Local Seo | Search Engine Optimization

How To Hire A Good Local SEO Company Without Going Broke 3

Are You Using Local SEO in Online Advertising

Advertising for local SEO employs the same techniques as any other kind of local SEO strategy. But the difference is that it applies them to your direct online advertising. Making sure that every pay per click advertisement and every Google AdWords campaign focuses on local SEO so that you can have all your online bases covered. Using local SEO in your online advertising can also be a great starting point for business owners that want to test drive local SEO and see how well it really works before diving in with all the other local SEO strategies.

Pay per click programs with Google AdWords is the most popular form of online advertising so that's the one we'll focus on here. But Yahoo! Search Marketing and MSN AdCenter are two other places where you'll want to set up local SEO advertising.
There are two things to keep in mind when it comes to your Google AdWords campaign: bid on ads relevant to your area; and bid on keywords that clearly define your product.

Bidding on ads relevant to your area simply refers to bidding on ads that include your city or town's name, along with surrounding cities and neighborhoods. Also make sure that the ad copy also includes those local SEO keywords. Bidding on zip codes is another great way to use pay per click advertising. Searching by zip codes hasn't become one of the main forms of searching so these keywords will usually have super low prices, and you'll be narrowing your target audience down that much more.

Using zip codes is one alternative way of describing where you are locally, but think of other ways to describe where you are as well. In the mortgage broker example, instead of using "mortgage broker New York City" as a long tail keyword, you might use "mortgage broker Manhattan," or even "mortgage broker The Big Apple." An online keyword generator can help you figure out which keywords will be best for your pay per click campaign, but you should always be trying to think of what your customers are searching for, as well.

In addition to thinking of different ways to describe your business and its location, with pay per click advertising campaigns you also need to consider different ways to describe your product. So while the mortgage broker might have "mortgage broker New York City," as a keyword, they might also have, "mortgage broker home equity loans," or "New York City home equity loans." Both of these narrow down the terms and the target audience; and it gets the word out to those closest to you - which is what local SEO is all about.

Once you have your general local SEO going so that you can rank higher in the search engines, you then need to track those results to find out which ones work, and which ones don't. and while tracking may sound like a simple matter of checking Google every day to see where you sit in the page rankings, it can actually get quite a bit more complicated than that. In the next section we'll look at how to adequately use different tracking methods to see which local SEO strategies are working best for you.

Are You Tracking Local SEO Results

Yes, going onto Google every day and doing your own search for your own keywords is a good way to see where you are in the page rankings (just make sure that you're signed out of Google first, otherwise you'll get altered results.) Google's Page Rank Checker is another great tool for tracking your results and seeing if your page ranking is going up or down on any given site. But in addition to that, you can also use innovative ways to track your results, and these will also help you when creating backlinks, leaving comments, and when using other local SEO strategies.

Custom URLs

If you've ever visited a website and clicked on a link and "redirecting" appeared on the screen or in the address bar, you've just clicked on a custom URL, and these are a great tool for tracking your local SEO results. However, this way of tracking is also pretty technical and not only requires some time but also a lot of know-how, so you might want to think about handing that portion off to a web or marketing consultant.

Separate Domains

Separate domains work very similar to the way custom URLs do. A business owner, or their marketing consultant, sets up different domain names in addition to the main website, and with all additional domain names including the local SEO keywords. So the owner of the "mortgagebroker.com" site would also buy the domain names "mortgagebrokernewyork.com" and "homeequityloans.com," and other related domains. Once a visitor comes to that site, they are then redirected to the main site. These, while simpler than custom URLs, still require some technical knowledge so those too are best handed off to someone else if you have neither the time or interest in doing it yourself.

Coupon Codes

Coupon codes have been around as long as print advertising has been, and now it's spilled over into the world of online local SEO strategies as well. With coupon codes, you simply enter a code onto a promotional item or coupon and have the customer quote that code (or just hand in their coupon) at the time of purchase. This way, the business owner can see which ad campaigns are working, where customers are, and how they're most likely to be reached. And the same can work for your local SEO. When you leave a comment on a blog for instance, you could refer to a mortgage guide e-book that can be downloaded from your site for free. To get it though, the customer has to enter the coupon code you've left within the comment of the blog. Not all blogs will allow comments but you can enter coupon codes into any of your Google AdWords campaigns and into your customer reviews too. Again, a marketing consultant will be able to tell you where coupon codes will fit and be appropriate for your business.

