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Google Local Services Ads: Google Guaranteed

Unveiling the Power of Local Services Ads Search Results Placement

Having undergone initial beta testing in 2015, Local Services Ads, commonly referred to as LSAs, have firmly established their presence over the years.

If you’ve encountered the distinctive Google Guaranteed badge on various Google Business Profiles, rest assured that these signify businesses are leveraging LSAs. It’s important to note that the two go hand in hand and can hugely impact your business if you fit the criteria. 

The relative obscurity of LSAs may be attributed to the absence of a primary category for certain professions, such as Painters. Nonetheless, this should not deter painting businesses from joining the ranks of LSAs.

Differentiating Local Services Ads from Search Ads

In stark contrast to Google’s conventional pay-per-click (PPC) search ads, Local Services Ads operate on a pay-per-lead model, a notable departure from the familiar click-based payment approach.

The Take Away: The key differentiator lies in the fact that, instead of paying for mere clicks that might not yield tangible results, you exclusively pay for actionable leads that can be quoted.

An added advantage is that LSAs hold a prominent position ABOVE standard Google Search Ads, providing enhanced visibility for your painting enterprise at a more economical cost. Combine with with SEO and your painting company will be on a fast track to new leads.

Local service ads for painters, advertising online

How Well Does Local Services Ads Perform

LSAs hold a prominent position ABOVE standard Google Search Ads, providing better visibility for your industry at a more economical cost.

Local Services Ads For Painting Companies

Here are some pivotal points about Google Local Services Ads that substantiate their position as an increasingly favored advertising avenue for painting companies:

  • You only pay for leads that can be quoted, leads directly related to services offered within your service area.
  • If a lead you receive from local services ads end up being non related to your service, you can get a refund.
  • Google currently exhibits leniency in lead dispute cases.
  • The typical cost-per-lead (CPL) ranges from $18 to $42.
  • The average conversion rate for these leads (from lead to closed job) ranges between 60-70%.

LSA Leads over Shared Leads?

It’s natural to ponder how LSAs distinguish themselves from platforms like Angi or HomeAdvisor, notorious for shared leads we love.

The fundamental distinction lies in the exclusivity of painting leads generated through LSAs. Unlike shared leads, which are often considered lower quality sources of clientele, LSAs offer leads that are solely accessible to your painting business.

local SEO, search engine optimization

The Drawbacks of LSA for Painters

While LSAs serve as an exemplary avenue for top-tier repaint leads in terms of quality and cost, there are certain nuances worth acknowledging:

  • Given the absence of a dedicated primary category for painters, there might be a notable influx of unqualified leads. Though these can be contested, the process does consume valuable time.
  • A comprehensive background check procedure may span several weeks before completion.
  • The business name registered with the state should align with the one utilized for LSAs. Google undertakes verification of this information. 
  • If your business name lacks terms like “Painting” or “Painters,” anticipate an increased occurrence of unqualified leads (the rationale unfolds further).
  • Like the map pack display, search results accommodate just three primary ad slots, with placement of your LSAs determined by the quantity of 5-star reviews on your Google Business Profile.
  • LSAs are exclusive to the United States

How to get your Painting Business Google Guaranteed

Laced Media gives you a Step-by-Step Guide to setting up your Google Local Services Ads. 

Before you start: It is important to have and claim your Google Business Profile for your painting business, as this is a requirement.

  1. Google Local Services Ads mandates a background check upon setup, a process averaging 3-6 weeks for completion.
  2. Select “Handyman” as your Primary Category.
  3. Select “Painting Indoors” and “Painting Outdoors” as subcategories.
  4. Use your Business Name with the same one registered on your Google Business Profile and state, Google does verify state registration.
  5. Input “0” for the Total number of workers. Assigning a figure higher than zero would prompt a background checks for all employees.
  6. For Service Areas, use only the zip codes within your target area. This dictates which leads are contestable.
  7. Configure the Ad Schedule to “All Day,” or Google with use your business hours instead.
  8. Proof of Business Insurance may be required.
  9. After your application submission, expect a text message requesting photos of your driver’s license. This can take a couple days to receive.
  10. Disabling the messages feature can weed out Spam leads.

