SEO Works During Coronavirus Shutdown
Recently we’ve been getting slammed with new inbound leads at SEO Locale. The team is still working through the shutdown. Sadly we have not seen our team members for almost a month now. As a company we had our setup prepared for a catastrophic event like this. Our team members were up and running immediately after we shut the offices down.
Luckily in our industry the internet is still turned on. Online shopping is increasing and businesses are starting to thrive more with our digital marketing product. We’ve had clients that had to shift their marketing and SEO to be geared towards the virus. The SEO Locale team is moving fast on these shifts for all of our clients.
Marc and myself sat down and evaluated some campaigns since the shutdown period. The statistics below are prime examples of how SEO still works during these stressful and tough times for business owners.
Results measured starting March 15, 2020 – April 2, 2020 vs March 15, 2019 – April 2, 2019
✔️ eCommerce Client +467.51% Increase in Revenue
✔️ Another eCommerce Client +2,298.77% Increase in Revenue
✔️ Local Franchise Gym +181.24% Increase in Leads
✔️ Service Industry Business (B2B) +492% Increase in New Users
✔️ Local Law Firm +389.62% Increase in New Users
✔️ B2C Client +129.57% Increase in New Users
🏆 Beat your competition with SEO. Our clients are seeing massive results during these tough times.
Here are a few marketing tips we compiled for a pandemic like this and how you can stay ahead of your competition:
- Is your product or service in high demand for your customers. If so look at your approach to see if you can make adjustments to increase your SEO visibility.
- Create a notification pop to alert your customers you are still operating.
- Start creating posts on social media that help your customers understand they can still use your services. Most people are bored at home and browsing the internet and social media.
- Increase your brand awareness. This is the perfect time to jump in front of your potential customers with your brand.
- Start a community involvement initiative. Provide help of those in need. Don’t use this as a sales tactic, but getting involved will help the community come together.
- Start increasing your conversion rate with new marketing tactics. Focus on your business during these times and beat your local competition.
Do You Still Need SEO During the Coronavirus Pandemic?
You need SEO during the Coronavirus pandemic now more than ever. Your business must operate from home if you want to do your part to keep the community safe, and you should reach out to people who need your business more now than they ever have. Even if your business is shutdown during the Coronavirus pandemic, it is not a time to consider shutting down your digital marketing. Your business needs to recover after this is over. Small businesses will be getting a ton of support from communities throughout the world, as they understand the difficulties these businesses are going through. Consider all the things that you can do to reach the public during this challenging time.
Your Company Offers Essential Services
If your company offers essential services like HVAC, plumbing, or cleaning, you should increase your SEO presence. You want your customers to know that they can reach out to you even though the pandemic is still a real threat. When you work with us, we will help you find the customers that need you most. Businesses are turning off their paid advertising and SEO during this time, so it is a perfect opportunity for you to gain more business and beat your competition during the Coronavirus chaos. SEO Locale are experts that will help you target businesses that are working from home and need your services.
Your Company is Shutdown? No problem…
If your business was forced to shutdown, this is the perfect opportunity to advertise your business. You may think it’s crazy because everyone is at home, but the consumers will be bored on their phones and surfing the web. It’s the perfect opportunity to get your brand out there, and when they are ready to make that purchase, you will be in the forefront of their minds. We understand it is a scary time, as no small business owner has an end game during this time. Our COO Nick Quirk spoke to The Intelligencer about the unknown for small business owners.
How Can You Help Companies Get Back To Work?
If your company can help people get back to work, you should market yourself using this angle. You will see a change in the way that your website gets traffic because customers are searching for emergency services. We will help you add emergency or urgent services to your online marketing strategy. We will help you create a new list of keywords that should be used during the pandemic. The COVID-19 will be around the world for some time. Your business needs to stay on track with online marketing while people are isolating themselves. Keyword search volumes will be increasing, and your brand needs to be in front of those people.
Cleanup And Recovery Services
If you are a business that helps companies recover from disasters, we will help add the Coronavirus or the pandemic to your marketing strategy. Customers are looking for businesses like yours that can help them recover.
