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SEO: Start From the Bottom, Climb Your Way to the Top

Last Updated: January 18, 2018

Does SEO really take as long as all the marketing specialists say? A good number of people are out there promising much faster results, so there must be a loophole the marketers aren’t telling you, right?
We wish we had better news for you. However, the reality is that achieving a strong presence on Google and the rest of the web requires time, effort, and patience. Anyone who promises you instant results is just trying to sell you snake oil. Keep reading to find out why SEO takes time, contrary to what certain salespeople say.

Think of SEO Like Getting in Shape

When you do it right, SEO takes time. It’s a long, ongoing process. You’ll see gradual results bit by bit as your web presence grows stronger until finally, one day, you realize you’re getting tons of website traffic, Facebook likes, and customer calls and emails.
In this way, SEO is just like anything else in life that requires an investment of time and effort. For example, when you want to lose weight and get in shape long-term, you know you have to eat right and exercise over a period of several months. “Magic” diet pills and cleanses may promise overnight results, but they very rarely deliver. And if they do, the results certainly don’t last, and they don’t make you any healthier.
The same is true when optimizing your web presence: If you want vital, long-lasting results, you have to put in the time and effort for a minimum of 90 days. Any shady service promising you a silver bullet or page-1 rankings overnight isn’t going to help your business grow in a meaningful way.
After all, SEO is a means to an end—in other words, getting the top position for one of your services isn’t actually the end goal. Rather, as a small business, you’re embarking on an SEO campaign because you ultimately want to attract new customers and build your brand. So, in the same way that number on the scale doesn’t reflect your overall health, neither does your Google ranking for one search term reflect how well you’re appealing to local customers.
For increased visibility and an effective web presence, you need to think long-term.

Building a Web Presence Is a Slow Climb

…But the views from the top are worth it!

The graphic above illustrates the multiple steps involved in launching an SEO campaign and building your web presence from the ground up.

The Essentials

First, you should start small with local directories. You must represent your business’s information accurately on a variety of quality, credible directories. Doing so lends your business some authenticity in Google’s eyes.
Next, you create a Google My Business account and create a Google Maps listing. This is a requirement in order to appear in local searches on Google.
Then, you supplement your online listings with an attractive website and valuable, high-quality on-page content. This is how search engines learn the different types of services and/or products you offer. Essentially, it helps Google put your business into context so it can better represent you in search results. Plus, having plenty of well-written website content makes your business easier to find by voice search.
Once you’ve established your online credibility and have a website that draws visitors in, you can put your business on all of the major social media platforms (namely Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+). Doing so will further cement your authenticity for Google. Moreover, social media is yet another vehicle with which you can reach your local customers.
At this point, you could end your efforts and wait for your online visibility to ramp up. We typically advise our clients to give their campaigns at least 90 days to reach full strength. However, this waiting period can vary depending on how crowded your local market is. For example, if you’re located in a densely populated metro area like New York, Dallas, or Miami, you’ll have a lot of competition, and your campaign may take longer to rise to the top. Conversely, if you’re located in a sparsely populated area with few competitors, your campaign may take off sooner.

Paid Ads

However, if you really want to take your web presence as high as it can go, you can add a paid advertising campaign, too. Generally, you should try paid advertising, particularly pay-per-click (PPC), after you’ve completed all of the previous steps. This is for two reasons: 1) You’ll be able to keep costs down once your credibility has been established with SEO; 2) You will have a better chance at turning clicks into leads if the webpage your ad links to is attractive, informative, and persuasive.
At the same time, there are a few, highly specific situations in which PPC will be more effective than SEO for your immediate, short-term goals. These are situations in which demand is super high for a short period of time. For example, if you offer roof repair services and a major storm recently left a lot of people with damaged roofs, you’ll want to capitalize on this urgent demand and run PPC ads ASAP. Considering your customers will be highly motivated at the jump, your lack of depth on the web won’t be as much of a factor. Please keep in mind, though, that this kind of scenario is a rare exception to the rule. Generally speaking, you really ought to develop your web presence before running a PPC campaign.

