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Locally Ranking Sites Getting Harder?

by marketingrep4u
4 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Is anyone else having problems ranking locally based websites on page 1 of Google?

For example, I'm using a search term that one of my keyword tools (Traffic Travis) says it is 'Relatively Easy' to rank for. I bought the EMD as a .info. I used WordPress to build the site, so on-page optimization was cake.

I've done article marketing, SENuke X Full Monty Blasts, .edu links, WikiLinks, press release posting, YouTube videos, etc. I just can't seem to get past #63 for a locally based keyword phrase that should have been easy enough to rank for.

My plan is to scrap all organic ranking efforts. Set up a Google Places page for the site, then use AdWords Express to drive traffic.

What am I missing? I just can't seem to get a locally based keyword phrase based site to page one.

A few years ago, I never had this kind of luck ranking a site. I'm at the verge of abandoning organic efforts and switch to PPC and other paid methods of traffic.

Anyone else running into this same problem?
#harder #locally #ranking #sites
  • Profile picture of the author madison75074
    I read about another local marketer who had a #1 listing for his client for years until the latest update. Now that listing has dropped to #15 and his client is not happy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pyramid Linkers
    I'm having quite a bit of success with local rankings. I'm promoting a beauty salon website that is two months old that just entered the top 5 results a few days ago. The catch is that I built the site myself, so I know the site's structure is rock solid and the content is relevant to the keywords we are promoting. It comes down to what if Google considers your content relevant and your site an authority in your market. If you haven't done this yet, look for opportunities for improving your on-page SEO and acquire some high PR page links. Either home page or in-context. I nearly always use a portion of my marketing budget to acquire at the very least 20-25 high PR page links. They serve as a solid base for your link building efforts.
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  • Profile picture of the author giannabosanquet
    Follow the Latest Google Updates that helps in getting good local search traffic.
    New Google Policies and its Local Ranking Factors:

    1. Your physical website address matching/listing the city where you're located.
    2. Manually verifying your ownership of the company's Google Places page.
    3. Having proper category associations for your page and citations.
    4. Having a large number of "traditional structured citations" for your business (on sites like Internet yellow pages and local place aggregators).
    5. Having your address listed on your company website, and make sure that address is crawlable.
    6. Having a well-ranked (PR) company website.
    7. Having high-quality inbound links to your company website.
    8. Having your phone number listed on your company website, and making sure that phone number is crawlable.
    9. Having an accurate local area code listed on your Google Places page.
    10. Having your city and state listed in the page title for your Google Places landing page.

    The items listed above can be treated as a checklist for establishing bare minimums for local search optimization.
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  • Profile picture of the author sovereignn
    Still exactly the same for me
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