Google Local Optimization (google places optimization) is a process that’s important for any webmaster who’s interested in increasing the amount of traffic his or her site gets. That means people who want to make money off their websites should be particularly interested in it. Learning the ins and outs of Google Local Optimization can be confusing; there seem to be a million equally-valid strategies out there. Read through this article, and you should pick up some solid advice that will work well with any Google Local Optimization technique you choose to employ.
Regardless of the Google Local Optimization Tactics & Tips
The optimization game all comes down to keyword selection, really. If you pick general keywords with lots of traffic and lots of competition, you can concentrate on taking a small slice of a big pie. If you want to focus on specific keywords that get less traffic, you want to dominate those phrases utterly. The strategies are dramatically different, so it’s vital that you know what kind of keywords you’re dealing with. Learn all the ins and outs of the Google AdWords keyword tool. You need to be as well-informed as possible before you dedicate your efforts to optimizing for a particular keyword. Don’t forget to check back in over time; be aware of changes in traffic patterns.
Regardless of the Google Local Optimization tactics you’re using internally, you also need to build up a healthy stock of off-site links in order to maximize your search engine results page ranking. While there are a lot of automated tools and services available for building off-site links, what they all have in common is poor performance. They’ll never deliver the same kind of results as person-to-person link-building. Forge relationships with webmasters who can place your links where people will see them and click on them.
Using Facebook & Twitter to Share to Multiple Social Networks
Other website owners aren’t the only social contacts that can help you optimize. Your own website visitors can give you a hand if you court them properly. Make all of your content as easy as possible to share across social networks like Twitter and Facebook. You’ll find pre-coded widgets on social media sites that you can copy into your pages’ HTML to produce share buttons for your visitors. Do everything you can to encourage your visitors to click on those links. This builds traffic directly and indirectly: users may follow social links right into your site, and the linking activity will also contribute to your site’s search engine rankings.
If you really require top-of-the-line optimization, look into bringing in a professional to help you out. In certain circumstances, Google Local Optimization experts can deliver big payoffs and justify the expense of hiring them many times over. Even though there are few optimization techniques that an amateur can’t master, you have to consider the value of your time here. A professional Google Local Optimization consultant can work faster than you. A pro can also deliver the constant, continuous Google Local Optimization work that you’re looking for. If showing up at the top of that first results page is really crucial to you, put an expert on the job of keeping you there.
Because the best tactics and strategies for optimizing change over time, it can be dangerous to give out overly-specific advice. Hopefully, the principles laid out in this article are general enough to retain their applicability for years to come. Let them guide your steps down the road to google places optimization, but remember to educate yourself thoroughly on the current state of the art.