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April 13, 2015 by

Repost – Local SEO And Lessons From The Stock Trading World

Greg used to run Search Simplicity, a website dedicated to SEO and other online marketing topics.  This is a repost from a guest post he added to his site back in the early Fall of 2014.

 

Stock Trading Lessons Applied To Local SEO Search Phrases

The author’s views below are entirely his or her own and do not reflect the views of Search Simplicity

Can Stock Trading be Applied To Local SEO?

In the world of trading financial instruments, such as stocks, many market participants like to time their entries and exits using charts.

A common phrase used to describe the advanced study of using charts in the financial markets is called “technical analysis“.

The big question is, “What does that have to do with local search engine optimization?!?”

Great question!

With the underlying assumption (presupposition) that most local businesses don’t care much about “branding”, and instead just care only about new leads/prospects/phone calls/walk-ins and e-mails, a basic principle from stock trading technical analysis can help you get those new leads and phone calls rather quickly from the search engines.

This principle goes to the core of what SEO was founded upon:  keyword phrases.

 

In stock trading technical analysis, there is a principle called “Multiple Time Frame Analysis“.

Multiple Time Frame Analysis means nothing more than looking at a particular stock symbol or index (like the S&P 500) on charts, representing different time frames.

Doing so allows the market participant an opportunity to develop at least one (or more) competitive edge, in order to profit.  The typical “time frames” for any stock or index are as follows:

  1. Yearly charts – where every bar (or “candle” on some stock charts) represents the high/low/open/close price for an entire calendar year
  2. Monthly charts – where each bar/candle represents one month’s data of the four price points (high/low/open/close)
  3. Weekly charts
  4. Daily charts
  5. Intra-day charts (these could vary from 1 minute charts to hourly charts)

You are welcome to look at some of the various stock trading websites and stock charting software packages to get more familiar with these types of chart representations.

Remember that you are looking at the same stock (or index) at the same point in time, just represented in different time frames; and each may give you reason to buy, sell, initiate a “short” position (attempting to make money when a stock drops in value), or be “flat” (not have any position).

The lessons from the principle of multiple time frame analysis can be applied by anyone into Search Engine Optimization (SEO), including local SEO.

Please Note:
For the remaining of this article, let’s use the example of a competitive market, something similar to; Real Estate Broker in Lexington Kentucky (a major city) – (called “CITY” for the rest of the article) or very large suburb.

We can determine if, nationally, there is demand in the search engines for specific phrases related to any particular industry.

We then can assume that a certain %percentage% of people in the local metropolitan market will use the same keyword phrases to look for similar phrases, but at the local level.

Here is how the stock trading time frame charts principle could be applied in a similar manner:

1) YEARLY CHART = the major keyword which would be “Realtor CITY“.

All participants (the Realtors themselves and the clients they help find new homes, plus independent lead-generation companies) are aiming for this keyword.

It’s going to be highly competitive and, even if you reach the first page in (Google) the organic search results, you could possibly drop very quickly, depending on how solid your rankings are and well they’ve been optimized.

Nonetheless, by ranking on page number one, you’ll likely be generating LOTS of highly targeted leads, in a relatively short time frame.

Assuming that the Real Estate Broker has decent search engine visibility, a professional attitude, and does a great job in customer service then he/she may expect a certain percentage of the new customers to become repeat customers.

Follow-up methods such as email marketing, social media marketing, or other methods to keep the Real Estate Brokers name on the minds of (clients) home buyers, could generate repeat business or even a snowball of consistent, referral business.

This is just one very small perk of being in the top spots of Google!

2)  MONTHLY CHART = a modification of the word “Real Estate Broker“.

This could be “24 hour Real Estate Broker CITY”, “local Real Estate Agent CITY”, “licensed Real Estate Agent CITY” or any other similarly targeted search phrase , which has lots of demand (according to the Google Keyword Tool/Planner or other search engine keyword demand estimator).

