The game is afoot regarding local SEO and changes made by Google.
It is tough enough to either spend hours and days optimizing your website or blog to meet the algorithms and tactics Google uses so your site can get good rankings all to find out later that Google has changed the game and now you’re back to square one.
That’s what’s happened to countless businesses as the SEO strategies they had become used to have now been altered.
Google has Pigeon, a software algorithm that no longer allows for the traditional SEO practices but in stead takes on a whole different approach.
Google used to look for your NAP (name and phone number), and still does but this tie they look for two things, to find your NAP in the various review directories and to look for misspellings which can damage you a lot. With the directories being the main target for Google’s searches, marketers are trying to get their businesses listed on as many relevant review and directories as possible and shooting for getting those high review ratings that Google relishes. This now takes lots of time and effort but is the bulwark of what the new local SEO consists of.
Making a mistake on the spelling of your NAP by you or a directory or review can cost you. Going after everyone could be a monumental task and cost a considerable amount of time and money. Luckily there are a few paid services that can do this for you. They scour the web for links to and about your site, check to see if the NAP is valid and then contacts the sites en masse with the correct information. It doesn’t mean the sites will correct the data on the spot but at least they’ll be notified of it and hopefully move with alacrity.
Your site still should be optimized with not only SEO but with the proper frequency of updates and expansion. Anything relevant that could enlighten the public about your business and goes from your site and that of others who’ve reviewed your services and goods is very important now more than ever.
There’s no need to panic regarding your local SEO efforts, but it is a time for taking responsibility and not procrastinating one bit. Sit down with your SEO team or professional and see what they have to say. Do your own due diligence to make sure things are running right on your site and those sites that you link to and are linked to you. Let no error go uncorrected. It could mean the difference between success or failure.
Overall, Google is still fine tuning its software for spidering and indexing sites and you need to be on the ball 24/7/365. Results after corrections may not work overnight but it calls for checking your statistics and other meta information. Don’t take anything for granted at this juncture in the SEO game and remember the tried and true methods as well as the latest entries in the strategies of local SEO.
Contact ISEOU if you need online marketing, social media marketing or SEO consultation. Call ISEO at 727-938-8891.