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.

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.

All About Google Reviews

Reading reviews on a page, a business or a product are ingrained into our mind before clicking the purchase button. Whether it is Yelp, Facebook, product reviews, Google or the various review sites, each plays a large part in our decisions when it comes to doing business. For a potential customer, a review can be the deciding factor for trusting you.

We know the importance and value of a positive review and a positive reputation. There is no doubt that Google Reviews is the overall leader in reviews in large part because of Google being the main search engine and when people search in maps.

Google Reviews are reviews and ratings out of 5 stars left by Google users that appear with your business listing, on Google Maps and when someone searches for you on Google. This instant feedback from your customers is influential in helping others decide to do business with you.

Negative reviews will affect your business and how others see your customer's services, product or services overall. It can greatly affect your SEO and listings on Google Maps. This can have a similar effect if you lack any reviews at all.

Google Reviews is a great easy way to gain trust with customers and potential customers also. By responding to Google Reviews, it shows you value both the customer feedback and criticism, taking in their responses seriously. It also provides value to your SEO strategy with an increase in visibility and rankings.

If you want to get started on Google Reviews, you first should create a Google My Business listing. A Google My Business listing is the listing that pops up when you search for a specific service in your area. This shows up regardless if you customize the listing or not. Google My Business allows you to customize your listing with all the right information from business hours to a description of your business, to photos for potential customers to view. Google My Business is your first interaction many people will see. Just like Google Reviews, a lack of photos, business hours and overall engagement will affect your business negatively.


How to Make a Google Review? 

• The first step in adding a Google Review to a business is to sign in to a Google account.
• Google and click on the business location location 
• Click "Write Reviews" which is near the bottom of the business’s listing 
• Rate and leave a review 
• Click Post 

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. 

Google Plus Shuts Down! What this Means for You?

In December 2018, Google announced to shut down Google+ in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges in maintaining their social platform.

Launched in 2011, Google + (Plus) was Google’s own social media network that was aimed at being different from its competitors back in 2011, such as Facebook and Twitter. Google + was said to become the next big social media platform. If you are unfamiliar with Google +, it allowed users to organize their connections in circles like “family” or “acquaintances”, the names of which remain private. There were no friend requests, and users could be added to each other’s circles, reaching out to people and following their updates.

Like many products that never fully take off or get to the level of social media giants such as Facebook or Instagram - Google + eventually decided to shut down entirely in 2019. What does this mean for you?

If you or your business utilize Google + as another way to distribute information or post updates such as photos, you will want to download all your information before it all disappears.

As of right now (Feb. 2019) you will no longer be able to create new pages on Google + (Plus). On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down. Google will begin deleting content from Google +. According to Google, photos and videos in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content before April. If you have photos backed up in Google Photos, they are safe and will not be deleted.

If you utilize the Google+ Sign-in button when logging into a website, these buttons will stop working in the coming weeks but in some cases may be replaced by a Google Sign-in button, according to Google. You'll still be able to sign in with your Google Account wherever you see Google Sign-in buttons.

With that said, this is another example of technology and social media ever-changing daily. It is important to adapt and have a great social media strategy that is adaptable. Social programs are very much like any other specialized task or responsibility in your business. There is a steep learning curve that requires full-time attention and a continual focus on changing technology. Need help or some tips. Contact us for more information. 

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.

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.