Monday 30 May 2022

10 Best Local SEO Tools To Boost Your Local Search Ranking

 10 Best Free (or Cheap) Local SEO Tools 


What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the technique of utilising local SEO technologies to improve your online visibility and presence among people. The top three most relevant local search results show a business's open hours, rates, phone numbers, reviews, address, and services offered. They are generally more trusted and clicked on than organic or normal search engine results since they appear above organic or regular search engine results.

Why Local SEO is important?

Local SEO is crucial since it has the ability to increase the number of clients that visit your organisation. It's especially important for firms that rely on in-person visits for the majority of their income. Hotels, cafés, restaurants, private medical practitioners, attorneys, florists, fitness centres, hairdressers, and other businesses fall within this category. You should employ local SEO services or local SEO tools to verify that your local SEO is performing to its full potential. The majority of these tools are costly, however, some are free up to a certain point.

1. Google My Business

Google My Business is a free and simple-to-use tool for local SEO. Aside from assisting you in creating a distinctive profile, Google My Business also allows you to track how your consumers contact you. By tracking the number of views, searches, and clicks you get from various sources, you may improve the sections that aren't doing effectively. You may also monitor the results of any paid campaigns, adverts, offers, events, and third-party links. It also provides relevant CTAs that convert more leads and helps you to analyse rival performance. If you're on the go, you may use it on your PC or on your smartphone.

2. Whitespark

Whitespark is one of the most widely utilised local SEO tools, with some of the industry's largest names using it. The tool comes with a variety of tools to help you enhance your business's SEO listing, and the results are high-quality. You can watch your organic and paid search success, as well as analyse competition performance, using Whitespark. Whitespark's quick notification notice, which you receive in the event of a negative customer review, is a useful tool that allows you to take rapid action. The local citation finder, reputation builder, and link prospector tool are some of the other features. For limited searches, Whitespark is free. It offers reasonable monthly/yearly membership rates for unrestricted access.

3. MOZ Local

Moz Local combines your company listing with SEO data across major and popular search engines, third-party applications, and online directories, similar to Yext and SYNUP. Moz Local monitors and analyses the consistency and efficacy of your local SEO listings. Moz also makes it easy to update your listing on a regular basis; all you need is a simple login. It also includes a keyword explorer and statistic tool to help you find out what your potential customers are looking for. It includes automatic weekly insight reports to help you review your listing performance and track your reach, in addition to assisting you in assessing your listing performance and tracking your reach.

4. SEMrush

SEMrush is a well-known SEO and local SEO tool. SEMrush also offers a centralised listing interface, so you can just submit your information and let the programme handle the rest. It distributes your information throughout its network of partner directories, applications, and search engines in real-time. You'll be able to keep track of both your performance and consumer feedback in one convenient location. Its position tracking tool also allows you to assess competition performance and determine which keywords will help you reach the top of the search results. Other aspects of SEMrush that make it a feasible alternative include keyword research and backlink checking.

5. Growthbar

Growthbar is a product of Google Chrome. It's a low-cost local SEO solution that comes in the form of a Chrome extension or a standalone application. Growthbar's main goal is to show you which keywords are doing the best on search engines and occupying the top positions. You may improve your local SEO search ranks by analysing the best-performing competition terms and their search volumes. You may also check your backlinks, organic traffic, and domain authority.

6. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a largely free and partially paid tool (for the premium SEO and local SEO services). It helps you climb the Google ranking ladder with easily since it provides insights that only a Google-based AI can provide. You may analyse organic and non-organic data, identify the best-performing keywords and landing pages, and build a bespoke dashboard for your company. Google Analytics assists local firms in thriving by identifying important consumer trends and patterns.

7. Google Search Console

The Google Search Console is a free SEO and local SEO tool that allows you to see how Google sees your company's website and online presence. It lets you track the performance of your keywords by providing a comprehensive study of search traffic and user interaction. The Google search console's finest feature, though, is the security services it offers. It manages indexing, spam, hacking, malware, duplication, and other difficulties, as well as troubleshoot errors, site load issues, and other concerns. It also displays you which websites connect to your company's website and keeps your site or listing's general user-friendliness up to date.

