Local SEO - Archive - SEO Houston Experts & Search Engine Optimization Consultants

Why Small Businesses Need Local SEO

May 2, 2023 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

Many small businesses don’t have a lot of online presence, and this can be a problem. Without local SEO, potential customers might not be able to find the business they need.

Optimizing your local SEO can help you show up in Google’s “near me” results. These results are based on the searcher’s location and are much more relevant than generic searches.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a part of search engine optimization that focuses on increasing a business’s visibility in local search results. These results typically answer the intended question “near me” and are based on a searcher’s geographic location.

Google’s focus on proximity and relevance in search means that small businesses with a physical presence in a particular area can dominate local search rankings and drive traffic to their business. However, it’s important to note that there are also some other factors in play when ranking your business.

For example, relevance is determined by the information on your Google Business Profile (GBP). The more information that a GBP contains about your business, the better it is at matching search queries.

This is why it’s so important to verify and optimize your GBP with as much information as possible. You can do this by using the Google Business Manager tool or by signing up for the free Google Search Console.

In addition, make sure that your NAP information (name, address, phone number) is consistent across the web. This is an important factor in local SEO as it ensures that customers can find you easily online and that search engines have a consistent idea of your business’s location.

Having a good SEO strategy and taking advantage of some of the best local SEO tools can help your small business grow. By following these simple steps, you can ensure that your business’s local SEO strategy is effective and that your website ranks highly in local search.

Benefits of Local SEO

If you have a small business, local SEO is one of the best ways to get the word out about your business. It allows you to attract local customers who are looking for a business like yours in their area, helping you to boost sales and generate more revenue.

Local SEO also helps you to weed out unqualified traffic, enabling you to focus on attracting and converting those who are likely to become your customers. As a result, it can help you save time and money that would otherwise be spent on marketing campaigns that were not effective.

In addition, local SEO is an excellent way to improve your brand’s visibility online. It can increase your business’s rankings in local search results, as well as in Google Maps and directories.

For instance, if you own a law firm in Boise, Idaho, then you will want to rank high in search results for “Boise law firm.” This strategy is called citation building and it involves adding your name, address, and phone number to other websites that list businesses in your industry.

Citations are an essential part of local SEO, as they help your website achieve higher rankings and authority. This practice can be done manually or using a tool such as Moz Local or Semrush. The advantage of a local SEO tool is that it scans for local listings and monitors them for accuracy, saving you the hassle of doing this manually.

Cost-Effective

SEO is a powerful marketing tool that can help small businesses increase brand awareness and reach new audiences. It can also drive traffic to your website and boost revenue. However, it’s not a one-time solution, and it requires ongoing maintenance.

Local SEO is an important strategy for small businesses because it helps them become more visible in their specific area. Using local keywords and implementing strategies such as building citations can increase the visibility of your business and attract more customers.

Getting your business listings on search engines and social media is another vital component of local SEO. It’s important to make sure that your business information is accurate, including your name, address, phone number (NAP), and hours of operation.

Google is concerned about providing accurate, up-to-date information to users, which is why it uses a ranking algorithm that takes into account the accuracy of your business information. This means that you need to monitor your business’s listings on sites, online review sites, and directories.

You should also make sure that your business’s NAP information is consistent across all of your websites and platforms. Using different phones, addresses, or hours of operation on each platform can be confusing to Google.

Finally, you should make sure that your Google My Business listing is properly optimized for local searches. This is a simple task that will improve your rankings and generate more traffic.

More Local Customers

When you’re a small business, you need to be sure you’re getting as many local customers as possible. Luckily, there are several SEO strategies that will help you accomplish this goal.

First, you need to optimize your website for relevant keywords. These are words that people in your area use to search for a business like yours. By targeting these specific keywords, you can increase your search engine rankings and boost your visibility online.

Next, you need to focus on optimizing your Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) and Apple Maps listings. These are important for ranking well in local searches because they display your business’s contact information, hours of operation, and products and services on Google and Apple Maps.

Finally, you need to work on collecting authentic reviews from your customers. This will boost your local search and snack pack rankings, as well as help your business build a positive reputation among potential customers.

The speed of society has also fueled a shift in consumer behavior. Now, consumers are opting to prioritize local, independent businesses over larger, brand-name offerings. This is a great opportunity for businesses to make more money and boost their bottom line.

Generate Income

Whether you’re looking to earn extra income in your free time, or need to make a full-time living from a new business venture, there are plenty of opportunities out there to create passive income. Many of these income streams can be based on skills or expertise that you already have or emerging trends and technologies that you know about.

One popular way to earn passive income is through affiliate sales, which are sales that you earn when someone clicks a link or uses your referral code and makes a purchase. There are numerous types of affiliate programs, and you can find ones for just about any product or service out there.

