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Posts By: Nicci Jay

Long-Tail Keywords and Why You Need Them

long-tail keywords

You want to use the power of the internet to help you grow your business locally. 

I mean…you wouldn’t be here unless you did!

You’ve heard of search engine optimization (SEO) and know that it could be the easiest way for you to start implementing (that won’t also take a ton of time), but you have no idea how to get started. We get it, and we’re here to help. 

Today we’re going to dive into a topic that will set your website and blog content up to create powerful results just by being more strategic about the keywords and phrases you use inside of your content. 

So, let’s talk long-tail keywords.

First: define your long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords are typically three words or more, compared to other SEO keywords, typically only a word or two. 

These unique phrases are super specific to your business and your geographical location, which will help you get even more targeted results when using them in your content. For example, “plumbing companies in Dallas” or “broken

By using long-tail keywords, businesses can skyrocket their search engine rankings, get more website traffic, and get more potential customers through their doors. 

If you’ve got a limited marketing budget, long-tail keywords are one of the best ways to leverage your resources without spending a lot of money on local ads or other forms of marketing.

Why are long-tail keywords important for your SEO? 

Long tail keywords are an essential tool for any business not to overlook. They are more specific than broad keywords, but they also yield higher conversion rates because they create more precise results.

Using long-tail keywords can also help your website create microniches and pockets that help you stand out from your competition. Things like a particular service, your location or geographic area, or even the types of clients or industries you serve can help you stand out from the crowd. 

When you ensure that your business has an SEO strategy that leverages long-tail keywords, you have a better chance of ranking higher on Google. If you’re a local business, this is often THE thing that will set you apart from your competitors, so it’s important that you don’t overlook it. 

Long-tail keywords can also help you attract more qualified leads. As long-tail keywords are more specific, they are more likely to be used by people who have a specific need or interest in your product or service. This means they are more likely to be potential buyers who need exactly what you do. 

As an added bonus, long-tail keywords can give you more insights into what your customers are looking for. By analyzing the results of your long-tail keyword SEO campaigns, you can gain valuable insights into what content your customers are currently searching for and what keywords they are using to find it. 

Once you have this information, it also means that you can start using the exact keywords as market research that you implement into any marketing campaigns or other deliverables. 

How do I use long-tail keywords, and where do they work best?

Using long-tail keywords is easy to get started. Just add some of your most important topics to the end of your broader keywords to create long-tail keywords. 

Long-tail keywords are best used in content marketing, like your website copy, ad copy, or blog posts, as they can help you target more specific audiences or those who are further along in the buyer’s journey and likely to buy soon. 

The bottom line? Long-tail keywords are a critical component of your content marketing and SEO strategy, impacting who sees your content and from where. 

While incorporating these specific phrases into your marketing strategy might feel like a lot of work upfront, it’s also the key to helping you rank on Google. If your goal is to be on the first page of Google and the top recommendation for your business in your area, long-tail keywords are an absolute must.

Get in touch with us to learn more about how to stand out from your competitors using well-researched keywords. 

Contractors: Here are 7 Tips to Optimize Your Marketing Content

optimize your marketing content

Are you looking to optimize your marketing content for SEO? 

As a local service-based business, your marketing content is essential to attracting new clients and building brand recognition, especially with customers who are right there in your own neighborhood.

But with so much content out there, how can you make sure your content stands out against your competitors?

The answer lies in SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

By optimizing your marketing content for search engines, you can improve your visibility, show up on maps, and attract more potential customers. In this blog post, we’ll discuss seven tips to help you optimize your marketing content for SEO and get the results you want.

1. Use relevant keywords

One of the most important aspects of SEO is using relevant keywords in your website content. These are the words and phrases that people type into search engines when they’re looking for something—more specifically, that certain something that you offer. 

By including these keywords in your content, you can increase your chances of appearing higher in search engine results. Be sure to use keywords that are relevant to your business and the services you offer, and that will help your marketing content also improve your search ranking on Google. 