Helping Companies Operate Today
You might manage a company that helps companies create software or apps to manage their business. It is easy for you to add the pandemic and other emergency-oriented keywords into your digital strategy. Your customers will learn that you can help them change the way they do business, and they can continue to operate as they normally would.
Add More Information To Your Website
While we can help you with your online content strategy, we must add all this information into your website. Your website can become a hub for emergency information during the Coronavirus pandemic, and we will help you add a special notice to the website that tells your customers how you are responding to the pandemic. If you have crafted a quality response to this emergency, customers will trust you more.
Conclusion – Don’t Put Your Guard Down, It Is Time To Beat Your Competition
We will help you change your SEO plan during the Coronavirus pandemic. You can show your customers how you offer emergency services, and we will implement that strategy, utilizing keywords that will reach customers in need. Even if your business has a mandatory shutdown, we can still help you market yourself both during and after the pandemic. We’re here to help businesses get out of this chaotic situation that no business owner could have foreseen or planned for. We’re a premier digital marketing agency in Philadelphia with a plethora awards and accolades to prove our success to the business world.
What Type of Monthly Reporting Does Your SEO Company Offer? We Break Down Our Proprietary Reporting.
All of our clients at SEO Locale get monthly reports they can understand. We don’t send you hundreds of pages with numbers. We show you the growth or possible decrease in traffic, we don’t need to always tell you a good story. We’re pro-active in our approach and have the problem solved before your traffic takes a down fall. Learn more about our monthly reporting from Mark Rippons at SEO Locale.
- What is Monthly reporting? Monthly report is showing you data from month over month, quarter over quarter, and year over year if there is data to compare to.
- What is the client portal? The client portal is a new system that we developed from the ground up, put a lot of man hours in, to make it easier for you to understand where your keywords are ranking, and the highlights of your website traffic.
- Why does having this portal set you aside from other SEO companies? This portal is unlike anything else you will see from any other SEO company. Nick our COO took the time to build this system from the ground up. This is a one-off portal that no other SEO company has or is able to duplicate. It’s very simple to use and easy to understand.
- How do I know who will be working with my account? In the client portal at the top you see the team at SEO Locale that is dedicated to your account every day. Someone is in the account everyday checking where your ranking, checking goal completions and making sure that everything is on the up and up.
- I have an e-commerce website. Will this show data for that? Yes, we just need eCommerce data tracking set up in Google Analytics, we can show you how many transactions you had, the sources that the transactions are coming from. We can show if the sales are coming from direct traffic, Google Organic traffic, and Google PPC.
- What Platforms will this track? The portal will track all platforms, we can track Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. We can traffic all platforms that are bringing traffic to your website.
- Can I see how my keywords are ranking and which ones are successful? We have talked about the client portal, we also have the client dashboard that will allow you to see where specific keywords are ranking on Google Desktop, Google Mobile, Bing, and Local Map Pack.
- What do you do with this information to improve my website? We use this information to see how where we can push the campaign, one you have so many keywords rankings on the first page of Google we add more keywords to the campaign to keep the campaign moving forward. We don’t want the campaign to stall or get stale, this can turn into revamping on-page recs and adding more content.
- Will I get to visually see my position changes? You can see this on your client dashboard, you will be able to see how many positions your keywords increase or decrease. You can see how your keywords have increased since you have been with us.
- I’m already a client, is this the same as the dashboard? No, the client portal is brand new for 2020. The client portal is easier to understand and easier on the eyes. The dashboard gives you more detailed technical aspects for audits on the website, specific keyword rankings, backlinks profile. The portal is to tell you that you have this many keywords on the 1st page of Google, this many on the 2nd page of Google, and this many on the 3rd page of Google. The portal will also show you the traffic your website saw for the previous month and this breaks down direct traffic, organic traffic.
- How do I access my client portal? Once we have added our portal email to the analytics for each account as a read/analyze only access. You simply go to SEOLocaleReports.com and login with the provided username and password.