A second option is drop shipping, which involves buying trending products on online marketplaces and selling them on your own website. This can be a great source of extra income for those with an eye for sales but requires a lot of work upfront.

Another way to generate income is through affiliate marketing, which is a type of commission-based marketing that rewards affiliates for each sale made. It is a competitive industry and can take some time to build up a following, but can be extremely lucrative when it’s successful.

Another way to generate income is through local SEO, which can increase your visibility and help you attract more customers. It can also decrease the amount of money you spend on advertising and improve your conversion rates.

Search Traffic

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your business’s online presence to increase its visibility for local searches. Getting more search traffic can help you gain more customers and increase your sales.

Unlike general SEO, which focuses on the keywords that consumers use when searching for products or services, local SEO focuses on targeting specific terms that people in your area are likely to use when they’re looking for your products or services. This can be helpful for businesses that only service local clients, such as restaurants and tourist attractions.

One of the most important aspects of local SEO is creating content that is relevant to your audience. This includes writing and distributing blog posts that are focused on the topics your customers care about.

Another way to get more search traffic is by adding citations and links to your website from other websites in your industry. These citations and links can help Google recognize your site’s location and improve its ranking in search results.

In addition, you can also boost your search engine ranking by submitting your business information to various online directories and review sites in your area. These citations and links can help you gain more visibility and build trust with potential customers. These strategies can also help you collect more reviews from satisfied customers.

Contact us or call us today for any help you need with your Local SEO campaign! We’re here to help you! Visit our blog for more related articles.

Local SEO: Beginner’s Guide

July 16, 2022 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

An Overview Of Local SEO

If you’re considering getting started in local SEO, you might be wondering exactly what it entails. The following is a Guide to Local SEO, including what it is, how it works, and what you can expect from it. After reading this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to begin your campaign. We’ll go over what local SEO is, the differences between it and SEO, and how it can benefit your site.

What is Local SEO?

For businesses with multiple locations, Google My Business and local SEO are a complicated mix. The annual Moz survey can help you create a strategy playbook.

Your website content plays a huge part in local search results. Other factors include Google My Business, citations, and review signals. By following some SEO basics, you can optimize your website’s digital footprint to appear higher in local search results. Better rankings mean more traffic. And more business! Don’t forget to get your site listed high on Google’s search engine results! If you have a local business, you have a significant advantage over competitors.

A basic SEO local search formula includes the location and service of a business. In addition, content containing these keywords boosts the SERP location. Content can be pillar content, blog posts, and social media. A restaurant in Los Angeles would want to appear on the first page of Google. It’s important to mention that you serve the town, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use keywords that describe your food.

Difference Between SEO & Local SEO

SEO and Local SEO are two different marketing strategies, but both are beneficial for your business. While general SEO focuses on increasing your website’s visibility globally, local SEO targets local customers in specific areas. While both types of SEO are beneficial, local SEO is more effective for small businesses. Here are the main differences between the two strategies. Hopefully, these tips will help you choose the right marketing strategy for your business. Let’s get started!

SEO is a technique used to increase website visibility in search engines such as Google. It involves optimizing the website for a local area, which typically means a city or region. Local SEO is more customized than its counterpart. It incorporates many different aspects of SEO, including on-page optimization and reputation management. The difference lies in how the customer perceives your business. Local SEO emphasizes the quality of your business. In contrast to organic search optimization, local SEO is focused on driving more local traffic to your website.

How Does Local SEO Work?

In order to make your business more visible to customers in your local area, you need to be listed on local search engines. Local search rankings are determined by factors like content and Google My Business. In addition, local search signals include the number of reviews your business has and citations. By following some basic SEO principles, you can optimize your website’s digital footprint, and increase your rankings. Having a higher ranking on local search results means more customers will find your business.

Google analyzes trillions of search queries, and they’ve learned that people need results that are near them. They’ve built their algorithms to reflect this. This proximity factor works even if a user doesn’t include the city or neighborhood when searching for a business. This means that your business could be ranked higher in local searches if you’re in your neighborhood, and not just in a nearby city.

Benefits Of Local SEO

Local SEO can help you gain a competitive advantage over your competitors. This strategy requires you to create content that is relevant to your local audience and reflects your geographic focus. When users search for your products or services on mobile, local SEO places you in front of them when they are in the market. By doing so, you will be visible in more local searches and more local traffic to your site. If you’re not sure how to create a local SEO campaign, we’ve got some tips for you.

Google will check your GMB listing against your website. They want to direct users to real businesses and prefer websites with consistent contact information. Local SEO allows you to target your keywords and improve your ranking so that you can be seen by both top and middle users. To see how well you rank for your local keywords, you can use Google Analytics to track the performance of your website. If you are able to get in the top three rankings, your business will benefit.

If you’re ready for the next step for your Local SEO campaign, contact us or call us today and we can help you get ahead! Visit our blog for more tips and tricks on successful SEO tactics!

Why Houston SEO Can Improve Your Website’s Visibility Pt 2

January 19, 2022 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

4 Phases Of SEO For Local Business In Houston

Part 2

(Continuation)Here are a few calls to actions phrases that we usually use:

Schedule an appointment
Call Now
Fill out the contact form
Set up a free consult

We share a checklist with the clients to keep them updated about the progress of their websites.

Phase 3 – Off-Site Optimization, Citation Submission & Clean up

Phase 3 starts after we optimize a client’s website and the business’s social web pages. Next, we focus on off-site activities that leave a long-lasting impression on search engines. We ensure that the client’s business information, such as name, phone number, and address remains constant throughout the pertinent business directory sites and the web’s four main aggregators. Our team will thoroughly check major directors and aggregators for incorrect, missing, or duplicate citations and correct them wherever necessary.

This part is crucial as it lets the audience know the details of how to contact the business owner or its representatives.

Once we end phase 3, it gives us a platform to start working on building links so that we can prove that your website is trustworthy.

Content Strategy

Isn’t it irritating when someone reminds you of your basic duties at work every single day? You know what to do, yet someone still goes through the list when you come to work. This may be irritating but it’s for your own good. Some business owners need these reminders. It involves creating relevant posts about the services and products offered by the business. Posting a 500+ word blog on the website may suffice. However, it’s important to post such blogs from time to time so that the search engines can re-crawl back to your website and target the keywords. They would accordingly show the posts whenever your audience searches with related terms.

Phase 4 – Ongoing & Advanced SEO: Link Building, Tracking, Updates

It is essential to build a solid foundation for a website so that it can create an authoritative position in search engines. We ensure that the keywords in your website are strategically placed and your business listings are consistent throughout the internet. These alone should improve your website’s ranking in search engines.

We maintain the momentum of this buildup by posting and promoting blogs and new posts on your website. Additionally, we monitor how the strategies work and fine-tune them every month.

Our SEO team believes that links from other websites are crucial for link-building as they increase your site’s overall outreach. We will spend time identifying the sites with high authority and how to include their links into your website without looking out of place. Sure, SEO is a time-consuming job, but it can provide the platform that can increase traffic to your website. Once you start posting new content, you can also increase the number of high-authority links on your website. This may tweak your site’s rank on Google, and you should see it rank among the top 3 names in the search list.

Call us or contact us for any help you need with your SEO campaign! Visit our blog for more related articles on how to execute the best SEO in Houston! Missed the first issue of this article? Click here!

Why Houston SEO Can Improve Your Website’s Visibility Pt 1

January 14, 2022 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

4 Phases Of SEO For Local Business In Houston

Part 1

Many business owners are still unaware of what SEO means. There’s a common belief that SEO refers to a set of tactics that can manipulate Google’s algorithm. No, it doesn’t work that way. If you want to see your company’s website on the first page of a search engine, you should not only adhere to the guidelines set by the search engine but also follow the best online marketing practices. Here’s a quick look at how Google works and what you can do to make your website rank higher:

Research possible keywords that people may use to search for your products and services
Onsite optimization to allow search engines to associate your website with respective keywords
Improve your site’s speed and mobility across all devices
Review business listing citations on the best data aggregators and online directories
Postpositive reviews on your Google My Business page
Post-keyword-rich content on your website
Post links to other sites on your website to prove that your business is authoritative and valuable

Although these strategies may seem easy, they are difficult to implement. However, they give you an idea of what to do to rank higher in search engines. Given below are a few phrases that can improve your site’s visibility in search engines and increase the traffic to your website:

Phases Of Our SEO campaigns

Phase 1 – Onboarding & Site Assessment

In order to help our clients better, we first hold a meet where we discuss their customer demographics, metrics, competitors, goals, and the procedure to track new customer leads in the SEO campaigns. We also have a back-office team that collects data regarding logins on the website.

Next, we assess your site’s SEO and come up with a comprehensive report that includes the following:

Keywords that we should target
Average search volumes
Current traffic volume and website rank
Incorrect or duplicate citations on your site
Optimize your website on Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp, and Google My Business
Assess how difficult the SEO campaign may get
Make a list of 5 backlinks of your company’s competitors
Set up a strategy for creating your website’s content

Once we complete this phase, we will provide a comprehensive report regarding the position of the website and what we need to improve its visibility in search engines.

Phase 2 – Onsite Optimization

Our next job is to optimize your website and its web pages that link to LinkedIn, Facebook, Yelp, and Google My Business. Optimizing the landing pages can improve the ranking of your website on search engines.

