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Need Some Help. Local Business Needs SEO.

by blairlockout
20 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I am a locksmith in Oklahoma City. My site seems to be lacking in many aspects. I want to rank better for keywords like "locksmith in OKC" "Locksmith Oklahoma City" and so on. Is there a service that anyone would recommend that I use to boost my rankings? I built the website by myself, but I'm a locksmith, not a web designer. The site is Locksmith In OKC | Open 24 Hrs. Any help or advice will be appreciated.
#business #local #seo
  • Profile picture of the author blairlockout
    Anyone? I'm lost.
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  • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
    I would not try to rank that site. I want to commend you on your effort for building your own website, but it would be foolish to lie to you, and tell you that I like that site.

    It would be foolish for me to think, that even if you ranked that site, it would convert any visitors.

    I would be doing you a major disservice, if I actually suggested that you promote that mess.

    1) The black background is atrocious/very unprofessional.
    2) The flag logo is also atrocious/very unprofessional.
    3) It doesn't actually look like a website, but something a 7 year old put together with a blindfold.
    4) Your navigation is nearly invisible.
    5) No pictures of any credible looking people/employees.
    6) No pictures of smiling customers.
    7) No reviews/testimonials/links to yelp/etc.
    8) No social proof from things like facebook/g+ etc.

    There is not much of anything going on. And what is going on, isn't worth advertising imo.

    I would download a clean, white wordpress theme, and make a real looking website. I would take the time to make it look 100xs more credible than it looks now.

    I would do onpage optimization.... probaly add more content, then, and only then, would I consider it an "investable" website. Something worth promoting that could actually convert visitors.

    If you don't have the time or money, at least make the background white and redo the design so it looks more official. Then get registered in local directories like yelp/yahoo/yellow pages/bing/etc. Then get a bunch of citations built. Then get reviews.

    If you're a local business, you can't really go without dominating all the local directories. I would actually do that first before SEO. But thats just me.

    Either way, you got a long road ahead of you imo.

    Not trying to offend you, but I wouldn't buy toilet paper from a site that looked like that.

    -Red

    ps. I'm really sorry if I offended you like I said, but maybe you can just hire a web designer? Or if you're really stuck for cash, pay someone on fiver $15-20 and see if they can make you something better (which I'm sure they could).
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    • Profile picture of the author blairlockout
      Im not strapped for cash. I want a professional looking site that will attract more visitors. In the locksmith industry whether you have professional looking site or not, if you're not listed first, you're not going to get the call. I want rank. My goal is to land emergency calls. I don't care to do business with big companies that want to pay you in 90 days. I like cash : )
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      • Profile picture of the author RedShifted
        Originally Posted by blairlockout View Post

        Im not strapped for cash. I want a professional looking site that will attract more visitors. In the locksmith industry whether you have professional looking site or not, if you're not listed first, you're not going to get the call. I want rank. My goal is to land emergency calls. I don't care to do business with big companies that want to pay you in 90 days. I like cash : )

        Well let me put it like this. You're a locksmith, you want local traffic.

        Ranking your website, is going to take A LOT of time. So if you want to start SEO now, then go ahead.

        However, you need a plan B like local search.

        Local search was actually my plan A, and seo my plan B.

        I did it that way because I was able to get calls a lot faster, by getting listed in google places, instead of ranking my site.

        I've also noticed, that I get more calls through google places, yelp, yellow pages then my other site which ranks in the top 3 for many of its keywords. Remember that google places will also show on the first page, and since it appears to be vouched for by google, people love clicking on those links.

        But its not as simple as just listing your company in these directories. There is definitely work involved. Although its much less work than website SEO, and produces faster results.

        So my advice (whether you care or not) would be this:

        1) Focus on and dominate local search. Its less work and quicker to get calls. Make that your shortterm strategy from month 1-3.
        2) Focus on website SEO second, make it your long term 3-6 month strategy. It will take more work, and results will generally be slower.
        3) Theres tons of other stuff you can get involved in, like ranking youtube videos in the top 3. This is also fairly easy, and can get you quick calls. I have videos ranked in the top 3 for keywords like "service + town + state". They rank quick, you get a huge thumbnail next to them (unlike your site) and it also gets us calls.

        But like I said, if your local, then dominate local directories. Hire citation builders on fiver, get 100-200 citations built. Then rank your listings.