Let Professionals Setup Your LSA

If you’re interested in having the professionals set this up for you, Laced Media has the professionals. We can setup up and mange your Ads campaign and more. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Content For Your Website – Why is Content so Important to SEO

Content: A Huge Factor in SEO Page Ranking

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, search engine optimization (SEO) has become an indispensable aspect of online marketing. Among the numerous factors that influence a website’s ranking on search engine result pages (SERPs), one element stands out as a driving force behind the success: relevant content. We explores the crucial role that relevant content plays in SEO and highlights why it is paramount for website owners and marketers to prioritize content creation and optimization.

Enhanced User Experience With Engagement Content

Search engines aim to provide the most relevant content and valuable results to users’ search queries. When users land on a website, they expect to find information that aligns with their search intent. By creating and maintaining relevant content, website owners can meet these expectations, leading to improved user experience. Content that answers users’ questions, addresses their concerns, and provides valuable insights. The goal is to not only enhances their experience on the website but also increase the likelihood of longer visit durations and reduced bounce rates. These positive user engagement signals send a strong message to search engines that the website is providing value, consequently boosting its SEO performance.

content writing for a website for SEO

Are you not showing up in search on the 1st page? Does your website have little or no content? 

Increased Organic Traffic

Relevant content acts as a magnet for organic traffic. Search engines analyze the relevance and quality of a website’s content to determine its position in search results. When content aligns with users’ search queries, search engines are more likely to rank the website higher, making it more visible to potential visitors. With each relevant and optimized piece of content, website owners have an opportunity to target different keywords and capture a broader range of search traffic. Consistently creating valuable content that addresses users’ needs and interests establishes a website’s authority in its niche, resulting in increased

Improved Keyword Rankings

Keywords play a vital role in SEO, as they connect searchers with relevant content. By incorporating targeted keywords into the content, website owners can signal to search engines the relevance of their web pages for specific search queries. Creating high-quality content that naturally incorporates relevant keywords helps search engines understand the website’s focus and topic authority. Over time, this can lead to improved keyword rankings and increased visibility on SERPs. It is crucial to strike a balance between keyword optimization and providing valuable content, as search engines prioritize user satisfaction and penalize keyword stuffing or low-quality content.

Enhanced Backlink Potential

Relevant and valuable content has a higher likelihood of being shared and linked to by other websites, which contributes to a website’s backlink profile. Backlinks, or incoming links from other websites, are considered a crucial ranking factor by search engines. When other reputable websites link to a website’s content, it signals to search engines that the content is valuable and trustworthy. High-quality backlinks obtained through relevant content can significantly boost a website’s authority and visibility in search results, ultimately leading to improved SEO performance.

Long-Term Sustainability

In an era where search engine algorithms are constantly evolving, investing in relevant content ensures long-term sustainability for SEO efforts. While SEO tactics may change, the value of relevant content remains constant. By focusing on providing valuable information, insights, and solutions to users, website owners can establish themselves as trustworthy and authoritative sources within their industries. Building a reputation as a go-to resource for users helps maintain organic traffic and visibility, irrespective of algorithmic updates or fluctuations in search trends.

Relevant content lies at the heart of successful SEO strategies. It enhances user experience, drives organic traffic, improves keyword rankings, boosts backlink potential, and establishes long-term sustainability. By prioritizing the creation of high-quality, valuable content that aligns with users’ needs, website owners and marketers can significantly enhance their website’s visibility, authority, and overall SEO performance. In a highly competitive digital landscape, relevant content serves as the foundation upon which successful SEO campaigns are built

Content Strategy for websites

Get An SEO-Ready Content

Our Content Writing comes tailored to your business and goals — with optimization included. Laced Media has the professional SEO experts and Content Writers to get your website thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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What is Google Indexing?

What is indexing and How Does it Work?

Google indexing is the process by which Google’s search engine collects and organizes information from websites and webpages to make it searchable and accessible to users. When Google discovers a new website or webpage, it sends out automated programs called “crawlers” or “spiders” to explore and analyze the content. These crawlers follow links on the web, moving from one page to another and gathering information about each page they encounter. Much like a spider web.

