Time to put SEO into Action and have look at the expectations
Who is a good candidate for SEO?
There are 2 qualifications when identifying if someone is a
good candidate for SEO.
1. They have a website.
2. They're not on the first page of Google.
It's as simple as that.
How SEO applies to local businesses
Let’s take a closer look at how we get a company like Hendricks Plumbing on the first page of Google.
1. First 30 days: Research & Onboarding
After account activation, our SEO team performs a website audit within 3 business days. We take market (location, population) and industry competition into account to build a custom strategy for each campaign.
When our analysis is complete, we schedule a call to review our findings. We’ll also discuss:
Onsite Recommendations (OSRs)
These are critical updates to a website that allow search engines and users to quickly and clearly understand what Hendricks Plumbing is all about.
Our OSRs ensure target keywords are prominently featured in key sections throughout the website. We also assess the current content on a website, specifically on improving current pages and where new content could be added to better market their business.
If a website has clear, purposeful content it will be rewarded with higher rankings.
Page Title
Title tags are important, as they will show the user what information is present on the webpage, and allow search engines to determine the relevancy of the page in a search query.
Meta Description
A great meta description has hte ability to raise the Click-through rate of a websites organic search results, allowing more viewers to see the page and land on the site.
Alt Images Tags
Alt Tags are short written decriptions of the images on the site, which will make sense of the image if, for some reason, it is unable to be shown. Well-written Alt Tags are important to a websites accessibility.
H1 Tag
H1 tags are the main header in a web article and are a good indicator of what the most important text on the page is. There should only be on H1 per page.
Additional H-Tags
H-tags are important for SEO because they tell Google what the page is about so Googles' algorithm can figure out which term the site should rank for.
Supportive Content
Content should be a number 1 priority when dealing with SEO, as Google will read the content to determine whether a site will land on their results page.
We generally see a large spike in rankings 2-8 weeks after customers implement OSRs.
The faster OSRs are implemented, the faster you’ll see results!
Months 2-5
While Hendricks Plumbing implements OSRs and their target keywords are woven throughout their website, solidifying relevance, we begin offsite work to build trust.
Google highly values accurate information. To put Hendricks Plumbing in the best light, the SEO team verifies the business Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) to ensure all information is current and accurate.
Creating and optimizing business directories and listings increases the chances of being included in a local map pack when people do a “nearby” or “near me” search and are an integral part of local SEO.
We also place active, clickable links in all the places people gather online (industry sites, blogs, business directories, etc.). These links (also known as backlinks) direct users back to Hendricks’ website.
The more links they have, and the more relevant and trusted they are, the more Hendricks Plumbing will be, too.
*Important note: While the business' online presence will grow during months 2-5, keyword rankings will fluctuate. Don’t worry if they jump around during the first few months; this is a sign that Google has noticed the website and is trying to understand where it fits best on the search engine results page. It’s actually a good thing!
Why is Local SEO so important?
A local SEO strategy puts your client in front of paying customers in their neighborhood and helps improve the quality of traffic visiting their website.
A common problem we see is unclear service areas that pull in traffic that won’t convert. Hendricks Plumbing only services Montreal. Before implementing a local SEO campaign, 60% of their organic traffic came from Toronto, a city over 5 hours away and fully outside Hendricks’ service area. Driving 5+ hours (let’s say 6+ hours in case there’s traffic) to fix a leaky faucet isn’t in their best interest. They’d lose massive amounts of revenue because their operating costs would be astronomical or they’d need to increase their prices so much that they’d no longer be a viable option for customers.
That’s why local SEO is so important; it helps you bring in the right kind of traffic.
6-9 Months
Success! Page 1 Rankings.
So what happens to Hendricks Plumbing now that their target keywords have hit page 1 of Google? Do we stop all work on their SEO?
Nope! We’re going to do a few things:
1. We’ll start additional onsite and offsite work on NEW keywords to grow their online presence and brand awareness.
2. We’ll consistently monitor all target keywords so they don’t drop off page 1. If we see keywords starting to slip, we know it’s time to allocate resources to these keywords to keep them where they belong: page 1.
SEO Timeline:
SEO is an ongoing process
*For reference, the average person can bench press 185 lbs/84 kg for a single repetition.
SEO is like going to the gym.
When you start going to the gym and have been working out for one month, what results do you expect to have? If your goal is to bench press 250 lbs/115 kg will you be able to do that with just four weeks of training?
Unless you were bitten by a radioactive spider, it’s highly unlikely.
It’s the same with SEO.
Those (SEO) muscles have to be built with consistent onsite and offsite work. 1-2 months isn’t enough, usually, to see first page results but consistent work will get a business where it wants to be: page 1.
Now, once a business gets the results they want and reaches the first page, right around 6 months, should they completely stop all efforts? Of course not!
Just like strength training, they need to maintain all the hard work that's been done. All that effort helped them gain authority, relevance, and trust with Google; they don’t want to lose it. Hundreds of Google algorithms occur each year, the search landscape changes constantly, and their competition wants the same rankings they’ve worked so hard to earn.
To stay on top, keep your SEO going.
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