You won’t have as much demand for this keyword at the local level, but the conversion rate (if you rank near the top) is very high.

Most people wouldn’t type in “24 hour Real Estate Broker CITY” or “licensed Real Estate Broker CITY” unless they have a specific reason for doing so.

The odds of the Realtors website (or other web property like YouTube video, Facebook page, Google Plus page, Yelp listing, etc.) generating conversions, are pretty good here.

Going after business-to-business (B2B) phrases works here as well such as “Real Estate Agent CITY”.

 

 

3)  WEEKLY CHART = a sub-niche of the industry which has lots of demand nationally.

For example lots of people go to the search engines to type in phrases related to certain aspects of Real Estate, like “home buyers”, “luxury homes” or “houses for sale”.

While there LIKELY will be (not necessarily) less demand for “buy cheap house CITY” than “Realtor CITY”, the person searching likely will convert into a phone call or e-mail.

It is then up to the person answering the call or e-mail to make the prospective customer feel enough reassurance and confidence to use the Real Estate company.

Please Note:
The niche (industry) you’re involved in doesn’t matter.

4)  DAILY CHART = low-demand, high-margin aspects of the industry.  In the plumbing industry, certain plumbers are licensed and experienced with high-margin needs such as foundation plumbing testing or backflow prevention.

There likely won’t be much demand for “foundation plumbing test CITY”, but the competition against that keyword likely won’t be very high.

The margins on what that phone call could generate a pretty impressive (!), so it might be worth doing some basic Local SEO for keyword phrases like these.

Make sense?

5)  INTRA-DAY CHART = esoteric aspects where there is some demand and/or modifying a keyword with a brand name.  For example, in the plumbing world some customers want a plumber who specializes in a particular brand of water heater.

They actually may type in “BRAND water heater repair CITY” or a similar phrase.

There isn’t much demand for these phrases, but they do have high “buyer intent”.

For the “Daily Chart” and “Intra-day Chart” type of keywords, you likely won’t need too many inbound, high-authority/quality links to get respectable rankings.

In these cases, make sure that the words are visible to the search engines (e.g. readable text and not just words in an image file) and take care of your basic on-page SEO efforts.

Place the new content on a new page or an existing page that can be accessed through the sitemap and navigation menu, or at least through properly-structured internal page linking.

Continue to earn quality links to your website’s home page and main inner pages, like Greg recommends.

You then will want a few social mentions of the page(s) with the new content such as the brand names and/or high-margin sub-niches.

Mix up Google Plus, a Facebook share, at least 1-2 Tweets for the URL and a few others like:  Pinterest, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Reddit (if appropriate for your industry), etc.

If the sub-niche is a new service (or product) being offered by your company then you may consider an online press release as it would be justified at that point.

For the “Weekly Chart” type of keywords, you will need some quality links.  If you have an official business address, citations always will be great to have as long as they are on high-authority web properties.

Some quality Web 2.0 properties, with unique content and relevant images and/or videos, should be a solid play.  You also can get links from a quality private blog network.

Yes, a REAL private blog network like Greg recommends… not one advertising itself for everyone in the world to join!

For the “Monthly Chart” and “Yearly Chart” major keywords, you will likely need a combination of really good on-page SEO optimization, high quality local citations, high quality links, a strong social media presence and social sharing signals, mentions on local websites (e.g. the local chamber of commerce directory and the BBB) and some properly-constructed tiered link building.  Greg’s suggestions for tiered linking in 2014 (and into 2015) should be sound for you to pursue.

When it comes to these high-competition phrases, you can consider it a “win” if one of your other web properties ranks as long as it has a link to your website and your phone number.

For example, if one of your YouTube videos or your Yelp page ranks # 1 for “plumber CITY” then consider it a win even if it is not your own website ranking.  Use some of the profits generated from the new customers to purchase more authority links and create some terrific unique content.

