SEO Services You Can’t Live Without
Some agencies specialise in only SEO or link building whereas other large consultancies can offer end-to-end packages from developing or redesigning your website to ongoing SEO maintenance. Here are five of the key SEO services that you should look for when evaluating online marketing agencies.Keyword researchCreating your keyword portfolio is one of the most important SEO services offered by agencies and the foundation of your online marketing campaign. This is best conducted by a professional trained in keyword research. A specialised SEO company or consultant will use different techniques to find the best keywords for your site. This may include client and customer feedback, keyword research tools, competitor analysis, social media and so on.SEO strategiesAn experienced SEO consultant will help you map out an SEO strategy (online and offline) that drives traffic to your site, increases the conversion rate and gives you the highest return on your investment. The keyword research (see above) and technical analysis of your site forms the basis for your campaigns so that a comprehensive marketing plan can be mapped out in order to start implementing the SEO activity.Link buildingWhen you are researching the SEO services that you require, ask the consultant or agency about link building campaigns. Search Engines see a back link to your site from other credible, trustworthy, authoritative and relative websites as a validation for your website. A professional SEO company should have developed a network of contacts, established relationships with webmasters and know how to find the best link building opportunities.SEO copywritingCopywriting is another of the SEO services that a larger agency may offer. Off page and on page optimisation is crucial to your SEO campaign but it’s not always the first click that you need to worry about, it’s the second one. The difference between a high or low bounce rates may come down to the quality of your SEO copywriting. An SEO company will help you find a balance between keyword-rich copy and engaging copy that encourages conversions.SEO web designThis can be one of the most vital elements of your campaign and yet one of the most neglected SEO services. With new websites, SEO consultants should ideally be consulted at the start of the process when you are deciding on a technical platform, a Content Management System (CMS), shopping cart software or other key design elements. Sadly choosing the wrong platform can have serious implications on your potential SEO success.When looking for an SEO company, it may be more cost-effective and more efficient to take a streamlined approach to your SEO activities and hire a full-service agency that can deliver a whole spectrum of SEO services. Some agencies may have web designers that can help create a beautiful website with all the SEO functionality you require, experienced link analysts developing link building campaigns and offer professional copywriting SEO services.
The Most Outstanding 15 Local SEO Tools To Improve Your Ranking
The Importance Of Local SEOLocal SEO is an essential part of your SEO strategy, especially if you’re a smaller to mid-sized company that relies on the business of local customers. There are many different strategies that you can implement, from optimizing your content using keywords to submitting your NAP (name, address and phone number) to various local directories. To help organize, streamline and track all of your local SEO efforts, you should make use of these local SEO tools.The following are 15 different local SEO tools that you might find extremely useful, some of which are available at a small cost and some of which are free also.1. Google AdWords Keyword PlannerThis tool works for strengthening your local SEO keywords. During the keyword research phase, you can identify the traffic for specific keywords as well as find new local keywords based on local searches. The Keyword Planner tool even lets you conduct research based on geographic regions. Not only it is a useful tool to have for your local SEO keyword efforts, it’s free to boot, and arguably one of the most useful free SEO tools available as well.2. SEOProfilerThe most powerful local SEO tools that you can put in SEOProfiler, as it includes features such as a website audit tool, website page optimization, a link disinfection tool that identifies bad backlinks, the ability to identify strong local keywords and even customizable PDF reports.3. Moz LocalMoz Local is a basic local listing management tool that allows users to manage local listings as well as claim and verify listing submissions. The tool also works with data aggregators to help push listings, making sure that your business is visible. Additionally, the tool will scan through your citations and notify you of any errors that it finds which could be hurting your local SEO. Moz Local will give you a rundown on what kind of