by Proceed Innovative | Mar 13, 2019 | Blog, Local SEO
In 2019, it is more important than ever for your company to be found online to help generate traffic and grow your business. This is especially true if you have a brick and mortar location that primarily sells products or provides services for your local area. If your business does not appear in the search engine results pages (SERPs) when people within your service area search for your products and services, they will most likely go to a competitor. One decision that businesses must make when it comes to their marketing efforts is how much to spend on local search engine optimization (SEO). It takes more than a great website to get online leads in your local area, you need to rank well in Google and build authority to be seen before your competitors. An effective local SEO strategy should consist of several facets that work together to improve the rankings of your website, establish your authority in your industry, and ultimately drive more traffic for an increase in sales leads. Many businesses may wonder, how much should we spend on our local SEO? The amount of money your company should invest in local SEO depends on many factors, including your marketing goals, your competition, and the scope of the overall marketing strategy. In this guide, we will breakdown the factors that will determine the cost of your local SEO campaign, as well as the different strategies and their estimated cost that you can use for your overall campaign. Is Local SEO Important? Local SEO is extremely important for businesses that serve a local customer base. If your business...
by Proceed Innovative | Feb 19, 2019 | Blog, Content Marketing, Local SEO
For decades, customers used the Yellow Pages to search for local plumbers and emergency services. However, things have changed over the years. Today’s customers rely on the Internet for information. However, they don’t always call the first plumber they see on the search engine page results (SERPs). They check the company’s website for contact details, valuable information, references, and solutions. This makes your content extremely important to attract customers and establish an ongoing relationship with current customers. All of this will lead to repeat business and a bigger bottom line. How Quality Content is Essential to Your Plumbing Business Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable information across various digital channels. It helps you establish your plumbing brand, increase your customer base, and increase your number of clients. From a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) point of view, creating and publishing quality content engages your target audience and effectively helps carry out your marketing campaign online. Here’s how content marketing efforts help both your target audience and your business: Provide Solutions – To provide potential customers with effective solutions, consider the type and nature of common plumbing problems and write about how you can help. For example, when faced with a plumbing problem, many homeowners go straight to the search engines to find a local plumber. It is advantageous to have a blog or page that helps them identify the cause of the issue and what needs to be done. To build customer trust, provide readers with informative content on how to deal with the situation while waiting for you to arrive. Establish Authority – Authoritative (well-researched, knowledgeable) and...
by Proceed Innovative | Jan 9, 2019 | Blog, Local SEO, SEO
What is Online Reputation Management? Online Reputation Management (ORM) is when one addresses, monitors, or mitigates the search engine results pages or mentions in website content. While the term may sound new, you are probably already familiar with the necessity of having an online presence – or better yet – an online reputation. Keeping this in mind, it’s extremely important for every company to not only monitor their web presence, but how someone or something is viewed based on an internet search. Every single second, users are posting comments, blogs, pictures, videos, and other web content that always changes internet search results. Knowing this from experience, many users as business owners will want to influence those results. Online Reputation Management as it Relates to PR Similar to public relations (PR), a company must constantly be monitoring and taking action to improve its online reputation. Here are some common online PR activities: Creating and posting new content Staying active on social media Forums Blogs Social networking Promoting existing content Building social profiles While these PR activities can be time-consuming, the rewards can be substantial, including higher sales, brand awareness, and personal career advancement. One thing that can be feared among many companies, however, is mentions when there is criticism, either through professional journalism or user-generated content. But even that can be reversed with experienced ORM, leading to even greater benefits. When managing your online reputation, you’ll want to monitor all of the following: Social media Blogs Websites Online directories with reviews Collaborative websites like Wikipedia Article submission directories Collaborative research websites User-generated content Blogging communities Social news and bookmarking sites...
by Proceed Innovative | Dec 13, 2018 | Blog, Local SEO, SEO
Experts in the field of SEO and internet marketing have been saying this for the past couple of years; voice search is quickly growing and becoming the main way that people search online. In fact, 72% of people who own devices with voice user interfaces (VUIs) are already using these devices each day for voice searches. These devices make it very easy to quickly search for anything online, including products and services from local businesses. In 2016, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that 20% of all Google search queries are done with voice search. ComScore predicts that as much as 50% of online searches will be done with voice search by 2020. Voice search has not yet overtaken traditional search, but its growing prevalence has changed the way that people search online. It is very important for local businesses to understand how voice search is changing how people look for businesses online so they can optimize their website and marketing strategies to attract more traffic from those using voice search. In this guide, you will learn more about voice search habits and the VUIs that people use for voice search, as well as how to optimize local SEO strategies to put your business in the best position to succeed in the changing landscape of online search. Identifying the Opportunity The majority of voice searches are done on mobile devices which makes them local in nature. This is very important for businesses to understand if they are trying to attract a local audience. However, it is also important for business to note how voice search has expanded beyond local mobile...
by Proceed Innovative | Oct 16, 2018 | Blog, Content Marketing, Local SEO
In the ever-changing world of SEO, marketers have been dividing their ranking strategies, focusing on either general or local searches. For local businesses in this situation, it’s hard to determine what kinds of content will drive customers to their door. So, often they are left dumbfounded with this question, “Can content marketing benefit my local business?” The answer is, yes, it can! This article will discuss and provide content marketing tips on the following: What topics to focus on with content marketing for local businesses How content marketing can improve rankings, engagement, and conversions How to be efficient with a smaller budget and direct customers to your location So here’s how to kill it with content marketing for your local business. Why Local Businesses Need Blogs and What They Should Focus On There was a recent study that was conducted by BrightLocal, reporting that 68 percent of local businesses should still have a blog in 2018. While the study still included over half of all local businesses, this number differs substantially from the research reported from Search Engine Land, saying that 98 percent of respondents believed in updating their blogs at least once per month. But what constitutes a blog is different now than it was back then. It’s no longer a bunch of random articles pushed into the corner of a website in hopes to bring in traffic. Local businesses still need blogs, yes, but choosing the right content is vital if they want to attract customers to their locations. Common mistakes made with local business blogging would be: A restaurant replacing their 20-year-old oven A retail store...
by Proceed Innovative | Sep 14, 2018 | Blog, Local SEO
As online reviews grow exceedingly popular on platforms like Google, Yelp, Facebook, etc., and play a role in the customer purchase decisions, the topic about negative reviews can be a sensitive one for business owners. Due to the fact that businesses want to control their online reputation and that online reviews are becoming increasingly popular for customers, more and more companies keep a conscious eye of their online profiles. If you get a negative review, follow the list of steps below: 1. Fix all issues with products, services, and customer care policies 2. Respond right away 3. If you fixed the problem, ask them to reconsider 4. If you didn’t fix the problem, acknowledge it 5. Ask the review site to remove it 6. Push it down 7. Push for more positive reviews 8. Get positive reviews on other sites 1. Fix issues with products, services, and customer care policies This is one of the most important issues to improve for your company. If a customer had complained about their experience with your product or service, chances are it will happen again. Whether it’s fixing the bugs with your product or improving your customer care policy, this won’t only help to prevent negative reviews in the future but can actually increase sales as a result of higher customer satisfaction. The biggest problem that companies face is identifying the issues with themselves. If you put yourself in your customers’ shoes, you might be able to get a few ideas. How would you feel about the experience you received and would you share it with friends and family? Even if you think...
