Local SEO Checklist For Small Business
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an extremely important part of small business marketing. Without Search Engine Optimization or SEO and a well-established content footprint, it would make hard for a website to be found online. Resulting into low customers leads or no online business at all.
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| The Ultimate Small business SEO Checklist |
LOCAL SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
&
ENTERPRISE SEO MADE SIMPLE
1. Install Google Analytics
Google Analytics enables you to track the visitors to your online store, and generates reports that will help you with your marketing.
- Sign Up
- Installing Tracking Code
- Add a Second Admin User (For Backup)
Useful Resources:
2. Getting Familiar with Google Webmaster Tools
Out of the many SEO tools, Google Webmaster Tools (GWT) is one of the free and most useful SEO tool available online. It doesn't have all the perks of commercial SEO suites and it is not a tool for any SEO need but it comes from Google itself and it offers lots of vital SEO insights. These are few good reasons to start using Google Webmaster Tools or GWT.
- Add Site
- Options Available: Add a DNS record to your domain’s configuration.
- Add a meta tag to your sites homepage.
- Upload an HTML file to your server.
- Link your Google Analytics account to GWT.
- Site Configuration
- Add Sitemaps
- Check Crawler access (robots.txt file).
- Sitelinks
- Change of address
- Setup the new site
- Redirect the old traffic
- Add your new site to GWT
- Tell GWT your new domain
- Settings
- Set Geographic target.
- Set Preferred Domain.
- Set crawl rate.
- Other Advanced Stuff
- Search Queries - The Search Queries section shows the keywords that led users to your site.
- Links - The second very useful section of Google Webmaster Tools is the Links to Your Site section.
- Keywords - Similarly to the Search Queries section that also deals with keywords (but it is the ones users type to get to your site), the Keywords section also shows keywords.
- Site performance - This page show your performance statistics of your site.
- Fetch as Google bot and submit to search engine index. (My Favorite)
3. Do Competitor Analysis
Use Free Online Competitive Analysis Tools. to keep tabs on your competition. Compare your strengths and weaknesses and see how your business stacks up to the competition.
Below is few noteworthy sites:
- SimilarWeb
- SiteAlerts
- Free Social Media Analytics Tools By Simply Measured
- How to Analyze Your Competition in Less Than 60 Seconds By QuickSprout
- Free Competitive Research Tools: SEO Book.com
- SERP Analysis - SERP Analyzer - Free SEO Tools by WebSEOAnalytics
4. Improve Local SEO Visibility
Local SEO Optimization has many challenges, we have listed several tools that help you manage the process and help you to increase local visibility. Most of these tools are well known in the SEO industry, while others are highlighted here as a way that help us manage our processes. I think that a mixture of both top industry tools, and organized processes will make Local SEO a much easier challenge to tackle!
Citation-Related Tools/Business Listings Management
- Try Local SEO Guide’s New Free Chrome Extension for Citation Research: N.A.P. Hunter Lite!
- Citation Burst & Google+ Local Analysis Tool (byBright Local)
- Get Found – GoDaddy’s new local listings syndication service
- Local Site Submit
- MozLocal
- NapTuneListings – Just launched by Milestone Marketing – In Beta
- Qiigo.com - Pronounced “Key-Go”
- Single Platform – Owned by Constant Contact
- Synup
- UniversalBusiness Listing
- Whitespark Local Citation Finder: Excellent tool that finds citations for top-ranked businesses for specific local queries in Google
- Yext PowerListings
Miscellaneous
- Generate Local Adwords & Keyword Lists – Helps you build a list of local keyword variations.
- Google Local Search Weather Report - by Mr. Michael Borgelt
- Mike Blumenthal’s Amazing Google Places for BusinessCategory Tool
Rank Tracking
- AnalyticsSEO
- AuthorityLabs
- Bright Local Search Rank Checker – 1 Month Free Trial
- Catalyst EMarketing Tools: Linda Buquet has a great selection of nifty free local SEO tools including a latitude / longitude checker and a rank checker.
- Georanker
- GetStat
- LinkDex
- LocalSearch Tool
- LocalVox
- Moz.comPro Rank Tracker
- MySEOLabs
- MySEOTool
- PlacesScout
- RankAce
- RankTrackr
- RankWatch
- SERPS.com
- SERPScan
- SweetIQ
- Sycara
- UpCity
- WhiteSparkLocal Rank Tracker
- ZoomRank
Review Services
- BazaarVoice – Retailer customer review solution
- BirdEye – Generate reviews & publish your Yelp and other 3rd party reviews on your own profiles.
- ChatMeter – White label rep management platform
- CustomerLobby – SMB review management/generation
- DemandForce – Intuit’s local review, email & social platform targeting Dentists, Auto and probably everyone by now
- FreeReviewMonitoring.com
- GetFive Stars – Some local search geniuses (Mike Blumenthal & Don Campbell) brewed this tasty concoction up in the Local lab.
- Grade.us – Let’s you create a “spiffy” reviews page that’s not hosted on your site
- ModernComment – Mobile post-purchase review service.
- Refgo – Malcolm Lewis’ new review service for real estate agents
- Reputology
- Review Flow (by Bright Local)
- Vendasta – White label rep management platform
Store Locator Builders
Feel free to suggest more and provide feedback in the
comments.
5. Check Your Site Speed
Website Page Speed is a critical component in the digital user experience, and it is hugely important in our content-driven world.
Few Notable Tools To Check Site Speed:
Be sure to test plugins before setting them live on your site. Take help from your site developer to avoid any potential conflicts with your existing site and a new plugin.
6. Drive Traffic with Perfectly Optimized Pages
While you can tackle many on page elements for perfectly optimized pages on your own (they should become part of your team’s standard checklist), you will find that professional help with keyword research, competitive research, content creation, page design, setup, and coding will dramatically accelerate the process.
Contact SEO Information technology for a free initial consultation on your SEO project.
- Add Content with high-quality, relevant, fresh and minimum 500 words in length.
- Target key search phrase is included in page headline (H1, H2 etc).
- Target key search phrase is repeated three to 10 times within body content. Try not to over-do it, or the page might get downgraded as spam. Keep the website user in mind as you work with the target search phrase. Content should always be reader-friendly.
- Page must include relevant images and/or visual graphics that help illustrate the target key search phrase.
- Add Captions for images and/or visual graphics include the target key search phrase.
- Add Content and/or tools and resources on the page are so good that visitors will want to share your link with others and post your link on other sites and social media.
- Location or Local SEO: If you are optimizing a page for specific country, state, city or regional names, be sure they are mentioned in your body content and also in a page footer.
- Check for misspellings or poor grammar. Search engines downgrades the page for both reason.
- Inclusion of social media links, share and / or user discussion or reviews. Website pages with active visitor interaction are scored higher than normal static pages.
7. Optimize For Mobile.
8. Start A Company Blog.
9. Add Conversion Forms, Email Subscription and Call-toAction option.
10. Optimize landing pages for main business keywords and for season or holiday special deals.
The Ultimate Beginners Checklist for Local Small Business Websites. SEO Checklist For Startup Websites.