We also target each keyword that relates to different services that your company provides. With properly optimized landing pages, it becomes easier for us to create the content so that the targeted keywords can match with the search terms used by your audience. These small tweaks to the web pages are crucial, and they improve your site’s structure, thus ensuring that they impress the search engines.

In addition to optimizing web pages, we also optimize for conversions. This includes assessing the efficacy of the call to action phrases used throughout the website. If we feel that we need to improve those phrases, we will do the needful so that your audience can follow the instructions and convert into customers sooner than you expect.

Call us or contact us for any help you need with your SEO campaign! Visit our blog for more related articles on how to execute the best SEO in Houston! Click here for the second article of this series.

Local SEO In Houston: Is It Worth Investing?

September 9, 2021 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

The Benefits Of Local SEO

Houston small businesses are often reliant on foot traffic and word-of-mouth advertising, which begs the question, is local search engine optimization necessary? Unfortunately, not thinking ahead to the myriad of marketing tactics available does negatively impact your business in more ways than one.

Business owners, like yourself, often find themselves preoccupied with other important parts of their business such as inventory, customer service, ordering products, and dealing with employees directly. This often means that SEO may be lacking, which is why we can help!

Why Is A Local Online Presence Important?

Today’s market is fickle, and whether you’re a local business or a national one, you need to cater to the needs of potential customers. Most of all of the people looking to purchase your products or services will perform a simple online search to find more information about your company.

Modern consumers want to know that they are making an informed purchasing decision, which is why a local SEO presence is so important. Companies that rank well for the desired keywords are more likely to get new and repeat business than those that ignore SEO altogether.

No SEO Equals Failure

Most business owners rarely equate failure to a lack of SEO, but it’s a fact. Your company is undoubtedly missing a vast majority of your potential market if you don’t appear in localized search results. You may not have any knowledge of online marketing, but investing in SEO services is a worthy cause with a good return.

Why Outsource SEO?

You may think that you’re equipped to handle all of your SEO needs in-house, but unless you have the experience to deal with constant changes, outsourcing is your best option. The wrong strategy can often lead to penalties in search results, which is why the right kind of help is instrumental in your success!

Proper SEO tactics can produce the desired results and achieve a number of benefits such as higher search rankings, especially if you cater to a niche market. Your rankings will also translate to more calls and inquiries from potential customers and better traffic to your website. SEO helps reel in more loyal customers and offers a higher retention rate for interested parties. And, most importantly, you’ll be well known in your community.

Beat The Struggle!

The struggle is very real for most small business owners, especially in such a corporate market-driven community. Getting to the top of local search results is what every business owner should strive to achieve. Many small businesses that fail and don’t retain loyal consumers do so simply because of their unwillingness to go with the times.

The right SEO strategy, with the help of a professional company, can help your business get ahead of competitors. Getting started today ensures that there’s plenty of time for your business to rank well and cater to the people that search for it the most.

If you’re ready for the next step, contact us or call us today and we can help you get ahead! Visit our blog for more tips and tricks on successful SEO tactics!

Local SEO In Houston: Is It Ideal For Your Local Business?

August 8, 2020 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

12 Undeniable Ways That Your Local Business Benefits From Investing In Houston Local SEO

Part 2 6. Build Trust Through Higher Rankings

When searching for something online, you probably will settle for the first five or so listings you find. You will place some degree of trust in them, assuming the businesses that are on the first few slots in the first search page are doing something right.

In truth, they might have much of what they are doing working out for them aside from having Local SEO. When your company starts ranking higher, potential customers will begin to trust in it, and without you having to tweak what you are offering.

7. Bag A Spot In Google’s 3-Pack

Google’s 3-pack is a term used to refer to the first three listings displayed that match your search. You can assess this by inputting keywords of something you specialize in to see if it appears in the top three slots. Previously, Google was using a 7-pack system but had to change things so that search results can fit easily into mobile devices.

8. Land More Local Reviews

Local shoppers will recommend a good business offering quality customer service experience online. Similarly, they will rant about the bad ones. Given the exposure that online content has, you probably will have more people inquiring about your product or service after they come across a positive remarket about your business.

Every review that a customer leaves through your Google business account, and you respond in kind to it, can help drive up sales and push you a spot here on SEO rankings.

9. Reduce Advertising Costs

With more than 80% of mobile users doing searches based on the keyword “near me”, the need to invest in Local SEO cannot be overstated. If you are trying to save money when targeting local through promo campaigns, including putting ads in print media or utilizing sponsored social media campaigns, then this is one of the most effective solutions out there.

Local SEO is a high-yield, cost-effective way of promoting your business and building brand awareness. It has a higher ROI in the long run compared to the expensive paid local adverts.