What Does Google Penalties on Guest Post Articles Mean for You?
Backlinks are still one of the most popular ways to get traffic back to your website. If the site that publishes your guest post article is high-quality, is relevant to your own content and is already ranking in Google, then you could expect some targeted referral traffic from the guest post within the first week of publication. And if that guest post begins to rank higher in search results, then it will get more traffic and will push more of those readers to your site over time.
But the best part of guest posting is that the links themselves will help your website improve in Google rankings and get more search traffic in the long run.
Unfortunately, a lot of marketers end up getting penalized by Google and hurt their website traffic levels because they don’t do guest posts the right way.
Why Does Google Sometimes Penalize Guest Posts?
Google hates it when people use spam practices and black hat SEO to trick them into sending free, organic search traffic. Many bloggers and marketers plagiarize content or write content that is stuffed with awkward keywords just to fool search engines. But those types of articles don’t offer any real value to the readers.
Some content marketers will also publish guest posts on low-quality private blog networks and on sites that are not related to their own website. For example, they’ll put a guest article about weight loss on a blog that has nothing to do with health and fitness – and then they’ll link to a landing page that sells electronic dog collars. That’s ridiculous, and it offers no value to the readers. It also won’t convert very well.
If Google keeps ranking spam content like this, then nobody will want to use Google anymore when searching for high-quality content. That’s why Google penalizes these sites.
So, to do guest posting the right way and to avoid Google penalties, you don’t want to use these outdated, spammy black hat SEO tactics.
How to Avoid Google Penalties on Guest Post Articles
- Post guest articles on high-quality websites and blogs
- Make sure content and links are relevant to your landing page content
- Use a variety of anchor texts with long-tail keywords
- Write original, high-quality guest articles that people will want to read
- Make sure your landing pages are also of high quality
- Use white hat SEO techniques as much as possible
Some SEO bloggers out there will tell you that guest posting is dead and isn’t worth doing anymore. But they are just wrong. Many marketers today use guest posts to drive tons of traffic to their landing pages and blogs. When done the right way, guest post articles provide value to their readers, and they help your site rank higher as the months roll by.
How to Effectively Use Instagram for SEO Marketing
Thanks to the incredible dynamic advancement of the internet we are experiencing! Today, social media marketing has become one of the most seamless strategies for boosting an organization’s sales trend. It’s only requiring an active social media account with sizable number potential client’s followers.
In recent times, Instagram has become the most sort social media platform by major brands as it has attracted massive users. Hence, you can use Instagram for your SEO marketing through:
- Hashtag Optimization – In most instances, Instagram recommends online sellers to research trending hashtags before bulking their content with irrelevant hashtags. Thus, for your case, once you have created a list of trending hashtags, it’s commendable you choose the ones matching with your content. Then after that, you can use them to optimize your content freely. The relevance of your content trending hashtags is that they attract traffic, by creating brand awareness.
- Engage Your Audience – Instagram followers enjoy having real-time responses. Thus, active participation in comments, contests, and hashtag threads is not an option if you are desirous of boosting your sales on Instagram. It’s recommendable you showcase creativity and smartness by posting appealing photos of your product. Sooner than later, you will realize Instagram followers are gracious enough to return the favor by tagging you along with relevant opportunities.
- Always Add Stories About Your Product– Instagram has a stories feature that allows posting short videos and photos for 24 hours. Therefore, it’s always recommendable to use it in promoting your products and upcoming launches. An upside of using this feature is allowing your audiences to visit your web page by swiping up the stories. You can promptly respond to messages directly from the story, thus reducing response delays. Besides, from the stories, you can get real-time feedback from potential clients by creating polls.
- Regulate Posting Frequency – Posting too much content within short duration, for example, after every few minutes, looks spammy. If you want to show your creativity, we recommend you use reasonable intervals to make your product posts. Instagram followers get bored quickly, especially when they get the same content from the same person frequently. They love some space to navigate other works. To increase your product relevance, always schedule you’re posting frequency. Each time you post, make it phenomenal for your audience to always look forward to the next post.