Here Are 3 Essential Quality Your SEO Consultant Must Have

So now you know all about local SEO and why it's so important, along with some of the strategies you can use to better your local SEO, and even how to use it in your advertising campaigns. By now, you're most likely a little overwhelmed at the idea of even starting your local SEO project, never mind actually doing it. Yes, carrying out local SEO strategies and techniques is tedious and takes a great deal of time. That's one of the key fundamentals of it actually, because Google is looking for consistent local companies that they want to promote.

Because of this, most businesses outsource their SEO and marketing needs so that they can get back to business and still make sure that their SEO needs are being taken care of. When hiring an SEO consultant, there is a lot to know, and we'll cover most of it in the next section outlining questions to ask any consultant you're considering dealing with. But before you even start asking those questions, you need to make sure that your SEO consultant has these three things:

Local Seo Referrals from other clients

You need to make sure that this is more than just a written statement that says, "I hired ABC Consultants in March 2010 and would hire them again." Local SEO is a long process that involves many different aspects and elements. You need to be able to actually speak to past clients of the consultants and find out how capable the consultant was, if their work brought results, and yes, if the person would hire them again. You also want to ask about any problems that arose and how they were dealt with. There are always going to be small problems that crop up and need to be dealt with, and you need to make sure that your consultant knows how to handle them.

Open communication about what they're doing at those local seo stuff

For some reason, some consultants like to keep what they're doing somewhat secret, and will give the business owner vague descriptions about what's being done. It might be because they think this makes them indispensable to the owner and keeps them relying on the consultant's services but really, it's just bad business practice.

It's your website and your business' online presence that the marketing consultant will be handling and if it's done incorrectly, or in a way that you don't think reflects what the business is, that's a big problem. You need to make sure that your consultant is willing to sit down with you and go through every single strategy they plan on using. Then they need to go further and tell you why they're using that strategy and what they're going to have to do to employ that strategy (whether it's gather customer reviews or leave comments on blogs.) Then they need to get your approval, and you should be informed of any time those strategies are updated or revised. It's all about communication, and the two of you need to have a completely open forum at all times.

Local seo or seo in general needs a consistent effort

As mentioned earlier, to Google it's all about consistency, and the whole reason you're hiring a consultant in the first place is because you don't have the time to be that consistent yourself. You want to make sure that the consultant does not overbook themselves to the point where they no longer have the time to continually work on your website's local SEO. Be very clear with your consultant that you'll need them to devote a certain number of hours per day or per week, and make sure you get a consultant that not only promises that, but also seems comfortable with it. If they pause and need to sit for a minute to figure things out in their head, they're actually trying to figure out where they're going to fit you in. They're overbooked and they won't have time for you, now or in the future; and it's time to find someone who will.

7 Questions to Ask a Local SEO Consultant

Along with the top three things to look for in a local SEO consultant, there are also 10 key questions you need to ask. Of course, feel free to ask how long they've been in business, and whether they're a licensed business. But when it comes to local SEO-specific questions, these are the ones you have to make sure you don't miss.

What are you going to need from me in order to make me successful?

This doesn't refer to your own keyword research you've done, or directories you've already starting submitting to. What this question means is "how much time of mine will you take every day/week?" A good local SEO consultant will need to sit down with the client and learn about their business, their current needs, and what they're looking for out of their local SEO campaigns.

Will I have control access to all accounts created for my business?

This one may seem obvious: you need to be in complete control with anything that is done to or for your business. But you'd be surprised how many business owners allow consultants to set up profiles for them on Google, Bing, Yahoo, yellow pages, and other directories and never ask for the sign-in names used, passwords, or other critical control admin information. This is a crucial error because if you and your consultant part ways, you'll be left to hire someone else to do all that work all over again for you. And depending on the directory, if your business is already listed, you might not even be able to do that much. Make sure you have control - bottom line.

Why are spamming sites so successful?

Again, you'd be amazed by the number of spam sites that do not comply with the search engine rules and still manage to make it to the top of the page rankings overnight. These techniques are very, very risky and can be the end of your business if one of the search engines finds out you're using them and shuts you down. Still, a good SEO consultant needs to know what those illegitimate techniques are, so that they know how to get around them.

What is your typical return on investment for your clients?
Here you're really asking what the consultant is going to give you for your money, and they should be able to say something other than "a rate of 50% increased traffic." That's just simply too vague and doesn't really give you any kind of guarantee. Instead, look for a consultant who will say something like "I'll generate five actual mortgage customers in the range of $150,000 - $250,000; and I'll get you 20 qualified leads in 60 days." Now those are results that can be measured, and that the consultant can be held accountable for should they not follow through.

How are you going to track your results?