10. Gain Ready-To-Buy Customers

In most cases, people go online to research a product or service they are thinking of purchasing but know little about or need additional information. That means they perform the search because they are ready to buy.

According to statistics, 24% of the online users who run an online search is ready to spend on what they are researching. They already know what they want, and it is a matter of finding it in the local search to find where to purchase.

11. Local Business Directories Exposure

Optimized Local SEO increases your chances of appearing in local business directories where potential customers search for products or services in a specific area. They also can leave reviews in the directories. Therefore, finding a spot in the local directories can help boost your brand’s or business’ credibility while bolstering your SEO ranking.

12. Keep Up With Mobile Growth

While most local searches for products or services are done via desktop computers, more and more people are turning to their tablets, smartphones, and other portable internet access devices. As of 2019, mobile devices account for well over 56% of online traffic. And since these gadgets are an added benefit to location services, you must make sure nearby customers can find your business when they perform a mobile search.

The above are some of the notable benefits of optimizing your business for local searches. Contact us today if you are thinking of enhancing your marketing strategies via Local SEO.

Feel free to get in touch with the best SEO agency in Houston by contacting us today or giving us a call now! Visit our blog for more tips and tricks on successful SEO tactics! Click here for the first article in this series.

Local SEO In Houston: Is It Ideal For Your Local Business?

August 2, 2020 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

12 Undeniable Ways That Your Local Business Benefits From Investing In Houston Local SEO

Part 1

It is not that difficult for a business to rise through online ranks to seat at the top of the search results. If you have not optimized your online business listings for local searches, people might not find you when in their pursuits, and that translates to missed opportunities to increase your sales or enhance your brand awareness. It all is something that you can achieve by investing in Search Engine Optimizations (SEO).

Content creation and optimization are at the heart of any effective SEO strategy, and this will focus on boosting your ranking on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) based on keywords. Your company or brand name will then start to perform better, rising through the ranks to appear on the first page when people search for your product, service, or business name. And if your customers are but a street down from you, then you should consider Local SEO to ensure you are visible to them.

But what are Local SEO and its benefits? The information given below will help answer this and any other question that you might have regarding localized search engine optimization.

1. Increase Web Traffic

You potentially are competing for space with your competitors on the search results pages if you are not making the most of local SEO. Keep in mind that you will be sharing the same space with local competition as well as other businesses on the other side of the country who might be more established and have better resources than you.

Therefore, you most likely get passed over by internet users, especially mobile users who are limited time on their work break to run some online searches. They are less likely to scroll up to the third or fourth pages of search results to find you.

2. Lead The Chase, Stay Ahead Of Your Competition

For inserts, is a potential customer strolling in your neighborhood runs a quick mobile search for running gear, then your business will show up in the search results, but so will every other nearby competitor.

Keep in mind that many mobile users have a short attention span. Thus, they will respond to the first viable solution they find. If you fail to be among the first, then you miss out on the opportunity of landing a potential sale.

3. Build Links With Nearby Businesses

While you must remain competitive with nearby companies, showing up in local searches can help you form beneficial alliances with your competitors.

For instance, a local business may be thinking of cross-promoting their product or services with another company in their town. Perhaps, then might be looking to create a collective marketing campaign that will help several businesses that operate within two interdependent industries.

4. Gain Possible Repeat Customers

Operating on the internet means that you may find customers that are willing to visit or do business with you from far away, and they might only need one thing from you. Optimizing your Local SEO for mobile searches can help you capture such shoppers.

By providing a positive customer service experience to every first-time to visit or transact with you, you are more likely to encourage them to come back again. It is a strategy you can use to help build long-term relations while stretching one sale into countless more from the same customer.

5. Create A Community

The idea of shopping locally has caught on among local marketers and residents that are keen on supporting companies in their towns, thereby growing the local economy.

If your brand is keen on making the home tuff proud, you should invest more in connecting with your local customers. Remember their names, the products or services they order, and any other useful detail. Let them know that you are a short distance away from them, providing the product or service they need.

Sure Benefits Of Houston SEO For Small Businesses

June 17, 2019 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

A Basic Overview Of the 5 Benefits Of SEO Houston For Small Business

Search Engine Optimization is a science and art that allows small business owners to craft fast, robust and engaging websites that will rank well with the search engines. When this is achieved, the small business can count on a steady stream of high-value customers which will have a higher propensity for becoming paying customers.

SEO offers many other benefits on the path to web site supremacy. For example, brand awareness increases on your way up. This is because customers begin associating your name with the top-ranking options and this brings with it some prestige.

