Can you do a good job of local SEO with only free WordPress plug-ins?

by wheelstb 10 replies
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I am brand-new to WordPress and search engine optimization. I really want to look at doing local optimization for a project I'm working on. However, I don't want to commit a lot of money since this will be just as much a learning experience as it will be anything else.

I have done a few Google searches, and it seems like in terms of local search engine optimization paying for Yoast is the predominant option.

Can I do decent local optimization with one or a series of plug-ins? If so, which plug-ins do you recommend?

Thank you in advance for the help.
#search engine optimization #free #good #job #local #plugins #seo #wordpress
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Grant
    You can use the free version of yoast and still rank on the first page of google with optimized content and a good keyword. Research the keyword you are targeting and make it long tail by adding your local area.

    You can also register your business with google, add google maps to your contact page, ping your page with pingler and ask google to fetch your page with a web crawl in webmaster tools.
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  • Profile picture of the author phenomix
    You can for something that's very low comp. I would still look into local directories and citations though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Uchiha Itachi
    Yes, it can.
    I'm using it quite effective SEO-Yoast or you can use a pugin also similar is the All in One SEO Pack. (free of charge)
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  • Profile picture of the author wheelstb
    Thank you both for the great advice. How do you decide if a particular keyword falls into the category of having low competition? I know that you can use different research tools to find the number of searches done for a particular phrase.

    But how do you truly determine if something has low competition?

    I am located in a suburb outside of St. Louis. Would a good start the to include my keyword in the phrase St. Louis in my text and metadata?
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    • Profile picture of the author Eddie Grant
      Originally Posted by wheelstb View Post

      Thank you both for the great advice. How do you decide if a particular keyword falls into the category of having low competition? I know that you can use different research tools to find the number of searches done for a particular phrase.

      But how do you truly determine if something has low competition?
      I use the tool Market Samurai as a guide, and the app pulls its data from Majestic as far as I'm aware. So you could check out what pricing plans they have.

      Originally Posted by wheelstb View Post

      I am located in a suburb outside of St. Louis. Would a good start the to include my keyword in the phrase St. Louis in my text and metadata?
      Yes add St.Louis into your keywords and see what results you get. You can also try other local words depending on whats in your area. Streets, hills, parks etc. whatever local people refer to areas by.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Cage
    Yes you can. You should try Yoast SEO. I'm using it and it's very good.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Jones42
    you can start with without paying a single penny. use Yoast's free version plugin.
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    Top mobile app, games, and web development company in India AIS Technolabs

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    • Profile picture of the author wheelstb
      Thanks David. I know that there is a free version. I was asking the question because I was not sure if it had decent functionality or if it was basically an appetizer for the paid product.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    No Wordpress plugin is really going to help you to rank locally.

    You need to be focused on building citations for local rankings. Plugins cannot do that for you.

    Something like Yoast is going to have a very minimal effect at best.
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  • Profile picture of the author InternetMarketingMasters
    I dont think plugins can help you rank a site. Even in local seo. Yes plugins will help you in the on page seo, but they wont help you to rank no matter which plugins you use.
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