Local Search Marketing FAQ's

This is a common question since many of our clients are located in Boulder and Denver, Colorado. We always take this into consideration when working with new clients and may limit the number of clients we work with in certain cities, within the same industry. We have yet to reject a client due to this, but we might have to at some point.

Yes. Top rankings are given to businesses that search engines trust. A primary trust-factor is having a website that includes relevant content to your business categories as well as having accurate location information (Address, City, ST, Local Phone #) on every page. Getting into the top 3 spots of the "Google Local Pack" usually requires some website SEO. Google will attempt to match up your services in your business listing with what you show on your website. If there's a match, then the trust-factor goes up. (This is a very simplistic explanation of a sophisticated algorithm).

Yes. Typically our clients contract with us for a new or updated website along with a basic SEO service that includes Local SEO. Since having your business location(s) on your website is such an important ranking factor, it makes sense to fully optimize your website during this process. Since we keep up to date on what the top ranking factors are for Google, we know that the strength of your website can often determine where your business will rank.

There are many factors affecting Google listings that we are not in control of. These pages are solely owned and managed by Google, and they enjoy keeping secrets. Google’s ranking algorithm may change at any time – and it’s constantly evolving. It’s also impossible to anticipate what efforts your competition is undertaking to achieve top rankings as well. It's a very dynamic environment. That’s why we recommend ongoing SEO programs and monitoring over time. Ramblin Jackson now offers subscription SEO packages for exactly this purpose – to keep your foot on the accelerator to stay ahead of your competition – and to keep up with the constantly changing Local Search ecosystem.

Honesty, we can’t predict this. Many factors affect the search result displays. Google defines the geo-targeted city center and can display the store that is closest to that location, or to the mobile searchers exact location. Many people use specific modifiers when searching locally, such as neighborhoods and zip codes. Also, specific stores may be more popular on social media, have more reviews and seem more popular, or have a more robust web presence in general. All of these factors affect rankings. We follow best practices to generate the best possible results for each location.

No. Guarantees can only be made by “advertisers”. When you hear other SEO companies offering guarantees - you should RUN! If you are looking for immediate page 1 rankings, you’ll have to advertise via Google Adwords or other pay-per-click (PPC) services. This can be prohibitively expensive for small businesses and the rankings will end when you stop advertising. Local SEO takes time and the results can never be guaranteed by anyone. The process of creating your businesses web presence to be powerfully relevant and appropriate for page 1 rankings cannot happen overnight. Visit our clients page and see what they are saying about their results.

Generally our answer is between 30-90 days after our Local SEO work is completed. Recently, we’ve seen several of our SEO clients achieve excellent page 1 organic listing results within a few weeks. It takes longer to rankings to rise in Google My Business listings as more factors are involved such as geo-location, address consistency, quantity of online reviews and citations (online mentions of the business). If your business is brand new, it may take longer to rank well. Google may be looking to find word-of-mouth chatter about your business online at blogs and social media sites. Getting online reviews and links to your website is a good strategy to help this process along.

The fundamental steps in a Local SEO campaign are: Relevance + Distance + Prominence.

1. Creating a consistent and verified web presence with your business name, address, and local phone number (known as “NAP).
2. Optimizing your website for your location(s) and specific services in those locations.
3. Boosting the prominence of your website via link-building.
4. Optimizing your Local Listings on Google, Apple, Bing, etc...
5. Increasing online “Citations” for your business across the web.
6. Increasing the “prominence” of your business online via reviews and social media engagement.

Moving your business can be challenging in the real world but in the online world it can be a total disaster. This process is not easy – even for experts. Depending on your specific circumstances, various strategies can be employed to keep your online presence visible. It’s imperative that you work with experienced local SEO professionals to re-establish your new location online.