Following are the top 5 KEY benefits SEO offers small businesses:

1. User-Friendly Websites

One of the goals of an SEO campaign will be to create a fun, fast and engaging user experience. Even though the traditional goals were to improve the experience for search engines, it is essential that your visitors will have everything they need to make a successful well-informed decision when they arrive on your site.

A website that is fast-operating, well-organized and visually compelling will interest your visitor to come and find expert solutions to their problems. Your impeccable organized website should then be supported with top-quality engaging content that provides solutions to the issues your specific audience might be facing. This quality content will keep them coming back for more and will contribute to your authority in your niche.

2. Attract More Customers

While websites have many different uses the real reason any serious business has a website is to help them get a leg up on the competition. Why else will a successful website often be the product of $1000s of dollars of top-quality SEO work? Businesses who have better SEO than there competition soon begin to overtake their competitors and widen the gap between them.

One of the best things about SEO is that it is a marketing plan that can be selected for the precise needs of the company at the moment and then is expanded as greater profits allow for more functions and services.

3. Better Conversion Rates

Websites that have had search engine optimization work will load faster, provide better user-experience and perform the same no matter which device or browser they are being displayed on. The way the webpage performs is crucially important to brand image as online customers are looking for small clues to decide the reliability of an online provider. So SEO leads to loyal customers, returning visitors and more subscribers.

4. Build Brand Awareness

Perhaps the greatest advantage of being perched on the lofty pinnacle of 1st place SERPs is the great brand awareness that you can enjoy. For better or worse, shoppers believe that those companies featured on these choice positions are those offering the best quality, customer service, prices, etc. This means you gain a lot of credibility with potential customers.

Whether they actually click on your business or not, they will soon be back to shop again and next time they will see your options listed again the trust barrier will have been breached. This is why small business needs to take the time to list high in the search terms for the goods and services they are providing.

5. Bypass Competition

Let’s take an example of two competing business offering the same products at the same prices to the same audience. One of them has neglected SEO for alternative marketing options, while the other has spearheaded their digital-marketing campaign with a formidable SEO.

Considering that is the only difference, which business will be generating more customers from local searches? Which will begin making more money from those customers? Which business will have a faster track to their goals and objectives?

SEO is a powerful tool in experienced hands. If your competition has already started their SEO project they can have a considerable head start by now. It could be time to ask yourself what an experienced SEO expert could do for your online presence.

Please feel free to get in touch with the best SEO agency in Houston by contacting us today or giving us a call now! Visit our blog for more tips and tricks on successful SEO tactics!

Addressing The Estimated Time Of Success For Your Houston SEO Campaign

May 13, 2019 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

SEO In Houston: How Long Does It Take To Work?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an absolute necessity in today’s online world, and admittedly it’s not the simplest of exercises. Any major provider of digital leads or online services has fielded the question “How long does it take to rank in Google?” or some variation thereof. Chances are this question comes up with virtually every new client. While it makes sense as something a business owner wants to know, the problem is that there’s no simple answer. There are multiple reasons for this, not the least of which is the ever-changing world and even the very nature of SEO.

Ranking #1 or even ranking at the top of page one involves many different factors, and it isn’t as simple as it used to be as Google has introduced things like maps, snippets, above fold ads, related queries, and more. Whether wanting to know how to rank for #1 specifically or just top half of page one of Google, trying to put a timeline on things is really impractical.

Houston SEO Now vs SEO Then

There is an absolutely huge difference between how SEO used to be and how it is now, and that doesn’t help the confusion around the time issue. There was a time where simply identifying major keywords, writing some content repeating the keywords, and getting/making/buying backlinks and that would be it. There wasn’t much competition. There would be 5-10 main keywords, and they would be the big winners.

That was how things used to be. Normally when we find a client who talks about being #1 for a specific keyword or for just 2-3 keywords, it’s clear they have an idea of the old way of doing things. While this might have worked at one point, to be blunt nowadays this strategy is wrong. The truly big keywords are dominated by 20-year-old websites from established brands. In addition to this, Google’s data shows that most traffic comes from new keyword searches, longtail keyword searches, and most high traffic sites get hundreds or thousands of different searches making up that traffic.

In other words, if you’re completely focused on a small number of generic keywords you’re not likely to rank for anyway, that’s a losing old school strategy.

Modern SEO that is done well will have a very different focus. Between the expectation of getting very specific information to the use of mobile devices for search, to natural language searches due to vocal software, the overwhelming amount of traffic comes from natural phrases, questions, and keyword queries that are three words or way more.

Since searches are becoming more and more detailed for better more precise results, this actually opens up a lot of opportunities. Whereas the “top traffic” general keywords are often near impossible to rank for, there are thousands or tens of thousands of terms out there which have little competition, very few (or no sites) optimized for them, and this allows blog posts with dozens of these related terms to be used and ranked for quite easily.

