9 Local SEO Tips from the Top Experts

Earlier this month, marketing experts from around the world joined the latest LocalU virtual conference organized by the Local University.

The topics of the symposium were filled with local marketing advice from top experts on everything from handling fake reviews, to SEO predictions and more.

Participants had lively discussions during each session on Twitter, highlighting the speakers ’most helpful and tangible tips.

Below are the main passions of each speaker and their session.

1. Write For Customers First and Google Second

Charli Hunt, ProofContent

“If you just write content for Google’s algorithm (not first for users), you’ll be knocked off the spot at the top of the rankings.”

Include local identifiers based on what users are already searching for. Whether it is a district, county, city, etc.

Create dedicated pages for your customers’ most common questions. This alleviates the need to answer these questions over and over again.

Identify your unique points of sale (USPs). If you’re not sure what it is, talk to your clients to identify them.

Image credit: Twitter.com, screenshot taken by the author in April 2022

2. Disputing 1 Illegitimate Review Is Equivalent To 11 Positive Reviews

Curtis Boyd, The Transparency Company

It pays to challenge false criticism. Illegitimate reviews are detrimental to ratings, which has been proven to be detrimental to revenue.

Removing legitimate negative reviews is not the goal. Earned reviews are good; purchased reviews are not. Silencing real customers is neither good nor legitimate. It’s not about that.

Your boss should not ask you to inspect the company unless it is on Glassdoor. The biggest types of fake reviews come from suppliers, business owners, current employees, rogue customers and third party groups and reviews.

Challenge fake reviews on the mobile app compared to the desktop computer. Data showing that reviews are fake have approximately 380 times the removal success rate.

If you’ve come across a group of negative reviews, it’s best to work with a Google Product Specialist using the GBP Help Forum.

3. Work Smarter With Practical Google Data Studio Uses

Amanda Jordan, RicketyRoo

With GDS you will spend less time reviewing your data. You can create local SEO reports that are easily digestible not only for you but also for your clients. There are many templates created for you to plug and play with your data.

“Use Data Studio to find and categorize keywords and find new ways to use the data they provide.”

There are many free GDS connectors to help integrate your data, such as Google Analytics, BigQuery, Google Spreadsheets, Search Console, and more.

In addition, there are free connectors for GDS tools, including Ahrefs, ContentKing, DeepCrawl, SEMRush and more.

Use the data controls in the Data Studio. They allow you to manipulate data by date, visitor type, device type and more.

4. Be Strategic With Your Spam Fighting Efforts

Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky

The percentage of fake ads varies greatly depending on the business. Garage door repairs, scrap cars and personal injuries were the biggest industries with fake ads.

“87.6% of garage door repair ads were spam. This is incredibly detrimental to brands and why the fight against spam can help legitimate brands. ”

Fighting spam is not a long-term strategy, but it is something you should try to follow. Spam can always be recovered, and Google doesn’t always implement all of its policies.

If there are duplicate ads, do not delete them. Merging ads can actually help them rank.

If you’re in the industry with a moderate amount of spam, it’s probably worth your time to report.

5. We Only Buy From People We Know, Like, and Trust

Matthew Hunt, Automation Wolf

Use LinkedIn as a trusted source, not as a stranger. Relationships are built in comments, not posts.

It takes 7 hours with 11 different interactions, in 4 different locations to gain the trust of the users, to create opportunities for collaboration and sales.

Take advantage of LinkedIn with short content that users can discover. Then create long-form content in which there is some kind of interaction (course, webinar, etc.). From there, create a community of trust to keep your customers coming back.

Make sure you have a personal profile, not just a company page. Create a compelling personal headline that shows who you are and what you do.

Winning formula for personal title: Role + Expertise + Value.

6. Content Without Data Leads To Poor Outcomes

Noah Learner, Two Octobers

Build your content based on customer goals, collect data, clean up data, and then create topics based on that data.

Trade what works best for you. Be sure to ask your clients who are their biggest money earners during the onboarding process.

It’s hard for Google to know what to display, which is why it’s important to be crystal clear about what your content is about.

There is a big difference between Google SERP auto-suggest and Google Trends search trends. Auto-suggestion is personalized, while Trends is not.

7. Proximity Is Much More Important With The Vicinity Update

Yan Gilbert and Colan Nielson, Sterling Sky

The closer you are to a company listing, the higher the chances that that listing will rank.

Updating the environment has made it possible to rank many more business ads, thanks to the variety of ticket packages.

Locationless keywords were the most affected.

The keywords in your business name are not as simple as they used to be. Don’t use a keyword

charging as a strategy. Google is trying to balance spam GBP while allowing real companies to rank.