What Happens When Google Crawls Your Website?

During the crawling process, Google’s crawlers gather various types of data, including the webpage’s URL, title, meta tags, headings, text content, images, and links. They also take note of the site’s overall structure, the relationship between different pages, and the frequency of content updates.

Once the crawling is complete, Google’s indexing system processes the collected information and stores it in a gigantic database known as the Google Index.

Google Index Stores Billions of Websites

The Google Index is essentially a massive library that holds information about billions of webpages. It serves as a reference point for Google’s search algorithms when users enter queries — essentially, searches for something in Google.

PRO-TIP: A Query or Queries refers to a user searching in Google. It can also be known as keywords and phrases for question-type queries.

When someone performs a search on Google, the search engine’s algorithms use the data in the Google Index to determine which pages are relevant to the query. The algorithms consider factors like keyword relevance, user intent, webpage quality, and many other ranking signals to provide the most relevant and useful search results to the user.

Google indexing websites for search

Google Can Take Time Indexing

It’s important to note that Google indexing is an automated process, and it doesn’t guarantee that a webpage will appear in search results. However, by optimizing their websites for search engines, webmasters can increase the likelihood of their pages being crawled, indexed, and displayed prominently in search results. This optimization process is known as search engine optimization (SEO).

Other Search Engines

Search engines are online platforms that help users find information on the internet. They accomplish this by indexing and organizing vast amounts of web content and providing relevant search results in response to user queries. While there are various search engines available, Google is the most popular and widely used search engine globally. Other search engines include Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, Baidu, and Yandex.

Here are some key components and processes involved in search engines:

  1. Crawling: Search engines use automated programs called crawlers or spiders to browse the web and discover webpages. These crawlers follow links from one page to another, gathering information about the content and structure of each page they encounter. They collect data such as the URL, page title, headings, text content, images, and links.

  2. Indexing: After the crawlers collect the information, search engines organize and store it in their index, which is essentially a massive database. The index contains a copy of the webpages and their associated information. Indexing enables search engines to quickly retrieve relevant results when a user performs a search.

  3. Ranking: When a user enters a search query, the search engine’s ranking algorithms analyze the indexed webpages to determine their relevance to the query. Numerous factors influence the ranking, including keyword relevance, website authority, user engagement metrics, page load speed, mobile-friendliness, and many more. The goal is to provide the most useful and relevant results to the user.

  4. Search Results: Based on the ranking algorithms, search engines display a list of search results to the user. Typically, search engine results pages (SERPs) include a mix of organic results and paid advertisements. Organic results are the webpages that search engines deem most relevant to the user’s query based on the ranking process.

  5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is the practice of optimizing webpages to improve their visibility in search engine results. By following SEO best practices, webmasters can enhance their website’s chances of ranking higher in organic search results. SEO involves various strategies, including optimizing content, improving website structure and navigation, using relevant keywords, acquiring high-quality backlinks, and ensuring a positive user experience.

  6. Search Advertising: Search engines also offer advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, that allow businesses to display ads alongside search results. These ads are often shown above or below the organic results and are marked as “sponsored” or “ad.” Advertisers bid on specific keywords, and their ads are displayed when users search for those keywords.

Want to get on Google?

An SEO Specialist can provide maintenance to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has professional SEO experts to get your business thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Can AI Content Writers Take My Job?

Ai Content Writers Can't Do it All - But They Can Help

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has come a long way in recent years and has revolutionized the way we interact with technology. From chatbots to virtual assistants, AI has made our lives easier and more efficient. However, when it comes to writing content for your blog or website, AI like Google BART and Chat GPT can’t do it all. Here’s why:

AI like ChatGPT and Bart Aren't Perfect

Lack of Creativity: AI is designed to analyze data and provide responses based on that data. While it can generate content based on data inputs, it lacks creativity and the ability to create original content that resonates with humans. Creative writing requires intuition, imagination, and human emotions that are not yet fully understood or replicated by AI.

Limited Knowledge and Experience: AI learns and improves over time based on data inputs, but it still lacks the knowledge and experience that humans possess. AI may be able to generate content on a specific topic, but it cannot provide the same level of insight and expertise as a human with years of experience in a particular field.