This is great news. The traffic numbers might be smaller, but when combined they can add up quickly. In addition to this since the focus includes more detail that means your ranking pages will be more relevant, the traffic will convert at a much higher rate, and the end result means more visits, more followers, and more customers.

That true bottom line benefit should be your focus on modern SEO.

Do Rankings Still Really Matter?

Sure, rankings matter to an extent. You have to be found for your website to work for you. That being said, chances are that individual keyword rankings don’t matter as much as you think they do, and contrary to instinct, that isn’t the main measurement you should focus your attention on.

While higher keyword rankings are definitely a good sign, the end result you want isn’t a bunch of #1 rankings, but more leads and more paying customers. That outcome is what you should be focusing on above all else: the bottom line results.

After all, would you rather want five #1 rankings that bring only 3-4 new customers a month, or many middles of the page longtail keyword rankings that don’t look impressive but bring in 25-50 new customers a month?

That should be an easy question to answer.

How Long Does SEO In Houston Take To Work?

Understanding the real intent behind this question is leads, sales, and business and not just top keyword rankings, then understand that the answer is “It depends.” That might not be a gratifying answer, but it is the only honest one. We understand this can be frustrating, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

There are many different factors that go into how likely a website is to rank in a niche. Just a very short list includes:

How old your website is
If your website has ever been penalized
How competitive is your niche
Are you local, regional, national, or internationally based?
How many backlinks do you have?
How clean the coding is
How much good content exists
Does Google see you as trustworthy
Does Google see you as an authority
Is the past of your domain name (URL) clean or dirty?

These are just some of the many factors involved and no two situations are the same, even among websites competing against each other in the same market.

The SEO Process Timeline

One thing that we can give you is a general timeline of our SEO process to get the process going for every single one of our clients.

First Month

Full niche research, SEO audit of your website, figuring out an effective keyword strategy and planning the long-term customized plan that will work specifically for your site and your situation.

Second Month

We begin the technical SEO work based on our findings during the audit. This is important and we’ll take the necessary time to do it right since this sets the foundation for everything to follow. Some changes are quick, some can take months. Generally, technical SEO doesn’t lead to any noticeable changes or surges – but these are crucial to getting those bursts of traffic in the future. If appropriate, we may start adding quality content or building links during this time.

Third Month

This is when the all-important step of content creation really gets attention. This not only includes articles and blogging, but also white papers, filling out website informational pages, and more. Many times the first signs of benefit can be seen by the end of a month, but the large jump from consistently great content takes place further down the line.

Fourth Month

Continuing with the long-term content creation plan, finishing up any technical SEO at this point, and taking care of your site’s backlinks. This means disavowing damaging links, cleaning up low-quality links, and searching for opportunities for high-quality links. Many companies start seeing some good signs of life here, but this will be a trickle compared to another 6 or 12 months down the line.

Fifth Month

Add in social media management, more content-based outreach, as well as PR & media outreach for branding and getting attention from Google for more trust and authority. This often leads to direct SEO benefit, as well.

Sixth Month

If traffic is at 5,000+ a month, conversion rate optimization is looked at to test and really make sure you’re getting the most possible out of every visitor. If not, the earlier steps continue as long-term content and outreach will pay off over time, though that time frame will vary based on niche, area, and competition.

Generally speaking, most SEO specialists will give 4-6 months as to how long it takes to start seeing early results. Most of the time that’s fairly accurate as a rule of thumb, but SEO is a slow burn that becomes an explosion. The slow early results tend to happen in this time frame, but the work already done will continue to pay off months in the future. If you stay with it, then continued SEO efforts will eventually multiply. That’s especially true a year after starting SEO efforts and many companies see a second surge at 18 or 24 months, at which point steady growth based on effort is the norm.

You MUST Commit Long Term

Too many business owners want to make minimum investment for a minimum amount of time. That might have worked in some cases 15 years ago, but those days are gone. Far too many companies badly underestimate how much time, budget, and effort it takes to see the full-scale success that comes with a good SEO campaign. Often times even when companies start out with a healthy budget and taking the right steps, they cancel far too early because they don’t see results early enough.

SEO isn’t something you start at the beginning of a quarter and judge at the end of it. You don’t see major results at 3 months no matter how good the effort, or the budget. At a minimum budget 6 months and honestly, best results come from those willing to put in at least a full year – at which point you should definitely be seeing multiple signs that the campaign is working and delivering rankings, traffic, and customers to your site.

SEO builds on itself, and you won’t see the same results doing it piece-mail as you will with a concentrated and extended optimization campaign.

