SEO is Greek to a lot of people. There are just so many things to learn about it that newbies often feel intimidated to even know where to start! So, to make things easier for you, our resident Los Angeles SEO expert has simplified everything down to a five-step checklist that even those completely unfamiliar can understand. We hope it helps you out!
Create Local Profiles, Especially a Google Business Profile
The first thing you have to do when establishing a local presence online is to put a mark on it. This can be done by creating local profiles of your business on websites like Google Business Profile and Yelp. This way, local people can easily find your business when they search for your services online. The more your local visibility is boosted, the more likely your business will expand.
You should start by claiming your Google Business Profile. A lot of people use Google to find things they need, so you have your best shot at discovery here.
Make sure that the profile is as detailed as possible. It’s not enough to be discovered—you need to have proof of your existence by adding your store address (if any), contact numbers, hours of operation, and more. You should also create a website as soon as possible and link it to your Google Business Profile.
You also have to have proof of life by adding pictures and videos. This makes your business look more inviting to prospective customers. It also helps them find your store easier if they choose to visit you physically.
And speaking of helping your customers, another thing you want to do is answer frequently asked questions like, “Where’s the nearest parking lot?”, “Are you open on Sundays?” or “Is this an animal-friendly establishment?”
Look at the Technical Parts of Your Website
If you already have a website to link to your Google Business Profile, great! However, you need to make sure everything looks good from the front end and the back end. You might not see what’s going on in the background, but they affect how Google crawls through your website. And if Google can’t crawl through your website properly, your rankings will be affected.
Here are the six elements you need to check up on. Please consult a Los Angeles SEO expert if you’re not familiar with some of these.
1. Robots.txt File
This is a file in your code that allows crawlers access to your website. You need to choose which pages to allow or block access, especially if you’ve got a lot of pages. Google doesn’t have the time to sift through all pages on your website, so just choose the most important ones.
If you’ve got original photos you don’t want to be blasted on Google Images, you can also use robots.txt to block the crawlers from sharing them.
2. Canonical Link Element
If a page on your website has multiple URLs, canonical link elements make sure you’re only indexing one preferred URL.
3. Redirects
If a page on your website has been deleted or removed, you need to redirect people who still use the old URL to the new one. There are many types of redirects, but we highly encourage using 301 since that tells Google that your page has been permanently moved elsewhere.
4. Duplicate Content
Please remove any pages on your website that have duplicates of the same content. This can severely affect how well you rank on search engines.
5. Mobile-Friendliness
These days, many people use their smart gadgets and not just desktops to browse through websites. You need to adapt your Los Angeles web design to be mobile-friendly, so everything still looks nice on smaller screens.
6. Page Speed
A slow-loading website is a death note for your business. Customers simply do not like waiting around for something when they can get faster service someplace else! Not only that but crawlers also get affected by it. Your website might only be indexed partially or skipped completely!
Optimize Your Website
Keyword research is the best way to optimize your website. Here, you use key phrases that make it easier for Google to pull you up whenever someone searches for something. The key phrases need to be relevant to your site, be useful for the customer, not be too specific, and be localized. For example, if you are a stationery e-commerce website, your keywords can be ‘school supplies San Francisco,’ ‘bullet journal ideas,’ ‘washi tapes Modesto,’ and more.
Obtain Backlinks
Backlinks are links you get from other websites. You want people to post links to your website because it increases your credibility with Google, thereby shooting you up the ranks.
There are many ways to do this, and some are easier than others. One super easy way to get backlinked is by posting your business on local listings like Yelp. A slightly harder way to get backlinked is by hosting an event that then gets featured on social media or online news websites. Finally, a way to get backlinked that takes a lot of time and effort is by developing a webinar or a research journal.
Make a Task List
The above steps are just the beginning of your long and arduous journey with SEO, and it’s a lot easier said than done. So, take things one step at a time. Create a list of things you need to do first, and don’t get too crazy trying to do everything at once. You need to master the basics first before you can move on to something more complicated.
Alternatively, you can also hire someone like a Los Angeles SEO expert to help you improve your game. These people would have already seen everything and know what they need to do to quickly establish your business online. They can also answer any questions you may have about running an e-commerce website.
If this is something you’re interested in, feel free to contact Drive Traffic Media. We are a digital marketing agency in Los Angeles that can guide you on this very exciting journey! Visit our website here.
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