Tone Of Voice:  AI lacks the ability to write in an appropriate tone of voice for a particular audience. It is unable to capture nuances like satire, sarcasm and humor, which are essential elements of human writing that can be used to engage with readers– much like this blog post.

Limited Cultural and Social Understanding: AI can generate content based on data, but it may not understand the cultural or social context in which that content is being consumed. Humans have a better understanding of the context in which content is being consumed and can tailor their writing to resonate with a particular audience.

Limited Editing and Proofreading Capabilities: While AI can generate content quickly, it lacks the ability to edit and proofread that content effectively. Editing and proofreading require a human touch, and mistakes or inaccuracies in content can damage a brand’s reputation.

Relative Nature: While AI is great for getting information, it can have a hard time connecting the dots. It is given instructions for content creation but may not be exactly how you want the content to be relatable to another specific topic or elements you want to hit in your article. AI’s are not accurate with relativity. Much like a toddler, they are learning.

How Can AI Content Writers Benefit Content Writing

AI can be a great tool, in the right hands. There are many ways AI can benefit content writers already in the industry. For example:

Faster Content Creation: AI content writers can generate content at a much faster rate than human writers. This is because they don’t require breaks, rest, or sleep. This can be especially useful when it comes to creating large volumes of content for content marketing or social media campaigns.

Data-Driven Insights: AI content writers can analyze data to identify trends, insights, and areas of opportunity. This can help to inform your content strategy and ensure that you are creating content that resonates with your audience — kind of. 

SEO Optimization: AI content writers can be programmed to write content that is optimized for search engines. This can help to improve your search engine rankings and increase organic traffic to your website. Only content generated with SEO, metadata, and page titles are elements only humans can create and understand–for now.

AI like Google BART and Chat GPT can be useful tools for generating content quickly and efficiently. However, they cannot replace human creativity, expertise, and understanding. Writing content for your blog or website requires a human touch that AI cannot yet replicate. If you want to create content that resonates with your audience and establishes your brand as an authority in your field, you need to rely on human writers with knowledge and experience in your industry. While AI will continue to evolve and improve, it cannot replace the unique qualities that humans bring to the table when it comes to writing content.

Need A SEO Content Writer

An SEO Specialist can provide content to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has professional SEO experts to get your website thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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On-page SEO: Why it’s important to do at the time you build a website

On-Page SEO - What is it?

To fully understand what is an on-page SEO, let’s first dive into what is SEO.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website to improve its ranking on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo. It encompasses a range of techniques, including both on-page and off-page SEO. On-page SEO refers to the optimization of individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic. Off-page SEO, on the other hand, refers to activities that take place outside of your website, such as link building and social media marketing.

SEO at Development Time

While both on-page and off-page SEO are important, on-page SEO is critical to do at the time you build a website. There are several reasons why on-page SEO should be a priority during the website-building process.

Why you should do SEO while building the website

Major Elements of SEO

First, on-page SEO helps search engines understand your website and its content. Search engines use complex algorithms to crawl and index websites. On-page SEO techniques such as meta tags, header tags, and image optimization help search engines understand the content of your website and determine its relevance to a given search query. By optimizing these elements, you can ensure that search engines are able to crawl and index your website properly, which can improve your ranking in search results.

Hit The Ground Running

While incorporating SEO during development, it can help you target specific keywords and phrases before the website launches. By optimizing individual pages for specific keywords, you can increase your chances of ranking for those keywords in search results. This can help you attract more relevant traffic to your website and ultimately drive more conversions once it goes live.

Better User Experience

SEO helps improve the user experience of your website. A website that is easy to navigate, has a clear structure, and loads quickly are more likely to keep visitors engaged and encourage them to return. On-page SEO techniques such as internal linking, sitemap creation, and page speed optimization can help improve the user experience of your website, which can lead to increased engagement and ultimately improve your ranking in search results.

Increasing Customer Engagement

on-page SEO can help you establish your website as an authority in your industry. By consistently publishing high-quality, relevant content that is optimized for search engines, you can build a reputation as an expert in your field. This can help you attract more backlinks to your website, which can further improve your ranking in search results.

