A Quick & Dirty Tutorial on SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing your company’s online presence involves 2 broad strategies:
- Attracting the attention of search-engines, helping them understand what your company does, what you sell, and whose searches they should be showing your company in search-results for
- Capturing the attention of the people interested in your products and services, and guiding them to take the next step (calling you, emailing, filling out an appointment request form, etc)
SEO is (typically) most influenced by your website
Local SEO
Search engine like Google & Bing can detect that a searcher has “local intent”. This is a search for “plumbers near me” will show you a list of plumbers who are near you, rather than plumbers’ websites all over the world
Local-SEO focuses not on making you “Internet-famous” around the Internet, but just for people close enough to visit your store, or employ your services.
Local-SEO is (typically) most influenced by your “Google Business Profile“
Google Business Profile (GBP)
(formerly known as “Google My Business” – GMB)
The mission of Google Maps is to have accurate information on every business in the world. This includes your company’s address, the hours you’re open, the services you provide, and what your customers say about you.
Even if you’ve never set up a GBP, Google has probably made one for you, and “guessed” the things it could fill in on its own.
A complete, optimized GBP encourages Google to show your company more often in the “Local 3-Pack”, when people in your community search for your products, services, or the pain-points you solve
Google’s Local Map 3-Pack
When Google detects a search has local intent, it will display 3 nearby businesses above the normal “organic” search results, with an average star rating made up of the reviews of that business’s Google profile.
Google uses hundreds of data-points to determine which companies to include in the Local 3-Pack. This includes how complete & optimized your Google Business Profile is, Listings on online business directories, references to your company made on other websites, and the content & quality of your website.
By optimizing your company’s online presence, Google’s search algorithm will have a much better understanding of what your company does, and is more likely to show your business in the Local 3-Pack higher, more often, and for more search terms.
This maximizes your opportunities to send your message to your potential customer, letting them know that you exist, where you are, and that you are the literal answer to their search.
What an optimized & unoptimized Google Business Profile look like to searchers