8. GEO Ranker

Another tool worth mentioning in the list of top local SEO tools is the GEO ranker. GEO ranker aids in the creation of clickable citations for your business as well as the monitoring of your local search rankings. It accomplishes this in a novel and visually appealing manner. It uses colour-coded heat maps to demonstrate how your website or listing ranks in various national and worldwide areas in real-time. It also includes a keyword density, keyword recommendation, and citation tool to help you stand out from the crowd. The application may also be used to evaluate your key performance indicators and manage your adverts and campaigns.

9. BiQ

BiQ is yet another local SEO tool with real-time tracking capabilities. BiQ, on the other hand, excels in identifying current gaps in your keyword usage and content strategy and devising creative solutions to close them. After assisting you in identifying essential SEO and local SEO concerns in your content, it directs you to the top-performing keywords on search engines. It assists you in recognising user intent by locating short and long-tail relevant keywords, allowing you to improve your conversion and sales funnels. It also allows you to keep tabs on how your rivals are doing and which keywords are assisting them in ranking at the top.

10. Review trackers

Review trackers are one of the most effective SEO and local SEO tools in the digital market for obtaining momentum. Review trackers' main goal is to increase conversions and revenue by using customer and brand reviews. The tool allows you to manage all of your listing information in one place, allowing you to boost your online and offline presence and engage more consumers. Positive evaluations and social testimonials, according to the firm, help to establish trust and increase conversions. It also makes it simple for you by streamlining your company listing data across 1000+ partner applications and engines.










Sunday 8 May 2022

SEO Fundamentals | Basics of SEO |

 

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization is the abbreviation for "SEO." It is the skill of ranking high in the unpaid area of a search page for a certain term, often known as organic listings.

How does SEO work?

People use search engines when they have a question and want to find an answer on the internet. Search engine algorithms are computer programs that explore for cues in order to provide searchers with the exact results they want. Algorithms are used by search engines to identify websites and determine which ones to rank for each given keyword. Crawling, which is the discovery stage, indexing, which is the filing stage, and ranking, which is the retrieval stage, are the three stages of how search engines function.

Step 1: CRAWLING

Crawling is the first step. Web crawlers are sent out by search engines to locate new pages and gather data about them. These web crawlers are also known as 'spiders' or 'robots.' Their goal is to find new web pages and to review the content of pages they've already visited to see whether it's changed or updated.

Search engines scan web pages by following previously found links. When a search engine scans your homepage, it will hunt for another link to follow and may follow the link to your new blog post if you have a blog post connected to your homepage.

Step 2: INDEXING

Indexing is the next stage. When a search engine determines whether or not to use the material it has crawled, it is called indexing. A search engine will add a crawling web page to its index if it is judged worthy. This index is utilized in the last step of ranking. When a website or piece of material is indexed, it is filed and saved in a database from which it may be accessed later. The index contains the majority of web pages with unique and important material. A web page might not be placed in the index if: 
Its content is considered duplicate
Its content is considered low value or spammy
It couldn’t be crawled
The page or domain lacked inbound links

Step 3: RANKING

The third, and most essential, step is ranking. After the crawling and indexing stages are completed, ranking can begin. Your site can be ranked once it has been crawled and indexed by a search engine.

Search engines utilize over 200 ranking signals to categorize and rank material, all of which fall under the three pillars of SEO: technical optimization, on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. Some examples of signals that search engines use to rank web pages are: 
Keyword presence in the title tag – Whether the keyword or a synonym was mentioned on the page and within the title tag
Loading speed of web page – Whether the web page loads quickly and is mobile-friendly
Website reputation – Whether the web page and website are considered reputable for the topic being searched for

Remember, Google’s top three ranking factors are: 
Links
Content
RankBrain

What are the types of SEO?

1. ON-PAGE SEO
This category includes all of the steps you take to improve your website's search engine ranking. On-page SEO entails writing high-quality content with the sole purpose of being useful to your website visitors, including adding meta tags to help Google bots better understand your content, using HTML tags to highlight headings and other content elements, and checking for broken links and duplicate content/pages. Other on-page SEO tactics include cleaning up the URL structure and having an organised naming system for many related sites that belong under one category, picking pictures that are not too large while creating descriptive file names, and so on.

2. OFF-PAGE SEO
Off-page SEO refers to everything you do outside of your website to improve your ranking in Google's search results. It entails focusing on external ranking variables such as obtaining connections from reputable sites within your domain, effective social media marketing, and having consumers leave favourable reviews on various internet forums, among others.

