Posted at 16:12h in SEO

Local SEO has evolved. 6 years ago, you could make huge strides without links. Domain authority did not matter as much as a relevant address and well-structured citations (1). But things move on. Local SEO is now a game of many parts and, like traditional SEO, there are many Local SEO ranking factors (2). Now, in 2019 and beyond, the key ranking factors as voted on by experienced SEO agencies (including Bowler Hat) are as follows: Google My Business Signals Link Signals Review Signals   So, building 100 citations is not going to help you rank in local search. You need to focus...

Posted at 11:20h in SEO

Your Google My Business listing plays an integral part in your local SEO search results to allow you to be found by those in your area. Local results appear in organic results pages and on Google maps when you search for businesses near your location in an effort to show you nearby businesses. You can improve your ranking in local results through optimising your Google My Business profile. Local results are determined by relevancy, distance and prominence. Google pays attention to how well your business matches the searcher’s query, how far your business is from the searcher’s location, and how authoritative your...

Posted at 15:40h in Web Design, WordPress

If you’ve ever tried to optimise your WordPress website for SEO, you’ve surely heard of the Yoast SEO plugin. Yoast SEO is arguably the best plugin available for improving your SEO performance on WordPress and has over 1 million active installs. Once you install the Yoast SEO plugin on your WordPress website, the plugin will automatically improve some areas of your website upon installation, such as changing your homepage so that it doesn’t have "Just Another WordPress Site" in its page title, and creating a sitemap for your website. However, I recommend manually checking some of the configurations of the plugin to...

Posted at 09:50h in SEO

Google reviews are important for local SEO as they improve credibility, rank, reputation and brand image. One of the best ways to get more Google reviews is by sending a simple email asking customers to leave a review, as it is a quick and easy method of receiving feedback. It is recommended to send your email to happy customers as they act as the best brand advocates. Do not ask customers who appear upset or dissatisfied as they may leave a bad review and damage your reputation. Send your email as soon as possible when your customer is most happy with...

Posted at 11:11h in SEO

Struggling to get reviews on Google? You’re not the only one. Google reviews are super important, mainly because they are crucial for local SEO and get shown in the search results so much compared to any other reviews on the web.  An article written by Myles Anderson found that 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. In other words, reviews online mean as much as word of mouth when it comes to attracting more customers and helping them to choose between your company and your competitor.   If you are searching for a plumber, a car showroom or even...