Map Citations for Local SEO Google Map Citations are instances of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) that are published on external websites and directories. Search engines use citations to determine the accuracy and relevance of your business information. image by: Moz [...]
Local SEO is the process of enhancing your Google business page for higher rankings in local search results. Nearly 60% of all searches have local intent, and recent studies show that 78% of local searches resulted in off line purchases. This data underscores the relevance of [...]
I'm a firm believer in the 80/20 rule! This is especially true when it comes to local SEO for dominating Google local search. The 80/20 rule implies a small segment of activities can deliver the overwhelming majority of results. This is also sometimes referred to [...]
One question I get asked frequently is "why am I steadily losing traffic from Google search?" This question isn't necessarily coming from people who see dramatic drops in search traffic all at once, but rather a steady decline in traffic over time. For [...]
One of the most dynamic aspects of Google search is the way people search for news and information. If you are interested enough to take a deep dive into the data around news related search, check out Google's 2015 Year in Review in Google [...]
Content Marketing For Small Business Content marketing has a colorful history. I love the infographic from the Content Marketing Institute that illustrates how back in 4200 b.c., we find perhaps the first sign of content marketing in writing on cave walls. These writings [...]
Local SEO for Lawyers Updated in April 2018: added a 5th local SEO tip which talks about local seo for law firms with multiple attorneys (see tip #5 below) Updated in July, 2017: added Legal Directories as a 4th local [...]
5 Local SEO Tips for Small Business Does your business rely on local customers for sales and revenue? If so, these local SEO tips for small businesses can help you increase your rankings and presence in Google Maps, help you connect to new [...]
Local SEO For Restaurants - How To Dominate the Search Results in Google & Facebook Local SEO is the act of building brand authority and relevance for your restaurant on the web. Local SEO for restaurants is about getting your business found in the top [...]
Facebook Local Business Directory Facebook rolled out a new local business directory this week that allows Facebook users to connect with local businesses in their area. Ironically enough, when news broke about this new feature, Yelp shares plummeted 8%, and ended the day (Dec. [...]
One of our clients is a personal injury law firm that specializes in brain injury cases. I mention this particular client because they operate in a very niche market, and it helps to illustrate the news article marketing strategy discussed below. We just completed another full month of [...]
When it comes to online marketing, there's a myriad of options for the small business to chose from. You have pay per click marketing which includes the likes of Google Adwords, Facebook, Twitter ads, and now even Instagram and Pinterest ads. And then [...]
There are ways to increase traffic to your website overall. Say, for example, you sell ads on your website and the advertisers earn revenue based on CMP (cost per 1,000 visitors). Then you would obviously focus on driving increased traffic to your website [...]
If you are like most local businesses, you probably only have one physical address. This is the most common local business structure after removing the big box brands from the equation. But one of the most common questions I get asked is "how [...]