categories you’re listed under and what type of media is used for your citation.4. BuzzStreamBuzzStream is a tool for earning local backlinks as it can help you identify and build relationships with local influencers to help drive word-of-mouth traffic as well as boost local awareness of your brand. The tool is also effective for content promotion and digital PR.5. SEOPressorSEOPressor is a tool that scores your site’s overall SEO strength and provides guidance and recommendations for how you can improve it, which will in turn help with your local SEO even if it’s not specifically built for that. Particularly useful is its audit feature that will notify you of any pages that need to be optimized in certain ways, it’s a feature that has earned SEOPressor as one of the best SEO tools for small business.6. Whitespark Local Citation FinderThe most full-fledged local listing management tool that you can invest is Whitespark Local Citation Finder. In addition to basic local listing management, the tool finds where you should list your business to improve local SEO rankings. It also boasts a number of additional features, including the ability to collect customer feedback and online reviews, monitor local search rankings by a city, discover create link opportunities and more.7. SynupSynup is useful for submitting your NAP to local directories. It’s a tool that allows you to easily manage your local listings as well as review and analyze your listings and NAP data. It’s one of the most comprehensive directory lists that you can have and it will allow you to check listings to see if you have existing credentials on them, to add your NAP to listings and fix incorrect data on existing listings.8. Screaming FrogScreaming Frog helps to audit and index the website’s HTML and Meta Data in addition to helping you find any broken links to avoid hurting your local SEO rankings. There are advanced features available as well, but for a price.9. SerplifySerplify is web software that will help you to achieve a page one ranking on Google’s results pages by adding domains and locations you want to rank for and automatically adding thousands of optimized unique pages of content for every keyword, as well as automatically mass indexing, optimizing and syndicating your content.10. Local SEO ChecklistThis tool will ensure that you can boost your local SEO rankings. As this tool offers 40 different options that detail specific tasks to help you optimize your site and increase your ranking by developing your blog, your on-page SEO, your social media and more.11. Upcity Free Website AnalyzerUpCity is basically an SEO report card. All you have to submit your website as it will analyze every aspect of the page, giving you an overall score out of 100 that compares your page to your competitors.12. ReviewTrackersReviewTrackers is a tool that tracks the customer reviews of your business. It plays a big part in your local SEO strategy, not to mention your reputation, which makes this tool very useful. Basically, it collects online reviews and feedback from over 70 review sites that you can use to determine your brand’s reputation as well as awareness.13. CopyscapeNothing will hurt your site more than copied content. Duplicate content is a way to damage your ranking, for regular SEO and local SEO. Put your content through Copyscape to make sure it’s completely original and it avoid plagiarism, whether it’s content duplicated from your own site or content duplicated from another source outside of your site.14. PageSpeed InsightsThe rate at which your web pages load will have a huge impact on your local SEO rankings. The slower your pages load, will less likely visitors are to remain on your page. This can have a big impact on your bounce rate, which could hurt your rankings. PageSpeed Insights will not only review the load times of your site but also make suggestions on how to improve it.15. AhrefsAhrefs can help with your local SEO strategy by providing a detailed backlink profile for any website you want. This allows you to see who is linking to your site, what anchor text they’re using for backlinks and how strong your backlinks are. It also allows you to check the strength of your competitor’s backlinks. The tool is used by thousands of users throughout the world.SEO is incredibly important to the success of your online marketing efforts, because of this, a lot of marketers implement various SEO tools including local SEO tools, some of which can be found for free, in order to track, measure and analyze their SEO efforts. You may already even be using some of the more common SEO tools, such as Google Analytics. However, it’s important that you don’t forget about your local SEO efforts as well.By using these local SEO tools it will make you easier to implement local SEO strategies as well as to track them and measure the performance, thereby helping to ensure that your local SEO efforts are as strongest as they can be.
