5 Things You Might Not Know About SEO

Solutions by Design

Your business has a website…but is that enough? If your customers can’t find you online, you’re leaving money and growth on the table. That’s where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. Most business owners know SEO is important, but what they don’t know can seriously limit its impact.

Here are five things you might not know about SEO and how a marketing partner like Solutions by Design in Fresno, CA can help you turn clicks into customers.

1. SEO Is More Than Just Keywords - Yes, keywords matter but modern SEO goes way beyond stuffing your site with search terms. Google now looks at user experience, page speed, mobile responsiveness, internal linking, and high-quality content. It's a complex, ongoing strategy that involves both creative and technical work. How Solutions by Design Helps: Our SEO Team takes a full-spectrum approach, optimizing your site structure, improving load times, refining your content strategy, and ensuring your site is built to impress.

2. Local SEO Can Make or Break a Small Business - If you're a brick-and-mortar business or serve a specific region, local SEO is critical. Things like your Google Business Profile, local citations, and customer reviews are key to showing up in local searches and on Google Maps. How Solutions by Design Helps: Our SEO Team specializes in local SEO strategies. Whether it's optimizing your listing, encouraging reviews, or building local backlinks, our team knows how to get your name where it matters most.

3. Content Creation Isn’t Optional Anymore - If you’re not publishing content regularly, your SEO is probably falling behind. Blogging, social posts, and videos help you rank for more terms, build trust, and give visitors a reason to stick around. How Solutions by Design Helps: Our SEO and Social Media Teams create strategic content that speaks to your audience and ranks on search engines. From keyword research to polished blogs and social posts, we help you become a go-to source in your industry.

4. You Can Track Real ROI From SEO - SEO isn’t just set it and forget it…it’s measurable. You can track traffic, rankings, clicks, and calls tied directly to organic search efforts. If your current SEO team isn’t showing you results, you might need a new one. How Solutions by Design Helps: Our SEO Team uses data-driven tools and analytics to show you exactly how your SEO is performing. No fluff…just real numbers, clear reporting, and continuous optimization to drive results.

5. SEO Takes Time But It’s Worth It - Unlike ads, SEO doesn’t deliver overnight results but what it does offer is long-term growth, sustainable traffic, and a higher return on investment over time. The sooner you start, the sooner you’ll see results. How Solutions by Design Helps: Our SEO Team doesn’t do cookie-cutter SEO. They build long-term strategies customized to your business, your market, and your goals so every dollar you invest moves you forward.

Ready to Be Found Online?

Whether you’re just starting your SEO journey or want to upgrade your current strategy, partnering with a team like Solutions by Design in Fresno, CA gives you the advantage of expert support and personal service.

Stop blending into the background and start showing up where your customers are looking. Contact Solutions by Design today and get your business climbing the ranks, one smart move at a time.

 

The Importance of an SSL Certificate on your Website

Solutions By Design

How we access information has changed significantly in the past few years alone. From websites to mobile phones, the amount of information we can consume is endless, all accessible right in our pockets. Internet privacy has been at the forefront of nationwide discussions for quite some time. With the potential of having thousands of users visit your website, you want to ensure your users are safe and deem your website as a trustworthy source. This is where an SSL Certificate comes in. Online security is an important factor in how we use and experience the internet.

What is an SSL Certificate? An SSL Certificate stands for Secure Sockets Layer. Its purpose is, “[having] an SSL ensures that the sensitive data of your website's visitors will be transferred over a secure network.” according to Forbes. All the information users put in your website will remain secure. Implementing an SSL Certificate on your website is an easy process that Solutions by Design can help you with.

Do I Need an SSL Certificate? The short answer is Yes! SSL Certificates tell Google (and other search engines) your site is secure. It increases your website’s security. If your website accepts payment information, has login details, sign up forms or a place where users input their personal information, an SSL certificate protects your visitor's data and personal information.

Having an SSL Certificate authenticates your website and tells your visitors your website is trustworthy. Not having an SSL Certificate will show up like this to your website visitors. “Your website will be displayed with a security padlock in the address bar of the browser. This will indicate that the connection is secure and will show your website’s visitors that you take their privacy seriously. If your website doesn’t have a certificate, some browsers may label it as “unsafe,” according to Forbes.

Another benefit to having an SSL certificate is an increase in rankings for your SEO campaigns. Google and other search engines recognize the secure website and prioritize it over websites that do not have an SSL certificate.