You also could purchase relevant websites or expired domains that have a clean backlink history AND search engine authority (Moz Domain Authority, Majestic Trust Flow, AHREFS Domain Rank, etc.).

Then convert those into value-added websites/blogs with links pointing back to your website, YouTube videos, Facebook page, chamber of commerce directory listings, etc.

Be sure to mix up the link text (called “anchor text”) using each grammatical version of the keyword no more than once or twice.  Also include lots quality links that have as the text:

  • your business name
  • relevant brand names (e.g. BRAND water heater repair CITY)
  • generic text (e.g. “click here” or “visit this page”)
  • URL (e.g. “http://www.YOURWEBSITE.com”)

Please note that you are NOT subject to a fixed number of five different types of keywords like the stock chart time frames (i.e. yearly, monthly, weekly, daily, intraday).

The big picture is to understand the core principle.  All it means is that you are not mandated to go after only 1-2 major keywords.

Since a local SEO effort is designed, first and foremost to keep the company’s phone ringing each month, be sure to get inside the mind of the customer.

Use the multiple time frame/stock chart principle as a shortcut to help make the phone ring by addressing the main reason someone looks up a local business category in the search engines in the first place:  the prospective customer has a problem and is looking for a business to provide a solution.

Keeping that in mind, take some time to understand (and quantify if possible!) the types of problems that encourage someone to go the search engines in the first place.

By addressing those problems/solutions on your website and other web properties, AND by “playing nice” with the search engines by not over-optimizing or spamming your website, you will be one of the few companies in your metropolitan area to take legitimate steps toward letting the search engines help make your phone ring with new customers or clients.

If you would like more information on this topic then you are welcome to contact me with your questions.

The “multiple time frame” core principle will be the same, but the actual process may vary depending on the type of new local customer or client you are seeking.

Filed Under: keyword research, lead generation, local marketing, Page One, search engine marketing, SEO, small towns
July 12, 2010 by

SEM Help To Appear On Page One

If you need SEM help, which stands for “Search Engine Marketing”, then there are a few intelligent things you can do in the next 30 minutes before you hire anyone to do online marketing help for you.  It all depends on your goals, so take the next 30 minutes and ask yourself questions such as:

  • are you already appearing on page one of the search engine results for a high-traffic keyword?  If so, you simply may want to rank higher and/or get other web properties to appear on the first page as well
  • are you advertising on Pay-Per-Click (e.g. Google AdWords)?  If so, you may wish to get some SEM help in order to improve your ad’s position and/or increase click-through rates thereby lowering your overall per-click costs
  • you may want to appear on the “Universal Search” components which Google offers such as seeing a physical product (or book) you are selling appear as the image on the search engine results return page
  • are you looking to appear on the first page for real-time updates?  If so, there are ways to be found on the new “Updates” feature on the Google sidebar
  • do you have a local business?  If so, you probably want to get ranked first on the Maps as the map listings often help search engine users because of their visual appeal

Within this 30 minute window, then you want to detail out the resources you already have and what you still need to help facilitate your goals.  These could be:

  • outsourcing articles based around the high-demand keyword terms
  • creating a social media account and learning how to use it properly for updates
  • double-check the “Quality Score” of any Google AdWords advertising you are doing.  Do what you can to raise the Quality Score in order to ensure relevancy for the end visitors.  By increasing the Quality Score you are doing what you can to reduce the overall per-click cost for your ad
  • claim your Maps listing if you have not already done so
  • enhance your Maps listing with images, videos, coupons, and other helpful information
  • ask a small batch of happy customers to leave a review on your Maps listing(s)
  • map out the process of a quality, one-way link building campaign to improve your current search engine results page rankings

Hopefully this 30 minutes will be well-spent as most local business owners I have met have not yet asked themselves the important questions.  By doing so the owners and decision-makers will be able to get more for their money as they can ask for/request targeted SEM help to accomplish specific goals.

