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#SEOChat Recap – Local SEO Strategies – June 16, 2016

Last month, I had the privilege of hosting the weekly #SEOChat on Twitter. It was a ton of fun moderating and reading helpful insights from Local SEO leaders.

The #SEOChat group discussed everything from the best tools to use for citation management and competitive analysis, as well as insights on favorite places Local SEO experts go to to score local links for their clients, and perspectives on Microdata and local ranking factors.

I’ve put together a brief recap presentation on SlideShare that gives an overview of the 10 Question discussion. Enjoy the recap!

#SEOChat Recap Presentation

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I’ll Be Hosting #SEOChat on Twitter June 16, 2016

What is #SEOChat?

#SEOChat is a weekly Twitter Chat that happens every Thursday at 1pm Eastern where leading SEOs and Digital Marketers from all around the world come together to discuss (in 140 characters or less) a specific topic related to SEO.

The Twitter hashtag #SEOChat is used to follow along and participate in the discussion. The chat goes on for about an hour and is guided by a moderator/host who asks 5-10 questions related to their topic of choice.

#SEOChat Goes Local on 6/6/16

This Thursday (June 16, 2016) is my first opportunity to host #SEOChat, and I’ll be posing questions around the topic of Local SEO!

Among the topics we’ll discuss are:

  • Favorite Local SEO Campaign & Citation Management Tools
  • Challenges that Businesses with Multiple Locations Face
  • Use of Schema.org Markup
  • Earning Local Backlinks

Tune in at 1pm Eastern Time to participate or to see what leading SEOs and Digital Marketers have to say about Local SEO in 2016!

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Thanks to Atlanta Business RadioX for Having Me as a Guest!

ATLANTA BUSINESS RADIOX HAS CHRIS EVERETT AS A GUEST

As an entrepreneur, I have a certain affection for people and organizations that support small businesses. Today I had the privilege of being a guest on Atlanta Business RadioX and meeting two influential small business advocates, Lee Kantor and Ryan McPherson.

During the 33 minute segment, I spoke about about many things related to search engine marketing including:

I also had the opportunity to talk about the great work that Rebuilding Together Atlanta, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that I have the privilege of being on the Board of Directors, is doing for our under-served populations in our community.

Listen to My Guest Segment on Business RadioX

If you’d like to listen to my segment on Business RadioX, you can listen by clicking on the play button at the left, or you can visit the Business RadioX website.

Want to Be a Guest on Business RadioX?

Business RadioX offers several opportunities to be a guest, with numerous studios throughout metro Atlanta. If you’d like to get your company featured on Business RadioX, simply visit this link and pitch them your story.

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Empower Your 2014 Atlanta SEO Strategy With These Essential Resources

SEO Strategy With Essential Resources

Whether your business is in retail, healthcare, or consulting, Atlanta has competitive search markets for countless industries and professions. To get your Atlanta SEO strategy flowing in the right direction, it’s important to have your resources in a row.

In this gem, you’ll be treated with a wealth of tips and resources to empower your local SEO strategy in 2014. So bookmark this page and use it as a guide to inspire the creative process behind your company’s Atlanta SEO strategy.

Local SEO Gold Worth Digging Into

So you want some local SEO goodies that will take your Atlanta business to the next level in local search? Of course you do!

Below are a few great resources worth checking out. We’ve broken them down into on-page SEO and off-page SEO resources, the primary subsets of a standard local SEO process.

On-page SEO Resources

Technical SEO

Understanding Schema is extremely essential in building an authoritative local search presence in 2014. Schema.org is something you or your webmaster needs to study and understand for technical SEO. In short, using Schema enables you to better communicate what your website is all about to search engines, and thus empowers your business’s ranking potential. It’s a bit code-heavy, but it’s definitely something you do not want to neglect.

SEO Copywriting & Content Optimization

Beyond the technical SEO aspects of your website, the visible and more creatively-influence content is equally important. Establishing proper keyword relevancy with on-page optimization and SEO copywriting is important to lay the foundation of a well optimized website. Visit the SEO Copywriting Blog at OrganicSEOCopywriters.com for a wealth of resources to help you learn the best practices of SEO copywriting.

Also, check out the SEO Copywriting eBook by CopyBlogger.com. Polish-up your SEO copywriting craft a bit further with this phenomenal resource by one of the most reputable sources for on-site optimization.

