• FAQs

          Search engine optimization (SEO) helps businesses drive visits to their website through organic search traffic. Given that the top organic search results receive a third of the clicks, a decline in ranking could be detrimental for your business. Implementing SEO best practices on your website will help to ensure that your web content is seen by as many potential customers as possible. The more visitors you have, the better your chances are of converting those visits into sales!

          Local search engine optimization (SEO) helps local businesses gain visibility by optimizing their local business listings for local search. A business that leverages local SEO will include its address, phone number, local opening times, and exact location in the form of a local citation. The goal is to rank for local searches which are usually performed by people in a specific geographical region looking for a business near them.

          We typically see results within the first 30 to 60 days, but when it comes to SEO, there are many factors at play. It's important to remember that SEO is a long-term strategy and results may not come as fast at you wish.


        • FAQs

          Digital advertising uses the internet to send advertisements to customers who are online through different websites and social media platforms like Google, Bing, LinkedIn and Facebook.

          The price for Google Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.

          The price for Social Media Ads management depends on the monthly ad spend. For accounts with $1,000 in monthly ad spend, the price is $550/month. Between $1,000 and $5,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $950/month. For $5,000 to $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $2,000/month. For more than $10,000 a month in ad spend, the price is $4,500/month.


        • FAQs

          This depends on the complexity and size of a redesign and if eCommerce is needed. On average, it takes around 14-18 weeks from the web design intensive stage to launch.

          If your website experiences the following issues: it’s not responsive on all devices, has a slow loading speed, the design appears old and tired, users don’t spend long on the site, sales are stagnant, or your business is going through a rebranding - your website needs a redesign to boost your brand awareness and sales.

          Sometimes there’s no need to rebuild a website. Minor edits, refreshing page content and images, or restructuring page layout for SEO best practices can boost traffic and sales.


        • FAQs

          Semantic search launched in 2013 with the release of Google's Hummingbird update. Since then, Google's search engine has become more complex. The integration of machine learning, with RankBrain, and NLP, with BERT, has enabled the search engine to better understand the context of a query and deliver more personalized and targeted results. Semantic SEO is the process of creating machine-readable content using structured data and linked open data to help search engines better understand your content.

          On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual web pages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO refers to both the content and HTML source code of a page that can be optimized, as opposed to off-page SEO which refers to links and other external signals. From meta tags to page content, website structure, and HTML, on-page optimization services are focused on making your website more visible to search engines.

          Structured data refers to any organized data that conforms to a certain format, such as information in a relational database. When information is highly structured and predictable, search engines can more easily organize and display it in creative ways. Structured data involves using a piece of code that is laid out in a specific format easily understood by search engines. The search engines read the code and use it to display search results in a more dynamic way.


        • FAQs

          An SEO agency has experts in different areas of search engine optimization that may be out of the realm of your marketing team's abilities. SEO can be very complex and time-consuming. Furthermore, as search engine algorithms change it can be difficult to stay current on the latest ranking factors and strategies for improving online visibility. You will likely see a greater return on investment and better results from using a professional SEO agency than you would from tackling this on your own.

          As a digital marketing agency, SMA Marketing provides products and services in four areas: SEO, Local SEO, Digital Advertising, and Web Design

          We focus on building authentic, long-lasting relationships with our clients. We’re goal oriented and results driven and believe in doing good and making a difference in the world.

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3 Ways Local SEO Can Deliver Business Results

3 Ways Local SEO Can Deliver Business Results

Did you know that 50% of consumers who do a local search on their smartphone visit a store within a day? The numbers on other devices are almost as good. 34% of consumers who searched on a computer or tablet visited a store within a day. If you have been ignoring local SEO for your business, now is the time to wake up. Users are not only searching for local products and services. They are taking action on what they find.

SEO is about so much more than just links and content. It’s about attracting and engaging with users who want and need what you provide. If you are serious about growing your local reach, having a dedicated local SEO strategy is extremely important. In this post, I want to share 3 things you need to do to grow your presence in local search.

Claim and Monitor Citations

A citation is an online reference to your business’ name, address, and phone number (NAP). They also usually have a link back to your website. Citations are found on sites like Google Maps, Yelp, Angie’s List, and so on. When it comes to local SEO, citations play a huge role. Along with reviews and links, Google uses your citations as a ranking factor for local results.

Step one is claiming your citations. There are a few ways to go about this. The hard way is going to each member site, signing up for an account, and then claiming your business. Do this a couple hundred times, and then you are done. Now, as you can see, this process can be very daunting. Thankfully there are tools you can use to speed up this process. Sites like WhiteSpark will help you find citations and clean them up, Moz Local is a tool that helps you claim and clean up your listings, but our favorite is Yext.

Yext not only helps you claim your business, it helps you monitor your business citations as well. Duplicate listings are one of the biggest hassles for local businesses, and Yext helps you take care of that with a click of a button. To see how your site is listed, get a free scan with our Yext tool here.

Claiming and maintaining your citations is about more than just pleasing the search engines. It also impacts the user. When someone is searching locally for you online, they may land on your citation first. If you have the wrong information on that listing, you may lose them altogether. Making sure your information is correct across all accounts and channels will help your users find you and connect with you faster!

Think Mobile First

Mobile is the primary driver of search today. This is one of the reasons Goole split its index and made Mobile the primary index. According to official Google statements, more than 50 percent of search queries globally now come from mobile devices. But we don’t know whether the number is 51 percent or 60 percent or if it varies significantly by country. (Search Engine Land) What we do know is that mobile must be a focus for local businesses.

It starts with your site. If your site is not mobile-friendly, your users will likely bounce and find somewhere else. The best way to fix this issue is with a responsive design. This allows your site to adapt to your user’s screens, making it easier for them to interact with your content. To check if your site is mobile-friendly, use Google’s free tool here.

If you are blogging for your local business, accelerated mobile pages (AMP) are where the search is headed next. AMP is all about speed. We know users want their content, and they want it right now. The push for AMP is to make the mobile web as fast as can be. Having AMP versions on your blog will help show Google you care about your users and could even result in higher mobile rankings.

Local Links and Partnerships

You can’t talk about SEO without talking about links. Links are and will continue to be the main ranking factor. But as I have said many times before, it’s not the number of links that matters. It’s the quality. Link building can be very tedious and ambiguous to many site owners. Where do I get links? How do I know if a site is good? How do I get a link? These are simple yet very complex questions I get all the time. When it comes to local SEO, there are a few tips that work great.

For local businesses, you want links in your neighborhood. This means you want links from businesses around you. Joining local business groups and nonprofits and sponsoring events is a great way to generate links and build business connections. If you are not sure where to start, check out ZipSprout. ZipSprout works with businesses to find marketing opportunities with local nonprofits, events, and associations.

These connections will not only help your digital marketing but your reputation as well. By becoming more involved in the community, your business will be seen as a part of the community. This builds connections with other business leaders and the public which can result in more business for you!

Local SEO is powerful for local businesses for many reasons, but the 3 I outlined in this post are enough to get any business owner’s attention. If you own a local company, take control of your listings and citations, make sure your site is mobile-friendly, and use partnerships to help your digital marketing and reputation. If you have any questions about the process or any of the tools I shared in this post, please reach out and connect. Since 2009, I’ve been working with local companies helping them improve their presence in local search and would love to help you as well.

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