- Use Local Optimization – Instagram users search products using locations since they love buying them within their localities. Hence, you can take advantage of this by using location tags. Correctly tag the location you are selling the products for audience to reach your business easily. Correct use of Instagram for SEO marketing is promising as it provides you with real customer conversion rates. However, if you cannot utilize this social media space effectively, it can be time-wasting and disappointing. Ensure you have relevant hacks before using this valuable tool for your business SEO marketing.
Google Decluttering The First Results Page – What This Means for Featured Snippets
Google recently announced that pages that earn a featured snippet will no longer repeat as a regular listing on the first page search results.
If you’re unfamiliar with what featured snippets are, they’re selected search results that are featured on top of Google’s organic results, right below the ads. Featured snippets are in a box and aim to answer the user’s question right away, which is great for brand exposure in search results.
This change not only affects featured snippet owners, but those in competition with featured snippet owners. For featured snippet owners, this change means that their URL will only appear once on the first page of Google, instead of getting two listings. For those who aren’t utilizing featured snippets, this means that their competition will no longer show up twice.
Although Google is prohibiting a business from appearing twice on the first page of results if they have a featured snippet, they can still show up at the top of the second page.
The featured snippets will be counted as one of the ten organic listings shown on the first page of Google results. By keeping an eye out on rankings and traffic to your site, you should be able to get a read on how your business is adjusting to this change.
A Look at The Digital Marketing Benefits of Google Search Console
As a leader in national SEO and digital marketing we leverage the Google Search Console for data within our future strategy for our clients. The Google Search Console is a combination of Google SEO tools. Google Search Console has different data and configuration controls that help boost your website. There are also multiple visitor metrics. The Search Console gives you an insight into Google’s opinion of your website. You can check your site for any errors or broken pages. You can also receive messages from Google concerning your website. You’ll be notified if there is a potential security issues or malware outbreak. You can also use Google Search Console to add deep linking features to your app. Here is a look at some of the additional ways that Google Search Console can assist your digital marketing efforts.
Site Links
Site Links help people browse your website. The Site Links are automatically generated by Google. They are considered shortcuts to direct pages.
Search Traffic
The Search Traffic feature gives you access to important information such as the number of impressions, the keyword search phrases Google served your site and your average search engine rankings for a specific keyword. You can also view your hidden link structure.
Analytics
You can view analytics that show how your website is performing based on the organic search traffic generated through Google. You’ll receive access to the most popular devices, pages, and queries. Google Search Console also allows you to segment traffic through using different filters. You can segment your organic traffic based on your business objectives. You can use the analytics feature to view new opportunities and trends.
Internal Links
View the Internal Links breakdown to look at the pages with the most links from inside of your website. If the impressions are consistent, but you are noticing a lack of clicks, that is a sign that something is wrong. Test out some new description tags.
Content Keywords
The Content Keyword feature lets you view the most popular keywords founds on your website. This helps you ensure that the vision of your website content according to Google aligns with your small business objectives.
Crawl Stats
The Crawl Stats feature allows you to view the number of pages during the allowable reporting period of around 3 months. Analyze the Crawl Stats to identify website performance issues.
Link Multiplier
When you go to the Search Traffic section, you’ll be able to view the top linked pages. Check to see if the listed content is trending. If the content is currently in demand, use it to connect with bloggers and other influencers.
Digital Marketing Trends for 2020
The new decade is a great time to start setting goals for your digital marketing. You will want to use a variety of different methods to keep your brand in front of your target audience at all times. Therefore, you will want to consider these digital marketing trends for 2020.
Social Media Marketing
With people creating five new profiles every second on Facebook, your customers must find your company on this social media platform throughout the coming year. The most common demographic for Facebook is between 25 and 34 years old. You also need to determine which other social media sites your target audience is using, and make sure that your target audience finds your digital marketing on these platforms, including those like Snapchat that goes away after a few seconds. You can expect niche social media sites to become even more prominent throughout the coming year. SEO Locale can help you with your future social media management.
