Local SEO is harder than I thought!

[brchap]

I'm a newbie to this forum, but I've been searching, lurking, reading everything that I can for the past few weeks.

Just so you know who I am, and what I'm all about... I'm a small, local, computer repair and IT services shop in Loveland Colorado. We perform on-site computer repair and IT for residential and small business in a tri-city area.

When I first started by business about 6 years ago, I threw up my page in a couple of weeks and it was instantly on the first page of Google for search phrases such as "computer repair fort collins" and such. Since I didn't have a lot of competition (although there was some) I was there at the top for over a year.

But, then (since I was busy with work) I stopped checking my SERPs for those keywords. The years rolled by, and I paid no attention to my Google status.

Well, about 2 months ago, in the midst of revamping my web page, I checked those same keywords... and I was on page 8! Wow. Talk about out of sight, out of mind. Who goes to the 8th page of the SERPs? Yikes.

So, I got to work on some SEO. I worked on keywords and phrases on my site. I streamed my latest blog post excerpts to the front page, making my page a bit more "dynamic". I did the same with my twitter feed. I wrote a number of articles and posted them to various sites, including on ezinearticles, goarticles, squidoo. I started blogging on the local Fort Collins newspaper website in their "community blogs" section. I've posted numerous anchor-laden links on sites that backlink (I use Quirk SearchStatus to find them).

Well, after all of this, I moved up from page 8, to page 4, to page 3... and then page 2. Sometimes, if the planets are align just right, I might be found at the very bottom of page 1. But, by morning it's usually back to the top of page 2.

What I don't understand is how my competitors are still ahead of me. I look at their web pages, and they don't have nearly the content that I have. I have also performed a search for links that point to their site, and I don't see a lot (if any). I'm also seeing a lot of directory-type results coming up, such as a site that will list a lot of business on it from the local area.

And, of course, there are the Google LOCAL results that I have to contend with. You know... the ones that show beside the little map that is ALWAYS at the top (Grrrr). I'm nowhere on that map at all.

One thing that many of these businesses have on me is their physical address. Although I am targeting Fort Collins businesses, I have an address in the adjoining city. The city I live in is small, but the city I'm TARGETING is a much larger market... but, I don't technically have an address there. But, it's where most of my on-site clients are located.

I would have thought that getting to the top and being a big fish in a small pond would have been much easier than what many of you guys do for a living (being a big fish in the BIG pond). But, beating out my few competitors in my local market has proven harder than I thought.

So, what advice would you give a lowly computer repair guy trying get back to the top of the Google search results? Should I get a local P.O. Box in Fort Collins (my target) for local search purposes? Should I skip the article writing and do more blogging (which brings in random global visitors and doesn't benefit me much)? Should I write more articles?

I'm open to suggestions! Please help!

[Alican Yenidogan]

Looks like you did some intense SEO. I hope it doesn't end in sandbox.

To answer your question. What is your competitor sites age? What is your sites?

[brchap]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Maybe this is a stupid question... but, what is sandbox?

[Gene Pimentel]

To get into the "10 box" as some call it, you absolutely must have an address in the city you're targeting. If you haven't already done so, make sure you complete your business listing at http://www.google.com/local/add . Be sure to list a local phone number (not 800), and provide as much information as you can in this listing! Photos, videos, and make sure you use keywords wherever you can in your listing.

[Alican Yenidogan]

What is Google Sandbox effect? | Google Success SEO SEM Tips

Have a look at this article.

Alican

[brchap]

The #1 position belongs to a company that registered his domain name last year.

My domain is at least 3 years older than anyone on the front page (except for the directory sites). Although I've had my same host and website for about 6 years, I changed my business name and switched domain names in 2005.

[derrickp]

Build more links.

[kevinpotts]

Uhmm trying building more links, go into forums form your country and search for specific threads about what you offer.

Write interesting stuff with the keywords that you're using and maybe look for others that your competitor is using.

