Outline A. Search Engine Explanation B. Optimizing: Data Listing C. Optimizing: Relevancy D. Optimizing: Quality
When I speak to small business owners about SEO, I often times get a glazed over look about what this actually means. Misconceptions vary from thinking you need a Nash-like beautiful mind to navigate the complexities of the mysterious cyber world, all the way down to simple idea that search engines just know you exist, since they are as natural to our daily lives as the air we breath. As with all things, the truth lies somewhere in the middle, so that's why I decided to create a broad level overview of local SEO which will help you filter through the more erroneous chatter out there.
The Concept of Search Engines
In a perfect world, there would be no need for search engine "optimization". In this cyber-utopia, web developers would have started with unified code from the days of MDOS, everyone would be mindful of website categorization, there would be no spammers or strategic attempts at attaining irrelevant views, and the world would have one perfect file-cabinet of a search engine that would deliver exactly what we search for in a way that maintains the integrity of consumer choice. BUT, since we obviously don't live in this world, and link-gamification became the norm for savvy developers seeking impressions, local business owners have to take a step back and understand some of the more fundamental elements of search engines in order to implement solid reasoning when developing SEO strategy. First, you must be clear on how search engines work. Thankfully, we don't have to cover endless lectures on algorithmic theory in order to understand this, because Matt Cutts has created several simple to understand videos which do a wonderful job of visually depicting the search engine process. Watch the video below to see what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md7K90FfJhg
As you just saw, search engines have quite a task on their hands. Sorting through billions of websites and filtering endless amounts of information is what Google, Yahoo and Bing are in the business of. Back in the 90's when there were still only thousands of websites, this wasn't such a daunting task. But as our society becomes more and more digitalized, search engines are increasingly asking for our help in organizing this information, since it's impossible to accomplish without a semblance of information organization on the part of website creators.The image below from internet live stats proves the growing nature ofthis task. Nowthat you have a better idea of the network of sites that you're operating in, I'll say this - thank God for the geniuses of this world. If it wasn't for the Mensa 190IQ employees of Google and other search engine sites like it, local SEO would not stand a chance! Thanks to the magnificent - or invasivedepending on your privacy ideals - use of location technology, we can rest assured knowing that local information is operating within a compartmentalized pocket of info. This means that you don't have to compete with the billions of websites ticking infinitely to trillions for search engine placement. You simply need to understand that your website exists in the search engine world only when you make some efforts towards "attracting attention" in the (hundreds-of) thousands.
Getting Found in this Web of Pages: Optimization
Now that you know you have a greater chance due to the decreased pool of webpages your local webpage operates in, you need to understand which questions and data sources Google and other search engines pull from when trying to determine search results and ranking. Instead of describing the more technical aspects that can be used to make great sites marginally better, I'll encourage you to think of three factors: data-source, relevancy and quality.
A. Data-source
As I mentioned in the beginning, it's easy to think that search engines simply know about your website because you've created a site. But hopefully the concept of search engine functionality has helped to disillusion you of this thought, and you now are more inclined to ask "where does a search engine find out about me" rather than "why is this search engine ignoring me?" If you are going to be found and placed in a search result by a web crawler, you need to provide your info to certain sites.
Webmaster Tools - Starting from the top, you definitely should consider registering your site with Webmaster Tools. Every search engine offers this extension site, so don't just stop with Google, also verify your site with Bing and other relevant search engines (Yandex, Baidu, etc.). If you're not inclined to do this yourself, it's still useful to know so that you can ask your web developer to do this when creating your page. Don't pay more than $50 for a service like this, since you can find plenty of freelancers on Odesk to do this for much cheaper. But of course, if you're the type to pay for convenience, then feel free to help pay the tuition of a poor college student or struggling college student, you'll become a patron of sorts.