2. Focus on quality

When it comes to SEO, creating quality content for your audience is key. Your content should be well-written, informative, and engaging. Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. Instead, focus on creating content that provides value to your audience that will help with retention. 

3. Optimize your titles and meta descriptions

Titles and meta descriptions are important elements of your content that can impact your SEO, too. Your title should include relevant keywords and be eye-catching enough to attract clicks to anyone who comes across your website on a search engine results page or SERP. 

Your meta description should also include keywords and provide a summary of what your content is about.

4. Link internally

Linking internally to other pages on your website is also a great way to boost your SEO. This helps search engines understand the structure of your website and can improve the user experience for your visitors at the same time, making it easier to navigate in the process. 

5. Optimize for mobile

More and more people are using mobile devices to access the internet. To optimize your content for mobile users, make sure your website is mobile-friendly and your content is easy to read on a smaller screen by checking on your font size, content structure, and ability to navigate. 

6. Utilize social media

Social media is a great way to build up backlinks and drive more traffic to your website. By sharing your content on social media platforms, you can attract new followers and engage with your existing audience.

7. Monitor your progress

Monitor your progress with analytics tools to see where you can improve and adjust your content accordingly. By following these tips, you can optimize your marketing content and get the most out of your SEO efforts. 

Finally, it’s important to monitor your progress and adjust your content accordingly. Use analytics tools to track your website’s traffic and see which pages are performing well. This can help you identify areas for improvement and make changes to optimize your marketing content further.

If you really want to go big and stand out on search…we’re here to help.

By following these seven tips, you can optimize your marketing content for SEO and attract more potential clients to your business. 
Remember to focus on quality, use relevant keywords, and monitor your progress to continually improve your content. With these tips in mind, you’ll be on your way to SEO success in no time. And if you want to play with the big boys, give us a call or contact us so we can give you a hand in your chapter of business growth. Don’t wait!

SERPS: Search Engine Results Pages Explained

what are SERPs

So…you want your local business to outrank your competitor down the street and show up as the #1 spot on Google SERPs. 

Sounds like an easy ask, until you realize that without a solid strategy for Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short, your small business is totally sunk. 

Luckily, we’re here to break down exactly what you need to focus on to help you rank on your search engine of choice using the content on your website to help you make it happen. 

But first…

What are SERPs? 

SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. Nothing fancy here, it’s the page that is displayed after a user types something into the search engine. 

SERPs are basically just the listing of web pages that are most relevant to what you searched for. 

A SERP typically consists of the following elements

  • Organic Search Results: These are webpages that have been indexed by a search engine, based on their relevance to a given query. 
  • Paid Ads: Paid advertisements that are targeted to the user’s query, are almost always at the top of the results page. 
  • Knowledge Graph: A visual representation of certain facts and relationships related to the user’s query (i.e. business traffic, estimated wait times, etc.)
  • Related Searches: A list of related queries that can provide more context around the user’s query. 
  • Videos: Videos related to the user’s query. 
  • Images: Images related to the user’s query. 
  • Maps: Maps related to the user’s query. 
  • Shopping: Shopping results related to the user’s query. 
  • Local Listings: Local listings related to the user’s query. 
  • News: News stories related to the user’s query. 
  • Social Media: Social media posts related to the user’s query.

How can I get ranked higher on SERPS? 

Optimize the keywords in your website content

What does it mean to improve the keywords in your content? It means specifically including certain words and phrases that your ideal clients are likely searching on Google or their phones. This way, they’re sure to find you. 

If you’re just getting started with keyword research, a really simple way to approach it is to put yourself in your client’s shoes, google one of the services you provide, and then look at the keywords that pop up just under the search bar. It’s a great place to start but we highly recommend doing a keyword analysis so you can super target your local community. 