Save Time and Get Results

Finally, on-page SEO is critical to do at the time you build a website because it can be difficult and time-consuming to implement later on. If you wait until your website is already built to start optimizing it for search engines, you may have to go back and make significant changes to your content and website structure. This can be a daunting task, especially if you have a large website with many pages. By prioritizing on-page SEO during the website-building process, you can save yourself time and effort in the long run.

Get On-Page SEO with Your Website

Now that you understand the importance of on-page SEO in building a successful website, it’s time to take action. If you’re building a new website, make sure to prioritize on-page SEO from the beginning. Laced Media is an experienced SEO company in Santa Rosa. We research your products and services to ensure that your website is optimized for search engines and user experience.

If you already have a website, take a closer look at your on-page SEO techniques and identify areas for improvement. Consider conducting an audit of your website to identify any issues that may be impacting your ranking in search results. Then, take action to address those issues and implement best practices for on-page SEO. Want a free website audit? 

Remember, on-page SEO is an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and attention. By prioritizing on-page SEO and staying up-to-date with the latest best practices, you can improve your website’s ranking in search results, attract more relevant traffic, and ultimately drive more conversions. So, what are you waiting for? Take action today and start optimizing your website for on-page SEO success!

Get An SEO Expert For Your New Website

An SEO Specialist can provide maintenance to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your business thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Laced Media – California’s Content Marketing Game Changer

Laced Media is a California’s Content Marketing Game Changer

Looking for an experienced team that can provide you with the leverage you need to stand out? Headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, Laced Media is a digital marketing and web design team that’s passionate about empowering local businesses. We are an all-around team that can be your trusted partner for whatever digital needs you may have.

Focus On What Matter

For almost a decade, our team has been allowing businesses to focus on their operations while we take care of their digital endeavors. Our service line includes:

Find Us On 3rd Party Review Sites

Clutch is a ratings and reviews platform that’s designed to help businesses find out more about the best-fit service providers for their needs. The Washington DC-based site is known for its collection of data-driven client testimonials, market reports, and agency shortlists.

For us, there is no cookie-cutter solution that’s guaranteed to help you towards success. Because of that, we’ve enhanced our discovery and approach to ensure our clients the best possible results. This attitude and proven expertise are what helped us get listed on Clutch’s rankings for California’s content marketing game-changers.

Local Champion

As a local digital marketing company, we put a lot of time and effort into empowering businesses in the area that want to grow. Our hard work is evident in their amazing reviews on Clutch. Throughout the years, we’ve had the honor of working with amazing brands like Muscle Activation San Jose, Clearwater Cannabis, MGM Resorts, and NRT.

“We were impressed with Laced Media’s efficiency and honesty. The team was open about the SEO expectations seeing that we are new and projected we would see visibility within 3 to 5 months. They were patient to explain SEO and suggested we start there before dropping a lot of money into PPC. The other vendors I previewed seemed like they wanted to sell every service they had but Laced Media was conservative with still getting incredible results.” — Owner, Restaurant

Trust The Professionals

Trust is tantamount to success in business. We wouldn’t be game-changers and still be in this industry if it weren’t for our clients’ gracious trust.

Thank you so much to all our clients who believed in us. We are excited to welcome more opportunities and challenges ahead. Rest assured that we will continue to give it our all in whatever we do.

Have any projects in mind? Contact us today and let’s see if we’re a match. Get the leverage your business deserves with Laced Media.

Get An SEO Expert

An SEO Specialist can provide maintenance to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your restaurant thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Marketing Strategies For The Cannabis Industry

How Can SEO Help Market Your Cannabis Business

While some cannabis businesses are flourishing, others might find it difficult to form a lasting enterprise in today’s modern environment. Indeed, now that cannabis is being legalized in states across the country, there has certainly been an influx of cannabis shops looking to sell a quality product. The best way to form a successful business, aside from having a killer product, is to embrace a proven marketing strategy.

Using proper SEO practices can help marketing for cannabis businesses raise awareness, sell more products, and prosper in a growing market. If you are looking to learn how to use SEO for your cannabis business, you are in the right place.

Cannabis Marketing: SEO 101

Where Can I Advertise My Cannabis Business?

