SEO & Profile Links for Local Businesses

I'm pretty new to IM, and have yet to get my first Offline Client, but I have been a programmer for a few years now and here's my input:

No type of forum you find will have a monitoring code programmed to check for profile links.

Use this checklist to ensure you are using a quality profile link:

1. View Source. Ctrl + F = nofollow.
2. Make sure you can put links in your profile. Just make a 'test' account and a 'test' link to check this.
3. LOGOUT and go to your profile. Your profile URL can usually be obtained by clicking on your name (when logged in), or just searching for your name in the members list. If you can view your profile when logged out.............

You are good to go!

The only way you will be caught is if a no-life admin decides to wander into all new accounts' profiles and check each one. This could happen on a newly created forum because the member base will be very little... and if it's an admin who has created his first forum, of course he's going to be curious about members and their activity!


If you are extremely worried, just use bigger forums... 1000+ members would be a safe amount.

I seriously think you are going to get any calls from forum owners. If no activity, maybe deleted.

Tommy

I won't say much on this topic, as it always inevitably ends up in an argument of "proper business ethics" and "morals". Then some people chime in with a complete "holier than thou" attitude and attack anyone who disagrees with their views and labels them as "spammers". So, been there done that, I'll have to opt-out of giving direct advice on this specific element of link building.

With that being said though, I take WHAT WORKS to promote products and pages online (increasing organic rankings, social media presence, etc), and use that to promote offline businesses. You will have to use your own "ethical" guidelines in this regard I guess, and your clients should be fully aware you're building links anyways, etc.

Until Google actually rewards extensive quality content and 100% natural linking over massive anchor backlinking for their SERPs, I'm afraid it is difficult to "compete" without tilting into what many here to refer to as some "slightly grey hat" practices. Really though, if someone is allowing you to leave a link anywhere on the web...they are giving up control and should accept the worst, hope for the best....and neither choose to or dedicate the time to, passing judgement and shooting e-mails out to biz owners IMO. Just my opinion!

Google does not practice what they preach, if you haven't noticed. It is funny, because I preach about 100% "white hat" tactics to my clients, but even many of THEM are aware that something is just not adding up with Google's algo these days.

One of my clients the other day was like "Look at THIS man! See what they're doing here? They are putting/linking all their keywords here in their username and thats how they're coming up here, etc"

- Jim

it not so important to forum owners to goto the website, again contact us page and then pick up address to email, they simple delete the account from forum. What if the website does not contain Email ID in the contact page..?

Personally, if I know some people won't like something, I don't force them to take actions to opt out. I try to treat other's property as I would like my property treated.

If there are forum owners who would like to have more members even if they are inactive, surely they can be identified. Then you can proceed without the twinge.

To answer you question directly:

The problem with profile links is getting them indexed. If you have a method to get them indexed, they can work, but they're not that effective. As always, it depends on a couple of SEO factors like "Domain Age" and current amount of links to the website. If it's a brand new site with no links, it will take some time. If it's an older site, but still only has a few backlinks, it will take some time.

What does work well in the local market is finding niche directories, either vertical specific or city specific.

Tonight I showed my first offline client to look at the google results for his own company name, to click on the websites in the results, to see how his business listing is scraped and put on dozens of directories without his permission. I showed him how to claim his listings on these sites, how to update his profile to include the website I just built for him. He thought the 48-hr old site would be on the first page of Google already. I told him to go claim all his listings, insert his website URL in all the profile pages, and just see where his site lands after a couple of months. Luckily for me, when I claimed his google places listing, his new website popped up in google places listings on the first page of the search for his main keyword phrase within a few HOURS. I am advising him to ask his satisfied customers to leave a review at his Google places page... it all helps.

I am trying to help local business owners get the most from having a website. If they don't already have a site, I build them a simple one. If they already have a site, I offer site analysis and suggestions for changes in their onsite SEO. I also charge for keyword/competitor analysis (I use Market Samurai) and Google places listing setup. I make no promises about how well their site will rank. I create a spreadsheet showing who their competitors are, and what their competitors have done (keyword in the meta title, keywords in the description, use of meta keywords, Google places listing, etc.) and explain they need to meet and beat that. When they see their competitors all have Google maps listings, then they want one, too, and sign up for my Google places listing and optimization service.

Since I don't want to babysit someone's Google places listing, I encourage them to have satisfied customers add reviews, and have made up a short pdf with screen shots showing how to do that, and they give a copy to their customers. Then when their Google listing stays on the front page, my Google places listing service looks brilliant, right? That is the theory...

After I have received payment for one or more of my services (website building, website analysis, keyword/competitor analysis, Google places listing) I show my customer how to find the free unsolicited business directory listings that already exist, how to claim their listing, add their website URL, add a photo, keywords, etc. I created a short pdf with screenshots showing an example of claiming a listing and optimizing it. Then when their website lands on the first page of Google and stays there, my website building and keyword/competitor analysis looks brilliant, right?

That is the theory. I just started this business and got payment from my first customer this week. I provided the website, keyword/competitor analysis and Google places listing for his service business. He is on the front page of Google for his main keyword because he has a #5 position inside of Google places for his keyword. So indirectly he is on the first page of Google... His actual website is sitting on search results page 5 of Google. I am trusting that if he does his part, and claims those free business listings, his rank will improve.

I am also suggesting, since he finally has a website, that he approach the business owners with whom he does joint projects, and ask them to put a link to his business on their website. And hey, if THOSE local business owners do not how to add that link, my guy knows who to recommend to hire to do that, plus get their website analyzed and maybe a Google places listing... (Note: I will only service one company owner per narrow category, and talk about that exclusivity on my sales page.)

I am working on my business plan, kicking around the idea of a free seminar where I explain a few things about marketing a brick and mortar or service business through an internet presence, with, of course, my sales pitch at the end.

But I want to provide value. I want to help keep local businesses solvent and they need to know why it is okay to say no to a sales call from any SEO Company wanting them to spend hundreds of dollars a month to rank for a local term that we all know they can most likely rank for if their onsite SEO is optimized and they do a small amount of linkbuilding through claiming listing ownership at free, public internet directories, and adding a link to their website to their BBB listing, or getting listed as a resource on business websites of folks they deal with in their general category. (For example, a plumber might do services as a sub-contractor for a home renovation provider. The plumber can ask for a sidebar link in a 'Recommended Services" widget at the home renovation website.)

The knowledge we have may not seem exhaustive to us, but to a local brick and mortar or services company focused on serving their customers, what we have to offer is a tremendous amount of information. My first customer thought that Google listed companies alphabetically in the search results. And so he didn't bother getting a website because his company name starts with an W - and that would mean he would never get on the front page of Google. See what misconceptions exist?