You can supercharge your referrals<\/em><\/strong> by adding steroids to what\u2019s already a sleek lead generating machine.<\/p>\n “How?”, you\u2019re asking.<\/p>\n By putting a bit more effort into marketing your business online. Yes, with a bit of help, your business can be found on the first page of Google for local searches and grow even more.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how..<\/p>\n Don’t have time to read all of this? Contact our President, Sean Work, on Linkedin<\/a> and he’ll be happy to explain how this works.<\/p>\n Once people meet you in person, naturally they want to find out more about you. They want to check out your online bios, take a look at your testimonials, or get your contact details.<\/p>\n To do that they google you.<\/p>\n When they do, you want to make sure what comes up in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is only what you want them to see. You want to look good and make a great first impression<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Depending on your preferences, you may want to show up on Google in a few ways:<\/p>\n Your first-page presence should be optimal and communicate exactly what you want them to know about you and your business.<\/p>\n Just the other day I googled a fellow BNI member who lives down the street.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve known him for ten years. Guess what popped up? A website he didn\u2019t want indexed showed up first! I\u2019m sure you don\u2019t want that to happen to you. That\u2019s why I\u2019ve come up with this step by step guide to help you so your first-page presence is the best ever and people see you in a favorable light.<\/p>\n We’re going to discuss how to do just that in five steps.<\/p>\n The foundational step of it all is claiming and optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) listing<\/strong>. Because a fine-tuned GMB listing is the kingpin in local SEO we\u2019ll spend a bit of time on it.<\/p>\n But it\u2019ll all be worth it when you begin to see results.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s jump right in.<\/p>\n When you register your business on Google My Business, you earn a sidebar space in Google local searches. This is prime real estate you can\u2019t afford to miss.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the search result you\u2019ll get when you look for \u2018best photo and video equipment store in new york\u2019.<\/p>\n B and H comes up in the prominent box on the right. Nobody can miss their GMB listing. That\u2019s exactly what you want to happen when people Google you or your business.<\/p>\n Step 1: Visit <\/strong>https:\/\/www.google.com\/business\/<\/strong><\/a> and click \u201cStart Now\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n Step 2: Select (or create) the Google account you want to use and sign in.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re already logged in once you click \u201cStart Now\u201d you will be taken straight to step 3.<\/p>\n Step 3: Fill in your business name in the provided space.<\/strong><\/p>\n Step 4: Fill in your business location details.<\/strong><\/p>\n If your business doesn’t serve customers at its address, you should list it as a service-area business on Google. To do that click on the \u2018Learn More\u2019 at the bottom next to the truck icon.<\/p>\n Step 5: Drag and position the red Google map marker to the exact spot where your business is located.<\/strong><\/p>\n Step 6: Add the areas you serve.<\/strong><\/p>\n You have three options to do this:<\/p>\n Select your preference and fill in accordingly.<\/p>\n Step 7: Choose a business category<\/strong><\/p>\n Choose a primary category that describes your business as a whole. Here are some quick tips on how to choose a category.<\/p>\n I. Be specific<\/strong><\/p>\n When choosing a category try to be hyper-specific. For example, choose \u201cNail salon\u201d instead of \u201cSalon\u201d. This may sound trivial but it makes a big difference when people search for your services.<\/p>\n II. Categories are pre-written<\/strong><\/p>\n You can\u2019t create your own category. If the category you had in mind isn\u2019t available, choose a more general category that still accurately describes your business from the drop-down list provided. <\/p>\n What\u2019s important is for you to choose a category that best describes what you do. You can always come back later and edit the entry. Chances are Google will be updating Google My Business every year so your specific category may show up in the future.<\/p>\n Step 8: Insert your contact details<\/strong><\/p>\n Input your website address and the phone number you want customers to use to contact you.<\/p>\n Here are a few quick tips on how to do this right<\/p>\n Once done you\u2019ll be asked to if you want to receive tips from Google on how to improve your listing. Select yes if interested or no if not.<\/p>\n Step 9: Finish and verify your business<\/strong><\/p>\n Phew. You\u2019ve reached the last stage. Click on finish. Congratulations! Your business is now listed on Google My Business.<\/p>\n One more thing. You\u2019ll then be asked to verify your business.<\/p>\n You have three choices at your disposal.<\/p>\n While you have the option to verify it later, I wouldn\u2019t do that if I were you. Why? Simply because you can\u2019t make full use of your listing if you\u2019re unverified. As soon as you choose mail you\u2019ll be automatically taken to your dashboard.<\/p>\n As you can see in the shot above, at this stage only 50% of your profile is complete. It\u2019s time to fill in the rest of your info and maximize your listing<\/strong>. Pay particular attention to three important components.<\/p>\n Your cover photo and summary play a pivotal role in the success of your listing. Here is how to get them right.<\/p>\n According to Google, businesses with photos receive 42% more requests<\/a> for driving directions to their location from users on Google Map, and 35% more clicks through to their websites than businesses that don’t have photos.<\/p>\n Choose a catchy photo that truly represents what you do.<\/p>\n To upload your photo click on \u2018photos\u2019 on the left side of the dashboard or on \u2018add profile photo and then \u2018choose photo\u2019 under \u2018Cover\u2019 in the middle.<\/p>\n This is a brief piece of text of up to 150 words that sums up what your business does in a memorable way. Make sure you include the keywords you want to show up for in search and rank for.<\/p>\n To edit your business description click on \u2018add description\u2019 on the right side of the dashboard.<\/p>\n Make it exciting so people are eager to click.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how your listing appears in search results if your photo and description are optimized.<\/p>\n Source: Hubspot<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n See the cover photo on top and the description under it?<\/p>\n Your profile photo is what appears when you upload new photos, videos, or review responses. Add other pictures to make your listing more instructive and compelling.<\/p>\n Make sure your GMB listing is complete and up to date. The gap in conversions between a complete listing and an incomplete one is massive.<\/p>\n Image via <\/em>Proceed Innovative<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Surely you don\u2019t want to miss out on all these sweet benefits.<\/p>\n The title tag is a specific tag that exists in your website code. It’s incredibly easy to understand<\/strong> what it is and how it helps your presence in Google. <\/p>\n First, let’s peel back your website’s outer skin and see what’s behind the surface. Actually, let’s use the BNI website to demonstrate how to see source code.<\/p>\n Here’s the BNI homepage.<\/p>\n Right click and “view source” (this works for most web browsers).<\/p>\n And viola! There’s the source code. <\/p>\n It looks intimidating, but it’s not \ud83d\ude42 .<\/p>\n So, what exactly is this title tag?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Title tags are a bit of HTML\u00a0code used to specify the title<\/em> of a webpage.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the code looks:<\/p>\n <head><\/strong> And here it is in the BNI source code:<\/p>\n Its main job is to tell visitors and search engines (as briefly as possible) what a web page is about. We can see here that the title tag on the BNI homepage is telling humans and robots that read it, that they have found a webpage about BNI and that they do “business networking”<\/strong>. <\/p>\n When you hear people talk about “keywords”, well this is where those important keywords that describe your business should live. There’s an art to how you should add keywords to your site, but 90% of it is just making sure your most important keyword is in the title tag of your homepage. Don’t go overboard adding the same keyword or keywords to every page on your site. That’s how you start messing stuff up ;). Just start here.<\/p>\n Now, a page\u2019s title tag and meta description are usually shown whenever that particular page appears in search engine results in response to a query.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example of title tags for the search \u2018plumber Nevada city\u2019.<\/p>\n Below the title tags are the meta descriptions<\/strong>.\u00a0They add a bit more info to what\u2019s mentioned in the tag so readers have a clearer idea what the page is about. If people (and search engines) think your page is relevant, you\u2019ve scored some SEO points.<\/p>\n Tags show up in three key places:<\/p>\n You better make them good because they follow you all over the internet.<\/p>\n This stuff can get tricky. Contact our President, Sean Work, on Linkedin<\/a> and he’ll be happy to explain how this works.<\/p>\n You can add a title tag in the <head>\u00a0section in your site\u2019s HTML as shown in the code we talked about earlier.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re uncomfortable touching code – there’s sometimes an easier way to edit it.<\/p>\n In the majority of content management systems (CMS), including\u00a0WordPress, you can either add a title tag in general settings:<\/p>\n Image Via <\/em>Search Engine Watch<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Or you can use a widely used plugin Yoast SEO or any other. It allows you to add the tag in the \u2018SEO title\u2019 section. You can even see how it will look in search engine results pages (SERPs):<\/p>\n If you’re using hosting service like Wix, Shopify or Squarespace, you can usually edit your homepage title tag in your settings. You can always check to see if your changes took effect by checking your source code (as shown above).<\/p>\n Throw in your long\u2010tail variation in there too if possible. But don\u2019t go overboard!<\/p>\n Focus on being clear not clever. Communicate the biggest and juiciest benefit of doing business with you.<\/p>\n Make sure there\u2019s no disharmony between your tag and the content of the page otherwise you\u2019ll confuse search engines, annoy people, and increase your bounce rate.<\/p>\n Your whole title will stand a chance of showing up on Google if you keep it under 60 characters. Overshoot the limit and some words will be cut off before you communicate your message fully.<\/p>\n To preview your tag and double check its length, use this handy Title Tag Preview Tool.<\/a><\/p>\n Well done tags will spur people to click through to your site.<\/p>\n You don’t want to duplicate title tag copy across your site. Each URL (each webpage), should have its own unique title tag. Otherwise, search engines will get confused when it comes across two pages with the same title tags.<\/p>\n Strategically incorporating geo-specific content on your site can give you some SEO juice.<\/p>\n Geo-specific means that the content displayed to the visitor is tailor-made for their specific location. The content can be in any form (infographic, video, map, image, text, etc.) and is related to a specific locality, which can be a city, state, region or town.