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SEO matters. You don’t need me to tell you that – although I certainly have told you all about it! 

Understanding the importance of SEO is one thing and knowing what to do with your SEO metrics is another. With so many metrics to choose from, how do you know where to put your focus? Which metrics can help you the most? 

That’s where I come in. It’s a lot to ask any small business owner to learn everything there is to know about SEO. It’s a complex topic. But here are the SEO metrics that you really should be tracking, even if you don’t have time for anything else. 

Organic Traffic  

The traffic your website generates is the life’s blood of your business online. If your site doesn’t attract new visitors, it’s a sure sign that your SEO isn’t doing what it should. 

Organic traffic is all the traffic you don’t pay for – in other words, it’s the traffic you get because someone...

Audits. Nobody likes them, am I right?

I get it. I really do. But audits serve a purpose – and if your business is closed right now because of the COVID-19 pandemic, then this is the perfect time to change ‘audit’ from a dirty word to a tool that can help your business thrive.

Not sure how?
The good news is, it’s easy to do.

Your business could probably use some fine-tuning, and an internal audit of your resources and processes can help you get everything in order so, when you do reopen, you’ll be more successful than ever. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

Website Review
Since your website is your online HQ, it’s a good place to start your audit. You may want to review your competitors’ websites to get a handle on what they’re doing. Then make note of anything that’s outdated or not working the way it should, including:

• Your site’s design
• Mobile accessibility
• Navigation
• Site speed
• Broken/outdated links
• SEO

I talk a lot about local SEO and if you’ve recently updated your site, you may roll your eyes at the appearance of another article about local SEO.

I get it. Believe me, I do. I don’t want to sound like a broken record.

But…

The truth is that local SEO is changing all the time. It’s hard to keep up – and I’m a professional marketer! 

I know it can be hard for small business owners to stay abreast of changes and keep their sites optimized for local search.

To keep things simple, I’ve put together this local SEO resource for you to use to get the new year started right. I’ll focus on the quickest and easiest things you can do to ensure that your local SEO is up to scratch – and that the people in your target audience can find you.

Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
I’m not going to go into detail here about Google My Business because I’ve written about it extensively before. That said, please don’t...

Local business owners are busy people – you know that already. In a single day, you could be acting as an HR manager, marketing guru, IT expert, and cashier. That’s a lot for any one person to do.

For that reason, SEO can sometimes take a back seat. It’s understandable. When you’re the one doing nearly everything, you might be tempted to set SEO aside – especially if it seems like it’s not a money-making endeavor.

1. but the optimal loading time for conversions is about 2.4 seconds!
2. Do mobile user testing and make sure that your menus and buttons are easy to navigate on mobile.
3. Make sure your content doesn’t require horizontal scrolling (or squinting) to be read on a mobile device.
4. Make sure common actions and requests are easy for mobile users. In other words, make it easy for them to find directions to your store, view your prices, subscribe to your list, make a purchase, or follow you on social media.

On a related note, you should also...

I’m sorry that I have to break it to you but…  AdWords is dying. Well, I’m not that sorry. I’m eager to tell you because Google Local Service Ads are a better option for local businesses than AdWords ever was.

Why? Because AdWords was an advertising tool that could be adapted for local businesses - with the right local keywords, it’s been possible to get to the top of Google’s SERP. 

You’ve got your SEO all figured out, right?

Well… maybe.

Perhaps you’ve done a ton of research to find great keywords.

Maybe you’ve got terrific, engaging content.

You’ve optimized your links and tags.

Guess what?

If your business is local and you haven’t focused on local SEO, then the chances are good that you’re falling behind your competitors without realizing it.

All SEO is not created equal. National SEO – which focuses on non-location based keywords – is useful for big corporations. But for small businesses, local SEO is where it’s at.

What are the differences? What do you need to know to make the most of local SEO? Let’s talk about it.

The Big Picture Similarities
Local and national SEO have a lot in common.

For example, both types of SEO have the goal of improving a website’s ranking on Google’s Search Engine Results Page (SERP.) The pages with the highest ranks get the lion’s share of...

SEO changes are coming one after another – like waves. And in 2019, you’ve got two choices: sink or swim.

Sound dramatic? Maybe it is. But the truth is that it’s getting more and more difficult to stay on top of the shifting tides of SEO. Google updates its algorithm regularly and doesn’t share the changes – and if you want your website to stay visible and maintain its rank, you’ve got to be ready to move with the current.

So, with that in mind, here are the biggest SEO trends of 2019 as I see them – and some tips about how to use them to your advantage.

Voice Search 
I’m starting with a big one that many small and medium-sized companies are still ignoring. Voice search isn’t going anywhere – and in fact, it’s going to become increasingly important in 2019.

Why? Because pretty much all of us are using voice search in some way. Whether you’re starting a mobile search by saying “OK Google” or calling...