Headlines are the real focus point of any content. A hungry headline can attract the attention of the readers and help you tell your story to more people than you could possible imagine. Search engines have their own ways to check whether the promise you made in your headline has been kept in the actual content. As your SEO services specialist will tell you, getting the heading right improves your search rankings substantially. We look at 4 rules that help in creating the best headings.

1. Write descriptive and not illusive headlines

Very short illusive headlines may work for the print media but they aren’t befitting for the online space at all. In order to grab more eyeballs, the heading needs to be concise yet descriptive. In short, it should tell you what the following article is all about. Refrain from being sketchy.

2. Use more of proper names for matching search engine queries

A majority of searches are performed with proper names. It could be the name of a country, city, town or area. Street names are also used in searches. Therefore, including proper names alongside other words can help in matching more queries. Choose the names judiciously.

3. Use keywords wisely

Keywords are words and expressions that describe the content. However, it is important to understand that you are not creating your headlines for search engines alone. SEO consultants always advise against stuffing headlines with keywords. In fact, search engines tend to discard content with meaningless usage of keywords.

4. Avoid click-baits and hyperboles

Refrain from going over the top and promising the moon to your users. Never use headlines that refer to utopian concepts or sound too good to be true. Steer clear of hyperboles and click-baits. Keep it real and grounded, as much as possible.

Always engage an experienced SEO services specialist who keeps track of changing search engine algorithms. Only then can his advice be of help.

Around 76 percent of all local internet searches result in a phone call and may even lead to a store visit, according to a recent study. Getting your local SEO rankings right is extremely important for improving the prospects of your business. As your SEO services will guide you, here are some more local SEO mistakes that you should avoid.

1. Duplication of “My Business” profile pages

SEO consultants reiterate that search engines like Google hate duplicate content. And the reason is obvious! Duplicate content give users a bad surfing experience when they find the same content over and over again. The search engine’s resources are wasted too by analyzing and storing duplicate content. This is why each location should only have one profile page. There are tools available for checking on duplicate listings. You need to track them down and ask Google to remove them so that they cannot drag down your ratings.

2. Keyword stuffing in the footer

It was believed for a long time that stuffing names of cities and zip codes as keywords in the article’s footer can help improve local search rankings. However, it is important to remember that search engines like Google have changed their algorithms and such manipulative behavior is being penalized now. Google has clearly stated that irrelevant keywords create a seemingly negative user experience. To avoid keyword stuffing in the footer or it can affect the rankings of your website.

3. Ignoring common ranking factors

Your SEO services provider will educate you about factors that commonly impact your overall SEO rankings. Domain authority, for instance, is a common factor to consider. The more robust the domain authority, the better the SEO ranking would be. Backlinks are also one of the important determinants of SEO rankings. The nature and diversity of your backlinks determine your SEO ranking, local or otherwise.

Avoiding the above mistakes and following any advice given by your SEO services provider will certainly help you improve your local SEO.

Believe it or not, 46 percent of the total number of Google searches is local! The importance of local SEO can hardly be undermined therefore. As your SEO expert will tell you, here are some of the gravest SEO mistakes to avoid.

1. Inaccurate, inconsistent NAP information

NAP is the acronym representing Name, Address and Phone Number. It is one of the basic metrics that search engines use for ranking local businesses in their results. Simply providing the information prominently on your webpage is not enough. The information needs to be consistent. Prominent sources state that all prominent search engines have a practice of checking contact information across sites like Yelp, Yellow Pages and other directories. Therefore, it is important to check the details before putting it up on the website. Make sure it is clearly visible as well.

2. More than one URL to the same page

Check whether one or more URLs are leading to a single page on your website. Your SEO expert will always advise you against such a practice. This leads to failing in canonical checks. Also, when you have multiple URLs or inbound links to a page, it splits equity among the links and this hurts the links, affecting your SEO performance overall. In case, such links have been mistakenly created, you should consider removing them completely.

3. Not giving due importance to local reviews

Reviews have a huge impact on your local SEO ratings. The more high quality and diverse reviews you get, the better your local SEO ratings are likely to be. As any SEO training course will tell you, the quantity of reviews you get is also important. It is always a good idea to invite your potential customers to post reviews. You can provide them incentives for posting reviews.

Local SEO ratings can make or break your business. Due importance should be given to it.

In the previous post, we looked at 3 basic introductory steps for developing a winning SEO strategy. As you try to perfect your SEO with the help of an SEO expert, here are some more steps that will keep you on track.

1. Perform a competitor analysis

As you’ve started visiting the competitor websites to spot their preferred keywords, use this opportunity for a comprehensive competitor analysis. Apart from the keywords, study the URLs, the titles, descriptions, widgets and plug-ins, mobile-friendliness of the portal, speed of loading and so on. It is also important to read through the pages for a fair understanding of the content structure.

2. Create content judiciously

High-quality content always helps boost your online presence and reputation. In fact, every SEO training course will have a module that provides guidelines for content creation. You need to keep it crisp and informative. Refrain from stuffing your Meta tags or descriptions with keywords, which is a common mistake people do in an attempt to achieve higher rankings. Try and implement ideas picked up from your competitor analysis. Your SEO expert can also provide the required assistance.

3. Measure and track your SEO progress

Once you have implemented some of the strategies regarding content creation, keyword research, page optimization and so on, it is time to measure and track your progress. There are several metrics and web analytic tools available for tracking the progress of your SEO campaign. It is important to engage a few of these and check on the progress so that changes can be made before it’s too late!

In addition, staying updated with SEO news and trends is also important. Read up on current developments and how search engines are changing their algorithms, so that you can make necessary changes in your strategy, well in time.

An effective SEO strategy can go a long way in assuring business success for your company. The question is, how do you go about formulating an effective strategy that suits your business? Surely, your SEO services specialist would help, but knowing a few basics of SEO would help you understand whether your SEO consultant is giving you the right advice. Here are some steps to take for developing a winning strategy.

1. Define your target audience

Before jumping on the SEO bandwagon, it is prudent to specify your target audience. Your target audience would be the people who you wish to influence by your marketing strategies. A proper analysis is required with respect to their age, gender, location and so on. As any SEO consultant would reiterate, defining your prospective clients and understanding what they want will go a long way in formulating a robust SEO strategy.

2. Spot the right keywords

It is important to do some keyword research when developing your SEO strategy. You need to know which words your prospective customers are likely to use when searching for the type of products you sell. Finding this out is simple. Pretend to be a customer yourself. Which search words would you use? Use these as search words. You will be directed to the websites of your competitors. Study the keywords used by them and arrive at a list of options. Your SEO expert will guide you towards the right choices.

3. Make a list of web pages you want to optimize first

All said and done, SEO implementation can be an expensive affair. In order to optimize costs, it is important to prioritize the pages you wish to optimize. Choose the ones that provide the more relevant bits of information about your products and services. Improving the ranks of some of your key pages can easily do the trick for you.
Choosing your SEO consultant wisely is as important. He or she should have the required practical knowledge and experience to guide you successfully through this digital marketplace.