The cannabis industry for online marketing — things can be a little hazy. Due to strict regulations set by Google, Adwords are not possible for cannabis products. Facebook has these same strict rules. Cannabis advertising is simply not allow.  This is why SEO is so important as it can be your biggest investment that will produce returns for your business. 

Cannabis Companies Need SEO

When it comes to creating a successful SEO strategy for your cannabis company — online presence is extremely important.

SEO focuses on getting organic traffic from search results. As we like to say, the “Free Section” of Google search. 75% of search terms will click on the organic portion of Google search versus the Ads anyways. If your website is not utilizing SEO, we highly recommend it as it’s the best way to get your company and products in front of the people looking for it.

Cannabis Content Is Key

If you aren’t running a blog or posting regular content on social media, you might want to think about starting to change your strategy. A social media page can be a great way to drive traffic to your business. Online sales are becoming increasingly important for companies large and small, and platforms like Instagram can help sell products.

Blog Relative Topics

As for blogs, the name of the game is ‘consistency.’ You’ll want to post regularly, link to your own website, and make connections with other cannabis platforms. There are also plugins available when blogging that can help you choose and properly distribute SEO keywords throughout your articles.

Stay Consistently On Social Media

While marijuana companies are becoming legalized per state, it’s also becoming socially accepted. What better way to educate people than on social media. When it comes to operating an SEO optimized social media account, it pays to look at your competitors. 

What hashtags are they using and how long are their captions? Focus on an SEO phrase that will help your company and then start posting some professional content.

Network

Finally, you’ll want to make sure your cannabis business is available on services like Yelp, Google, and Weedmap. The cannabis industry heavily focuses on networking — because before it was state regulated, networking was the only way to get your product moving. This will help people find your business online and drive traffic to your site. The best part is you don’t even have to do anything!

marketing cannabis products, marijuana marketing

SEO For Marijuana Companies

The above SEO tactics deal mostly with something called off-page SEO. That means that they can link to your website and increase traffic, but they aren’t a part of your business’s internet space. On-page SEO is the opposite. You can use search engine optimization to tailor your cannabis business to the consumer and bring more people to your website. This requires keyword research for your cannabis website to find high quality keywords and Technical SEO.

Keep in mind, too, that consumers only care about themselves. They want to know what your can do for them. For that reason, your business’s keywords should be focused on the products that you are going to sell. After all, that’s what most people are going to search for anyway.

Cannabis SEO Marketing

The most popular cannabis keywords currently used for cannabis companies are those that follow the rules I mentioned above. Consumers want to know what you can do for them. That’s why ‘cannabis edibles,’ ‘cannabis candy,’ ‘cannabis sativa,’ and ‘cannabis gummies’ are some of the most popular SEO keywords. 

Using these isn’t going to be extremely beneficial for your business if you are selling a more unique product. Instead, you should use them in moderation with your website and social media, but you should also focus on creating some keywords of your own the focus on your product too.

SEO does take time and dedication. With following these recommendations, you’ll be able to forge your own successful corner of the internet using SEO for your business. 

Types of Cannabis Businesses That Benefit From SEO:

Get An SEO Expert For Your Cannabis Business

An SEO Specialist can provide maintenance to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your cannabis business thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Keyword Strategy – How To Find The Best Keywords For Your Small Business

Keyword Strategy Helps Prioritize & Focus Your Web Page

Keywords are an important factor in optimizing a web page. In order for your page to rank well, you will need to have a focused keyword strategy. 

What is a Keyword Strategy?

First, let’s discuss — what is a keyword strategy? Keyword strategy is strategically using keywords relative to your business in your web pages and campaigns to attract your target market audience. The overall approach is to support your SEO strategy and can help you determine the keywords that you should be targeting.

adwords targeting, ads manager, google ads

When The Company Pick Their Own Keywords

Many of our new clients will come to us with keywords already selected — thinking these are the words to use. The major problem with their keyword is they can lack focus.

Companies want to rank for all types of keywords. Without a strategy, this can be like hitting a target in a dark room. We need to take these keywords and create a focused strategy in order to gain ranking.