        Or you can persue a long tail approach on your site.

        Just keep in mind that SEO typically takes a lot of time, and you may not see a single phone call for 3-6 months. Local search was not like that for me. I was getting calls in only 6 weeks, and was very impressed compared to my other site that ranks #1 in google.

        Thats why I usually recommend ranking google place listings rather than your own site. But realistically you should just do both.
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  • Profile picture of the author MonitorScout
    Work Google Local to promote your business.

    Local classified ads, local business listing Optimize your site content and insert the name of your place where you want to focus.

    Find out if there are any other good quality local sites, which will relevant to you, and contribute your writing and get a link back from them.

    Use long tail keywords with the name of the place.
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    • Profile picture of the author seamy82
      No one is going to hire a locksmith because they have a nice website. Normally it's a combination of the first site they see and which one is the cheapest.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
    Red,

    For a normal business, your advice would mostly be ok. For a locksmith, it won't work. Locksmiths cannot setup a Google Places account. Google hates locksmiths.

    It's a lot more complicated to rank a locksmith locally. I would recommend you contact an SEO that has experience working with locksmiths. It's a much more tricky niche than your average local business.
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  • Profile picture of the author quit9to5
    Originally Posted by blairlockout View Post

    I am a locksmith in Oklahoma City. My site seems to be lacking in many aspects. I want to rank better for keywords like "locksmith in OKC" "Locksmith Oklahoma City" and so on. Is there a service that anyone would recommend that I use to boost my rankings? I built the website by myself, but I'm a locksmith, not a web designer. The site is Locksmith In OKC | Open 24 Hrs. Any help or advice will be appreciated.
    Well if your locked out of your house or car, then you probably don't have a computer in front of you. However, nearly everybody has smartphones with internet service. I would suggest using dudamobile.com and creating a mobile website that allows a viewer to quickly click on your phone number on your mobile site and reach you directly. It does cost $9 a month, but it opens up additional opportunities to bring in business. Make sure your business is listed in Google Local, Yahoo Local, etc..Also use classified ads like Craigslist to post your service.
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  • Profile picture of the author prestige00
    I have built and ranked an auto locksmith company locally where I am from.....fairly small area. It was fairly easy but its quite different than normal. However, the searches just didn't have enough but keywords I targeted had people searching for them.

    Out of 5 keywords I was targeting, all were on the first page and got 1 to the number one spot and also got a few other keywords ranking for it.

    What you can try to do is get a site that is easily navigated and simple and with a lot of content. Also, easily show your contact info if possible.

    If you need help let me know.
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  • Profile picture of the author wsiebler
    blairlockout

    I'd look at making some simple lead generation videos and putting them up on a YouTube on a well optimized channel. In your market getting these on page one is doable and you can add a tracking phone number as well to measure the calls coming in.

    I do this service for local businesses and it's a great way to stand out on page 1 and get more calls.
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    How To Increase Your Sales By At Least 33.1 Percent | Mobile Website Design | Seo Melbourne

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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by wsiebler View Post

      blairlockout

      I'd look at making some simple lead generation videos and putting them up on a YouTube on a well optimized channel. In your market getting these on page one is doable and you can add a tracking phone number as well to measure the calls coming in.

      I do this service for local businesses and it's a great way to stand out on page 1 and get more calls.
      For a locksmith... I'm not sure that is a great idea. When people are calling a locksmith they are generally locked out of their car or house. They are going to skip any video listings in the SERP. They are going to use the first locksmith who they can find a number for and will answer the phone.
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      • Profile picture of the author BlueFrogSEO
        Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

        For a locksmith... I'm not sure that is a great idea. When people are calling a locksmith they are generally locked out of their car or house. They are going to skip any video listings in the SERP. They are going to use the first locksmith who they can find a number for and will answer the phone.
        wsiebler you're right - its not about someone watching the video its a great method used to rank higher in the search results. YouTube is owned by Google and Google use this when searching Keywords etc...

        If you need help ranking your site PM me, happy to help rank your site, we've helped many with local ranking and i know great web desingers who can help you at affordable cost!!

        GP
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        • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
          Originally Posted by BlueFrogSEO View Post

          wsiebler you're right - its not about someone watching the video its a great method used to rank higher in the search results. YouTube is owned by Google and Google use this when searching Keywords etc...

