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How to Rank For Your Business Name
I can't tell you how many times I'm working on a client’s SEO and notice they're not even ranking #1 in Google for their own business name. In fact their own name might not even appear anywhere on their website! Ranking for your own business name doesn't involve extensive keyword research — it's super simple to do but often overlooked by most entrepreneurs.
You can start ranking for your business name by including your business name in the page title and meta description of your home page and every page of your website where it makes sense (easy if you're using Shopify, Squarespace or WordPress with the Yoast plugin).
And If and when you get more inbound links to your website, try to make sure the anchor text (the actual words that are linked) is your business name (and not, for example, the words "click here"), like this:
Melissa McGraw is an SEO consultant who owns The Creative Potential.
Ranking for your business name isn't always as easy as it seems. If you have a generic business name (like I do!), you're competing against generic searches for that same term. So you might try to these variations to ranking for your biz name:
your business name + the industry ("the creative potential search engine optimization")
your business name + products & services you sell ("melissa mcgraw seo consultant")
your business name + location ("the creative potential new york city")
your business name + owner name of biz ("the creative potential melissa mcgraw")
If you want to know where you stand in rankings for a certain search term, like your own business name, you can use the free SERPS Rank Checker Tool.
Want to get your site on the 1st page of Google? Don’t forget to grab your free guide here.
How Do I Get My Site on The First Page of Google For Free?
How to Write Killer Meta Descriptions That Will Bring Traffic to Your Site
Bounce Rate: 6 Reasons Why Visitors Are Leaving Your Site
Have you ever gone to a party or event, took a quick look, and decided to just leave? Did you ever think later what if I missed out on something? Or what I was just being too judgmental? Chances are probably not. You made your decision and went with it.
Your “bounce rate” is the same thing when it comes to your website. It’s the percentage of visitors who come to your website (home page, blog post, sales page, landing page, etc.) and leave without engaging with any content, filing out your opt in form, or clicking through to another page.
Optimize Your Images For SEO Success
So why should you optimize your images?
Google Image Search only gets a small piece of Google’s overall traffic, but since the search results are now blended, images can generate a lot more traffic than you might think.
So if you search for a particular thing or subject matter (‘chocolate chip cookies’), you could see images in the standard listings without ever having to click on the Images tab.
Now is the time to get your images optimized for SEO success.
How to Do Keyword Research in 60 Minutes or Less
When I ask my clients this question “What keyword or phrase should I type into Google that you want your business or brand to be known for?” about 90% of them have no idea how to answer me.
If this sounds like you, that’s totally ok. You don’t have to be an SEO ninja to figure it out. The fact that you can discover how many people per month are searching for something, what words they're using, and what questions they're asking in search still boggles my mind!
Keyword research doesn’t have to be a painful process and I am going to show you 5 easy hacks that connect you with your target audience in no time.
5 Ecommerce Mistakes That Could Be Costing You Sales
Did you ever wonder if your website could be costing you sales? Sure it looks pretty and you have tons of content. You constantly tweak your product and service pages. But did you ever think your content could be causing that customer not to add that product or service to the cart?
Here are five ecommerce copywriting mistakes that might be costing you business and I’ll show you how you can fix them.
Is Your Business Taking Advantage of Google's Questions and Answers?
Our first post that chatted about creating a local SEO strategy introduced you to creating a Google My Business Listing for your business. Now let’s focus on the Questions and Answers portion of that listing that Google introduced back in mid 2017 that many small and large businesses are still not taking advantage of.
Over the past few years, Google has been building on their success in local search by providing more and more information to consumers directly in the search results. Consumers are making their decisions right there and then without necessarily heading over to your website. Consumers want instant information to make an informed decision and this Question and Answer feature is doing just that.
How to Optimize Your Google My Business Listing in 5 Easy Steps
You created a business and that pretty website of yours-now it is time to get it found. One of the most first steps in any DIY SEO strategy especially if you have a service based creative business is to think of getting found locally. Makes sense right?
Before searchers get the opportunity to visit your page, the first thing they will see could be your Google Search Business Profile, also known as Google My Business (GMB).
You know what I mean: that box at the right with a picture of your business that has your contact information and a link to your website. Yes, that one. If you didn’t know how important this resource is, you soon will.
5 SEO Mistakes Online Entrepreneurs Make (Here's How to Fix Them)
I know SEO can be downright intimidating but it can also be your best friend when it comes to getting found online. You also don't have to have an entire SEO team in place or be an SEO guru to make simple changes to your website that can improve your ranking in search. Here are five mistakes that you might just be making- or as I like to call them missed opportunities-— on your website and how to quickly fix them.
How Your URL's Can Be SEO Friendly
Did you know your URL’s are an important aspect of SEO when it comes to optimizing your website? Not only do they make an appearance in your web browser but also on search. That is why it is important to take a look at them- whether it is a blog post or product page and make sure they are formatted for optimization.
How Your Website Can Be Picked For Google's Featured Snippet
Did you ever wonder how sites get featured in Google’s “featured snippet” which appears above the organic search results and below the paid advertising? Appearing in this snippet can prove to be a huge competitive advantage, increase visibility and rank for your creative business. Is it impossible to achieve? Here’s a quick tutorial on how you can optimize your website (whether it be content or video) to be picked for a featured snippet.
SEO Copywriting Strategies: Let's Break it Up
Congrats on finally making your keyword list! You may have found keywords or keyword phrases that are often four to five words long with a high search count and low competition. So what’s the problem you ask? Well, even if you have a bunch of keywords when you put it into your site the copy does not seem to flow. It just doesn’t make sense. Did you know you can break up these keywords with the use of basic punctuation and line breaks?
Why No One Including Google Likes a Slow Website
5 DIY SEO Hacks to Get Your Creative Biz Found Online
Chances are if you have done any research on how to bring traffic to your website there is probably no doubt you have come across the term SEO (search engine optimization). Do you have to really worry about it? That seems to be the ongoing debate. Personally I think SEO is extremely important even though it can be really confusing and overwhelming on where to start first. However, I am going to share 5 found easy-peasy DIY SEO hacks that will help get your creative business found online.
The Secret Ingredient to Generating Powerful Testimonials for your Online Biz
One of the most powerful ways to gain traffic to (or back to) your website is through the use of testimonials. Just think of how many times you browsed a site just to read the testimonials. Did they influence you in anyway? C’mon I bet they persuaded you or even made you think twice about buying the item!
How to Turn an Unhappy Customer into a Learning Experience
Unhappy customers are an invaluable resource for providing honest information about your creative business. Believe it or not you need this information if you want to improve and stand out from your competition. Join us for our weekly video tip on how to turn an unhappy customer into a learning experience!