So, the first step is to rebuild the keyword strategy and in some cases start from scratch.

Pick & Prioritize The Best Keywords

When we begin a keyword strategy, the starting process is to research the products, company, services, etc. Some companies will give a list of keywords they want to be found for but it may not fall in line with current search trends. Once you have the outline of keywords, it’s time to laser-focus on specific types of those keywords. Here are some examples.

  • Personal trainer keywords. Someone looking for a personal trainer is looking for a type of service. This can be focused on a personal trainer for losing weight, personal training weight loss, weight loss personal trainer.
  • Diet consultant keywords. Some personal trainers will incorporate other services like a diet. Focusing on diet keywords like meal planning coach, consultant for a meal plan, diet consultant for weight loss.
  • Competition-jacking keywords. Researching the competition can also give great keywords that are working and trending. Competitive analysis lets you see what your competition is doing and copy it — in your own way.

Competitive Analysis For Keyword Ideas

Competitor keyword research can give your keyword strategy fuel for ideas. Of course, you can do the whole thing manually with Google Planner or Google Trends, but it’s a lot easier to just steal some ideas from your competitors.

While there are many tools to use for keyword research, one of the main softwares we use is SEMrush. With this tool, you can run your top 5 competitors through SEMrush and find around 90% of the keywords you want to target. That’s more than enough to get you started, and you can always add some more keywords as you go.

Create Content Using Your Keyword Strategy

Once you’ve created a solid list of keywords with branching keywords, it’s time to create content that tailors to those keywords. In the greater efforts to support your SEO campaign, unique content is the foundation for building a high-ranking web page. In order to create content, you need to know your direction for the web page — that’s where keyword strategy comes into play. Need an expert to write your content for you and optimize it? 

What Makes a Successful Restaurant

Restaurants Need SEO & Digital Marketing - Here's Why

With covid constantly changing the restaurant industry, we find many local restaurants need to alter their way of marketing.

If you are interested in getting more customers for your restaurant, the ideal thing to do is invest in a good website. When I talk of a website, I don’t just mean an ordinary website, I mean an SEO-optimized website that will drive visitors to your site and create new customers for your restaurant.

Why Can't Customers Find My Restaurant?

When someone is looking for lunch or dinner, customers typically resort to searching on Google or Yelp for good restaurants in the area. That means SEO for restaurants is no longer optional but necessary to bring in new customers. Local SEO is extremely important to restaurants because it’s what customers see first when searching for restaurants near me. Let’s face it — we are visual animals and customers skim quickly through web pages to find what they want. Having an appealing website with eye-catching photos helps gain attention and look professional. To get more customers, you will need a well-designed website that is fully optimized to deliver results. 

Did you know that ordering online for catering services is now the most fashionable thing in the restuarant industry? Most organizations and individuals have invaded the online market to search for catering services as well as place orders for different foods and meals — all conviently located online. Coming in to order is the way of the past with delivery services and online ordering.

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Benefits Of SEO For Restaurants

Increasing Traffic to Your Website

When you invest in your website with SEO, you will increase the digital traffic to your website. More traffic to your website means more opportunities to gain customers. It also creates more awareness of your restaurant and the services you offer. Imagine delivering pictures of your mouth-watering dishes to hungry people searching for dinner. SEO can help get your website in front of those hungry people.

Building Brand Awareness

New restaurants can really benefit from SEO by creating brand awareness in your area. Even if you are a well-established restaurant, search engine optimization can launch your business to greater heights if done by an expert. SEO experts in restaurants know what content to include and how to identify the right keywords for your restaurant. SEO websites for restaurants must contain the right content so Google can correctly and positively give it a high ranking.

More Money

More traffic to your restaurant website means more conversions. More conversions mean more money for your restaurant. This is why many restaurants are now seeing the necessity for search engine optimization to help their business grow.  Competition in the restaurant industry has become fierce — don’t get left behind.

Increasing Customer Engagement

Good content is engaging and informative. People are becoming hungrier for good content and Google uses it as a ranking factor. Keep customers engaged with content they want to see like healthy cuisine, how to cut weight while eating healthy, and other informative health news. Relative and unique content acts like magic and soon you will find your website flowing with more and more visitors.