If you're local, have you thought on using a bumper sticker on your car?? (aside from all the SEO work it can be helpful also)

Kevin

[BillyMac856]

You could try "onlywire" its free if ya put up one of their bookmark buttons on your site. I also use "trafficbug" it automates the social bookmarking & I am pleased with both. I've just started using onlywire and have quite a few backlinks already. Its a pain in the a#@ setting up at first, ya have to sign up with about 30 sites, but after its set-up, 1 click and boom off it goes to 30 sites, check it out it can only help.

[brchap]

I appreciate all of the suggestions... keep em coming.

The article about the Google sandbox was interesting, although I don't think that I am in the sandbox. My site shows up on the top of the 2nd page.

From that article on the the Google sandbox, however, I learned that I'm probably being a bit impatient with my anchor links from articles. I'm sure it's a probably a newbie mistake, but I sort of expected those inbound links from ezinearticles and goarticles to have an IMMEDIATE effect.

According to the sandbox article I just read, it seems that Google dampens the effect of inbound links for all sites. Can anyone here confirm that? Will the links I create today take FULL effect 3 months from now?

If so, that's fine... I'll just continue to create articles and blog, knowing that eventually Google will catch up with the site that's creating real value in my local area (mine).

By the way, I'm not trying to just create traffic. I'm trying to boost my site in the SERPs of those people doing local searches with my target city's name. No one answered my question of whether or not to get a post office box in that city so that I can have a "local address" for the Google maps listings. Does this work?

[mlongley]

Hi Bradley,
I took a quick look at your site and your competition. The niche is really easy to take, you just need more links with the anchor text "computer repair fort collins". Search for allinanchor:"computer repair fort collins" and you dont even show up. So even though yahoo might be picking up some of your links, it doesnt look like google is. check your google webmaster tools to make sure that your links are being picked up with the correct phrases. Also, you might study why your competitors are where they are. I noticed some similarities with their title tags. The number 1 competitor has your phrase as his domain which is probably why he is first.

Another thing that you will want to do is to make sure your site defaults to www. Right now there two versions of your site... www.aspencomputerservices.com/ and aspencomputerservices.com/. You also have another version of your home page aspencomputerservices.com/index.php. You might want to do redirects on your .htaccess file so that all of those pages direct to www.aspencomputerservices.com/

Article distributions, and sites like hubpages, squidoo are probably the best way for you to go to get the anchor text you need. You might try your luck with a service like Unique Article Wizard. That will allow you to get lots of low level articles with the proper backlinks pretty quickly. bookmarks, video backlinks, directory submissions wont help to much to get the anchor text backlinks that you need for that specific phrase.
good luck!

[brchap]

Sorry. I now see that Gene had answered my question.

But, do you think that I would be "punished" by Google if I did not have a street address, and just had a post office box or mail-drop box?

I wouldn't need a local shop to service this city, as I live 5 minutes away from my target city and 100% of my business is on-site computer repair and IT services.

[brchap]

Thanks mlongley. I appreciate you checking that. I researched the www canonical thing a while back, and I thought that I had made the right changes, but I will check again.

I've also checked my backlinks, and noticed that my links weren't showing up. I wondered why, until I read an article that explained why Google didn't report all of the backlinks in it's database... something about protecting it's secret algorithm or something.

I'll work on more backlinks anyway, though. I enjoy writing - always have. I'll post more on ezinearticles and goarticles, as I really like those sites.

BTW: I don't like Hubpages (even though I have a hub there). They turn their members into writing slaves who desperately attempt to churn out more and more content to maintain their hubscore so their backlinks won't turn to "nofollow" links. In a very small local niche like mine, I just don't see the value of writing for a site like that.

[dingleigofai]

The age of the site does not make THAT much of a difference (yes it does affect, but not for a niche like that). For instance, I set up a website 3 weeks ago for a specific niche, and yesterday reached #1 for my targeted term, which has 7.7m competition. I am also #1 on google local for my term.

For google local, you need to have a local address, dont use a p.o. box, you can use your home address if you would like. You need to use your keywords in your descriptions and your tags (you dont need to select their categories, you can add your own), also add photos, video, and coupons to your listing. Be as thourough as possible.