Filed Under: Page One, Tips Tagged With: , , , , ,
July 12, 2010 by

Plano SEO – Different Results For Same Search Term

One thing which anyone should know before attempting to improve a business listing for a Plano-related keyword phrase is to understand the risk of different search engine result page listings.  This may be a tough concept for even moderately-experienced Plano SEO experts to convey, but it is necessary.

Most people can understand that Google, Yahoo, MSN/Bing, and the other search engines will return different results because of their proprietary algorithms and formulas.  What is not so clear is the different results within the SAME search engine for the SAME keyword.  How is this possible?

A real life example is in order to help explain this.  I wanted to show this to a business client in Collin County, Texas (of which Plano is a large part); and I had him type in his business’ preferred keyword which we had identified as already having over 150 searches per month.  I called him at his office in North Plano and asked him where the web page indexed by Google was showing up on the page.  He was not logged into the search engine through any e-mail address or other service owned/operated by the search engine.  I then had him log in and re-enter the keyword phrase.

Different results!

I then had him log out and meet me at a coffee shop about 2 miles away from his office.  I explained that Plano SEO is a “moving target” and wanted to show him what I meant.  We logged onto the coffee shop’s wi-fi, but did not log into the account on the search engine.  Due to the different I.P. address and being on the wi-fi the results were, yet again, different than the other two times he attempted to enter the keyword.  All of this was within 30 minutes of my first calling him and having him enter the keyword into the search engine on his office computer.

To be fair, most of the top results were still on the first page.  The order, however, was quite different.  As far as I know, when he logged into the search engine’s account, he was not part of any social networking component of the search engine which may have affected his results.
The question, then, is how to achieve consistency in order to have the end consumer click on the link which – ultimately – will result in the visitor coming to your web page/property?  The best way is to continue to provide quality, authoritative, one-way links from good third-party websites, continue to provide useful keyword-rich content on your website, and to ensure that the web property to which you are sending the traffic is well-optimized for the keyword phrase(s) which have demand.  This should help you get good rankings within the same search engine as well as across the other major search engines.

The latter factor is the topic for a future post about any form of local search engine marketing, and we will use either a Dallas or Plano SEO example.

If you found this article to be useful then please consider sharing it with your friends by way of e-mail, social bookmarking sites, your social networks, or on any of the social news sites.

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July 8, 2010 by

Internet Marketing Tip – Why Continue To Build Links If You Are Number 1

Recently I was asked why a business owner should continue paying a SEO expert if the business’ site now ranks # 1 in all of the search engines for his preferred keyword term. This is a great question, and one which business owners should consider when investing in any form of internet marketing help.

I will approach this question in two ways. One will be a simplified “real world” example; and the other will be in the language of a business owner’s mentality.

The first is that you have remember that you “leap-frogged” someone else’s web page in order for you to rank for # 1. This means, by definition, that someone else can leap-frog you at some point (even the next day) AND the search engine always has the right to change its algorithm (and your ranking) at its sole discretion. You must continue to provide new content and links which lead the end customer – whom the search engines must protect – to content which is appropriate, authoritative, trustworthy, and relevant.

In other words, by becoming # 1 in the search engines for your desired keyword, you are now the “heavyweight champion” of your keyword. This also means that you must “train harder” to defend your “title.” Before you were # 1 in the search engine results, you – and everybody else for the keyword – was looking to take down the “champion.” Now that you are the champ, you must remember that everyone is out to take your coveted top spot!

The second is a reminder of the “big picture” regarding being ranked # 1 for your favorite term. Remember that being ranked #1 for your favorite term is a TEMPORARY reward for being the most authoritative, relevant, and trustworthy page in the estimation of the search engine’s CURRENT algorithm equation. This is vital!!

Let’s also assume that the business owner in this example carefully selected a keyword phrase which has a the underlying psychological indicator of a “buyer” or a sense of “urgency.” Let’s also assume that the keyword phrase has quantifiable demand by all of the major keyword research software (free or paid) that most SEO experts use.