Be Patient and Persistent

With enough time—and occasional tweaking, if necessary—your web presence will grow and expand. It’s inevitable. We speak for all SEO practitioners when we ask you to remain patient and trust the process. We know it’s difficult to wait, especially when you’ve made a financial investment in your campaign, but time is truly the most important factor when it comes to building a web presence. So, whatever you do, don’t fall for any snake oil that claims otherwise. SEO takes time, period.
Good luck!

One Negative Customer Review Is Better Than No Reviews at All

Last Updated: August 17, 2017

You know the old saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? Sometimes you want to shout that at your computer screen when you read a negative customer review about your local business. But guess what? Customers who complain are actually doing you a favor.
Now, hear us out. Obviously, customers who write you glowing reviews are doing you the real favor. However, as it turns out, negative customer reviews can still be mildly beneficial to your overall web presence. Indeed, they’re better than no reviews at all!
Are you surprised to hear this? We were taken aback when we made the discovery, too. However, with one of our clients, we saw firsthand that a Google listing with a negative review outperformed one with zero reviews. So, how can you apply this new rule to your own online efforts? Keep reading to find out.

A Negative Customer Review Still Proves Authenticity

It seems kind of backwards, doesn’t it? Google has demonstrated time and time again that business listings with higher overall ratings will perform better than ones with lower ratings. In fact, on its Google My Business Help page, it states, “Google review count and score are factored into local search ranking: more reviews and positive ratings will probably improve a business’s local ranking [emphasis added].”
That’s why, when we saw a negative customer review come in for one particular client, we winced. They hadn’t prioritized collecting reviews, and this bad one was their only review. We assumed this lone negative review would surely hold back the client’s local ranking.
Yet, we were dumbstruck when we saw this client get significantly more phone calls than other clients who had zero reviews. And that’s when we recalled the first part of that quote from Google: review count. The number of reviews, in combination with the score of those reviews, is a factor in local ranking. Judging by our firsthand experience, your review count may even outweigh your score—at least, when the review count is one versus zero.
This is because your total number of reviews reflects how many customers you’ve had, and, therefore, how established you are as a business. Google cares strongly about credibility and authenticity. So, even though it’s a negative review, it at least proves you’re a real business with real customers. In Google’s eyes, that appears to count for something.
On the other hand, when you have zero reviews, Google has no proof whatsoever of your authenticity as a business. When you look at it this way, it makes sense that Google would favor a negative review over no reviews at all.

Get More Customer Reviews to Improve Your Ranking

Your takeaway here? Get more customer reviews. Period. Positive reviews are ideal, but, as we’ve discussed, any review at all is better than nothing.
Of course, if getting customer reviews were easy, every local business would have dozens of them. We know it’s a difficult task. However, as we’ve demonstrated, reviews are critical in improving your Google Maps ranking and increasing your new customer leads. In other words, gathering customer reviews may be time consuming, but it’s certainly worthwhile.
But, there’s also an alternative to doing all the work yourself. Do you have a little wiggle room in your budget? If so, we highly recommend using a professional service that will contact your customers on your behalf. They’ll ask these customers for reviews, direct them to your Google listing, and collect the reviews for you. In the past, we’ve successfully used Customer Lobby for our own customer review efforts.

How to Ask for Customer Reviews

However, if you decide to save money and get more reviews on your own, here are some tips to keep in mind:

First, identify your best customers—the ones who loyally come back to you, and the ones who you’re confident will give you a good review. These people are more likely to help you out. (However, feel free to expand your list to include any customer from the past few months.)
Next, contact these customers by phone or email and ask them directly if they would take a few minutes to leave you a review online. Tell them your preferred platforms: Google Maps, Facebook, and Yelp, in that order. This should give you an initial boost in your number of customer reviews.
Then, develop a plan for future customers so you can start getting a continuous flow of reviews. Add an on-page feedback tool to your website (available through Prospect Genius). This way, customers can write a review in one place and the tool can disseminate the review to other platforms.
In the future, ask customers at the very beginning of your service, before you’ve even started the job. Say, “When we’ve finished, if you’re happy with our work, please consider leaving us a review on Google.” This will plant the seed in their minds.
Finally, remind customers again as soon as the job is complete. Attach links to follow-up emails, mention it in follow-up phone calls, and even add it to the bottom of your invoices. Customers are more likely to leave you a review while the experience is still fresh.

