Archive for SEO
Google Wonder Wheel – Great for Finding Relevant Search Terms
Posted by: | CommentsBack in May of 2009, Google released “Google Wonder Wheel.” It takes your search term from the Google search field and finds relevant related terms to help you the user have more search options. Much like a mind map, the main term is the “hub” of the wheel and the relevant terms show up at the end of the “spokes.” Clicking on any of the search terms in the spokes opens a new wheel of terms relevant to that spoke. It is a logical way to sort terms in a visually effective way.
So how do you get into Wonder Wheel in Google? First go to Google.com and in the search bar type in your keyword. On the top of the resulting page select “Show Options”:
A side bar will open to the left that shows various related search methods. Under “Standard View” select “Wonder Wheel”:
This will open a hub and spoke of your term plus the related terms to your original search:
Wonder Wheel is a great tool for helping you find new keyword niches within the related terms it returns around your core term. If you click and explore related terms like “Bing Local Search” a whole new wheel of related terms pops open to explore. This can generate all kinds of keyword lists for you to explore for more targeted search traffic thus increasing your visibility on line.
The other tool related to the Wonder Wheel that is worth exploring is Related Search. It returns slightly more detailed results and is useful when you need to explore specific niches for new relevant terms. With great tools like Related Search and Wonder Wheel I can conduct a really thorough preliminary search for terms to add to my keyword research list. And the best part about these keyword-generating tools? They are FREE!
Hyper Local Domain Names Lead to Real Estate Sales
Posted by: | CommentsWhile we focus mostly on local search at Practical Local Search there is still that important element of overall SEO with a website. Very specific domain names, sometimes called long tail have taken hold for affiliate marketers and now appear to be doing so for real estate agents. According to a report from GoDaddy the instances of address based domains is up over 320 percent. The target states come as no surprise as they include California, Arizona, New York and Florida, all states with struggling real estate markets.
Real estate is a very local search market. Sellers especially focus on very defined neighborhoods, even within a city. For example in Seattle WA sellers would highlight properties in neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, Queen Anne and Magnolia. The strategy of using addresses for domain name is being credited with reducing the time to sell individual properties. In the same GoDaddy report brokers indicate selling a house in 43 days versus the local average of 120 to 180 days.
Once the physical address domain name is purchased from a domain registrar the seller (the agent actually) creates a targeted web site with the specifics of the target property. Images, floor plans, neighborhood information and so on is included with the appropriate contact information. The specific address domain name assists with SEO results and positions the newly created site in search results around these specific addresses.
Does this really work on a large scale? The article only has a few anecdotal references so it may simply be a puff piece by GoDaddy. Certainly they never use hype to promote their services! However, many SEO experts claim a keyword targeted domain name is not really a help. However, I suspect when the search is so specific that it indeed helps. The next leap is creating a local search listing with similar characteristics. Will this work? It’s hard to say without testing it out. However, if a well crafted local listing is created using the physical address as the business name who knows. I think it would be a big help.
It’s now up to the adventurous real estate professional to try their hand at both a highly focused physical address domain name and local business listing. Let us know if you have any success. Although, I suspect if you do you’ll keep it to yourself!
Getting the Right Domain Name for Local Search
Posted by: | CommentsWhile many of us already have long established business names and a domain name (your URL, or web site address) if you have the opportunity you should consider creating one friendlier for search engines (including local search).
For example in Bellevue WA where I live using the search term “bellevue auto repair” shows the number two listing as Ali’s Bellevue Auto Repair. Instead of alisautorepair.com he uses bellevueautorepair.com which helps his search results.
Now creating a domain name close to the search terms you potential customers and clients use is not going to change things overnight as far as search results are concerned. However, when it comes to optimizing anything on the web the more often Google, or any other search engine sees a consistent message of content the better your ultimate ranking will be.
Spend some doing doing keyword and keyword phrase research. To the right of this post (and on every page) is a list of useful keyword research tools. For the most part use the main Google Keyword Research Tool. Find what terms are being searched the most and then combine them with your primary geographical location search target. Or in other words auto repair in Bellevue WA becomes www.bellevueautorepair.com.
Sometimes you’ll end up with a pretty long domain name. I created a site just for research purposes called www.seattleaffordablehealthcaresolutions.com. It was used to generate leads for a friend who sold health insurance. You’re not likely to want this on your business card but for search purposes when interested parties simply click on a link it’s not a big deal.
If you have an existing domain name that’s not all that helpful then simply create a new domain name along these lines and forward your current domain name to the new one (it’s called a 301 redirect, any web master knows what this is). This means you don’t have to change printed matter (such as business cards) or worry about back links. They will all forward to your new keyword rich domain name.
In local search and overall site optimization every little bit helps.
Off Page Site Optimization for Local Search Success
Posted by: | CommentsThis article (the fourth in a series) focuses on the off page optimization strategies you can pursue to assist your local search success. Off page optimization is basically getting well placed and formatted links on sites other than your own. These links will be on sites that offer information, good s and services similar or complimentary in nature to your own. As far as the impact on local search success David Mihm pegs these efforts at 15% of the total.
Getting these links (called backlinks) is a long term process. It won’t happen overnight. However, done well and regularly your web site will benefit and so will your local search listing. Consider these few tips:
Quality Inbound Links- You’ll want to find quality sites to link to you. Steer clear of what are called link farms, they are useless. The easiest way to find quality links is to see who links to your competitors site. Examine these sites and see if you can get them to link to you. There are also third party tools that do this as well as services.
Location, Product and Service Keywords in Inbound Anchor Text- Anchor text is the text, with a hyperlink a site uses to connect to your site. In most instances the anchor text is “click here”. There are over a billion instances of “click here” on the Internet. Don’t do that! Your anchor link should be very helpful and use your location and product or service keywords. Your anchor link should look like “Belleve WA Cosmetic Dentist”. For the best effect use a few different versions of this for different link sites.
Granted, the off page optimization efforts do not play a big part in local search success. However, the development of good backlinks does in fact pay huge dividends for your web site’s SEO success.
One last article in this series to come.
Optimize Your Web Page for Organic Local Search Success
Posted by: | CommentsAs we have stated many times in this site creating a local search profile is important to being found in a local search. However, don’t forget that you can also (that’s in addition too) rank well in organic search for your website as well. This is a double bonus! We should note that this will only typically happen when you are in a smaller city or rural location and you are in a less competitive market niche. Don’t let that stop you though, always optimize every web page you create!
When consumers perform a highly targeted local search they are usually ready to take action and either visit a particular establishment or make a purchase. Greater than 60% of potential customers use a search engine to find a business in their local neighborhood.
In order to make your business shine in local search there are a few things you need to be aware of to optimize your listing for organic search. Begin with keyword research. Who are your customers and how do they search for you? Think like the consumer and find the best keywords that will most likely lead clients and customers to your door.
If you have a website, look to see what other websites are linking to your site. Take a look at your page rank and see how you use your keywords on each page of your site. Add your physical address that matches your local search listing address on your Home and Contact Us pages of your website. Remember, the most important thing in local search is “location, location, location…”
Make your site “web crawler friendly.” Search engines can’t read flash or JavaScript links and menus, can’t determine the meaning of your graphics, and certainly can’t fill out a form. You can still have those bells and whistles on your site; however you need to make certain that search engines can still crawl your site and make sense of its navigation. Use HTML links in your navigation on every page as well as on every page which links to the top-tier pages as well as to any individual product/service pages. Name your photos with keywords and geo-targeted tags.