Off-page SEO Resources

Get Listed, for Links & Citations

The most authoritative businesses in Atlanta who are dominating their local search markets are often times listed on many local directories. To ensure your SEO efforts are up to par, check out the Best Local Directories for SEO at LocalSEOGuide.com. This is your local SEO laundry list of directories you should strive to get your business on (when appropriate.)

Another great resource to find and ensure the accuracy of your business’s directory listings is GetListed.org. Powered by Moz.com, one of the most credible websites for local SEO enlightenment is GetListed.org. Just plug n’ play and you’re on your way to finding the righteous path to SEO success.

Also a fantastic tool (and ongoing program if you have the money to invest in it) is Yext.com. With Yext, you can add your business (or verify its accuracy) on over 30 of the top local directories. This platform can save hours and hours of manual labor. Even if you can’t afford Yext, it’s still worth doing the free scan to see where you business needs improvements.

Get Social with Google+

Dive into this great read titled 10 Guaranteed Ways to Get More Google+ Page Followers from Hubspot. A major contributor to your Atlanta SEO rankings is local business’ reviews on Google+. Gather more followers on this emerging social media platform and increase you’re business’s potential for more reviews.

Ranking Rejuvenation

Have you been around the SEO block a few times? Perhaps to the point where your site might be at risk of over-optimization? Plug-in your domain at Pixel Groove’s Google Sandbox and Penalty Checker Tool where you can determine if you site has been flagged. Here you can determine if you need to rethink your link building strategies and how to re-approach off-page SEO.

Well there you have it folks – a solid list of weapons you can’t incorporate in your Atlanta SEO arsenal. Stayed tuned for more great SEO wisdom and insights.

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3 Simple Social Media Strategies for Small Businesses

Social Media Strategies for Small Business

For small businesses that are looking to gain traction with local consumers online, social media marketing has become an incredibly effective and cost efficient method of connecting with local consumers and increasing brand visibility in the local search results.

A recent statistical analysis from social media analytics provider Pingdom offers significant insights to the demographics of users, signifying similar usage of social media platforms by both men and women surveyed (47% for men and 53% for women), as well as an even usage of a variety of social media channels by the younger segment of users (18 to 24) who do not dedicate themselves to just one social media site.

These statistical insights insights provide great perspective for small businesses in that it’s important for them to trial and error each social media platform in an effort to identify which social media channels are the most effective to reach their ideal consumers.

Social media has become an essential ingredient for building brand visibility and loyalty for small businesses competing in a local marketplace and to simply ignore social media as a viable source of web traffic and customer engagement can be huge lost opportunity.

With this in mind, I’ll now identify three simple strategies for small businesses to help effectively use social media to promote their business.

Evaluate Your Local Competition

We all know the adage keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. This concept has some validity in local search. Before you decide on a strategy for your social media campaign, scope out what your rival local competitors are doing in their social media efforts. Find out what social media platforms they’re on and what sort of content they’re publishing. Identify how popular they are. How many likes/followers do they have? How are they marketing their service offerings. These insights can help you plan a local social media strategy that will engage your customers in an effective manner that will surpass the efforts of your local competitors.

Consistently Engage Your Followers

Your followers are your (current and) potential customers. Interact with them. Ask them questions. Poll them on how to provide better customer service or ways to improve your products. And if you’re effectively engaging them on a consistent basis by posting new content and getting feedback from them, don’t ignore what they have to say. That’s the fastest way to burn a bridge with a consumer. If a consumer voices his/her opinion about your small business via one of your social media pages, take that complement or criticism seriously. Respond to users who post on your walls or Tweet at you in a professional manner. As I explained in this blog post, that interaction can go a long way for a consumer.  Consider social media an opportunity to continue to improve your products/service offerings for your consumers.

Provide Incentives for Your Followers

As I eluded to in my previous post about conversion optimization, consumers LOVE deals (and free stuff.) An excellent social media strategy for small businesses is providing exclusive offers to your followers on each of your social media properties. Incentives keep your social media followers interested in your brand. Offering something of value such as 50% off your next cup of coffee or offering a discount code for free shipping to your social media followers is a great way to keep them loyal to your brand – coincidentally, it’s also a great way to increase sales, as well.