Richard Beverly's Blog

One of the toughest aspects of working in SEO is convincing clients that what you’re doing will pay off . Choosing to optimize for long-tail keywords can be a tough fight to win, with some clients not immediately understanding why we’d opt to target lower volume keywords. While it might seem totally counterproductive to optimize for less popular search terms, the truth is, targeting long-tail keywords results in increased traffic and conversions. Pages optimized for long-tail keywords have a click-through rate up to 19% higher than those optimized for short-tail keywords. More clicks mean more traffic and more chances to turn visitors into customers.� The statistics are tremendous, obviously. But this article will really prove to you the benefits of optimizing for long-tail keywords, along with the most effective ways to find them. What Are Long-Tail Keywords? Long-tail keywords are low volume, less competitive search terms. As they are super-focused search queries, long-tail key

Do you consider reporting a chore? Do you frantically scramble to pull all your data together at the end of the month? And does your reporting ultimately lead to more questions than answers? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above, then this is the episode of ‘Adventures in Local Marketing’ for you. Dana DiTomaso believes reporting doesn’t have to be so soul destroying! On this episode, we talked to Dana to learn: Why marketers have a bad relationship with reporting What you can do to change that relationship The common mistakes marketers make when reporting Why reporting less is always more Listen to the episode Resources Looking to revitalize your reporting? Need another fix of Dana? Here’s some content to get you going. Read the goal charter blog post Dana mentions in the episode. Watch the recap from Dana’s Local Search Clinic appearance , where she answered all manner of questions about local SEO. Watch Dana talk about why reporting is the best and worst part of

Google My Business Product Expert, Steady Demand’s Ben Fisher, explains what Google My Business’ factual attributes are, how to set them, and gives an overview of the latest attributes added to GMB since Covid-19 measures were put in place.� What are GMB factual attributes?  When Covid-19 struck, everyone was surprised by the shutdown. Most people had no clue what to do, where to shop, what was safe, and what was not. To make matters worse, it seemed like every day brought new challenges. During this time, the Google My Business (GMB) Product Experts met with GMB every week to brainstorm what could help merchants the most. We would make a suggestion and then, by the next week, changes would have been implemented. It was, and it is still, amazing to see how fast Google reacted to the pandemic. Many other companies reacted, too, but Google had a duty to respond particularly quickly due to its influence on search. One key area of improvements was in GMB attributes, which are snippets

We are in a voice search revolution — or at least that’s what the internet would have you believe.� Nearly 40% of all internet users in the US and a third of its total population (111.8 million people) are users of voice search. And studies suggest its popularity is only going to continue to grow, with an expected 9.7 percent increase to 122.7 million users by 2021. Voice search is being used on mobile phones, smart speakers, laptops, and desktops. In fact, 49% of Amazon Echo and Google Home users say they cannot imagine life without one.  Whatever your feelings towards voice search may be, it’s important to ensure your business is in the best possible position should anything change (whether that’s voice search falling off the face of the earth or its popularity skyrocketing beyond belief). Can you optimize for voice search? Optimizing for voice search is not black and white. Like other types of search results , there are things you can do to increase your chances of surfac

Advance Your Agency is a BrightLocal series designed to equip you with the skills, knowledge, and advice necessary to take your agency operations to the next level. So, you’ve just landed your first proper local SEO client. How do you ensure that you provide them with sufficient value in the first six months?� Showing the benefits of your local SEO work within the initial six months is vital if you’re hoping to retain clients and build positive relationships, as well as securing your agency as a competent player in the world of local SEO. With so many tasks to manage, from review generation  to Google My Business optimization and beyond, it can be a challenge knowing what to prioritize. In this month’s issue of Advance Your Agency, I’ll talk you through the most important steps to take in the first six months with a local SEO client. But, I won’t be doing it alone… Throughout this article, I’ve enlisted the help of three key players in the world of local SEO, who ha

With years of experience in both SEO and digital marketing, Steve Wiideman is a trusted pro in his field. In this article, he sheds light on the ins and outs of voice search and explains how you can optimize your website content for voice search.� Contents: What Is Voice Search? Why Is Voice Search Important? Optimizing Your Website and Content for Voice Syndicating Short Summaries and Lists Claiming and Testing Google Actions and Alexa Skills Citations and Voice Search Summary What Is Voice Search? Voice Search refers to the technology behind searching the internet without the use of a keyboard, where an assistant (such as Siri, Alexa, Cortana, or Google Assistant) replies to a query with an answer or action. This technology was built to encourage safer driving and provide general convenience over using a keyboard. As humans continue to untether themselves from handheld devices, technology companies push forward to bring in innovations for performing tasks using Virtual As

It’s time to test your knowledge of last month’s local SEO news! In the latest edition of Local Quizness , we’ve explored all of the biggest stories that hit local SEO headlines in July. The challenge is on! In just 10 questions, find out if you and your team noticed all of the news that matters. And not to worry if you miss any; we’ve compiled a full reading list at the bottom of this page so you can be sure you’re on top of all the updates and tests that could affect your local marketing this month. Create your own user feedback survey As always, if you’re proud of your score or want to see how others fared, you can share this over on Twitter using #LocalQuizness. If there’s anything in the quiz that piqued your interest, you can read more in the links below: Search Engine Land – With new ‘pilot program,’ Google again testing ads on local business profiles Steady Demand – Google My Business Adds Notifications for Listing Suspended Due To Quality Issues BrightLocal – Google T

Building a strong Twitter following for a local business is tough. It seems like only big brands, politicians, and celebrities get attention.� There’s also a ton of information on how to do it, making you feel lost and out of sync with what you really need: a guide on how to use Twitter for local businesses .   And before we dive into this guide, here are a few stats showing you why Twitter isn’t only for big brands, politicians, and celebrities… Culturally relevant businesses influence 25% of buying decisions on Twitter In 2019, the cost per ad engagement reduced by 12% 24% of U.S citizens use Twitter as their primary social media platform 32% of Twitter users use the platform to watch videos Now, let’s say you’re sharing video content (either as ads or organic posts) that is relevant to the culture of the locations your business is serving. What’s going to prevent your followers from buying and becoming loyal customers?  Let’s dive into how to use Twitter

On July 22nd, Google My Business Product Expert, Tom Waddington spotted a new feature being tested in Google Business profiles. Google starting to offer an upgraded Business Profile (Google My Business listing) for $50/month that will add the Google Guaranteed badge to the listing and back services the business provides with the Google Guarantee. pic.twitter.com/x4bHLuVEi2 — Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) July 22, 2020 What he saw caused SEOs to think that their fears were being realized: Google My Business was becoming a paid-for product. But as we well know in local SEO, things are not always as clear as they first seem. With so much speculation out there, we wanted to clear things up. That’s why I’ve waded through the mass of information and chatter circulating the internet to work out exactly: What we know What we don’t know What the community thinks , and What this could mean for local businesses What we know So, as I mentioned and as Tom’s tweet showed, the news