Pay Per Click Advertising
One of the most significant changes that you need to embrace throughout the coming year in your PPC advertising is to use hyper-specific landing pages. This will work in your favor in at least two ways. First, Google rewards pages that they find highly relevant to their perception of the user’s intent. Secondly, conversion rates are higher when buyers find exactly the content, they are looking for immediately on your page. Paid advertising management can help you get the boost you need immediately compared to SEO that takes some time to kick in.
YouTube Advertising
Most companies find that their conversion rate with YouTube advertising is 2.5 % higher than with other digital marketing techniques. This is especially true if your target audience is under 35. You will want to use short bumper ads that are less than 15 seconds. Make sure you are working with a professional team that can deliver your message in a very creative way. Our team at SEO Locale can help you create the multimedia you need to start your effective advertising.
Email Marketing
One of the hottest trends for 2020 will be the use of videos in emails. Remember, however, that not all providers show videos in emails, so be sure to include a link to it. The use of AI to personalize emails this year will continue to be significant. Try incorporating the user’s past behavior into your subject line to increase open rates. Email marketing can be difficult so keep in mind to segment your list out so it is getting to the right people.
Website
One of the trends for 2020 that you will see on many websites is the use of voice-assisted search to help users find answers very quickly. You will want to create some professional videos for your site that reflect your company’s voice because they are memorable and help set you apart from your competitors. You need to be very open with your pricing while pointing out why customers get great value when shopping on your site. Make sure that you are always offering excellent customer service directly from your website.
These are just a few of the trends that you will want to embrace in 2020. Contact us today to get started on your marketing for this new decade.
Myth or Fact: Do Google Reviews Help SEO?
Do Google Reviews help SEO? The short answer is yes that Google reviews, so long as they are positive, do assist with SEO by helping to improve search engine rankings. Positive reviews indicate to search engines that the recipient of the reviews is trustworthy and authoritative. In an era in which competition on the Internet has gotten harder and harder, especially for smaller companies, overseeing online reviews helps to differentiate a business and improve its visibility in search engine results. Authority and trustworthiness are rewarded by search engines through improved search results. Your response as a business owner is key on helping keywords trigger to Google Bot to see you are relevant for X service or product.
Why Positive Google Reviews Matter
SEO requires examination of extensive search details, including content creation, link building and reviews generally don’t get much SEO attention. However, they certainly should, and especially for local businesses. The Local SEO Guide confirms the value of positive customer reviews for local businesses. For larger national businesses, the value is also indisputable. In fact, 88% of customers believe in online reviews as much as they do personal recommendations. Shoppers nearly always check online reviews before visiting any business, and 95% of shoppers say that reviews affect buying decisions. Google itself has confirmed this. In a recent survey of Google ranking factors, it was found that the importance of reviews has increased substantially over the last several years. Reviews now rank at 15.44% in search engine importance and #13 among 50 top ranking factors. The value and importance of positive reviews in SEO are clear.
Reviews Allow Customers to Learn About Products
Customers use online reviews to learn about products. When a product is new, there is a very good chance the customer will do a Google search to learn more. Positive reviews are likely to lead a customer to choose a provider of the product, and even to become a buyer.
What is the Best Way to Manage Reviews?
So long as a business is successful, review management should not be too difficult. Make sure that positive reviews are collected and reported online, and positive results will follow. Always display positive reviews on a website. There are various website development tools that can be used for this. Communicating with customers, encouraging reviewing, and collecting reviews makes good sense and will lead to receipt of positive reviews. Attempt to gather an email address at the time of a sale and then send a request for a review. Unfortunately, not all reviews will be positive, but even negative reviews are useful and should be collected. Communicate with negative reviewers from a customer service perspective in an effort to resolve complaints, and with resolution of complaints, a negative review may very well become a positive review. Allow us help you manage your Google My Business and reviews online, we can help you grow your entire digital marketing strategies.
Answer: Fact