If Solutions by Design hosts your website, we can help set up your SSL certificate on your website to keep your website visitor's information safe.

Google decided in 2018 to make websites have an SSL certificate, making it mandatory in 2018. According to Google, “Beginning in July 2018 with the release of Chrome 68, Chrome will mark all HTTP sites as “not secure”. This is an effort to make the internet safe and keep user's personal data safe. Google will flag websites that do not have an SSL certificate and will let users now their website is marked as unsafe. Here is what it may look like, depending on what type of internet browser you are using.

It’s 2021 and the way we access information, shop, set up appointments and ask for information is through websites. Your users personal data should be secure. Contact Solutions by Design for more information on SSL certificates or if you need one set up.

SEO: What are Toxic Backlinks?

Solutions By Design

Optimizing websites to rank high on search engines requires strategies that meet the individual needs of a website. One of those strategies is acquiring quality backlinks.

What are Backlinks? Backlinks are when another website links to yours. They can often be referred to as “external backlinks” or “inbound links.”  These links all are part of how search engines, such as Google ranks your website. These quality backlinks can come from websites that point to your service or content. Think of them as positive referrals that essentially give your website authority and legitimacy, in the eyes of Google.

Toxic backlinks are quite the opposite and are links that will overall negatively affect your rankings.

Google’s view on how toxic backlinks negatively impact your site, is pretty straight forward. “Any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.”

These are a few reasons why Google will decrease your ranking with negative /low-quality backlinks. 

• Buying or selling links. This includes exchanging money for links, or posts that contain links; exchanging goods or services for links, or sending someone a “free” product in exchange for them writing about it and including a link
• Excessive link exchanges ("Link to me and I'll link to you") or partner pages exclusively for the sake of cross-linking
• Using automated programs or services to create links to your site

Where do Toxic Backlinks Come From? A link that is pointing to your website can come from a variety of places, which can be categorized as toxic. Often these links have no connection to what you offer, your services or industry. They can come from:

• Spam websites 
• Un-indexed Google websites
• Websites containing viruses 
• Payday loan websites

A simple way to view if you have toxic backlinks is to review all the backlinks to your website and determine where they are coming from and their credibility.

How Do I Remove Toxic Backlinks? You should try to remove toxic backlinks by deleting them and asking the site owner to remove them. Because most of the sites are spam websites, the most effective way to remove toxic backlinks is to use the Disavow Tool from Google. This can be done by identifying toxic backlinks and uploading a list to the Disavow tool. You can find the complete steps here. 

Backlinks are sure to reappear over time from new websites, which is why constantly monitoring your website is important. Think of backlinks as positive referrals and credibility to your website, such as when someone refers you to their favorite place. Backlinks ultimately help your website rank well on the search engine results pages. Solutions by Design offers various SEO packages to help your website rank high and attract new customers. We monitor backlinks through a backlink audit to ensure Google and other search engines are ranking your website correctly and efficiently. Learn more about our SEO services and contact us for more questions. 

3 Important SEO Insights Our SEO Reports Feature

Solutions By Design

What was the last business you “googled” (or searched on a search engine)? Search engines are always changing and are constantly being updated daily, which means search engine optimization should always be worked on as an evolving process. Search engines use algorithms that are tweaked and at times changed completely by search engines such as Bing, Yahoo, and Google.

Our Search Engine Optimization services are focused on best establishing your website structure, content and set-up,  so that you can meet your customers online, at the right time, the right place, and in the right context. Our approach to an SEO strategy is unique and customized to each client, understanding all aspects of their business and target audience.

There are various important metrics we measure in SEO. We inform our audience by being transparent with their metrics and bring action plans to every approach to SEO. Through our customized monthly SEO reports, we offer an in-depth analysis of their website, their traffic, their keyword campaigns and many more data to help drive their goals. We believe these 3 important SEO insights are essential in guiding decisions on marketing goals.

1. Web Analytics
Website analytics are important to understand where your website traffic is coming from. Our reports show a breakdown of which traffic is coming from a mobile device versus a desktop. These website analytics show the location of your traffic based on city, the percentage of user acquisition, such as new users vs returning users to your website and the behavior of your audience such as bounce rate, how fast they are leaving your website. 

2. Keyword Campaign Rankings 
Keywords are the core of an effective SEO strategy. Placing keywords in the right place that allows the search engines to optimize rankings is a key component to improving your page rank on search engines. Our reports show a breakdown of your keyword campaigns, the keywords we are tracking for an SEO strategy. This shows the position of your rankings over time, allowing the client to see their growth.