The most popular updates from nearby are:

Image credit: Twitter.com, screenshot taken by the author in April 2022

8. SEO Forecasting Can Help Answer Key Business Questions From Stakeholders

Andrew Shotland, Local SEO Guide

The key questions stakeholders want answered are:

SEO prediction should take into account the uniqueness and goals of the individual. Do more than use your own experience and your own forecasting data.

Sometimes accurate predictions don’t matter, as long as you’re realistic and set good expectations. Don’t falsely inflate forecasts to look good and get budget approval.

A good scientific method is the RICE Score. (Reach x impact x confidence) / effort = RICE score.

However, a good RICE result may not bring much revenue, even if it is easy to implement. Determine which is more important: high income or high RICE score?

9. You Have An Obligation To Make Sure Your Reviews Are Genuine

Mike Blumenthal, Near Media

The company is responsible for the way the review platform works, as well as for the behavior of SEO and reputation management companies.

New FTC business marketing guidelines include:

Review suppression does not work. Users can see the difference between your site and Google reviews.

You do not have to post offensive or inappropriate review content. Make sure you have a clear TOS posted on your site with an explanation of the FTC guidelines and publish anything that complies with those guidelines.

Summary

The LocalU virtual symposium focused heavily on actual updates affecting businesses, as well as content tips that can help anyone with a physical business or listing.

If you want more detailed information about the sessions, be sure to join the #LocalU conversation on Twitter and connect with the speakers. You can also purchase current access from a local university here.

At the end of the conference, the Local University announced a return to personal events. They will host LocalU Advanced in Denver, CO on July 28th. If you are interested in participating, stay tuned to the Local University for more information.

Featured image: MaDedee / Shutterstock

Even if you decide to invest in SEO, ROI can more than double if your marketing campaign is well organized. So the simple answer is ‘yes’, SEO is worth it for any small business, even those that don’t do business online.

How do I choose a SEO provider?

Follow these 6 tips to choose the best SEO company

• Request case studies and examples of successful SEO campaigns.
• Think beyond SEO.
• Visit the SEO company in person.
• Understand the risks of cheap SEO agencies.
• Avoid SEO guarantees.
• Get acquainted with SEO pricing models and determine your SEO budget.

What makes an SEO company the best? Any company that promises you success overnight doesn’t know SEO well enough or what it does. In short, big SEO companies don’t make crazy promises; they show you what is possible and how they will strive to achieve it. If you give them time, you will start to see results – qualified traffic, potential customers and sales.

How much should I pay local SEO?

Type	Charge
Cheap SEO	$ 500 to $ 3,000 a month
Mid-level SEO	$ 3,000 to $ 15,000 a month
Top SEO	$ 15,000-30,000 per month
Enterprise SEO	30,000-1 million + per month

How much does local SEO cost per month? Typical local SEO campaigns cost between $ 300 and $ 2,000 a month, depending on your business needs, competition, and geographic location.

How much does SEO typically cost?

The average cost of SEO is $ 100-250 per hour for U.S. SEO agencies. SEO costs often range from $ 2,500 – $ 10,000 per month for U.S. agencies. The average SEO plan costs 2819 USD per month (according to Ahrefs)

How much does SEO cost in 2020?

A typical SEO budget can drop between $ 400 and $ 10,000 a month. Of course, it depends on the size of your business, the amount of competition you have and the level of service you choose. But there should never be a single price for SEO services.

What does SEO cost in 2021?

In fact, small businesses spend between $ 100 and $ 5,000 a month on SEO services. But again, the average is usually around $ 500 a month. As you might expect, agencies and freelancers who charge a higher monthly amount also tend to give better results.

What is the average cost for SEO?

The average cost of SEO for small businesses is $ 750 to $ 2,000 per month or $ 5,000 to $ 30,000 for one-time projects. Smaller companies that invest in SEO consulting services can expect to pay $ 80 to $ 200 per hour.

What is a good budget for SEO?

How much does SEO cost? If you are hiring a high quality SEO company to provide comprehensive SEO services, be prepared to pay at least $ 3,000 to $ 5,000 per month. Many companies spend tens of thousands of dollars a month on SEO.

How much does SEO charge per hour?

Hiring an experienced SEO freelancer or agency per hour usually costs between $ 50 and $ 150 per hour. Of course, you can find people who charge significantly less or more than this hourly rate. For example, this analysis of SEO hours showed that 6% of SEO providers charge more than $ 200 per hour.

How much does SEO consulting cost?

The most common hourly rate for SEO agencies is $ 100-150 per hour. For SEO consultants it is 75-100 USD per hour, and for freelancers 41-50 USD per hour.

Is it worth it to pay someone for SEO?

To answer the question, yes, SEO is worth the investment and it is worth the investment. Build assets for your business by investing in SEO.

Is it worth paying someone to do SEO?