For the SEO, its really quite simple for such a small niche. You should be able to do it in a month. Do some targeted, high pr links back to your site, NOT reciprical links. Write a few articles, and rewrite them (spin them) so you have 3 versions of each article targeting your keywords. Make sure your resource box has anchor links back to your site, and send out the articles. Do some social bookmarking as well... but the 1 thing that will get you to the top is targeted High PR links.

[mlongley]

Usually in your webmaster tools you can tell google to default to the www version of your site, but it is still good to have it done at a server level. Google does not report all backlinks via the link: command, but they do report lots of backlinks for your personal sites from within google webmaster tools.

Dont blame you if you dont like to use hubpages... They can be tough to work with.

[Gene Pimentel]

PO Box is not the best idea, but it shouldn't affect you too badly as long as the city and zip are the target area. You may want to consider using a mail drop service with a physical street address rather than a box #.

[TimCastleman]

Loveland CO - You guys have a great minor league hockey team in the Eagles.

As far as SEO - I don't know crap about it. All I did was follow the advice this $15 book told me to do and it got my local gym to top 3 in google for the local area in about 2 weeks. Just followed it step by step and it worked.

SEO Straight Up: SEO Course For Newbies - Comprehensive SEO Guide

Good luck man.

Tim

[brchap]

Thanks for the follow-up on that, Gene. I'll have to look at pricing for something like that. Maybe I can find something on the cheap. I'd love to get into that local "10 box"!

[brchap]

Thanks, Tim. Yep, we love our Eagles. And our locally brewed beer!

I'll check out that book tonight.

[TimCastleman]

Yeah I use to go to every home game for our old team (the Cotton Kings) but I made sure never to miss the Eagles. As close as we saw to professional players.

You have a guy - Jason Beatty who is a former King and was a beast as a fighter but stopped fighting for some reason.

Still have the movie clip of one of your guys knocking out a OKC player a few years back.

Tim

[tombomtom]

Hey brchap
i dont know if you know but chad kimball is doing a thing on google maps and local seo it will diffenently help, he always has some good stuff for free and his paid stuff is good too www.chaddo.com

tom

[brchap]

Thanks, Tom. I'll definitely have to check that out. Looks interesting.

[SEOArbiter]

Brad,

It sounds like you mainly did quite a bit of on page SEO.

I would focus more on link building.

Remember, it's all about consistency. You can't just do it one month and then stop. You have to do it every single month.

I have actually had very good success with local\regional based keywords.

In terms of your address, that won't affect your ranking for a keyword in the organic search engine results. That would primarily affect the local business results.

[brchap]

To those of you still following my humble little thread:

Many people are saying that link-building is the key to dominating my local business niche...

Mlongley did a search for backlinks for my site, and I do have them but they are not showing up. But, I do have them! There is a Squidoo page that I created about a month ago that has a link with the anchor desired keyword phrase in the anchor text. That was a while back, so it should have been spidered by google by now. I also have some other backlinks which are obviously not showing up.

Do you think that it would be beneficial to turn my current backlink sites and articles into a link wheel? I would probably have to resubmit my EZA article, but it would be approved in a week. The other ones would be easy.

I always knew that link wheels were powerful tools, but never thought that it would apply to my tiny little local IT services business... but, maybe it would help me dominate my market.

[joerh]

Local is a little different than general search. You want to gain authority as a certain business in a certain area. Trust that you are actually a business at that address that people in that area would like to find so they can do business there is what you are trying to accomplish. It's more than just links showing votes. Text with your business being talked about in a local area has been shown to help as well. Votes by local people actually voting and reviewing your site on review sites are helpful too.

Here's some stuff to get you started.

Get listings in

[joerh]

Get listings in

[johnhoefer]

Google the term Fort Collins Virtual Office. You will find several places where you can get a local address in Fort Collins at a brick and morter building, typically an executive suites place. The cost is around $29 per month.

Good luck.

[MissDarling]

Do you want your site to be found so the local people will contact you for services or do you want them to just surf your site for information? I use a neat and free tool from MSN that measures commercial intent. It helps me create anchor text to build popularity for keywords that will attract paying customers rather than folks looking to repair their computer themselves.