3. Social Interaction
Many factors tie into an SEO strategy, one being social media. Social media is an easy way to engage with your online customers and reach potential customers. Our customized SEO reports show a breakdown of where your social media traffic is coming from and from what social media platform brought in traffic. From there, the client can see how many sessions that social platforms brought, along with how many page views on your website.

The way search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others rank websites are always changing. Their algorithm goes through constant updates, which means search engine optimization should always be worked on as an evolving process. Our approach to an SEO strategy is unique to each client. Solutions by Design offers various SEO packages to help your website rank high and attract new customers, so you can do what you do best. Learn more about our SEO services and contact us for more questions.

SEO: Google’s Core September Update

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of increasing the online visibility of your website in a web search engine’s unpaid results— referred to as “natural”, “organic”, or “earned” results.

SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, video search, academic search, news search, and industry-specific vertical search engines. Search engine optimization is something that is always changing with updates by search engines and should be worked on and monitored.

Google is the king of search engines. “Google has dominated the search engine market, maintaining an 88.47 percent market share as of April 2019.” 3.5 billion Google searches are made every day and the number only seems to be increasing every year. Google releases a few core updates to its algorithm, which impacts the way websites are ranked and how the search engine works.

“What is a Google core update? A Google core update is when Google adjusts its core search ranking algorithm with the goal of returning more relevant and useful search results to the searcher.” According to Google, “Each day, Google usually releases one or more changes designed to improve our search results. Most aren’t noticeable but help us incrementally continue to improve.”

Later today, we are releasing a broad core algorithm update, as we do several times per year. It is called the September 2019 Core Update. Our guidance about such updates remains as we’ve covered before. Please see this blog for more about that: https://t.co/e5ZQUAlt0G

— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) September 24, 2019

With each update Solutions by Design analyzes what impacts this has on each client. Google’s core updates come a few a year, however, the impacts can lead to a decline in rankings, a spike for others, emphasizes backlinks or content, while some updates don’t impact others at all.

What is in this update? 

A Change in Rankings: 

With any update, search results change for each website. The website may see a spike in ranking higher for their keywords, while others see a drop in their ranking positions. Updates also impact click-through rates, which lead to a decline in website traffic.

In 2018 alone, Google made over 3,200 changes to its algorithms. However, core updates affecting search algorithm changes happen only a few times a year, with Google announcing the update and what it means for websites.

This September update affected the health and finance industry more than any other website. “Whenever Google updates its search ranking algorithms it means that your site can do better or worse in the search results.” Understanding when Google does these core updates allows us to understand when something has changed on websites such as traffic and where we can improve upon for better rankings. Always optimizing SEO is essential, especially as Google changes its algorithm.

What Can We Do? 

As an SEO company, Solutions by Design is always tracking changes in SEO and how to get our clients to rank as high as possible organically. If SEO rankings have been impacted, it does not mean that your website has been punished in any way possible by Google. According to Google, “There’s nothing wrong with pages that may perform less well in a core update. They haven’t violated our webmaster guidelines nor been subjected to a manual or algorithmic action. In fact, there’s nothing in a core update that targets specific pages or sites. Instead, the changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall.”

Google reminds us of what is rewarded and the best way to ensure search engine optimization is at its best for all websites. Focusing on content and websites that offer great quality content is what is rewarded in search engines. Here are recommendations on what to ask when creating content for your website, straight from the search engine source itself, Google.

Content and Quality: 

• Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis? 
• Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
• Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
• Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book?

Presentation and Production Questions: 

• Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
• Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content?
• Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?

Expertise Questions

• Is the website source trustworthy?
• Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
• Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?

Comparative Questions:

• Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines? 

As an SEO company, Solutions by Design is always tracking changes in SEO and how to get our clients to rank as high as possible organically. Real SEO is worked on every month: adding, changing, linking, and enhancing so we get you results that are tough to achieve. Contact us for more information on how to get your website ranking in your communities.

Sources: https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2019/08/core-updates.html

3 Tips to Get Google Reviews

Google Reviews are one of the most important aspects of online marketing for businesses of all types. Not only is it easy to manage and set up, but it also brings plenty of benefits to your online listing, when potential customers are searching for a product or service you offer.

