Is creating great content not important for Local seo?
-
I'm helping a friend out with Local SEO/Google Places and his content is lacking - no blog, no articles, etc.
I've read the major "How To" guides for Local seo by Andrew Shotland and David Mihm and their ranking factors but I never see anything about content or linkbuilding (aside from directories).
-
Good quality content is always important no matter what you are targeting when it comes to SEO.
Remember -
great content + exposure = links
More links leads to an increase in search engine ranking, but remember when link building always go for quality over quantity (don't lose site of this and go for any spammy low quality link). Links essentially show search engines that people place value on that website or webpage as an information source for browsers, this applies to and is important for any type of business when it comes to search engine ranking. The more decent quality links you have the more weight your site has in the eyes of the search engines!
Max has put forward some good suggestions in relation to a blog and what value can be gained from it for your friend's site.
Remember decent content helps to add value to a website enriching the experience for visitors so I would get working on some if I were you.
This link to a previous Q&A has some more suggestions relating to link building that you may want to utilize:
http://www.seomoz.org/q/drowning-in-a-sea-of-link-building-advice
-
Hey,
It really depends on the type of business your friend is running.
I personally believe that it's never a bad idea to have a blog for almost any small local business. You can come up with some brilliant idea for blog's usage if you think outside the box.
The purpose of local business blog? Greater awareness. Ability to connect content with your (I say "your" but I mean your friend) business social media - hence, more social following and interaction. Deeper and longer connection - not just one-time service that they get from your business but connecting with them afterwards. Continuous offer of value without pressure - they will be more willing to use your services again if you don't "push" them - just offering value at no-obligation (we all like that).
Here're some examples of how blogs can be used for local businesses and their benefits:
-
Local restaurant.
Create a blog with free recipes. Something that might not be on your menu. Something very simple. "Meal in 10 minutes" or "Best Seattle Recipes" something simple like that. Can be local foods. Ask your chef.
You become an authority, people like your free (no-obligation) recipes and next time they think about where to go eat - your chances are much higher because of awareness (and with people that just found your blog online and this is their first visit). -
Local eye clinic
Create a blog about taking best care of your vision, tips for taking care of your contacts, tips to improve your vision with physical exercises,... Things you don't normally hear when you go to eye clinic for an eye exam.
This will build a lot of trust. They'll recommend you to their friends (who sit on the computer all day long and damage their vision, like I do haha) and they'll share it on social networks. Guess where they'll go for their next eye exam? -
Car repair shop A lot of people out there are DIY. Give them tips and guides for fixing things themselves (don't overdo it - they won't need you then), especially something that you don't specialize in. Or just have a blog with latest cool cars out there. Something of that sort. You put journals for them to read while they wait - why not have a blog with the same type of content OR even create a mobile version of your blog (it is easy with right resources) or mobile app because I lot of people prefer their smartphone to old-fashion magazine.
Just some examples. There's always something extra there that small business can "talk" about though blogging.
Hope this helps your friend!
-
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What's better for SEO an Optimized Image URL vs Optimized Image File Name?
I would like to know what is best practice for optimizing images for our website. Is it better to give an Image an optimized filename Or an optimized URL for SEO? Or is it better to do both? Would there be any harm in doing both if they are identical in their format? Any help would be greatly appreciated. With thanks, Kate
Image & Video Optimization | | K_borg0 -
Sat in a York Based Office but I get a Google Lincoln local listing :-(
Buongiorno from 27 degrees C Wetherby UK 🙂 Imagine this scenario... I'm sat in a York Based HQ law office and Google term Langleys and the Local listing is for Lincoln is rendered 😞 The lincoln office is the smaller sister site 75 miles south of where I'm sitting as illustrated here appears (this is wrong) -
Image & Video Optimization | | Nightwing
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/zymurgy_bucket/langleys-local-listing-jinxcopy_zps26e3492a.jpg I then do the same thing in a wetherby based office and get the York based local listing appears. So my question is please" what is influencing which local listing is rendered?" Confused,
David0 -
How can I get around creating multiple Gmail accounts with the same phone number?
You know how, when you setup a Gmail account, Google asks you for a phone number to verify the account? I've run into a problem where Google is not letting me create anymore accounts with the same phone number. I set up an account for every new client we take on so that we have complete control of the inbox for verification purposes. Is there a way to get around this verification issue? We tried an app called Burner Phone but found out Google won't call the number because it's not supported by any major providers (e.g. Verizon, AT&T, etc.). Any suggestions? Thanks for your help!
Image & Video Optimization | | copyjack0 -
How likely it is to rank both locally and organically
I think the question summarizes it pretty well. Did anybody experienced this, to rank for one or multiple keywords in both local and organic search results?
Image & Video Optimization | | echo10 -
Local Listings for a Virtual Product
My company sells very geographically specific products online. We have local offices in cities connected to the product and they are labeled with terms such as "florida widget". Could I use local SEO and add my website link to Google maps, etc... with the local address or is that not allowed since the products are not sold in the physical local office but rather online?
Image & Video Optimization | | theLotter0 -
Page Extension for SEO Post Penguin
I am setting up pages for an SEO campaign. This campaign will focus suburb/area focused keywords to the home page and an inner page talking about the local area. My keyword I am targeting is "flower delivery brisbane" The keywords pointing back to both pages will be made up of brand and variances of the keywords so that is ok What I would like to know, am I know over optimizing the inner page extension "flowers delivery brisbane" as it is an exact match of the main keyword to rank since google penguin. I did this prior to google penguin and it worked well. the site address is
Image & Video Optimization | | VivaArturo
simpleflowers.com.au inner page is:
simpleflowers.com.au/flowers-delivery-brisbane Would love to hear your thoughts0 -
Local Search Citations
Hi Is there a checker where it will show what local citation sites a Google Places listing has? My listing has been claimed on the likes of Yelp, Qype etc but I doubt if the others above me have as they have not even claimed their places account The reason being is that it can only be the local citations that is causing the following listing - or if there is anything else I would be interested to learn what it is? http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/place?hl=en&safe=active&prmd=imvns&resnum=5&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=828&wrapid=tlif132205140339110&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=chartered+accountants+swansea&fb=1&gl=uk&hq=chartered+accountants&hnear=0x486e45555a4e97b1:0x3d77128e2fe7cb74,Swansea,+Neath+Port+Talbot&cid=7535215611406218142&ei=T-fMTvTbC4zA8QOpwLz6Dw&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=placepage-link&resnum=2&ved=0CEIQ4gkwAQ to appear above http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=chartered%20accountants%20swansea&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CG8QFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.harrisbassett.co.uk%2Fcontact-harris-bassett.htm&ei=BufMToaLEtTY8QPQ9JjXDw&usg=AFQjCNHH86xx6pmUJ2BBODG_LGHeSL7RYg on a search for chartered accountants swansea
Image & Video Optimization | | idv0 -
Is there a free/cheap self hosting video site? Can't afford wistia, but want to do it for the seo benefits
Is there a free/cheap self hosting video site? Can't afford wistia, but want to do it for the seo benefits
Image & Video Optimization | | anchorwave0