I cannot post that link here just yet but I bet if you do a Google search for it you will find it!

Since I started changing my anchor text used in back-links a month ago for my local computer repair business. I have noticed an increase in traffic and phone calls. Unfortunately, because I don't maintain a public drop-off location I end up losing a lot of customers.

I made some of the same changes with a local fence installation company here in Newark and they have not only managed to rise in the SERPS but have signed new customers every week for the last month that came through their site. Big contracts for a home based business!

Even though they work out of the home, they have a local street address and local phone number which I am sure helps out.

It's just all a big jig-saw puzzle for us to put together!

--MissDarling

[Voasi]

This is the end-all be-all for Google Local Business listings, or as some call them the "10-pack and 3-pack"...

Local Search Ranking Factors | Google & Yahoo Local SEO Best Practices

Follow that ranking factors and you'll get there no doubt. I've done it tons of times and it never fails. The tactics are fairly (and quite easily) straight-forward.

[brchap]

I appreciate all the information provided by the helpful folks here. You guys are the best.

[j hogan]

I am first page of google in my local area for all my keywords for my offline business. This is what worked for me, I just use a word press blog. The only other advertising I do is a small ad in the phone book. I have more business than I can service and my site is very simple and inexpensive.

The title of the blog is my business name, the description of my blog states my profession and the names of the three local towns that I target, then my mobile phone number. So straight away they find out where you work and how to contact you.

I found main keywords for the specific services I wanted to supply (about 10 of them) so I could target my ideal customer.I also use two keywords that describe the profession I'm in.

In the first line of each post I use the profession and the names of the towns I'm targeting as the first line in the post. So a post or page looks something like this:

Does DIY tiling really save you money? ( post title)

Smiths Tiling. Penrith, Lower Blue Mountains ( or the postcodes)

then I would write the article below

other posts use the profession titles combined with postcodes, I mix it up on each page.

I think for local services people tend to search by profession / service and then they add either their town or their postcode.

at the bottom of every post I put a little blurb that contains the local information again

an example of the bottom of each post would be:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Smiths Tiling. Prompt, Professional Services to Penrith & Lower Blue Mountains ( I list a couple of the post codes)
Contact Bob on: ph 4888000000 ( or whatever other action you want them to take)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I also have done searches for all those little 'local business directories' online and I go in and enter the information on these to include the town names and postcodes and my keywords as they often show up on the front page of google.

It does work, I had the yellow pages rep try and sell my an overpriced website with monthly fees and a promise of getting me to the front page of google, I then told her to to do a search for my profession and town and bingo! top six listings were me

all the best with the site!

[js112]

Originally Posted by brchap

Thanks for the quick reply.

Maybe this is a stupid question... but, what is sandbox?

you will never want to be in the sandbox, if you suffered it, you will be crazy

[yellowboy]

Very very interesting thread.

I just started approaching offline clients and I have one client and I'm trying to get them into the '10 pack'.
I just got my site done and now I have to do the same for my business, trying to get my site to rank for local keywords.
I'm glad that this thread got started, lots of great information!

I love this forum

[threatlevelorange]

I am going to be writing a special report series which will have solutions to the google and bing maps problems that you are encountering.

[johnhoefer]

Originally Posted by Voasi

This is the end-all be-all for Google Local Business listings, or as some call them the "10-pack and 3-pack"...

Local Search Ranking Factors | Google & Yahoo Local SEO Best Practices

Follow that ranking factors and you'll get there no doubt. I've done it tons of times and it never fails. The tactics are fairly (and quite easily) straight-forward.

You are so right. I found this site from another post on here this week and I am following it to a T.

Also, as the links suggests, go to getlisted.org. Read, read, read...more info there than you will ever need.

[Leads4Builders]

Once you optimize your Local Google Listing, how long does it take to start seeing it in the 10 pack? Also, will you get better placement if the listing has been claimed? I just worry that my clients will forget or not be proactive in giving me the verification code that Google gives them over the phone.

[Redagents]

You could find a SEO service on this forum for about $100-300 who will get you to the first page. Think of the time you are away form your business while you are DIY.

Good Luck
RedAgents