The value aspect of Google Reviews is the high ratings and the volume of reviews, which can be a challenge for most people. Depending on what type of business or practice you own, getting Google Reviews can be difficult. Here are a few ways to gain positive Google Reviews:

Tip 1: Include links to your Google My Business on your website – Do not make it hard for someone to find you on Google. Encourage those who visit your website to visit your Google My Business listing and write a review of their experience with you.

Tip 2: Use Communication: Asking customers for a review via email after they have visited you, is a great way to get reviews and remind them to rate their experience.

Tip 3: Don’t Buy Reviews: It’s all about authenticity in the online world of Google and search engines and the ever-changing SEO algorithms, can recognize reviews and determine which ones are authentic. Do not fall into the trap of buying reviews, as this can cause serious consequences such as your practice/business being fined, your Google account being shut down. Not to mention, it is also illegal according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Google Reviews are a big deciding factor for potential customers and by leveraging this simple tool, your business can benefit greatly. Need help with social media or some tips, contact us for more information at info@solutionsbydesign.com.

Google Local 3 Pack Matters

If you’re searching for anything, chances are you are going to Google it (search on Google). Searching for the best information fast is critical for someone searching for a need or service. Let’s say we are searching for a specific business. Google wants to provide the information that is most relevant to you, depending on geographical location, prominence, and relevance, Google will determine which local business listings will be displayed. These listings are at the top of the page in a special list accompanied by a map. This is called the “Local 3 Pack” - because Google displays the top 3 results.

According to Google, “Local results appear for people who search for businesses and places near their location.” Let’s say we are searching for a “Veterinarian,” Google will display the top 3 local businesses, based on my geographical location, prominence, and relevance.

There is no denying the top spot on Google is the desired spot for all businesses with an online presence. Only 3 businesses are displayed at the top of the first page on Google, leading to an increase in competition. Google only shows the name of the street where your business is located, with a description of your services. As a user searching for information, you have to click to get the full address, phone number, and reviews.

The top 3 results are local, meaning you will get different results based on your physical location and depending on your search terms.

Through the Local 3 Pack from Google, local businesses have the opportunity for more exposure. Especially with ‘Map View’ you get an overview of most of the local businesses, which expands to a list, leading to more exposure.

How does Google Determine Local Ranking? 

According to Google, “local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. These factors are combined to help find the best match for your search. For example, Google algorithms might decide that a business that's farther away from your location is more likely to have what you're looking for than a closer business, and therefore rank it higher in local results.”

Filling out your Google My Business page correctly and constantly update all the information is the first step in ensuring your business is being ranked properly. Adding detailed business information such as business hours, description, address and phone number and photos, will help Google match your business to those searching for your services.

Of course, the distance will impact your search results, showing the local business closest to your location or search terms. Prominence is a determining factor in search results, telling Google how well a business is known. Google gathers this information about a business from various places such as links, articles, websites, and directories. This is where an effective SEO strategy comes in.

It is important to note that you can not pay for a better ranking on Google. According to Google, “There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the details of the search algorithm confidential to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.”

The Google Local 3 Pack has allowed businesses to reach an audience and become more discoverable. Local businesses have the opportunity for more exposure. Be sure to ensure your business or practice is optimized as best as possible. Searching for help on SEO or social media? Contact us for a customized package that is the perfect fit for you. 

New Year, New Office

Happy New Year from Solutions by Design! Back in October, we moved into our new fantastic office space, that will allow Solutions by Design to work in a collaborative and open environment. Complex problems require diverse solutions and our team at Solutions By Design are skilled to help our clients accomplish their goals. From web design to social media marketing to our interactive display board - we maintain a unique balance of highly talented individuals, each specializing in his or her area of service. We love our new office space!

What is SEO Doing for Your Website?

It seems like every time you turn around there is another company out there specializing in SEO. And we’re sure you have received several calls and emails from some unknown telemarketer telling you that they have reviewed your website and you don’t show up on the first page on Google for your keywords. While you know that this is just a sales tactic, it does make you think (if even for just a minute).

“What is my SEO Company doing for my website?”

While there are many reputable businesses out there that are legitimately doing a great job in helping their clients achieve high search rankings, there is also a number of companies using questionable practices to achieve SEO goals.

Questions to ask:

• Is your website mobile friendly?
• Is your website code being updated to make your website easily read by search engines?
• What is your list of keywords and why were they chosen for your website?
• Does your current SEO company provide you with access to reports in real time anytime you want?