          If you need help ranking your site PM me, happy to help rank your site, we've helped many with local ranking and i know great web desingers who can help you at affordable cost!!

          GP
          It's a great method for most local businesses. It is NOT a great method for locksmiths, tow trucks, or any other business where people are looking for an immediate solution to their problem.

          I'm locked out of my house. I pull out my smartphone and Google local locksmiths. Oh, there is a video number one. Skip.

          I'm going to the first real website I see. If it has a phone number in the title tag, I might not even look at the website and might just dial the phone number.

          A video... people are not even going to be sure if they are a local business. They are not going to click on a video off their phone. If your primary focus is ranking a video and not your website, you are going to lose business to your competitors.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidfrankk
    The text of the internal links on your website has very low impact on the homepage. If done excessively, Google will make sure you get penalized. Here is a detailed report on SEOMoz.
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  • Profile picture of the author kaytav
    Your website is very new. Also you require Onpage to be done properly. Try to get these things done properly. This will help you in getting rank for your website.
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    • Profile picture of the author livitweb
      Perhaps get somebody to improve your site a bit? And then promote your site (including yourself) if you want to generate income for yourself as well as your site. Concentrate on promoting your business locally. Utilize the various social media sites that are extremely popular these days, such as Facebook and Twitter. Getting your site known to the locals will increase your chances of gaining traffic, and customers, to your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author shayman
    Blairlockout.

    Do yourself a big favor. If you want to do the site yourself then you should be able to put up a reasonable looking site. I've gotta say, at the minute yours is a shocker! Sorry.

    Try this. Speak to your hosting company and ask them if they can install wordpress for you. Then search for ready made template/theme for locksmiths. There will be hundreds! If I were you I would pay for a theme and just check that it has no spurious links that come with it and install it (or get someone to do it for you but it's not rocket science.)

    At least then though you'll have a decent looking website. Then try running adwords for a month or so to get an idea of search terms that work for you...then maybe look at SEO.

    It's that simple.
    Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author jpweber
      Originally Posted by shayman View Post

      Blairlockout.

      Do yourself a big favor. If you want to do the site yourself then you should be able to put up a reasonable looking site. I've gotta say, at the minute yours is a shocker! Sorry.

      Try this. Speak to your hosting company and ask them if they can install wordpress for you. Then search for ready made template/theme for locksmiths. There will be hundreds! If I were you I would pay for a theme and just check that it has no spurious links that come with it and install it (or get someone to do it for you but it's not rocket science.)
      Blairlockout ... I agree with the others in here. Think of going to a website as a blind date. You develop an opinion on that blind date in about 20 seconds, if that's someone you could see yourself dating. Same with a website. First glance, the user gets a subconscious idea on whether or not they could work with you.

      You're with HostGator, I see, and you used their built-in tool to make the site. All my domains are with the same host, so I'm familiar.

      Installing WordPress is simple. Go to your HostGator Control Panel >> QuickInstall >> WordPress and let it install WordPress itself. Once WordPress is installed, follow the instructions on how to log in to the WP Admin area. There are a bevy of free themes, including others not listed in that link that would help your site look better (even a vanilla 2012 or something), a lot of paid themes, as well as an abundant array of plugins to choose from to spice up your site, including SEO plugins (I'd recommend Yoast over All-in-one-SEO, or any others).

      Lastly, and most importantly for your purposes, this is not my product, nor am I affiliate with it, but one of the more prominent WP SEO developers, Joost, made a plugin specifically for Local SEO. If you decide not to purchase his product, at least read what it's all about, and perhaps that will give you an idea of the kinds of things he focuses on for local SEO.

      If you'd like me to whip up a quick WordPress site for you, I'd be happy to! I have several WP domains. I'll make it as SEO-friendly as possible, as well (on-page, wise), and I'll help you with off-page SEO as well. Let me know if you'd like any help!

      Hope this helps! My first post ...
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  • Profile picture of the author ProSence
    But we can get some benefit from Search Engine too.

    Yes it is true that matter can be handled on phone, so you would provide phone support on your website...

    People don't have idea where to find a lock smith, in this case they would use search engine.
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  • Profile picture of the author KenL
    Can't see the text in your subpages, it's so faint, same for the menu on the homepage. As others have suggested, get a new website pronto.

    Here's one for you, plug and play http://inkthemes.com/wptheme/localbusiness-lockman/
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