While content is extremely important, including a good keyword strategy on your web pages is also crucial as Google and other search engines use it to rank your website.

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SEO Tools For Restaurant's Websites

Keyword Planning Roadmap

You should incorporate target search terms that will give your restaurant website ranking with search engines. Some restaurant websites have become very prominent online with simple keywords such as ‘Chicken Wings’ or ‘Pizzas’. A keyword plan with the right target can boost your restaurant business to greater heights in the long term.

Local-based SEO

Your restaurant serves customers within a certain range of your business location. Location-based SEO helps restaurants reach their goals through local SEO for restaurants by optimizing your Google Business Listing and geo-tagging. Local SEO ensures that your restaurant features prominently to customers searching for “food” and “restaurants” within your proximity.

List Your Restaurant On Review Sites

When your restaurant receives positive reviews from existing customers — it can propel your business even further. Word of mouth and online reviews are like striking gold. They can make or break a thriving business. Make sure your restaurant is listed on Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook. Reputation management is another key element in maintaining a great ranking online. As hard as we try, every customer may not leave happy, so make sure to respond to reviews online — whether they are good or bad.   

Get Relative Websites To Link To Your Restaurant’s Website

When your website appears on other websites related to your business, it builds trust. Google uses backlinks as a ranking factor and can help improve your visibility in search. A great example would be a blogging customer who tries your restaurant, writes a compelling post about it — then links to your website. Not only do you gain a backlink but also referral traffic. Another way to discover your restaurant in search which means more people will visit your website and may become customers.

Online Ordering System

One of the biggest adjustments due to the pandemic is the importance of online ordering for restaurants. One of the many industries hit hard by COVID-19 was restaurants and hospitality. The online ordering system is another SEO tool for restaurants to perform better. Many visitors now resort to online ordering and delivery services to get their favorite dishes and drinks. Even after Covid , online ordering will more likely be necessary and be expected by customers to use. 

Mobile-Friendly Website 

And finally, make your restaurant website mobile-friendly. 75% of searches now happen through a mobile device instead of a desktop or laptop. Google recognized this and now ranks web pages based on the user experience through a mobile phone. Not sure if your website is Mobile-friendly? Try Google Mobile-Friendly Test.

Get An SEO Expert For Your Restaurant

An SEO Specialist can provide maintenance to your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your restaurant thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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Local Marketing – Struggling Small Businesses

Local Marketing Has Changed -- Here's How To Be Prepared

If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past decade, Google has monopolized the online search aspects and has really shaped the way people search for information. For example, 20 years ago if you wanted to find a plumber, you’d pick up a phonebook and start thumbing through the “P” section. Taking a gamble if the plumber is certified, affordable, or even a respectable person. Thanks to search engines like Google, that work happens in a fraction of a second. We now have all this information at our fingertips.

Most Important Investment For A Small Business

small business needs local marketing

Many business struggle with staying afloat of the most current technology like digital marketing. Local Marketing which used to be radio commercials and flyers has swiftly evolved into local SEO. Mom and pop shops tend to have a hard time adjusting to these market changes or just refuse to adapt. Unfortunately, this can seriously kill a business since people rarely walk into a store without doing the research first.

A Local Businesses can struggle without these basic necessities:

Why Do I Need a Google Business Listing?

Google Business Listings is the new Yellow Pages, Just better. A Google Business Listing is Google’s directory for local business around the world. Google can create a listing on your behalf to attempt to make search fluid. Though it’s in a business’s best interest to claim and verify it. This helps increase your visibility online and tells Google ” Yes, I am a business and I verified the information to be correct”.

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Why Do I Need a Website if I Don't Sell Anything Online?

A majority of websites out there do not sell products online. Breaking down the purpose of a website comes to what I conclude to be 3 basic categories:

  • Informational – Educational, Delivers information, Gain knowledge
  • E-Commerce – Sell products, online purchase
  • Social – Facebook, blog , Portfolio

Get A Free SEO Audit

We maintain and grow your website’s visibility, increase traffic, and gain more customers with measurable data!  Laced Media has the professional SEO experts to get your local business thriving. Schedule a free consultation call today.

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