And, to make it even easier for you, here’s a handy infographic!

How to Get More Customer Reviews Just by Asking for Them

A Negative Review Is Better Than Nothing

By now, it should be clear that getting more customer reviews, even if they’re negative, is essential to your local ranking on Google. A negative customer review, despite its content and low score, will at least prove your authenticity as a real, local business. And, as you know, Google cares about authenticity first and foremost.
So what are you waiting for? Get out there and start asking for reviews. Your local visibility depends on it!

5 Examples of Google Not Caring About Your Best Interests

Last Updated: June 15, 2017

How many times have you heard Google claim its most recent update is designed to improve user experience? We hear this claim so frequently, it’s fair to call it Google’s M.O. However, when Google refers to users, is it really referring to advertisers?
The truth is, for many users—particularly small business owners who seek local visibility on Google—their best interests often do not align with Google’s. At the end of the day, it’s a corporation, and its bottom line is all about revenue. You have to expect Google to be self-serving on occasion. But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating.
In this blog post, we’ve outlined some of the most recent examples of how Google doesn’t always have your best interests at heart. While you may think we’re just venting here (and you wouldn’t be totally wrong), we want this to function as a kind of PSA. It’s a reminder to always take Google’s actions with a grain of salt and a strong dose of skepticism.
Now, let’s rant.

1. Google Only Allows Businesses to List One Phone Number for Every Physical Location.

On Google Maps, there’s often a major discrepancy between a company’s real-life operation and Google’s strict guidelines.
For example, Google only allows businesses to list one phone number for every physical location. But as many business owners know, that may not mesh with the way a company actually operates. There are countless reasons to have more than one phone number for the same primary address, particularly if you have different branches or you serve multiple area codes.
However, it’s much simpler for Google to create an algorithm that only allows a 1-to-1 scenario. Google wants to prevent spam wherever possible, and allowing for too many human variables would overwhelm its algorithms. So, essentially, instead of creating a system that’s influenced by how businesses operate in real life, it’s trying to create a system that influences how businesses operate. As you may know firsthand, this means a lot of headaches for business owners.

2. Google Maps Service Areas Are Often Too Rigid for Businesses Without a Storefront.

Google also makes it difficult for local service providers to operate out of their own homes (which many repairmen and handymen do). It’s not impossible, as Google does allow these types of businesses to list a service area instead of their home address, for privacy’s sake; however, the implementation of these service areas is not always helpful for businesses.
For example, a handyman who lives 20 miles outside of a big city may not have the option of listing themselves as serving that city, even though that’s where they primarily do business. This restricts their visibility precisely where they want to be visible.
Again, this comes back to Google seeking to crack down on spam and simplify its algorithms. It’s too much work for Google to accommodate all the legitimate ways companies do business. Instead, it sometimes draws a hard line and creates another obstacle for you.

3. Google Now Allows Ads to Crowd Out Real Content on Webpages.

In spring 2017, Google announced it is lifting its restriction on 300×250 ads appearing above the fold on mobile webpages. In other words, big advertisements may now crowd users’ screens before they even see any of the content (headline, images, or text) on the page.
According to Google’s official announcement, this update will be done in a “user-friendly way” that won’t “annoy, distract, or result in ad performance issues.” However, that seems unlikely, as Google itself previously restricted this exact ad placement due to concerns about user experience.
Indeed, in a TechCrunch article outlining the new guideline, Sarah Perez points out:

After all, this restriction was originally put in place because it was not user-friendly. A medium-sized rectangle, by its very nature, will push much of the page’s content below the fold, as the ad itself takes up a good chunk of the screen.

