Providing SEO services is a lot like being a detective that you see in the movies or on television. You just can’t sit down with a client and assume or half-do what’s necessary to bring about success. You need to do your research, your detective work to pull out of the client and yourself, the right things to do to gain those top SEO spots, especially when it comes to Local SEO.
If you thought regular SEO was a chore, try doing Local SEO. It calls for all the skills of standard SEO, which is a tumultuous ever changing landscaper, and the specialized tactics and application to bring attention to the client’s site and get it up those search engine results.
This means asking questions and taking notes. Paying attention to market and SEO trends, both technical and social. Knowing where your client’s customers are and where they can be gained from. You’ll need to ask questions not only of the boss, but of the staff and get as much info as possible. See where previous sales and inbound links and clicks came from. Know the demographics of the region you’re focusing on regarding Local SEO and see if they’re being properly targeted by the existing site’s structure or where improvements can be made. Look at the competition and see where their strengths and weaknesses are, and be informative to the client so that they can do some studying and detective work too.
Once you’ve gathered the basic pertinent data that allows for an assessment and battle plan to be outlined, it’s time to polish off the skills and drill. If for example there are 1,000 Facebook pages focusing on your client’s location, make sure you have that list. See which ones are just local folks or businesses, government, and more. Break down which of these are the most important traffic wise by the number of members and activity. You will need social networking with your Local SEO so that people from the region will not only know you exist, but that your site is worthy of perusal whether they’re looking for your products and services or not. You can become a local hero with a site that focuses not only on your business but on the achievements and celebrations of others in the area. This makes your site look lively, caring, and exciting, but the majority of marketers and SEO pros just miss the boat here. Look for those famous local people, whether present celebrities or historical ones. Look for those annual celebrations, public picnics, even newspaper stories featuring things like people celebrating very old anniversaries. Make note of these and post a congratulations note on your site’s blog. People will love it, comment, share, and like.
Each company and client has a history, short or long. Use the length of their existence as a tool. Do the detective work about the founders, what it took to establish the business and keep it going. People like these tidbits of celebration and of course will boast and share the data.
This is an opportunity to get more positive reviews regarding your services which also boosts you up the Google ranks.
So in wrap-up, you need to do your research. Don’t shy away from the uncomfortable questions either. It will pay off in the long run.