Absolutely not. Businesses continue to make money because Google puts them at the top of search results. What is dead are the old SEO techniques that were very effective and could quickly, easily and cheaply promote your business on the Google rankings.

Should I hire someone to do SEO for my website?

Yes, hire an agency if you are looking for long-term success. Unless there is something on your site that is easy to fix (such as completely blocking using a robot .txt file), most SEO builds long-term success and value.

How much should I pay someone for SEO?

How much can you expect to spend on SEO? If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $ 500.00 a month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $ 2,500 to $ 5,000 per month. Some companies offer a ‘trial package’ at a lower price, with no contract.

What is the difference between CEO and SEO?

The CEO is the CEO of the company. The acronym is an abbreviation of the Chief Executive Officer. SEO, when it comes to a person, is a search engine optimization tool. When it comes to SEO skills it means search engine optimization.

What is an CEO of SEO? Executive SEO is responsible for improving clients’ websites in order to increase web traffic. They focus on keyword research, limiting content repetition and link building.

Who is the CEO of SEO?

Garry Grant is a veteran search engine optimization expert for the digital marketing industry. With more than 20 years of experience, Garry has successfully built a multi-service operation in SEO, Inc., developing proprietary technologies through complex strategic solutions.

Who is the CEO of SEO of Google?

Ali Husayni – Founder, CEO, Google SEO Expert, Author, Consultant – Millionairium | LinkedIn.

Who is the inventor of SEO?

Although SEO preceded Google, the rise of this great search engine started by Larry Page and Sergey Brin has dominated SEO attention for almost 20 years.

What is higher than a CEO?

In many companies, the director is the leader and the president is second in line. Often the CEO and the president perform different duties, and the roles are performed by two people.

Is CEO higher than President?

Usually, the CEO is the highest official in the company, while the president is the second highest. However, this is not always the case. In small companies, the CEO and the president are often one and the same.

Is CEO the owner?

The CEO is in charge of the overall management of the company, while the owner is the sole owner of the company. It is possible that the director of the company is also the owner, but the owner of the company does not necessarily have to be the executive director.

What does a CEO do exactly?

CEOs are responsible for managing the entire business of the company. These may include delegating and directing agendas, increasing profitability, managing the company’s organizational structure, strategy, and communicating with the board.

How much is the salary of a CEO?

A mid-career CEO with 4-9 years of experience earns an average salary of “35.2 Lakhs per year”, while a senior CEO with 10-20 years of experience earns an average salary of “36.3 Lakhs per year”.

What is difference between SEO and CEO?

SEO and CEO are completely different things because one is a title and the other is a technique. CEO is short for CEO, and SEO means search engine optimization.

Who is the CEO of SEO of Google?

Ali Husayni – Founder, CEO, Google SEO Expert, Author, Consultant – Millionairium | LinkedIn.

Is Local SEO paid?

For a one-time project focused on analysis, research, cleaning, and optimization, the average cost for a local SEO project would range from $ 300 to $ 1,500 with an average cost of about $ 750.

What is the difference between local SEO and paid SEO? While traditional SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your site nationally or globally, local SEO allows you to capture local search territory to connect with searchers in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.

Is SEO a paid service?

If you hire a top SEO company to run a local campaign, expect to pay $ 500.00 a month. A national or international campaign will require a minimum budget of $ 2,500 to $ 5,000 per month. Some companies offer a ‘trial package’ at a lower price, with no contract.

What kind of service is SEO?

Techniques within this form of SEO services include on-page optimization and off-page optimization, including things like meta tag and page title optimization, content optimization on the page, creating backlinks, and using social media.

Is SEO free?

Ahrefs SEO Toolbar is a free extension for Chrome and Firefox that lets you check for broken links, track redirect chains, and highlight nofollow links for any website. It also generates an SEO report on the page which includes: Website title. Meta description.

Is SEO free or paid?

A lot of people are attracted to SEO because it is ‘free website traffic’. And yes, you don’t pay when someone clicks on your page in organic search results. But make no mistake: SEO is NOT free.

Does SEO cost Money?

Technically, SEO is free. You do not pay money for SERP placement. Google ranks content based on a number of factors including the E-A-T trio: Expertise, Authority, and Trust. They will rank high on those who are considered valuable resources for users.

What is local SEO package?

Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps your business be more visible in local Google search results. Any company that has a physical location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO.

What is the difference between SEO and local SEO?

Here is the difference. While traditional SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your site nationally or globally, local SEO allows you to capture local search territory to connect with searchers in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.

Why do I need local SEO?

Local SEO helps your business stand out – even if you don’t have a website – and helps drive more traffic to your premises through potential online customers. Because these potential customers are from people who are specifically looking for products or services offered by your company, they are likely to give you a high conversion rate as well.