Clearly, Google’s concern isn’t user experience. If it were, it would prevent paid ads from overtaking content. Instead, Google is favoring the desires of paying advertisers over its users.

4. Google May Edit Your Business Listing Without Your Knowledge or Consent.

When Google decides a piece of information on your listing needs correcting (based on data it collected elsewhere or input from other users), it just automatically makes the change. It’s up to you to check your listing regularly and catch any edits that aren’t actually true.
Compare this to how Facebook operates: When another user suggests a correction to your page’s information (e.g. phone number or store hours), it notifies you first. It asks whether you want to make this change instead of making the change unilaterally.
Our guess is that Google makes these changes on its own because it wants to provide users with the most up-to-date information possible. However, if it also wants that information to be accurate, then it should probably wait until it receives verification from business owners. And let’s not forget the impact this has on businesses. Competitors can sabotage other businesses by suggesting different phone numbers or addresses, and Google will be an accomplice.

5. Google’s “Featured Snippets” Directly Take Away Traffic From Top Search Results.

First, let’s clarify what a featured snippet is. You’ve most likely seen one in your own searches. When a user asks a question in Google Search, Google pulls the answer from a webpage and presents it to you. In other words, it gives users what it thinks they want, without users having to click anything.
From one perspective, featured snippets are super convenient. However, a couple problems exist. First of all, the snippets often take an “answer” out of context and deliver flat-out misinformation.
Second of all—and this is more troubling for website owners—a recent study by Ahrefs shows featured snippets take a substantial amount of traffic away from the rest of the search results. According to Barry Schwartz’s article on Search Engine Land:

Without a featured snippet, the first result gets a 26 percent click-through rate. With it, it only gets a 19.6 percent click-through rate, and the featured snippet gets an 8.6 percent click-through rate.

This is a clear attempt by Google to keep users on its own website. Not many people click on the snippets because they believe they’ve received the information they were looking for. And, of course, they don’t bother scrolling below the snippets to look at the list of search results. As a result, businesses lose significant traffic and potential leads.

And There Are Still More Examples…

Google completely reversed its policy on customer review kiosks. It actually used to recommend having a kiosk or some type of computer setup in your storefront for customers to leave you a review right then and there. This helped lots of businesses get the customer reviews they needed for success. But then, suddenly and inexplicably, Google reversed its position and started penalizing businesses for this practice instead.
For years, Google used to say they would never allow advertising in the Google Maps realm. Now, of course, they do.
Google Shopping is 100% powered by AdWords. Only paying advertisers appear in the results. There’s a huge lack of transparency here. Users don’t know they aren’t seeing an exhaustive list of results.

The list goes on and on.
Please bear in mind, we aren’t trying to paint Google as some sort of evil corporation from an ’80s sci-fi flick. Rather, we just want to encourage you to think more critically about some of Google’s practices and realize that you can’t always trust it to do what’s best for your business. That’s why you need to be proactive and take an educated approach to all of your online marketing efforts.
Can you think of any other ways Google might favor advertisers over users? Reach out to us and let us know what you think!

Which of These Online Marketing Strategies Will Be Your Next Step?

Last Updated: February 15, 2024

“What are the best next steps for my marketing?”
This is a question we hear a lot from our clients. As your small business’s online marketing campaign flourishes, it’s natural to wonder what you can do to multiply your success. Regardless of which online marketing strategy from Prospect Genius you’re currently using, there’s a way for you to keep climbing the ladder, if that’s what you want.
Of course, what you do next depends largely on what you’ve already done. You can’t just start hiking halfway up a mountain, right? You have to start at the bottom and work your way to the top.
So, in this post, we’ll explore your options for advancement based on which of our online marketing strategies you’ve already succeeded with. Let’s dive in!