Google+ - This is one that often raises a lot's of eyebrows, especially from those who are familiar with Google's botched effort at creating a meaningful social platform. But take a step back and separate personal preferences from business interests. Multiple Google searches will reveal that the competitors who rank the highest will always have a Google+ page. I created a Prezi during week 1 of my Meetup.com class which explains the different types of search results that local businesses should care about, and if you're wise, you'll start developing your Google+ places page, or at the very least upload your business information to be indexed. You shouldn't have to pay for this, since Google has been striving to make it's business platform more convenient with Google MyBusiness. You can manage the correct Google+ page from here using one Google Username, making this a seamless project that shouldn't take too much of a learning curve to master.
Yelp - This is a business listing which sometimes staves off small business owners due to the lack of control offered for reviews. Yet, no matter what evil Yelp has wrought on true consumer choice, the fact still remains that Yelp results rank very highly in searches due to their large user base and the centrality of reviews to search engine sorting. Listings are FREE, and are in fact done automatically, but it is in your best interest to claim your business and respond to users, since your voice projects a positive image, regardless of whether the review is positive or negative.
Yext.com- This is a convenient way of placing your site information in hundred of directories, for around $70 per month. If used properly for coupon, review and business information, I feel it's a worthy investment. Even though you may not recognize or even use the directories which populate in the Yext analysis, it's always a good idea to have your site listed with consistent information and to place offers in every site. This practice reflects in the search engine crawl as legitimate business practices, making it more likely that you'll pass the filter of spammy sites.
Please understand, simply creating these sites and listing your information will not get you to the top of search results in a competitive vertical. It takes much more attention to other SEO factors to clear the hurdle of crowded markets, but at least you'll be on the map and be able to check off this fundamental factor of Local SEO.
B. Relevancy
This point is fairly simple and straightforward, but often overlooked. For instance, if you're a restaurant, it's tempting to place yourself in the restaurant category and move on. But if you think back to the process of search engine, you'll remember that categorization is fundamental to the sorting process. Since search engines try to return the most relevant results for users, more specific categories often times have more value. If you're a restaurant, you want to do some research on which category best fits your specific niche/cuisine before selecting a category. You can use the following sites to conduct such research: Blumenthals | Moz
It's important to know how the search engine you're listing your site in categorizes businesses, otherwise you'll end up in a broad category and receive lots of irrelevant impressions, leading to less searchers clicking on your site due to perceived irrelevance.
C. Quality
Quality of material on your site is important because search engines want to deliver results that customers are going to use. If the content you create - whether it be a blog post, picture, company description, video, postings, etc. - is rushed and low quality, then users will most likely find much value in it. It's impossible to define the exact meaning of quality since it varies for every business, but it stands to reason that you should always create content on your site which will be used by the end-users.
Example: Grammar One of the things that is considered in a search engine is the readability of a sentence or article. If the search engine detects that you have grammatically incoherent sentences on your page, you're likely to be docked in rankings.
Example: Postings Since small business owners don't have enough hours in the day to run their business, let alone write up blog posts everyday, they sometimes defer to posting relevant articles from other pages that will be of use to customers. But, if the article is not followed, liked or read, then the article will be detected as unnecessary and irrelevant, and therefore spammy.
Example: Website Design Mobile responsiveness is one of the hottest topics in the SEO world right now, and for good reason. More customers are choosing to search from iPhones and iPads than every before. If your website does not cater to this growing trend, then your site will be considered low quality since it does not improve user experience via usability. Consequently, your site will fall in ranking.
Overview
I decided to end on the more difficult quality factor so you don't mistake this article for anything more than a conceptual description of search engine, and a primer on optimization. I felt like small business owners needed to start from the beginning when broaching the topic of local SEO, to have a firm foundation when creating websites.
If you take nothing else from this article, simple remember that Search Engines need organized data, placed on specific sites, in specific categories and that the data/content should always be created with usability in mind. If you do nothing else, this will get you on the map and in the game. Remembering the concept of engaging search engines will help guide you beyond when determining necessary strategy, and when thinking through budgets.
