Local Seo Start Up?

[malkeenan]

Hi

I've recently started a Web design and Local SEO business in the UK and would love some advice on best practices and resources to do best by my clients. The last thing I want to do is get their site banned or penalised by Google.

In the past I have used article marketing to get 100s of backlinks but I understand it isnt that simple anymore.I might add that I always did SEO for my own sites, never offered it as a service to others. So, I'm less reluctant to take chances.

From looking at the competition in the local market I won't have to get too many backlinks to outrank most other companies. Just need to get the right good quality links. I am fairly experienced with onsite SEO.

ANy advice or relevant resources would be greatly appreciated.

[LindaBuquet]

I agree with everyone here, especially about links not being as important or at least not the 1st thing to focus on.

One other thing I stress to new consultants is read the Google My Business Guidelines.

Then read them again with a fine toothed comb.

There are many subtleties that are not spelled out and many unwritten rules, so you need to sort of read between the lines. But things are much more clearly spelled out in the new guidelines.

Here they are in case you have not read yet: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en&ref_topic=4540086 Read all the + Learn more links too.

The last thing you want starting out, is to unknowingly break the rules and get a client deleted or suspended. But if you are very cautious about the rules and stick to Miriam's list you'll be in good shape.

[MiriamEllis]

Nice discussion going on here, everybody

Malachy - it's great that you're interested in starting a Local SEO company. I think a fundamental point to make here is that, while links can be important, they are like the 6th or 7th thing on your to-do list for local customers. My list would look like this:

1. Be sure customer is running a legit business at a valid location

2. Develop a clean website with good, basic Local optimization and room to grow

3. Begin to develop content that is local and hyper-local focused, on both the website and the blog - this will continue for the life of the business

4. Build out citations for the business

5. Earn and manage reviews

6. Investigate social opportunities that are a good fit for the specific client

7. Consider projects that could earn good, natural links - these might be infographics you create, exceptional text content, buzz-making news, videos, ad campaigns, contests, newspaper mentions, etc.

8. Investigate PPC

It's really critical to prioritize local marketing campaign elements so that major effort is going into the most influential factors.

You can read more about these factors here:

http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

And here's a good post from Casey Meraz about Local SEO in 2015:

http://moz.com/blog/how-to-have-a-successful-local-seo-campaign-in-2015

And I highly, highly recommend tuning into BrightLocal's ongoing expert webinar series. Some amazing interviews there.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your new business!

[gowebsol]

I think one thing you said already has you on the right track - "Just need to get the right good quality links." I agree with this wholeheartedly. The link building guide is a huge tool, but don't forget the basics. I recommend you go through the Local Search Ranking Factors at http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors. Here are my 3 pics for getting started:

1. Local Citations. Something like MOZ Local that will accomplish the same thing in the UK. Whitespark maybe? Not sure if they have data for the UK.

2. Good old fashioned on-site optimization

3. Brainstorm some kind of killer content that people will fall over themselves to share. Hands down I've this the best way to generate quality links.

Enjoy your new adventure.

[Trojan_SEO]

Malachy,

I am in a similar situation as you, being a start up.  The only difference is I have done local SEO for several businesses on the side before "starting up."

One thing you will run into is the overwhelming number of people who "do local SEO" for insanely small monthly fees like $99, $199, etc.  Most (not all) are able to do this and still build a business because they are doing automated processes like article marketing, blog comments, directory submissions, low value guest posting, etc.  These are what will cause your site to get penalized, etc.  And quite frankly, these sites with 100's of links can typically be beaten fairly easily with a few high value local links and correct citations.  Basically, not worth the risk and not worth the time.  It may seem like it is hard to compete in this space doing it the right way, but this is where your skills managing a sales pipeline and educating your potential customers comes in.

I'll refer you to this great article her on Moz: http://moz.com/blog/how-to-have-a-successful-local-seo-campaign-in-2015

"...Remember that in time [websites ranking because of spammy tactics] disappear. If you take shortcuts, you're going to get caught and it's not worth it for the client or the heartache on your site. Maintain the course and do things the right way."

To answer your main question, if you want to avoid any penalties, ask yourself two questions:

1. Does this action improve my client's customers' experiences?

2. Does this action help Google gain confidence in my businesses location, service, quality, etc.?

If you can answer yes to at least one of those for every link or citation you manually build, you are in the clear, otherwise, you are probably spinning your wheels and potentially setting yourself up for a penalty (especially if you are talking about 100's of links, when local is a game won by 7 or 8 links 99.9% of the time). So ask yourself, "does submitting an article to these directories either provide my client's customers with a better experience, or does it show Google that I am a good choice as the local solution for a search performed by a user?"  I'm going to guess the answer is no.  Now, a handful of these links aren't bad, especially when combined with other good link building strategies, but they certainly won't help you.

Good luck!  Rise above the spam, and get your clients some awesome results. One of my favorite techniques is using OSE and Ahrefs to uncover ALL the power links that client's top local competitors have in their respective profiles, and then work with my client to help them gain these same links. Typically, the big time links uncovered from this method are from government website, local organizations, etc., and the actions that you need to take in order to get these links requires your client to develop their business service offering or realm of influence in the community in some way, like offering a new discount, or donating, or joining a group.  It helps both online and offline!  Then we become more than SEO's... we become marketers helping our clients grow holistically.

#answered

[grobro]

Hi Malachy,

Moz has some great stuff about link building: http://moz.com/blog/category/link-building

Have a good read;)