First, the Bare Necessities

Before you can try any advanced online marketing strategies, these are your must-haves:

Basic website
Google Maps listing

Basic website: You’ve heard the old saying, “All roads lead to Rome.” Well, when we’re talking about your online presence, all roads lead to your website. An optimized website forms the basis of your online presence because it’s tied to every listing and gives your business the SEO fuel it needs. Find out more about the connection between websites and local search in this blog post. (And remember, a website must be optimized for mobile devices as well as desktop computers!)
Google Maps listing: Since Google Maps listings are tied directly to Google’s search engine and algorithms, having one is absolutely, 100% essential. You can’t have a local web presence without one. Read more about Google maps listing optimization on our website.
This is why the overwhelming majority of our clients purchase both a CoreSite and Google Maps optimization.

Now, Choose Your Own Adventure

Once you have these fundamentals covered, you can take your own path. Here are the online marketing strategies to consider:

SEO content writing
More directory listings
Paid advertising
Social media outreach
Paid social media advertising
Remarketing

SEO content writing (a.k.a. Ghost Writing): Add more pages to your CoreSite to target specific keywords. This boosts your SEO and, therefore, your local search rankings. More visibility means more visitors to your site!
More directory listings (a.k.a. Directory Dominator): Push your business’s information into all the right directories. The more your business info appears on quality websites, the stronger your SEO and local web presence will be. This option works great when you already have lots of website content, but it can be effective on its own as well.
Paid advertising (a.k.a. Pay-Per-Click): As we like to say, “Why walk when you can run?” Boost your visibility in local search by promoting your business in sponsored ads. They appear right at the top of the search results page. For best results, do this after you’ve optimized your website.
Social media outreach (a.k.a. SocialStream and/or SocialBuzz): Put yourself on the social media platforms where your customers are already spending their time! In competitive industries, it isn’t enough to be visible in Google results. You also need to interact and engage with your customers on Facebook and Twitter to demonstrate your accessibility. Since social media doesn’t add much SEO-wise, we don’t advise focusing on this until you feel you’ve fully optimized your website and directory listings.
Paid social media advertising (a.k.a. Facebook Ads): Get even more exposure on social media by sponsoring your own posts. This is next-level social media outreach for businesses that already have a well-established presence.
Remarketing: Go beyond sponsored ads on Google. Remarketing allows you to target ads at people who previously visited your site, so your business and brand stay top of mind. This is another next-level option, so be sure you’ve maximized your website’s SEO as much as possible before investing in it.

Consider These Outside Add-Ons

After you’ve achieved a certain level of success with our online marketing strategies, you may wish to add a service or two that Prospect Genius doesn’t offer ourselves. For example, you may want to leverage:

Customer review aggregators
E-mail marketing blasts
Professional answering services

Customer review aggregators: These services contact customers on your behalf and request reviews from them. Then, you can add those reviews to your website. In the past, we’ve had success using Customer Lobby for our own customer review needs.
E-mail marketing blasts: Want to keep your customers up to date on special deals and company news? Communicate en masse with the help of an e-mail marketing service. We like ActiveCampaign and MailChimp.
Professional answering services: If you’re too busy to answer the phone when customers call, enlist a remote answering service. They answer your calls with professionalism and record all your messages. We have a partnership with Professional Answering Service, Inc. that gets you a discount on their services!

Your Unique Circumstance Determines a Lot

Of course, your next steps will depend on several variables, including your short-term needs and long-term goals. For example, if you want to use paid advertising long-term, then you should only do so after you’ve completed substantial SEO work on your website. This ensures good ROI because it lowers your AdWords costs and makes your ads more potent. On the other hand, if you’re only looking for a temporary campaign to promote a special offering or discount, then you probably aren’t as concerned with long-term ROI.
Geographic location also influences which online marketing strategies will work for you. For instance, if you’re in a rural area without much competition, then you may only need a Google listing and a three-page CoreSite. However, if you’re in a densely populated area, then you’ll have to do significantly more work and narrowly target specific keywords to beat the competition.
Countless other quirks can dictate how each program works for your business. That’s why you should discuss your needs and goals with your Prospect Genius account manager. We’ll make sure you’re using the best strategy for your business.
Ready to make the next move for your online marketing? Call today!

