Is your business invisible online?
You may have a well-established, three-generation family practice. But Google won’t recognize your founder’s portrait hanging in the lobby – unless you’ve uploaded it as an image file and tagged it with alt text.
People are now searching with their computers, phones, and smart home devices. That means it’s time for business owners to update their websites with local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies and content.
Here are five ways to put your business on the map and get the Google placement you deserve with SEO copywriting …
1 – Optimize for Local Search
In 2017, the Yellow Pages announced they would stop printing after 51 years. Now our fingers are “doing the walking” on our mobile phones and laptops. Search engines must be able to find you – or you lose business.
For example, if you haven’t claimed your local Google My Business listing, you’re missing one of the fastest, easiest ways to move up in the SERPS (Search Engine Results Pages). Once you verify your listing, you can fill out your profile, make limited-time offers, provide resources, and more. You’ll have new opportunities to collect leads and talk to potential clients on the phone. And you’ll have your very own bubble on Google Maps, so people know where to find you.
Once Google knows where you are, it’s time to look at other places you may be showing up. You may or may not be included in 40+ other directories and voice search. For example, are you listed in the online version of the Yellow Pages?
Google rewards consistency. Synchronize your listings, so anyone searching for you will have up-to-date information. You’ll build credibility and trust when your online presence is under control.
2 – Adjust for the New Algorithms
Is your content built on keywords people use when they search? Clearly structured keyword-related content helps your readers find the answers they’re looking for. However, planting high-search volume keywords in all the right places is no longer enough. In fact, overusing a single keyword on a page or throughout your site can hurt you in the rankings.
Google’s 2013 Hummingbird update prioritized semantic search and natural language processing. Semantic search takes intent and context into account to provide high quality answers to searches.
The new approach focuses on finding audience intent and providing unique, accurate information. And with voice search, inquiries and natural language patterns are becoming more important.
Read more about SEO and voice search here: https://backlinko.com/optimize-for-voice-search
3 – Publish High-Quality Content
To provide a good reader experience Google recommends the same advice your 9th grade English Teacher probably gave you. Make your web pages readable, well organized, and clear of spelling and grammar mistakes.
Google recommends content that is:
- Easy to read – Clean up any spelling and grammar errors you didn’t make on purpose. Run a readability test and read your copy aloud to check for awkward or confusing wording.
- Searchable – Don’t place important content in photos or graphics without also duplicating it on the page. Mobile users may have difficulty reading it, and Google won’t recognize it.
- Organized Logically – Break up your text into short to medium-length paragraphs. Then group them under related subheadings
- Fresh and original – If you’re using stock industry articles or low-grade content, Google will judge it as less important. Avoid simple reposts of industry news. Give hot topics a fresh angle, so you don’t look like your top ten competitors. And if you don’t have time to do it all yourself, hire a writer!
- Optimized for SEO – Label your images so readers know what’s on each page if their phones block the pictures. Use accurate and descriptive anchor text (the highlighted text readers click to go to a linked page). And place relevant keywords in your headings without “stuffing” the page or trying to rank for the same keyword on multiple site pages.
Related: Boost Your Readability with MS Word
There are also Googlisms you probably didn’t learn in school. For example, a Haiku may express the beauty of nature and make its reader swell with emotion. Yet Google may judge it as “light content” because of its short length.
Even with the growing sophistication of AI, Google is not yet fully capable of judging a poem or a short critique of Spinoza. It can, however, estimate perceived quality. Preference is given to (1) content containing relevant answers to questions and (2) content people share.
Longer content appears to perform better for SEO. SEMrush studied the top 10 ranking pages for 600,000 keywords. High ranking pages on average contained significantly more words than lower ranking pages. What’s working now? A Backlinko study showed the average word count of a Google first page result was 1,890 words.
From https://backlinko.com/search-engine-ranking
4 – Create Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages
A study by Anum Hussain et al. at HubSpot found interlinked posts had higher SERP rankings and more views.
Topic clusters built in a hub and spoke model establish your website as a resource. For example, a cornerstone post or pillar page might answer your company’s most frequently asked questions about a product or service. Each subtopic provides links to related posts, articles or pages, where readers can find more in-depth information.
5 – Include Local Elements on Your Web Pages
OK. You’ve claimed your Google business listing and published first-class SEO content. You may be able to boost your rankings still higher by adding elements such as NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) and location throughout your web copy. Look for opportunities to add these to headlines, body content, page headers, and footers.
Conclusion
Why not make it easy for your future customers to find you?
A copywriter who knows SEO can often diagnose the reason you’re not showing up online. She can recommend web page updates and create original content for your business. If you have concerns about visibility and would like an SEO copywriting check-up, let’s talk. Email me at judy@judyolbrych.com or sign up for a Discovery Call.