Not getting the answers you want? Give Solutions By Design a call. Our SEO Specialist can help clear things up. Even if you aren’t a current Solutions By Design client, we will run a complimentary audit of your website and provide you with a detailed report on how your site is ranking and if your rankings can be improved.

Contact us for a free SEO audit today.

SEO Rankings: Local Citations

Why are local citations important for your business?

Citations in SEO are a key factor in improving your local search results. Citations help search engines, like Google and Bing, verify that your business exists. Search engines identify that your business was mentioned through the presence of your NAP info (Name, Address, Phone, Number) and you get credit for this mention. The more mentions of your business on the internet, the more prominent your business appears to these search engines, and this will help with your local rankings.

When multiple credible sources have the same accurate information about your business, it signals the search engines that your business is legitimate. Listing your business helps your website create authority, establish trust online, and will improve your website’s ability to rank higher in local search results.

It’s no secret that the websites that are constantly ranking in Google’s top local pack have relevant and powerful citations consistent across the internet. Which is why we feel citations are so important. Citations can be a powerful way to ensure you are more visible and get found for locally driven search queries.

While SEO is easy to learn, it’s tough to master. The rules for SEO keep changing. What worked a year or two ago can actually be a huge mistake in marketing today.

Want to learn more about citation building and how our experts can help increase your websites rankings? Give us a call today. We offer several SEO and Social Media Packages to fit the needs and goals of your business.

Google is Killing Off Instant Search

Introduced in 2010, Google’s “Instant Search” feature was touted as “the future of search”, allowing users to save precious seconds by loading results dynamically as they typed. It also became a source of amusement as Google struggled to eliminate results from “search spammers” who used bots to force humorous results that people saw when they typed. Google was able to overcome that and other issues, and Instant Search became a hit with users.

Google has recently announced that it is getting rid of Instant Search. The reason? It’s because most of us now use mobile devices to search, and since Instant Search was never introduced on mobile, Google wants to keep a unified search experience across all platforms. With mobile voice assistants becoming more popular, Google just doesn’t see the need to keep maintaining its Instant Search feature.

No longer will you be able to go to Google on your desktop PC and type in something like this and get instant results:

Some users may miss this feature because it does save time and eliminates spelling errors, but the future is mobile. At Solutions By Design, we can help you help you reach your goals and increase your search engine optimization. Visit our website or give us a call for more information. 800-888-4084.

Implement User-Generated Content Into Your Content Strategy

With the ever-changing algorithms of the digital world, it’s important for your social media strategy to include content that meets the needs of your SEO as well as engages with your consumer. We understand not everyone has a generous budget to put towards boosting posts or pay for ads on Facebook, but with the organic reach declining it’s time to add fuel to the fire. One way to do this is by implementing UGC, user-generated content, into your content strategy.

What is User-Generated Content? UGC is short for user-generated content; this is any form of digital content created by consumers and shared publicly online.

Sharing your brand’s story through UGC will give your content strategy more authenticity and it will be more engaging for your followers. Here are just a few more reasons you need to start implementing UGC:

INCREASES YOUR MARKETING TEAM
Consumers are creating content and posting it online; use it and source it.

OFFERS ADDITIONAL CONTENT
Everyone struggles with creating social media content, so leverage UGC to add variety to your content strategy and change it up.

SAVES TIME & MONEY
With UGC, you won’t have to spend money on hiring photographers or using stock photos.

IT’S MORE TRUSTWORTHY
This content is coming from friends or strangers within the community, making it more authentic, real and believable.

IT’S MORE ENGAGING
UGC drives 6.9X higher news feed engagement on than brand-generated content.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are popular social platforms that operate almost entirely on user-generated content. Be sure to start asking your consumers for UGC by putting a call to action on marketing materials, using hashtags, or promoting UGC with contests and giveaways. Once you do this, find the UGC by searching the hashtag or location and get permission from the user to share it. Repurpose this content on your website, social media, ads, blogs, etc.

UGC is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote your brand and increase engagement and loyalty with consumers. Reference these tips and you should be able to revive your social media content strategy and reach.

Do you need help with your social media marketing? Contact Solutions by Design and ask about our social media services. Visit our website or call 800-888-4084.

The Future Is Voice Search

A Burger King commercial caused a bit of controversy recently, not for anything racy or disturbing, but for being too invasive. The 15-second ad starts with a Burger King employee holding up the sandwich saying, “You’re watching a 15-second Burger King ad, which is unfortunately not enough time to explain all the fresh ingredients in the Whopper sandwich. But I’ve got an idea. OK, Google, what is the Whopper burger?”

