On this project, I worked on a local website located in Calgary, Canada. The project involved several SEO optimization tasks and there were a few challenges.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that this is a seasonal business, in winter is closed and is active in summer
Description:
Website: https://www.lazydayraftrentals.com/
Client: Keeley Vickerson
Category: Local SEO
Skills: GMB Optimization / Local Citation / On-page Optimization
Tools: Ahrefs, Semrush, Screaming Frog
The problem:
The website had been hacked and showed the users a warning “This site may be hacked”. Checking the Google Search Console the best keywords were ranked on the position 14 and visits per month was on less than 100 visits per month.
The solution:
So when we started the project we ran an audit and defined the goals
Optimize for 10 local keywords on the first page Get at least 5 of conversion rate (phone calls requiring services) To accomplish this we will focus on these specific tasks
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is a very important step in the whole SEO process. If there are problems with the technical SEO then it is likely that your SEO efforts will not generate the expected results.
I work and I worked with several SEO tools Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Raven Tools you name it. But based on my experience Semrush is the best to optimize the technical aspects of a website. Probably is not the best for research ( I prefer Ahrefs for that ) But for technical SEO is my preferred option.
This is my checklist of best practices to follow.
Specify a Preferred Domain
Optimize Robots.txt
Optimize URL Structure, Navigation, and Site Structure
Breadcrumb Menus
Implement Structured Data Markup
Canonical URLs
Optimize 404 Page
XML Sitemap Optimization
SSL and HTTPS
Website Speed and Mobile Friendliness
This was the status when I started with the project
Optimize Google My Business
If you’re serious about targeting local consumers and boosting the local search visibility for your business or for a client, Is mandatory to take some time to optimize the Google My Business (GMB) listing.
The very first stage of knowing how to optimize Google My Business for local search success is ensuring the basics are done well.
These are the step that I usually follow
Make sure your NAP is accurate
This means a quick check that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) is correct, totally up-to-date and entirely consistent with your other local business citations.
Write the perfect business description
You can add a 750-character description to your GMB profile as part of your Google My Business optimization work. This text should describe your business in an engaging, authentic manner but it shouldn’t reference things like sales or promotions.
Choose an appropriate category and sub-category
As you might expect, the category you choose when optimizing your Google My Business listing plays quite an important role in local search ranking as it tells Google which searches your business could be relevant for.
Upload and update photos
A picture may be worth a thousand words but it could also be worth a few additional brownie points when optimizing your GMB listing
Track, and respond to reviews
For local businesses, the beauty of reviews is in the influence they have on the purchase process
Added the social media profiles to Google My Business profile
Part and parcel of optimizing a GMB profile are to make sure it is as complete and up-to-date as possible.
On-Page
In order to get a page to rank on Google for a specific keyword, you must master two components on-page SEO and off-page link building. On-page SEO entails optimizing the structure of a page in a way that makes it easier for search bots like Google to find and associate the page with your desired keyword(s).
This includes optimizing Titles, Meta-description, Images Alt-Tags, URL. Fortunately, this website does not have too many pages so in a couple of hours the job was done
Link Building
When it comes to link building I really don’t want to over-complicate the things Partner With Other Local Businesses. Sponsor Local Events, Write and Promote Local Content. Local Bloggers
Final Results:
