Prospect Genius

Welcome to another edition of our SEO Myth-Busting series! Today, we’re tackling a common misconception that still manages to confuse people: the idea that optimizing for the words “near me” as if they were actual keywords will boost your local SEO. Let’s delve into why this simplistic approach is outdated and what you should be focusing on instead.

The Myth of “Near Me” Keywords

At first glance, it might seem logical to optimize your website content with “near me” keywords. After all, many people use phrases like “restaurants near me” or “gas stations near me” when they search. However, this is a misunderstanding and oversimplification of how local search algorithms work. Using “near me” as a keyword in your content, business name, or URL is not beneficial.

How Google Handles “Near Me” Searches

When someone types “near me” into Google, the search engine uses various data points to determine the user’s location and provide the most relevant results. This includes:

• IP Geolocation: Identifying the user’s location based on their IP address.
• GPS Data: For mobile devices, Google can access precise GPS data.
• Account Information: If the user is logged into a Google account, location data from their profile can be used.
• Cell Tower Data: For mobile users not on Wi-Fi, approximate location can be inferred from cell towers.

Google automatically incorporates these location signals to return the best local results, effectively treating “near me” as a variable. This means the search engine dynamically inserts the user’s location into the query to find the nearest relevant businesses. Therefore, there’s no need to include “near me” in your site’s content; Google handles this on its own​.

What You Should Do Instead

Rather than stuffing your content with “near me” keywords, focus on more effective local SEO strategies:

1. Google My Business (GMB) Optimization:
   • Ensure your GMB profile is complete and accurate, including your business name, address, phone number (NAP), hours of operation, and categories.
   • Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on your GMB listing.
2. Local Keywords:
   • Use specific local keywords that include your city or neighborhood. For example, “best plumber in Kalamazoo” instead of “plumber near me.”
   • Include landmarks and neighborhood names in your content to provide more context for Google.
3. Consistent NAP Information:
   • Make sure your NAP information is consistent across all online directories and your website.
4. Mobile-Friendly Website:
   • Since most “near me” searches are done on mobile devices, ensure your site is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.
5. Structured Data Markup:
   • Implement schema markup to provide search engines with detailed information about your business, improving your chances of appearing in rich snippets and local search results​​.

Myth Busted!

The belief that using “near me” as a keyword will enhance your SEO is a myth. Google’s algorithms are sophisticated enough to handle local searches without needing such direct prompts in your content. Instead, focus on optimizing your Google My Business profile, using specific local keywords, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and contains accurate information. These steps will help you rank better in local searches and attract more customers.

Stay tuned for more SEO myth-busting insights in our ongoing series!

Welcome back to our SEO Myth-Busting series! Today, we’re debunking a myth that can seriously mislead business owners: the idea that having more than one website for your business will provide an SEO benefit. Let’s dig into why this isn’t just ineffective, but also against Google’s guidelines, and how it can end up hurting your SEO efforts rather than helping them.

The Origins of the Myth

The concept of using multiple websites to boost SEO might sound logical at first glance. More websites mean more chances to rank, right? However, this strategy is outdated and misinformed. Years ago, some businesses tried to game the system by creating multiple sites to dominate search results. But Google’s algorithms have evolved, and they now penalize such practices.

Google’s Stance on Multiple Websites

Google’s guidelines are very clear about this: creating multiple websites for the same business can be harmful to your SEO efforts. According to Google, having duplicate or very similar content across multiple sites can confuse both users and search engines, leading to a poor user experience and diluted SEO value.

In fact, Google strongly advises against this practice. They recommend focusing your efforts on one strong, comprehensive website rather than spreading your resources thin across multiple weaker ones. This ensures that all your SEO efforts contribute to a single, authoritative site that can perform well in search rankings.

Competing with Yourself

When you have multiple websites for the same business, you’re essentially competing with yourself. Each site vies for the same keywords and audience, which can split your traffic and reduce the overall impact of your SEO strategy. Instead of one strong site, you end up with several weak ones that don’t perform as well in search results.