If a viewer has the Google Home assistant or an Android phone with voice search enabled within listening range of the TV, that last phrase - “Hello Google, what is the Whopper burger?” - is intended to trigger the device to search for Whopper on Google and read out the finding from Wikipedia. Admittedly, it’s a clever marketing campaign and the first one to make use of what’s fast becoming a standard in many homes - the personal voice assistant.

Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Home assistants sold at a rapid pace last year, and this year the sales are expected to grow even more. With both assistants able to do everything from record notes to control lights and appliances by simply speaking to them, people are discovering the value in owning these assistants. And one of the biggest uses of these devices is the ability to search for information or businesses simply by speaking.

Moms can look up recipes and have the assistant read them back as she’s making dinner. Dads can ask the assistant for the nearest automotive store. The kids can ask about upcoming concerts or video game releases. The possibilities are endless - and convenient. All you do is simply speak.

And it’s not just these assistants that are becoming the go-to devices for voice search. Smartphones are now a big part of the voice search landscape. Voice search can be enabled on both Android and Apple smartphones, and Samsung is releasing their Bixby voice assistant with the new Galaxy S8 this month. Even Microsoft is entering the game with their Cortana voice assistant which can be enabled on computers and tablets.

What does this mean for your business? First of all, it’s important to have a solid SEO strategy in place that can capitalize on this emerging search arena. When people type a search phrase into their browsers, most of the time they use simple truncated phrases to save on typing. For example, if someone is searching for an orthodontist in Dallas they may simply enter, “orthodontists Dallas.” This is especially true on a mobile device where typing can be tedious.

But a voice search uses more natural language, and most people aren’t concerned about truncation. The same person searching for an orthodontist may say, “What is the closest orthodontist to Jefferson Elementary?”, or “What are the top five orthodontists nearest to my home?” Natural language searches like these open up new challenges for SEO.

Here at Solutions by Design, we are fully aware of this new future in search, and are positioning our SEO efforts to meet this new challenge. Part of our SEO strategy will be to make use of this new “natural language” search in our optimization efforts and guide our clients in understanding the implications and benefits. It’s an exciting transition in the world of search and we want our clients to be prepared.

Proximity Is Now A Top Ranking Factor In Local Search

Many of our SEO clients have heard us tell them that when it comes to local searches it’s all about location and relevance. This subject usually arises when a client calls or emails because their business isn’t showing up in the “local pack” search results. (The “local pack” is the portion near the top of the search results that shows a map with up to three local businesses). They often wonder why a new business with no reviews is showing up on the map and listings and they aren’t.

The local pack has generated a lot of discussion recently as SEO experts try to figure out how Google arrives at their results. It doesn’t appear to be based on reviews since some of the listings won’t show any. It also doesn’t appear to be the age of the business. After careful analysis, it now appears that proximity is the top factor in this determination. Since more people now search on their mobile phones than on computers, Google places more importance on providing them with relevant, location-based results.

Let’s say that you’re out shopping and it’s getting close to noon. You’re hungry and in the mood for Mexican food, so you do a quick search on your phone for “Mexican restaurants”. The results you get will show the local pack with a map and up to three listings. You’ll notice that they are the closest Mexican restaurants based on your current location. In the meantime, your spouse is on the other side of town and uses their phone to search for Mexican restaurants. Their local pack results will show the restaurants closest to them.

What does this mean for your business? It can be a bit frustrating to know that someone across town is searching for a business and your competitors are showing up instead of you. Your business may be listed on the first page, below the local pack, but many people will naturally gravitate towards the local pack before scanning the page for more results. No amount of SEO work will force your business to show up in the local pack regardless of where the searcher is located.

Although Google includes a link in the local pack for “more results”, that’s little consolation to a business that’s hoping their SEO efforts are paying off. They may be at the very top of the organic listings, right below the local pack, but they want to get noticed right away. Unfortunately, in a mobile-centric environment, it’s all about proximity now, and it looks like it will be that way for at least the near future.

Easy Way To Get Google Reviews

Google reviews are extremely important for businesses nowadays because of consumer influence. Businesses know they need to be accumulating as many positive reviews as possible for various business marketing reasons, though many don't know how to do so or where to start. As Google is constantly changing, it’s important for us at Solutions by Design to keep our clients ahead of the game and educated on how Google reviews work, as well as conquering the task of getting more reviews from current and past patients.