Here’s a quick overview for how you can create keyword rich content:

  • 1. Create content that is optimized for the keyword you want to rank for. (ex. “Frisco plumbing” or “DFW Volkswagen repair)
  • 2. Improve your website’s technical SEO, such as page speed, mobile-friendliness, and indexability (Google’s ability to read the content). 

  • 3. Build high-quality backlinks from other relevant and high-authority websites. 

  • 4. Use social media to promote your content and gain more exposure. 

  • 5. Monitor the SERP landscape of our competitors and adjust your SEO strategy
    accordingly. 

  • 6. Use structured data to enhance your website’s visibility in the SERP. 

  • 7. Monitor your website’s performance and track your keyword rankings.

Improve your Core Web Vitals

Optimizing core web vitals can help you rank higher on SERPs by improving the overall user experience of your website. Core web vitals are performance metrics that measure the loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of a page. 

By improving these metrics, you can make your website faster and more user-friendly, which can lead to higher rankings in SERPs.

Utilize imagery and improve overall page speed

Images can help you rank higher on SERPs by providing an additional signal to search engines that the content is relevant to the search. 

This can be done by adding descriptive alt tags to your images, as well as making sure the image file name is relevant to the content. 

Additionally, using images that are well-optimized can help improve page speed, which is an important factor when it comes to ranking on SERPs. 

Need help showing up first? Give us a call or contact us to get found, stand out, and earn more than your competitors. 

Google’s Advice for Optimizing Your Core Web Vitals

optimizing your core web vitals

Your core web vitals are a set of metrics that measure the overall user experience of your website. It’s like your core vitals for your body; they tell you how healthy you are and where you need a little more support to thrive.

These metrics measure things such as loading time, visual stability, and interactivity of your site as a whole, which are incredibly important for your search engine optimization (SEO). 

The user experience of your website is one of the most essential factors in how your website ranks on Google and other search engines. With high-ranking Core Web Vitals, your user experience will improve, which will help your rankings and your ability to create organic traffic to your website.

How does improving my ranking get me more organic traffic? 

Improving your ranking in search engine results pages (a.k.a. SERPs) helps to increase organic traffic because higher rankings make it easier for more potential customers to find your website. 

It’s important to remember that your organic search results hinge on your website content’s relevance to the reader and quality overall. It means including the right keywords, optimizing your content, making sure your website is well-structured, and creating high-quality backlinks (a link that points to a really helpful website for the reader and also gives your content a boost) to other websites. 

With the right SEO strategy, you can make sure your website is seen by as many relevant people and potential customers as possible, all while increasing the organic traffic to your website without the use of expensive ads. 

How can I check if my core web vitals are healthy?

You can run a free core web vitals test over at PageSpeed Insights to measure your Core Web Vitals and see other areas for improvement. 

This tool gives you a detailed report on the overall performance of your website, including individual scores for each of the Core Web Vitals metrics that will impact your search engine ranking. It will also provide a list of recommendations to help you increase your Core Web Vitals and help you rank on Google. 

Core Web Vital’s Checklist

1. Optimize your site’s loading performance by reducing server response times and leveraging browser caching.

2. Eliminate render-blocking JavaScript and CSS in above-the-fold (i.e. top half of your webpage) content. 
3. Minify and compress text-based assets like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 
4. Leverage a content delivery network (CDN) to reduce latency and improve site performance.5. Enable image compression and lazy loading to reduce page load times. 
6. Utilize tools like Chrome Lighthouse to audit your website’s performance and identify areas of improvement. 
7. Minimize third-party scripts and ensure they are optimized for performance. 
8. Use asynchronous loading for JavaScript and CSS files. 
9. Prioritize loading the most important content, such as images, above-the-fold. 
10. Implement a simple, modern, usable framework to ensure fast page loads.

P.S. Want customized support to improve your Core Web Vitals so you can start ranking on Google ASAP? 

You’re probably a good fit for our SEO Blitz service—a customized SEO strategy to help you get your business vitals back on track without you having to be the one to do it. Give us a call today and let’s get you started on the right track!