Understanding Local SEO, Part 2

Easy Tactics on the Lower End of the SEO Complexity Scale

 

Wow a week just flew by, it seems that everything is moving so fast today. SEO and the tactics used in building Internet visibility are no exception. A decade ago all one needed was a website, in many cases a bad one at that. Then came the concepts of website optimization, putting the right words in the right places. Next we saw the rise of backlinks (others linking to your website), which gave way into content backlinks, very often poor content generated in content farms. Ever since Google has been at war with bad content. Ultimately Google makes money when consumers find their search results offering value, you were able to find what you needed quickly. This year over 500 changes will be made to Google’s algorithm, a frenzied pace of development.  

 

More than ever a small business needs to know what will last, what works, and how to avoid paying for the low value SEO tactics typical of SEO mass market sites. Today we’ll shed some light on those that do not work and those which are simple and and should be charged accordingly. 

 

The past decade of search evolution has left a large toy box of SEO tactics in it’s wake. Some of those tactics are complex, and some really just grab the low hang fruit. Many of those tactics no longer work well, although they may still be promoted by quick buck SEO firms. 

 

Three Old Tactics That Don’t Work

 

• Stuffing an Internet page full of a certain word phrase – Really does this look natural?
• Link Farms – We all link to each other – Do they think Google can’t see who is linking to who, who is in the community of spammy sites?
• List all my keywords in the meta keywords tag (hidden webpage notes) – Never did work, Google pays no attention to hidden meta keywords.

Sadly you will still find firms who are trying to sell easy SEO with link farms, they are everywhere. 

 

SEO Low Hanging Fruit

 

What are some of the tactics that companies spend money on that are really very easy to do and take an SEO firm very little time to accomplish? Perhaps the big three I see are: Directory Submissions, Search Engine Submissions, X Number of Backlinks. Lets unpack each of these. 

 

First I am not saying they do not need to be done, they do need to be done and are foundational. It’s just that mass marketed SEO programs tend to take your cash for these three simple things and do little more. It’s a quick buck tactic which causes small business to overpay for basic low level services, and robs them of what they really need to spend their hard won cash on. I recently saw one firm who had been charged $2500 for Search Engine and Directory Submissions. Sad, that sum could have bought months of real quality work. 

 

Search Engine Submissions and Directory Submissions – Sweet and Easy!

 

Have you have ever noticed your browser pre-filling out a form because you had completed something similar before on another website? Or maybe you have had a stamp or stickers made to make sending a letter easy. Submissions are similar to a rubber stamp in a way… 

 

• Search Engine Submissions are almost as simple. SEO Software allows entry of your Business Name, information, and website address into a mass submission form. Then one click and 5 minutes later all 200 search engines now have the information. Time taken 10 minutes.
• Directory Submission is slightly harder. Using the same software, the SEO then selects a category for services that require a selection, otherwise the SEO sets a generic category. Then one click and 15 minutes later hundreds of directories now have the information. Time taken 30 minutes.

 

X Number of Backlinks

Backlinks are perhaps one of the most misleading technical speak mumbo-jumbo terms out there. It deserves a whole post alone. So check in next time when I review this topic. 

 

Today’s Takeaway:

Avoid tactics which do not work even though they did in the past. 

Don’t sign contracts and spend too much for the low hanging, easy SEO tasks of Search Engine Submissions or Directory Submissions. 

 

Follow my next Post:

Backlinks can be misleading gauge of how much work has been done!  

 

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If you found the information useful, Many Thanks! Steve Bailey, @RL_SteveB  @SteveBaileySEO 

 

[Originally posted on our Internet Presence Marketing blog on December 12, 2011]