Where to start?

The first thing you need to do is a Google search with your business name in the search box. As long as you’ve already claimed your "Google My Business" page(s) and you’re easily found in that kind of a search, you’ll see the Google Maps and "Google My Business" page appear to the right of the screen. Once you get here, click on the map and you will be taken directly to your “Google My Business” public page. This page is where your patients will go to write a review. Persons leaving the review must have a Google account and must be signed in to do so.

The question we hear is how do you get your patients through this journey of finding your "Google My Business" page easily? We suggest you simplify the search for the patient by linking your Google place page on your website or email the link in an e-blast. To do this, find the "embed map code" and provide it to the person designated to update your website, or use the short link for an e-blast or hyperlink on your website.

How do you find the link?

1. Find your Google place page.
2. Click the menu option.
3. Click share or embed map. 
4. A pop-up to share the link will appear, click the short URL and use this for e-blasts or hyperlink on your website.
5. To embed map on your website, click “Embed Map” and provide this code to the designated person. 

We suggest you add this to your website to help increase the number of Google reviews on your "Google My Business" page. If you are a Solutions by Design social media client, talk to your social media manager about this update as it is included in your monthly subscription if it is not already done. If you are not a social media client, give us a call to add have your maps code embedded to your website. All Google Maps website updates starting at $150.

Google’s New Mobile Index Split | How It Will Effect Your SEO

Due to the fact that the majority of searches are now conducted on mobile devices, Google has decided to split their index into mobile-specific and desktop-specific versions.

What is the Google index? Every day, Google’s search engine “bots” crawl through websites and index the contents so that results can be presented to searchers. Until now there has been one unified index for both desktop and mobile searches, so no matter what device you were searching from, the results would be basically the same.

Google’s plan is to provide results optimized for mobile users, and they will be updating and focusing on the mobile index to a greater degree than the desktop index. When a search is conducted from a desktop computer, Google will present results from the desktop index. Alternately, when a search is conducted on a mobile device, Google will present results from the mobile index.

Effect on Websites
If a website is responsive, very little will change. The main criteria will be the speed of the website. If the website is slow to load then it will suffer in the rankings compared to faster sites.

• This will be especially important going forward with new websites we build, and the designers and developers will need to be aware of these issues:
• All sites will need to be run through Google’s website speed tester prior to launch. If the site scores lower than 90 out of 100, adjustments will need to be made following Google’s suggestions.
• Images and other design elements will need to be optimized to enhance the speed of the site. These design considerations will need to be made during the initial concept phase to avoid any potential speed issues.
• Scripts and other files necessary to the site will need to be “minified” and placed in the optimal load order. Google has good documentation on this and it should be followed by the developers. In addition, no supporting files should be loaded from external sites wherever possible. This includes jQuery base files and jQuery app files. Wherever possible, font files should be loaded locally.

For SEO clients who already have responsive sites, the same issues above will apply and some modifications will need to be made.

For those clients with separate mobile sites there will be more issues to consider. The main issue will be content. Since most mobile sites contain only an abbreviated portion of the content of the main website, the reduction in content (because Google is now keeping a separate mobile index) will definitely affect the site’s rankings.

To correct this, the same content that exists on the desktop version of the site will need to be present in the mobile version. This ensures that Google will have enough content to index in order to rank the site effectively. Obviously, this presents challenges when it comes to showing interactive content (Choose Your Look, Terms, etc), and a solid development plan will need to be in place to address these challenges.

Also, Google’s focus is moving increasingly toward their AMP (accelerated mobile pages) technology and soon will play a major role in rankings. It is highly recommended that we begin exploring this technology in order to stay in the game.

Effect on SEO Efforts
For existing responsive sites, the main thing to consider is optimizing the site for speed. This will involve a combination of work from the designers and the developers. The designers will need to develop routines for optimizing the images and graphical elements, and the developers will need to concentrate on optimizing the code and supporting files.

For new responsive sites, it will be important to follow the guidelines above during the entire development process.

In terms of additional time needed for SEO purposes, there should be no additional efforts other than a possible change to the monthly reporting. I’m still waiting to see if the SEO reporting software will change to accommodate the index split. But once the site is optimized for speed, monthly on-site SEO efforts should remain the same. For sites with separate mobile versions, a little additional time will be required in order to make sure the desktop and mobile versions are in sync, with attention being paid to the differences needed in order to affect rankings. The additional time needed will have little impact overall.