Even though you may remain the # 1 listing for a lengthy period of time for the organic (natural, or non-Pay Per Click) listings on that keyword phrase, there are some significant factors to consider. You can lose your rankings because:

  • someone else becomes smart and out-optimizes and out-links you
  • someone else provides more authoritative and relevant content than you have
  • the search engines start to embed pay-per-click listings above the natural/organic results; and, to the average search engine user, they cannot discern if a link is a paid or regular link.  This means that your current # 1 ranking is now, in essence, # 4 or # 5 on the page
  • the search engine decides to place a visual representation, like a Maps display, above your # 1 rank
  • the quality of your links may not be 100% authoritative.  When the algorithm changes, the quality of your links may have a lesser score, and you could drop in the keyword results… even off the first page after having been # 1 for some time!

The list goes on and on;  and the main point is that once you become # 1 for a relevant, in-demand keyword term you MUST DO MORE THAN YOUR COMPETITION in order to “stay the champion.”  Whether you do SEO in-house, use software, or outsource it you must continue to cement your position as best as you can by providing quality, relevant, authoritative information to the end user as the search engine has one quest:  to keep the end user loyal to the search engine so that he/she has the best odds of clicking a link (or subscribing to a service) which puts money in the search engine’s accounts!

Remember that the main sites people use for search (Google, Yahoo, MSN/Bing) are all (or are a part of ) publicly-traded companies.  They are there to profit as much as you are.  If you want loyal customers AND gain market share in your niche, then those 3 want market share even more.  Keep this in mind!!

Should you need help with your search engine rankings, then be sure to contact me by the contact link at the top of the page or by e-mail at info@morethanseo.com

If you found this post to be helpful then please consider sharing it with your Twitter/Facebook/social bookmarking/social media and e-mail lists.  Many thanks!

Filed Under: Page One, Tips Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
July 6, 2010 by

How To Appear On Page One – It Is More Than Just SEO

I have met many business owners who express a desire to learn how to appear on page one of the search engines.  When I ask some more pointed questions, they usually stop and think for a while because the questions force them to evaluate their goals.

For example, I ask them if they have done advanced keyword research.  This would include category keywords, derivations of these terms, synonyms/prepositions/plural and other grammatical modifications, etc.  I then ask if they have done keyword research for buying phrases or other terms which indicate urgency or a need to purchase right away.

The business owners usually stop for a few moments and then ask more questions.  The business owners and company executives who are willing to be humbled early are the ones who are going to be successful.  By admitting that they are not on top of every keyword phrase alternative and derivation, these decision makers give themselves the chance to let the marketplace tell them what phrases people are entering as well as what sites are getting rewarded by the search engines currently.

In addition to getting the coveted # 1 spot for a buying keyword phrase on Google, there are many other places where a company can appear on page one of the search engines.  Using Google as the example, a company can:

  • get its content, posted on a third-party site like an article directory or Web 2.o site like Hubpages.com, ranked on the first page
  • appear on the Maps listings with the keywords emphasized
  • appear on the “updates” feature (currently found on the sidebar of a Google results page) which updates with content from sites like Twitter and Facebook
  • have a video, press release, or other social media content appear on the main results for the keyword
  • buy traffic through the AdWords pay-per-click service
  • have a physical product (or book) sold through a third-party site appear on the first page of results in Google

These are just some of the ways in which a business can get on page one without having to have his/her website rank for one of the top spots in the “organic” listings on the left-hand side.  Keep this in mind as you construct your content for the appropriate sites and/or as you optimize your own website or blog.

Should you need some help with making a worthwhile effort to appear on page one for terms which have demand (and indicate possible buyers) then you are welcome to contact me by clicking the contact link near the top of the page.

Filed Under: Page One Tagged With: , , , , ,