Again, you need to have a measuring stick for the consultant's work, and you need to know that the consultant is doing their job by tracking SEO results. Look for a consultant that will track increased page rankings on targeted local keywords, an increase of quality traffic to your site, and an increase in emails as well as phone calls to your business. What you're consultant should really be looking for, and what you'll probably notice most, is an increase of business - and that's always easily track-able for any business owner!

Will you be my point of contact?

You need to make sure that after you've sat down with a consultant and outlined everything you want out of your local SEO and covered all the strategies - that at the end of it all, you're going to be dealing with them and them primarily. You don't want your account being handed off to someone else, especially an assistant or someone that's not an SEO experienced professional, but simply someone who can enter specific keywords. A lot can get lost in translation and even though local SEO isn't rocket science, you still need to make sure that every step of the way, that qualified individual you first spoke with is the one overseeing and carrying out every single SEO strategy. Otherwise, you really might as well have done it yourself.

What happens to the content on my website and the secured links should we part company?

Some SEO consultants deliver results because they have hundreds of their own websites. They use these websites to generate backlinks for your website and to ultimately increase your page rank. When it's time for renewal, they tell you that should you choose not to renew the contract with them, they will remove these links and essentially, you'll lose the page rank that you've gained thus far. They also sometimes threaten to do the same thing with the content, saying that they'll take it all down. Again, this is horrible business practice and you should never work with someone because you feel blackmailed into it. Make sure that once any local SEO work is done, it's there for good and yours to keep.

Home Boy Seo and Sem Network at Your Service

Learning about and employing all of the different local SEO techniques that are available to help your business and make you more readily to those closest around you is essential to your business. But you're a business owner, and you're busy doing just that - who has time to worry about their local SEO? Not you. That's why there are many SEO consultants that are experts in the field and will not only be able to take the time you don't have to carry out those local SEO strategies, but will also be able to give you better insights and tips on how to get it to work best for you.

Next Steps

Thank you again for reading this free report. We hope that you found it useful and it has given you the information you need to help you better understand the most important things you should know using local SEO to improve your local page ranking for your business.

If you would like additional assistance please contact Home Boy Seo and Sem Network at:

info@localseo.candacechen.com

As you can see, using local SEO to improve your business' page ranking can be a very stressful. While we hope this three part local seo hiring guide has provided you with everything you need to give you the confidence in making the right decision, we understand you may need further information and assistance. You can always contact us directly. In addition, we can recommend many helpful resources as well. Just let us know should you require additional information for "cheap" but good and reputable local seo companies in your area.

Frugal Living Guru

Save Money News:

Frugal CBC Replaces U.S. Game Shows With Repeat Talk Shows - Hollywood Reporter

Hollywood Reporter

Frugal CBC Replaces U.S. Game Shows With Repeat Talk Shows
Hollywood Reporter
The Canadian pubcaster unveiled a Fall TV season schedule that is light on rookie shows and heavy on repeats to deal with a recent slash to its public subsidy from Ottawa. TORONTO EUR The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has made good on a pledge to wean .

and more »

Home energy audit to save money | Connie Smithsons Writing Place
Because of this past winter, and the amount that our energy bills were, we have decided to have a home energy audit. I know that this house is old and drafty,..

Chatham Township church seminar teaches kids how to spend, save money
CHATHAM TWP. EUR Are you or do you know a young person who would like to better know how to manage your money?..

Save money by not being the first on the block with latest Apple toy
Buying a new computer, phone or tablet is a pricey proposition, especially if you want an Apple. The company is known for its price controls, but it's still possible to find deals. The longer you wait after a new product introduction, the more money you'll save. But don't head to your local Apple Store, advised the team at DealNews.com, a consumer bargain site. "Authorized resellers like Amazon ...

Frugality at its Dumbest: 9 Worst Ways to Save Money | pesatalk.com
Here is an incomplete list of the worst ways to save money: 1. Falling for 'Free'. There are a lot of free promotions going on from banking, to phone companies, to supermarkets. Now get me right, it is one thing if we go for a ...

Unnecto targets frugal shoppers with budget smartphones - CNET

Unnecto targets frugal shoppers with budget smartphones
CNET
Ultra-high-end handsets are sexy but phone maker Unnecto sees opportunity at the entry level. by Brian Bennett May 11, 2012 9:54 AM PDT Follow @boliverbennett The Unnecto Quattro is a low-end Android that boasts 2 SIM slots. NEW ORLEANS--Much of the .

and more »

Technorati Tags: Local Seo, Seo, Search Engine Optimization