Conclusion
Unless more changes are revealed by Google, this announced change to Google’s index will have little impact in terms of monthly SEO work required. The primary consideration will be developing responsive sites for optimal speed, developing new techniques and requirements to achieve this, and exploring new technologies such as AMP. The burden will rest on the designers and developers to produce sites that meet Google’s optimization guidelines.

We #MannequinChallenge You

The latest internet craze is the Mannequin Challenge! The #MannequinChallenge involves a group of people to strike a pose while being filmed to hip hop artist Rae Sremmurd’s newly released song “Black Beatles” in the background.

The first viral video of the Mannequin Challenge surfaced in October 2016, and it's now trending all across the net. There are currently more than 56,000 posts with the hashtag #MannequinChallenge and the number rises every day. Now, it’s our turn!

Just a typical day at Solutions by design…#MannequinChallenge



The Mannequin Challenge is easy to create and fun to participate in! It’s so fun, we’re challenging YOU to create your own clip! It may seem a little odd, but trust us, it’s a powerful form of social media marketing and branding. Many brands have received amazing results while posting viral videos such as this, so join us and take on our challenge!

Tag Us! 

Don’t forget to tag us in your mannequin challenge videos! Use #SBDMadeMeDoIt so we can LIKE & SHARE your video!

What Can Social Media Do For Your SEO?

There is a misunderstanding for many business owners about how to grow your organic rankings on search engines like Google. Having an experienced and skilled SEO director is a key to achieving higher rankings, but it’s important to remember that without social media, particularly a social media strategist, your organic rankings will not advance to the optimum level of achievement. These days, simply having your business profile on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram isn’t enough to boost your search rankings. There is more to it.  You need to ask yourself one simple question, do you have a consistent social media strategy in place for your business? If you don't, you need one in order to see an increase in organic search rankings. Remember, if you're not in the number one spot, your competitor is.

What’s a social media strategy?
Simply having a social media presence is not enough these days; you must be active, engaging, and monitoring your social media profiles regularly. It’s important to recognize what social media channels will fit the needs of your business industry, set realistic goals for these channels, and implement them on a consistent basis. One important realization to keep in mind is social media is overwhelming, and with so many social networks out there comes constant new features to track and stay educated on in order to integrate them into your social media strategy.

What can social media do for your SEO?
Social media and SEO are in a tactical relationship with each other. How so? They are both strategies that focus on creating an appealing identity that will increase visitors.  Having a strong plan for each of these will benefit the other. Having a solid social media strategy and presence can influence your Google rankings and improve your SEO. This includes updating, monitoring, and implementing everything on your social media pages from the quality of your followers to the content you post and engagement on your page. If you don’t have a skilled social media manager with the expertise of utilizing social media for increasing your SEO, then you need to think about how serious you are about achieving the highest organic ranking you can.

If you don’t have a full-time social media manager at your business, no need to panic. Solutions by Design has social media services with experts who will develop and implement social media strategies for you. We specialize in working with businesses on social media and SEO and can help you reach your goals and increase your search engine optimization. Visit our website or give us a call for more information. 800-888-4084.

Google’s War Against Pop-Ups

Last month Google announced that they would begin penalizing websites that display content-blocking pop-ups. These are called “interstitial ads,” you can find these all over the Internet as you try to browse certain websites. This is how they work: you navigate to an article that you want to read and as you are just starting with the first paragraph, a pop-up appears that blocks the content. These pop-ups usually want you to sign up for their newsletter, purchase a subscription, or will display an advertisement for a product or service.

Sometimes it is hard to find the button to close the pop-up, and some even prevent you from closing the pop-up unless you click through the advertisement. These pop-ups are irritating and Google is making sure that websites with these types of ads don’t make it into their search results. Google’s focus is on the user's website experience, especially when it relates to mobile browsing, and this type of advertising interferes with that experience.

What does this mean for our clients? We have always advised against adding pop-up advertising for our clients and will continue to do so. There are much better and less annoying ways to get your message to your visitors. Now that Google will start penalizing websites that utilize pop-up advertising, you can’t afford to choose this option in the future.  

If you have a website with interstitial ads, contact Solutions by Design to discuss updating your site. We have a full in-house staff of graphic designers, web developers, programmers, and more, as well as specialize in custom websites.  Also, we don't use templates and have over 30 years of experience assisting clients all over the world with maintaining branding, web presence, and our clients have top rankings on Google. Call us today 800-888-4084.  

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