Real-World Example

Even Google itself has faced issues with managing multiple websites. An internal audit revealed that they had developed several near-duplicate sites for different campaigns, which ended up confusing users and search engines alike. By consolidating these sites into one cohesive website, they saw a significant increase in organic traffic and a higher click-through rate on call-to-action buttons. This clearly illustrates the benefits of focusing on a single, strong website​ (Think with Google)​.

Protecting Your Brand

The only valid reason to buy multiple domains is to protect your brand. For instance, buying variations of your primary domain (like .com, .net, .org) can prevent competitors from using them to mislead your customers or damage your brand. However, these should not be developed into separate websites but rather redirected to your main site to consolidate your SEO efforts.

Myth Busted!

The myth that having multiple websites for your business will boost your SEO is just that—a myth. Following Google’s guidelines and focusing on building one strong, authoritative website is the best strategy for sustainable SEO success. By doing so, you’ll ensure that all your efforts contribute to improving the visibility and ranking of your main site, rather than diluting your SEO potential across multiple weaker sites.

Stay tuned for more myth-busting insights in our ongoing series!

Today we’re kicking off  a new series about SEO Myths that just won’t die. In this post, we’ll cover the idea that buying multiple domains and redirecting them to your main site will boost your SEO. Spoiler alert: it won’t. Let’s dive into why this tactic is outdated and what the real purpose of buying multiple domains should be.

The Origins of the Myth

Once upon a time in the early days of SEO (over 15 years ago), some clever marketers discovered that owning and redirecting multiple domains to a primary site could give a slight boost in search engine rankings. This was back when search algorithms were relatively unsophisticated and could be easily manipulated with such tactics.

Fast forward to today, and the landscape has drastically changed. Search engines like Google have become incredibly advanced, using complex algorithms designed to prioritize user experience and relevant content over outdated tricks. The idea of boosting your SEO through multiple domain redirections is not just ineffective—it’s ancient history.

Why It Doesn’t Work Anymore

Modern search engines are wise to the tricks of the past. Here are a few reasons why buying and redirecting multiple domains no longer works:

1. Algorithm Advancements: Search algorithms have evolved to recognize and devalue manipulative practices. Google’s algorithms, for instance, now focus on content quality, user experience, and genuine backlinks.
2. No Value in Redirections: Redirecting multiple domains to your main site doesn’t add any significant SEO value. In fact, it can be seen as a spammy tactic if overdone, potentially harming your site’s credibility.
3. Content Relevance: Search engines prioritize sites with relevant, high-quality content. Simply owning multiple domains without unique and valuable content on each won’t improve your SEO.

The Real Reason to Buy Multiple Domains

While buying multiple domains for SEO benefits is a thing of the past, there is still a legitimate reason to do so: protecting your brand. Here’s why you might consider purchasing various domain extensions:

1. Brand Protection: Owning multiple domains like prospectgenius.com, prospectgenius.net, and prospectgenius.org ensures that competitors or malicious actors can’t use these domains to mislead your customers or harm your brand reputation.
2. Preventing Competitors: By securing common variations and extensions of your main domain, you prevent competitors from using similar domains to siphon off your traffic or create confusion among your audience.
3. Typo Value: If you suspect that users will ever need to type in your domain, and that they’re likely to mistype it, you might want to grab the misspelled version as well and then redirect the user to the correct one with a 301 redirect. This is valid, but has nothing to do with SEO. Instead, you’re just preventing a lost visitor due to human error.

Myth Busted!

The myth that buying and redirecting multiple domains will enhance your SEO is just that—a myth. This tactic hasn’t been effective for many years, and search engines have moved far beyond such simplistic manipulations. The only valid reason to invest in multiple domains today is to safeguard your brand from competitors and negative influences.

Remember, the best way to improve your SEO is through high-quality, relevant content, a great user experience, and genuine, authoritative backlinks. Stay tuned for more myth-busting insights in our ongoing series!