<\/p>\n Location specific content is crucial in local SEO.<\/p>\n According to Buyer Legends, when visitor experiences were personalized based on their location, it can raise conversion rates by as much as 100%<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here are 2 simple ways to massage location-specific content on your site.<\/p>\n Sounds basic I know, but it\u2019s crucial.<\/p>\n Include your business local street address and telephone number on all pages of your site. Use text not a graphic so search engines can crawl it and find your business.<\/p>\n This boosts your business\u2019 visibility on location-based searches because Google uses geo qualifiers like city, state, zip code, etc. to generate results.<\/p>\n And, always keep your business\u2019 address up to date otherwise it won\u2019t show up in \u2018near me\u2019 searches.<\/p>\n Embed a Google Map<\/a> alongside your address or office details on important pages like your about and contact us pages. This has two benefits:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an example from a British company, Muffin Marketing.<\/p>\n Note that they name the areas they serve. This lets Google know where they\u2019re located. Incorporating where you\u2019re located and the areas you serve will ensure that Google returns your business as a search result whenever locals search for services related to what you do.<\/p>\n Content is the currency of the internet.<\/p>\n And while we highly recommend writing amazing blog posts (because they generate amazing SEO value), videos are probably more effective for most local businesses. And besides, you can always have someone turn your videos into blog posts later \ud83d\ude42 .<\/p>\n In your videos, teach, don\u2019t sell<\/em>.<\/p>\n Sharing useful educational videos allows you to demonstrate your expertise. Once business colleagues or potential customers see you do your thing regularly, they\u2019ll be more confident and comfortable to refer you.<\/p>\n Coming up with a short 5-minute video isn\u2019t difficult. You already have a great recording tool on hand: your smartphone!<\/p>\n Not all videos are created equal. Here are 3 hot types of videos that draw immediate attention.<\/p>\n Come up with simple videos showing people step by step how to do something related to the problems you solve. For example, if you are a plumber, you can do a brief video on \u2018How To Fix A Blocked Sink\u2019. <\/p>\n Slip in your brand\/business name and contact information into the title and on screen. Here\u2019s an example<\/a> from Wickes, a British company.<\/p>\nWhy You Must Optimize Your First-Page Google Presence<\/h2>\n
\n
1. Register on Google My Business<\/h2>\n
![\"B](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/B-and-H-GMB-Listing.png\")
<\/p>\nHow To Set Up GMB In 8 Simple Steps<\/h3>\n
![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/goolge-my-business-step-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"GMB](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-3.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"GMB](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-4.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"GMB](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-5.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-6.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"GMB](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-8.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-9.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/google-my-business-step-10.png\")
<\/p>\n3 Key Elements To Optimize On Your GMB Listing<\/h3>\n
1. Cover photo<\/h4>\n
![\"Google](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/gmb-cover-photo.png\")
<\/p>\n2. Descriptive Summary<\/h4>\n
![\"Little](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Little-Donkey-GMB-shot.png\")
<\/p>\n3. Profile photo and other photos<\/h4>\n
![\"complete](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/complete-gmb-listing-conversions.png\")
<\/p>\n2. Optimize Your Website Homepage Title Tag<\/h2>\n
![\"BNI](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/bni-homepage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"how](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/view-a-websites-source-code.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"website](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/website-source-code.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n<title>Example Title<\/title>
\n<\/head><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"here](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/heres-the-title-tag.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"title](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/title-tag.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
Where\/how do you edit your title tag?<\/h3>\n
![\"home](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/tag-in-general-settings.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"title](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/tag-preview.png\")
<\/p>\nHow to optimize title tags?<\/h3>\n
1. Lead with your primary keyword and end with your brand name<\/h4>\n
2. Clearly describe what your business is about and how it benefits people<\/h4>\n
3. Connect it to the content of the page<\/h4>\n
4. Keep title under 60 characters<\/h4>\n
5. Write unique title tag copy for every page on your site<\/h4>\n
3. Include location-specific content on your site<\/h2>\n
What is geo-specific content?<\/h3>\n
1. Include your business address<\/h4>\n
2. Embed a Google Map on key pages<\/h4>\n
\n
![\"Muffin](\"http:\/\/judinc.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Muffin-Marketing-Geo-Specific-Content.png\")
<\/p>\n4. Share Stellar Video Content<\/h2>\n
3 Types Of Videos That Are Hard To Ignore<\/h3>\n
1. How to videos<\/h4>\n