Travel For Newbies: Travel Planning Advice For First Time Travelers
There are a lot of firsts in all our lives – first car, first house, first kiss. So, there is no shame in having questions or anxiety the first time you are traveling internationally. It may not even be your first time, but maybe a lot of time has gone by and a lot of changes in travel procedures have occurred. You want to know what to expect so that you are prepared. After all, being prepared just may take a bit of the stress out of the travel process. Here are some tips and recommendations that should alleviate any uncertainties and help you be ready to experience an amazing trip filled only with good memories!1. Purchasing tickets. If you are not going to use a travel professional to assist you with your flights, please make sure your international tickets are purchased in your name as listed on your passport. If you don’t have a passport yet, please purchase the tickets in your full name as listed on your birth certificate. Honeymooning? The ticket as well as passport will be in the maiden (current) name of the bride-to-be. Don’t worry, if you request a name change within one year of issuance, the new bride can get her passport name changed after she gets home from the honeymoon. Guys, remember to add any “Jr., II” if applicable.2. Passport book vs. Passport Card! If you have been to the Travel.State.gov site and investigated passports and still aren’t sure which one you should get, you’re not alone. Here is a simple answer: if you are traveling via an airplane and landing in another country, a passport book is required. If you are taking a cruise that ports out of a U.S. city, a passport card or Enhanced license (only offered in Michigan, New York, Vermont & Washington) will suffice, but a passport book is recommended. Why? Well, if you happen to get ill or have a family emergency that requires you to “abandon ship” and fly home from St. Lucia, a passport book will be required to enter the U.S.A. via air.3. Security and carry-on packing rules. There is a lot of good information on what is allowed in your carry-on from the TSA. All liquids should be 3.4 oz or less and in a quart sized Ziploc bag. In regards to security, once you check in with your airline, you will go through a line that requires a passport check to ensure it is real. Once you go through that, you will be in line to go through the screening process. Take off your shoes, your belt, your coat or light sweater, empty your pockets, put all items in a bin (or two), place your carry-on suitcase (if you have one) on the belt and wait for them to signal you through. Sometimes you will randomly be chosen to do a full body screen where you put your hands up over your head with your feet separated and they do a scan. This is random…don’t worry!4. Packing. I recommend keeping your valuables on you – cameras, jewelry, medications etc. If you take a medication that is a matter of life or death, please take more with you than you need and have a new prescription written up as a back-up. You can never be too safe. Don’t take jewelry that you can’t live without! Make sure you find out what the dress code requirements are for restaurants of your resort (if applicable). For example, some will require dress pants and close-toed shoes for men. Pack two days of essentials in your carry-on luggage if you have a connecting flight.5. Customs & Immigration. On your flight to your final destination, you will be given a form to fill out. Generally, the flight attendants will make an announcement and give some pointers or tips on how to fill them out (depending on where you are going). The basic information you will need is your name, passport number, flight numbers, dates of travel, reason for travel and where you are staying. It will request the address of where you are staying…it is okay to just put the name of your hotel as you most likely won’t have the address.6. At the airport in your vacation destination! Almost there…just a few more steps and you’ll officially be on your vacation! Once you arrive in the country you are visiting, you will be required to go through the immigration line. Here you will show your passports and the form you filled out on the airplane. Once your passport is stamped (woo-hoo!), you will head to the luggage area, get your luggage and then head to Customs. This is generally really simple in most airports and may require a screening of the luggage or random search and then you’re off!7. Heading back home! Can’t resist the duty free liquor at the airport? Let’s face it, a good bottle of rum is like a household staple. So, you can’t help buying Appleton Rum at $12 a bottle and you know several friends and family who would appreciate it as well. As long as you are 21 or older, you can purchase 1 liter of duty free liquor. So, once you purchase this at your vacation destination airport, you will carry it on your flight. If you have a non-stop flight, then you are good to go. If you have a connecting flight, then after you are admitted back in through the U.S. Immigration screening, you will proceed to get your luggage. Before going through Customs with your luggage, you will need to securely place your newly purchased liquor in your checked bag. This is because once you clear Customs, you will then go through another security screening where you have to comply to the TSA requirements for carry-ons. Remember: liquids must be 3.4 oz or less and in one quart sized Ziploc bag.8. Customs & Immigration coming back to the U.S.A. If you read #7 then you are semi-prepared for this. On your flight back to the United States, you will fill out the Customs and Immigration form. Upon arrival in the U.S. you will first go through Immigration for admittance back into the good ole USA. Following that, you will get your luggage from baggage claim and proceed to the Customs line. This is generally quite simple as well. P.S. The form is very easy and much like the form described in point #5. Please do not feel that you have to write down ever souvenir you purchased as a separate item. So your list might have something like coffee, souvenirs, liquor or food listed. After Customs, you will go through another screening like in #3…shoes off, pockets emptied etc. As a side note, for those of you purchasing your own flights, make sure you have enough time to go through Customs & Immigration plus make your connecting flight! A good rule of thumb is 1.5 hours or more. Once you clear Customs, follow the signs and drop your luggage back off to be re-checked on your next flight out. This area for luggage is clearly marked and generally has a customer service area for your airline near it.· A few miscellaneous tips:o Leave your hotel information and travel itinerary with a family member.o Give your travel professional the name and phone number of an emergency contact.o Call your bank before you leave the country.o Purchase an international calling card.o Lock all valuable items in your in-room safe.o Check-in online for your flight 24 hours prior to departure.o Do not use your cell phones while in any Immigration line.· Resources you may want to check out:Transportation Security Administration (TSA): www.tsa.govPassport info: http://travel.state.gov/passport//