Off-page SEO strategies also include cultivating strong connections with bloggers, journalists, social media influencers, and the owners of related websites. Making comments on other blogs might be beneficial. Off-page SEO techniques like guest blogging are still prevalent.

3. TECHNICAL SEO
The goal of technical SEO is to assist Google bots in successfully crawling, interpreting, and indexing all of your site's pages for future usage. Some of the tactics employed include creating a detailed XML sitemap, making your site mobile-friendly, and adding structured data to help web spiders classify and categorise your pages depending on the type of material they contain.

4. LOCAL SEO
One of the essential types of SEO is for local businesses. For example, making sure that you've claimed your Google My Business page, which ensures that your name, address, phone number, opening hours, reviews, and other useful information is prominently displayed in search results and on Google Maps. Other things like embedding a Google Maps marker in your homepage, adding a region or city to your page titles, descriptions, and keywords, and displaying awards and trust symbols can also make a big difference not only in being found by local leads but also in getting turning those leads into customers.

5. APP STORE SEO
Your app title and icon are the first two things that anyone will see, so they have to be descriptive and attractive. The description needs to be accurate and includes the keywords your users are likely to be searching for as well as related ones. The meta tags in your description should include those keywords as well. If you're able to build a lot of links to your app, it's possible that the app store will rank it higher in searches.

6. YOUTUBE SEO
Many people don't realize that YouTube is one of the world's most popular search engines, and that ranking for a popular search there is absolute gold. And if you can also rank one of your videos for a standard Google search, you can get an even bigger boost. 

First and foremost, your video must be excellent. It must provide answers, solve issues, or be more enjoyable than what is now available. If your video is excellent, it will keep viewers on the website longer, generate more comments and subscriptions, and receive more likes and favourites. All of these are YouTube ranking signals.

Your video title and description, like your page titles and introductions on text-based sites, should be descriptive. A lengthier, keyword-rich description (without keyword stuffing) will aid Google in determining the topic of your movie. It's also a good idea to include relevant keyword tags.

What are the types of SEO strategies?


Every SEO guide should go through the many sorts of SEO tactics, which include: 

WHITE-HAT SEO: To improve your site, a white-hat SEO approach employs approved best practices and user-centric methods. A white-hat SEO approach may include things like creating useful content, increasing website speed, and naturally introducing keywords.

4 ways to optimize your site with white hat SEO


1. Focus on building your brand

2. Focus on long-tail keywords when conducting keyword research

3. Create content that is unique and valuable to your audience

4. Build quality internal links to increase dwell time

BLACK-HAT SEO: A black-hat SEO approach optimizes your site by employing unethical and spammy methods such as buying backlinks, duplicating material from other websites, and even putting keywords into the invisible text.

4 ways to optimize your site with black hat SEO

1. Cloaking

2. Reporting competitors

3. Link farming/buying

4. Keyword stuffing

5. Duplicating content

Invest in a white-hat SEO plan if you want SEO to succeed for your company in the long run. While black-hat SEO may produce rapid results, it will eventually result in penalties, such as lower ranks or removal from Google's index.

Top 5 SEO Blogs

1. Ahrefs Blog

2. Search Engine Journal

3. Neil Patel Blog

4. Buzzstream Blog

5. Yoast Blog










Saturday 7 May 2022

Types of Search Results on Google SERPs

What are the different types of Search Results found on the Google SERPs?


1. Paid Results

The top results on the first page of search results are paid results. The term "paid results" refers to the results that an advertisement displays. Paid advertising appears above organic results in the SERPs thanks to Google Adwords and Quality Scores.
The "Ad" label basically informs searchers that they are about to click on an advertisement.


2. Organic Search results

All results that appear following sponsored results are organic search results, which are unpaid and are chosen by Google based on relevancy to the search query.

Organic results appear behind the advertising and in the extra result boxes (as well as featured snippets, "People also ask...").

Organic results used to be the blue links beneath the search box. Organic findings are available in a variety of formats in today's society. Content on websites like yours produces organic results. Google, on the other hand, manipulates them to give the best results based on what visitors put in.

3. Featured Snippet

If the top organic result is extremely useful, it may be made into a featured snippet. It is displayed in a box separate from the SERP's list of search results. At the bottom of the box are a URL and useful information from the web page.

