Local SEO Checklist
These are the steps you take to get on the 1st page of Google for the search queries that matter.
This web page is still under construction, but still has a ton of valuable information we want you to have available now as we continue to improve and complete the content and design.
Thanks for understanding. Enjoy.
Google’s Free SEO Tools
Google My Business
https://www.google.com/business/
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/KrTF7Okx_A4
Google Analytics
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/v1BGe-CCXuI
Google Search Console
https://search.google.com/search-console/about
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/esPwzvgk9TI
Bing’s Free SEO Tools
Bing Places
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/wP8TNhLYSJQ
Bing Webmasters
https://www.bing.com/toolbox/webmaster
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/ZlUq2-A48ts
Yelp
Tutorial: https://youtu.be/ROTJjt5SAJo
Keyword Research Methods
Google Search Console Performance Tab
https://search.google.com/search-console/about
Google Ads Keyword Planner
Google My Business Insights
https://www.google.com/business/
Google Suggest
Ubersuggest
https://neilpatel.com/ubersuggest/
AnswerThePublic
Bonus: https://optimized.design/keyword-research-for-local-businesses/
How Strong Is Your Current Online Presence
SEOquake
https://www.seoquake.com/index.html
Perform Searches Like A Potential Customer
Ahrefs
SEMrush
Section Notes:
It is just the best practice/good idea in general to hook up all of the free tools Google and Bing have to offer. Don’t sleep on Bing! They are sneaky…
By connecting your site to these platforms properly, you can be sure the 2 largest search engines for local businesses will know your website exists, not to mention the insights they also provide.
It is very important to do some research before diving in! You know your business/industry very well, people searching may not. Identify the words and phrases they use to find businesses like yours.
Mandatory Website Elements – Front End
Website Navigation and Content Is Easy To Navigate and Read
Clear Call To Action (CTA)
Use Your Own Photographs
Write Your Own Content
Internal Links
If you are interested in our services, contact us. That’s an example of an internal link.
External Links
Want to learn more about SEO? Check out what Wikipedia has to say about SEO.
Note: If you click on that external link it opens in a new tab. Never take people completely off your website when linking externally! Always make it open in a new tab. The HTML for this is simple: target=”_blank”
Responsive Design
Blog
Check out our SEO Blog here: https://optimized.design/seo-blog/
Section Notes:
We work on a lot of websites. We look at even more for tire kickers! 🤣
You’d be shocked at how many websites are simply missing key data such as their NAP (Name, Address, and Phone) or don’t make it clear what the website visitors are supposed to do after viewing the website.
Lose the stock images ASAP if you are using them. Make sure you wrote your content and that it provides value to the reader and is accurate to your business.
Mobile web browsing has been here and will continue to gain popularity. Make sure your site looks good on a phone!
Mandatory Website Elements – Back End
URL Structure
URL structure in a nutshell:
Say you have a services page and then each service has its own page (Highly recommended by the way…)
The ‘services’ page should be: website.com/services
The individual services page should be: website.com/services/service
Site Speed
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
Schema Markup (Structured Data)
https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-seo-structured-data-schema/
https://technicalseo.com/tools/schema-markup-generator/
https://hallanalysis.com/json-ld-generator/
Page Titles
Page Meta Descriptions
Alt Tags
H Tags
Section Notes:
If your website doesn’t load in under 4 seconds, it’s a problem!
Schema markup fuels voice search devices like Alexa, Siri, + Google Home.
Your page titles and meta descriptions are what you see when looking at the search results listing (otherwise known as SERPs). These don’t do much for SEO per se, but can persuade someone to click on your listing over another. Optimize for clicks with SEO keywords in mind.
Alt tags are more important than ever. Simply describe the image in its alt tag. Alt tags are used for SEO, screen readers, and will be displayed if for some reason the browser does not load your image.
H tags are your websites ‘Headlines.’ Just like newspaper headlines. This proper use is easy to understand and rarely implemented properly.
Lose the stock images ASAP if you are using them. Make sure you wrote your content and that it provides value to the reader and is accurate to your business.
Mobile web browsing has been here and will continue to gain popularity. Make sure your site looks good on a phone!
Off-Site SEO Factors
Business Social Media Accounts
It’s hard to say if Facebook or YouTube is most important. I’m leaning towards YouTube as it is owned by Google and Google does not care all that much for Facebook!
LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter could be valuable to your business/niche/industry.
One important thing to note is that if you are not going to be active on these platforms, it may be best to not create one in the first place. Each of these do allow for a ‘back link’ to your website, although it holds little to no value for SEO purposes. If you really want the ‘citation’ and ‘back link’, which isn’t a terrible idea, then make it clear with your post(s), profile, or cover image that the action is on your website or another platform, or simply make it clear how to contact you/learn more otherwise.
Build and/or Verify Citations or Directory Listings
We highly recommend using this service for back link building: http://bit.ly/optimized-citations
That is an affiliate link and if you do choose to use their service, we may be compensated for the referral. We have spent over $1,600 with them building our own and our clients’ back links. We are 100% positive you will have a positive experience and it will be worth the cost. We have used several other tools and from our experience, they are simply the best.
Earn Back Links
Ongoing SEO To-Dos
Fetch More Google Reviews
Here are some tips: https://optimized.design/the-4-best-ways-to-use-a-direct-google-review-link/
*Since originally writing that blog post, Google now provides every verified business with a short, branded link within Google My Business. Before this was available, it was hard to get it! So, I had my Optimized SEO and Website’s developers make a tool.
Update and Add To Your Website’s Content
Post To Google My Business Once Per Week
Build More Citations and Get Reviews On These Platforms
Write More Blogs
Bonus Tips
Zoho For Your Company Email
SSL Certificate – Secure Your Website
You can get an SSL certificate for free if you are willing to jump through some hoops with Let’s Encrypt: https://letsencrypt.org/
Or, you could host your website with us and we include a free SSL certificate and your website will be hosted on our super secure Amazon AWS dedicated server.
Website Accessibility
Learn more about website accessibility by visiting https://ada.optimized.design. Just a heads up, this tool is technically a ‘band-aid’ and we are working on developing a more robust tool that actually resolves your website’ code accessibility issues to truly make your website compliant with web accessibility laws.
Our new tool should launch in early 2020. It is going to be a big deal really soon. Many websites, large and small, have already been sued and lost because a person with a visual or motor impairment could not navigate their website.
Build A List
MailChimp: https://mailchimp.com
Little Something Extra
Have a WordPress website? Check out 11 of our favorite plugins: https://optimized.design/seo-agencys-favorite-wordpress-plugins/