Since 2008, The Reader team has has proudly helped business owners get more customers and generate more sales through efficient, targeted and results-based online strategies. We now work with over 70 clients in Omaha alone.
While THOUSANDS of other companies and consultants have come and gone over the years — you probably receive a half dozen emails a day from companies offering these services — we’ve remained strong, successful and growing — because we’re experts who do things the right way, and have the testimonials and results to back it up!
Within the last 3 months, we wrapped up a very enjoyable international tour — Charleston (SC), Boise (ID) and Berlin (Germany) — where in partnership with leading local newspapers and digital providers we led interactive Local SEO workshops to audiences of Business Owners, Chamber of Commerce Members, Industry Associations, fellow publishers and more.
As you can imagine, we fielded hundreds of questions. However, we quickly began to notice that certain questions were more common than others. And when we did some analysis, it became clear that there were FIVE QUESTIONS that Business Owners like you want to know about Local SEO.
1. My business is growing. Why is Local SEO important to me?
The answer is simple: because prospective customers in your local area are using search engines to find businesses like yours. But if they can’t find you – because you don’t have an accurate and complete Local SEO profile – then they’ll head to a competitor.
Look at it this way: until about a decade ago, the phone book was the dominant “search marketing tool.” In today’s world and for the foreseeable future, it’s all about search engines. Not choosing to take advantage of this is like a business in the 1990s choosing not to be in the phone book.
You are likely receiving more views and phone calls to your business from your Google+ page than you are your website. Monitoring your Google insights is critical today.
2. How much time and effort will this take from me or my team?
If you partner with a reputable company, then the answer is “much less than you think.” Your involvement, along with select members of your team, will primarily be in answering questions about your business, such as:
What are your key products and services?
What industries do you serve?
What locations/outlets do you have?
What are your business hours?
…and so on.
Again, these questions are not technical, and nobody in your company needs to be an IT or SEO expert. Once your Local SEO profile has been developed and updated on the web, your ongoing time investment will be minimal. Most of your time will be spent reviewing executive reports that highlight results and help you continuously monitor your online presence.
3. What does the Local SEO process look like?
The best way to answer this is by looking at Moz.com’s David Mihm’s local search ecosystem — that web of search engines, social media, directory sources and review sites — that drives top results in local searches.
And this is the top-level, 40,000-foot overview that becomes even more complicated as you drill down into sites that specifically impact Omaha. Your local SEO provider should be covering all of these bases.
4. What kind of timeframe and ROI should I expect?
Depending on the complexity of the campaign, number of locations, and competition in the local market, you’ll likely see a lift in rankings and an increase in website traffic within 90 days of launching a campaign. In some competitive markets, and in circumstances where a lot of data needs to be cleaned up and fixed, it can take up to 6 months.
It’s also important to note that if you don’t see measurable improvements after 6 months, then the SEO company you’re using is to blame – not Google, the competition, “bad luck”, or some other cause.
What’s more, a good SEO company will detect within the first 90 days of your campaign if something isn’t working, and why.
Your campaign should drive a direct, measurable increase in your phone calls and website traffic. The ROI should reflect the value of these increased business opportunities.
5. There’s too much information out there. Some of it I understand, but most if it seems like jargon to me. How do I know what’s important and where do I start?
In a nutshell, here’s the most important thing to know: search engines like Google will continue to change how they rank and list businesses. This is totally different from the phone book, which was a “set it and forget it” annual renewal.
To take full advantage of Local SEO and use it to get more customers and sales, your campaigns must be correctly set up, monitored and managed on an ongoing basis.
As for where you can start, we invite you to give us a call for a clarifying “jargon free” 5-minute consultation. It’s a great opportunity for you to speak with our experts and have your specific questions answered. There is no obligation.
To join the list to get first notice on our next Local SEO workshop in Omaha, just send us an email with this link.