Your #1 Houston SEO Specialists

We know how to make a long-term SEO plan that will work for you and your business. No more losing to the competition, no more giving up the fight to bigger competitors at the start. There are opportunities out there that skilled SEO specialists can take advantage of and we are here to do that on behalf of your company against your competition.

These are plans that are built around bottom line results: not large lists of non-money making keywords that look good but don’t deliver. We enact SEO plans that get you rankings, but rankings not for the sake of rankings. Rankings which will get you qualified visitors looking for your services, your products, and who become buyers who help your bottom line.

Please feel free to get in touch with the best SEO agency in Houston by contacting us today or giving us a call now! Visit our blog for more tips and tricks on successful SEO tactics!

Lead Generation Tips From SEO Experts SEO Houston Pros

March 11, 2019 By SEO Houston Pros Leave a Comment

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LEAD GENERATION

Part 2

To be successful at lead generation, a lead must be willing to invest in lead nurturing and facets of Middle of Funnel (MOFU) techniques. The MOFU techniques are designed to nurture the already established relationship and create and grow trust by providing high-quality engaging content. Importantly, the techniques should gently guide the lead to making a purchasing.

In recent times, to be successful in lead generation, you have to combine TOFU and MOFU techniques and approaches effectively into a holistic marketing philosophy. Only then can you efficiently convert your leads into paying customers and or clients.

Lead Generation Research

Lead generation tactics are an important part of lead generation. Increasingly, companies are now spending a lot of money to diversify the creative means they can capture their audience’s attention despite all the noise that exists.

Lead Generation Budget Observed Trends

In recent times, we have observed the rise in the net spending on lead generation by marketers. The money is typically used in SEO, website optimization, and social media.

CMO Lead Generation Focus

MarketingSherpa reckons that senior-level marketing executives and CMOs are prioritizing increasing or getting measurable ROI from their marketing efforts. Moreover, they are prioritizing the optimization of marketing and sales funnel over in their lead generation. As such, CMOs are focusing on finding viable methods of improving the quality of the leads generated from their marketing efforts and investments.

Top Lead Generation Challenges

As mentioned above, lead quality is the main priority for marketing executives across the board. However, lead quality is a significant challenge that marketers have to deal with. An IDG study revealed that 61% of the marketers in the study find generating high-quality leads to be a huge challenge.

That being said, marketing executives have to contend with inadequate resources. They have to operate with inadequate budgetary resources, staffing, and inadequate data (both quality and quantity-wise) while still trying to generate quality leads.

Most Effective And Efficient Lead Generation Tactics

Another IDG survey dubbed The B2B Lead Generation Marketing Trends Survey revealed email marketing, corporate websites, tradeshows, and conferences are the most effective and popular lead generation tactics in use today. Conversely, direct mail and print advertising have been identified as the least effective lead generation tactics.

Fundamentals of Lead Generation

To get the fundamental of lead generation right, you need to appreciate that defining a lead is a subjective matter. It all depends on the company involved. Typically, the definition of a lead will depend on a company’s sales cycle. However, a lead is generally defined as a qualified potential buyer who offers a certain level of interest in buying your goods or services. It is important to note that every lead that submits details with you gets something in return; this might be additional information on the products or a convincing offer.

Generally, there are two types of lead generation – inbound and outbound. Nonetheless, the basic principles of recognizing, nurturing, and customer retention remain part and parcel of a comprehensive strategy.

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing entails assisting potential customers and/or clients learn about or locate your company, typically before they consider making a purchase. In doing this, you convert this early audience into having a preference for your brand, eventually turning them to a lead and revenue.

In a market where customers are immensely empowered by having ample choices, marketers cannot rely on trade shows, advertisements, cold calling, and other outbound marketing tactics only. Today’s consumers are educated and knowledgeable, and, therefore, require a lot of information. As a marketer, you work is find innovative and creative ways of standing out in the crowd and catching the attention of the audience. To achieve this, you need a good grasp of inbound marketing.

You can achieve this by providing a blend of informative, relevant, and entertaining contents. The goal is to create a relationship with your audience who are also your potential clients. That said, note that creating content is not enough. You need to avail the content to your audience through channels your potential clients use.

We will delve into some of the most effective inbound leads generation:

SEO and Content

Your inbound marketing efforts will quickly hit a brick wall if you do not generate and use the right content. Content marketing, therefore, is a cornerstone to inbound leads generation. Content marketing is at its core creating and disseminating in-depth and useful content in an effort to capture the attention of a well-defined target audience and engage with the audience with the end goal being helping the audience take profitable customer actions.

Email marketing, social media marketing, and other types of marketing thrive on content. Having the right content can get you right in front of the buyers, helping you to gain their trust.

Call us or contact us today for your free consultation. Visit our blog for more related articles on how to execute the best SEO in Houston! Click here for the third installment of this article!