It attracts attention by displaying material that is relevant to the search terms. People are more inclined to click on that link if the information given is beneficial to them.



4. Knowledge Card

A knowledge card provides a quick and direct response to a searcher's inquiry. People can receive basic responses using this approach, such as "How old is the earth?"

The key benefit is that they supply the needed information as well as connections that the user may not have thought about.

Knowledge cards appear to the right of organic search results or above them. This data was gathered from both internal and external sources (including Wikipedia).



5. Knowledge Panel

Google's knowledge panel gives a quick summary of certain persons, locations, or things. These panels frequently include photographs, dates, and a synopsis of the topic.

People usually find results like these when they search for historical figures, celebrities, television series, or movies. The knowledge panel, often called knowledge graphs, appears on the right side of the SERP page.

Casual searchers can learn more about their inquiries by using the knowledge panel's information instead than going to other websites. Wikipedia is cited by several knowledge panels.



6. Local Pack

When a user searches for a nearby location or when Google's algorithm locates a nearby location that is equal to the requested item's availability, Google presents a local pack. By searching, users may obtain photographs, reviews, hours of operation, and phone numbers.

If you search for "eateries," for example, you could get a list of local and neighbouring restaurants, as well as contact information.



7. Image Pack

When various searches are typed, an appropriate thumbnail picture appears at the top of the SERPs. If images can better address consumers' questions, Google images can present them with appropriate results for their searches.

This may take the shape of a horizontal carousel or panel of photos on the SERP, depending on the search result.



8. People also ask (PAA)

The questions Google creates automatically after evaluating the searches you've provided are referred to as 'People Also Ask' (PAA).

A search is usually followed by several more searches using similar phrases. These will usually appear as Questions relating to [search phrase] or "People also ask" in a SERP.

People also ask (PAA) material usually builds on the initial search query or tackles another element of the issue. Under the organic search results, they usually show as collapsible snippets.

If you can't locate what you're looking for, these Google links let you search for relevant phrases.



9. Sitelinks

A site link is a specific link that Google displays beneath a domain's main URL. Organic Google search results may include links related to your search. It appears when someone looks for a firm with the purpose of learning more or purchasing something.

The majority of the links on these sites lead to top-level domain pages such as About Us, Blog, and Contact Us. When Google wishes to assist consumers quickly discovering a certain portion of a website, these links appear.

If someone searches for Facebook, for example, the site links under Facebook's main URL may provide shortcuts to sites like Facebook's Help Centers or the Business area.



10. News Results/ Top Stories

In a carousel-style, it displays breaking news or trending stories related to a search query. A news result will appear at (or near) the top of the SERP if the search query is relevant to a recent news story or current event.

This category's content generally has an "In the news" heading to visually distinguish it from the rest of the organic results.

The majority of the rankings will come from well-known news websites, although certain blogs and review sites may also rank if they mention a current event.

Under "Top stories," you may get current articles regarding the topic you sought from reputable news sources.

Top articles give a wealth of information at times of breaking news or major events.


11. Shopping Results

Shopping results show alongside advertisements and sponsored results on a SERP. Within the page, Google analyses user intent and provides a carousel of items and offers that may be purchased. It allows customers to find the things they desire without having to look up more information.

The majority of shopping results will simply display certain information, such as a product photo, price, or seller information, as well as a rating or location tag (if the item is a physical store item and not an item listed on the online marketplace).

A searcher can click on a shopping result to proceed to the product's website after discovering it.



12. Twitter Cards

Since 2015, certain Google SERPs have contained tweets. The tool highlights tweets that are particularly related to a certain search keyword or recent brand links. When users enter their query for hot news articles, they may get tweets from reputable news sites.



13. Reviews and Ratings

Business reviews are frequently included in search engine results. It operates in the following way: Under each search result is a basic rating system.

Customers can submit one- to five-star evaluations and comments on the business's Google page, which is often linked to the review. Review results are normally shown after the title tag and URL but above the meta description.

 

14. Journals/Articles (Google Scholar)

Google Scholar will offer you a journal extract at the top of the SERP whenever you execute more complicated queries in law, science, or research.

Details such as the journal in which the academic paper was published and the number of times it has been cited in other journalistic articles may be included in the results.












Sunday 2 January 2022

Digital Marketing Terminology

What are the 11 digital marketing terms?