Want to Dominate Local Search Results? Here's One Thing You Need

Last Updated: March 14, 2017

You want to be one of the first local businesses people see when they search for products or services you offer. Obviously, you know that to be prominent and visible in local search results, you need placement on Google Maps. So, it makes sense that you would start your online marketing efforts with a Google Maps listing for your business.
There are a lot of reasons to believe Google Maps and a handful of other sites (namely Yelp and Facebook) are all you need to be visible on a local level. After all, those are the platforms that show up most often in local search results, and they’re the platforms many people turn to when looking for info on local businesses. However, don’t be fooled into thinking you can skate by with just a few online listings and nothing else. In reality, your local visibility largely depends on having a website.
In today’s post, we’ll look at how so many local business owners mistakenly believe they don’t need a website. Then, we’ll explain why websites remain vital to your presence in local search results.

Google Intensifies Focus on Local Search Results

First, let’s get some background on the importance of local search. In the last year or two, Google has been making significant user experience advancements to make on-the-go searching easier. As you may have heard, Google has been tailoring its search algorithm to cater to the rapid increase in smartphone usage.
This push to deliver a better search experience for mobile users is also what’s causing Google to prioritize local businesses. The logic: Most people search for local businesses on their smartphones because a) they’re on the go and want to find the nearest place quickly; or b) they want to call a business as soon as they find one that meets their needs.
As Google wants to make finding local businesses easier, it’s developing Google My Business pages that can act as fully functional landing pages. They contain photos, contact information, customer reviews, and even company status updates. Google even goes as far as directly asking users to submit photos and confirm addresses of businesses they’ve visited in order to flesh out these listings. In short, Google wants users to get all the info they need about a business as soon as they find it in search results, effectively eliminating the need for users to stray from Google’s search results page.

Social Media Joins the Local Search Party

Seeking to cater to their users’ smartphone habits, many social media channels, namely Facebook and Instagram, also have dedicated pages for local businesses. They function similarly to Google My Business pages in that they are essentially landing pages. They contain the business’s contact info, reviews, photos, and status updates. The end result is similar to Google’s: Users can find nearby businesses relevant to their interests without having to open a different app.

But You Can’t Rank in Local Search Results Without a Website

All of this emphasis on mobile and local search demonstrates why having a location-targeted web presence is more important than ever. However, many business owners misinterpret this trend and incorrectly believe all they need is a few listings and/or profiles on a handful of platforms. Unfortunately, that’s not how local search works.
If you want your business’s Google listing to appear in local searches, then you need to have a website. And not just any website, but a well optimized one at that.
Why? Because, as Marcus Miller of Search Engine Land reports, on-page SEO is still the number-one ranking factor in local searches. What do we mean by “on-page SEO”? It’s just a technical term for all of the content optimization on your website. You know, things like relevant keywords and images, well written content, appropriate headers and page titles, and so on. Your business needs a website with all of these elements in order to develop the kind of authority that will make Google want to feature it in search results.

Your Website Boosts Your Local Search Presence

The fact that SEO is the number-one factor in local ranking doesn’t mean your social media pages and Google My Business listings aren’t important. Customer reviews, social buzz, and matching business information (like service categories and contact details) all contribute to your local rankings, too. Plus, those pages and listings serve an important function by providing users with easy-to-access info about your business.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for users to see a local Google listing in the search results, get all the info they need from that listing, and call or visit that business without ever clicking on the business’s website.
Ideally, your goal is to dominate local search so this exact scenario plays out and generates lots of business for you. However, in order for that to happen, you need the potent SEO juice that only a website can provide. It may sound counterintuitive (“Really? I need a website just to power my Google listing?”), but if you’re serious about wanting local visibility online, a website is not optional.

Prospect Genius