  • Cost Per Click:  The cost of each click in a paid search campaign. It is popular on pay per click platforms like Gooogle Ads.
  • Call To Action:  To prompt an immediate response or encourage an immediate sale.
  • Conversion Rate Optimization: The process of increasing the percentage of users or website visitors to take the desired action.
  • Customer Relationship Management: The process of building, maintaining & enhancing an organisation's relationships with its clients. The right software can manage contacts, customer segmentation & automation of emails or SMS.
  • Cost Per Mile: Mile is a Latin word for thousand. It means cost per thousand impressions.
  • Click-Through Rate: The percentage of clicks a campaign receives relative to the number of impressions. A higher CTR often implies that campaigns are resonating more effectively with viewers.
  • Customer Lifetime Value: The amount of revenue a customer generates for business. 
  • Link Building: The process of establishing relevant hyperlinks to a website from external sites.
  • Marketing Automation: It refers to a technology or software which sends marketing communications to people automatically on several digital channels.
  • A/B Test: It refers to a split-run test, where two different versions of the same thing are tested & measured for effectiveness.










Monday 15 November 2021

Advertising Ethics That Makes Your Ads Unique

What makes ads effective and ethical?


  • Stick To Your Words: Example- End the offers on a given deadline. 
  • Make Freebies Valuable: Example- Free 1-on-1 Consultation, Free Trial, Free Related Accessories.

Rule 1: Related to Main Product/Services.
Rule 2: Useful & Valuable In Terms Of Money.

  • Be On Point: Be Crystal Clear about the "End Results". Example- Get Pimple Free Skin.
  • Risk Reversal: It becomes an important point to build trust. Example- 50% Money Back Guarantee.
Rule 1: Clear Terms & Conditions On Risk Reversal.
Rule 2: Reliable & Genuine Guarantee.
  • Show Your Uniqueness: Anything can be unique about your product/services like its features, process, materials or marketing. Example-We uses Herbs & Aleo vera in our moisturizer grown on our organic farm.
  • Promote Good Thoughts: Example- Vocal for Local ads of Cadbury on this Diwali.
  • Compete On Quality & Quantity: Competing on Pricing has become usual. Be Different.
  • Make Price No Brainer: Reasonable Pricing. Example- Much Lesser than ____.
  • Make Ads Valuable & Informative: Because no one is going to purchase just on the manipulative price tag.
  • Run Campaigns for Cause: It will not only add a contribution towards a better society but also help to grow your brand on a positive note. Example- Cadbury purple heart campaign on internet bullying.









Saturday 21 August 2021

CS Course Details | Company Secretary Career Option |

How can I enrol in the CS course?


  •  Short Form: CS
  • Offering Body: ICSI (Institute of Company Secretary of India)
  • Levels of Course: 3 levels
  • Duration of Course: 5 years (in one attempt)
  • Minimum Eligibility: 10+2 
  • CSEET: 4 Subjects| 200 Marks | MCQ based | Online mode | No Negative Marking |
  • CS Executive: 8 Subjects | 800 Marks | Objective+Descriptive | Offline mode | 2 Groups (4 subjects in each) | Negative Marking in OMR Paper |
  • CS Final: 9 Subjects | 900 Marks | Objective+Descriptive | Offline mode | 3 Groups (3 subjects in each) | No Negative Marking |
  • Passing Percentage: 40% in each paper & 50% in aggregate.
STAGE: CSEET > CS Executive > 24 Months Articleship > CS Final > ACS  > FCS (after 5 years)

Registration Link: https://smash.icsi.edu/Scripts/CSEET/Instructions_CSEET.aspx

Note: 
1. With the amendment syllabus & examination schedule may change.
2. Fees charged by ICSI are nominal. 
3. Coaching fees can go into lakhs depending upon popularity & quality of service. 
4. Mandatory two-year articleship (Practical Training).
5. Emails on updates, procedures & orientation will be sent after registration.










CMA Course Details | Certified Management Accountant | Cost Management Accountant |

What is a CMA course?

  • Short Form: CMA
  • Offering Body: ICAI (Institute of Cost Accountants of India)
  • Levels of Course: 3 levels
  • Duration of Course: 5 years (in one attempt)
  • Minimum Eligibility: 10+2 
  • CMA Foundation: 4 Subjects| 400 Marks | MCQ based | Offline mode | No Negative Marking |
  • CMA Intermediate: 8 Subjects | 800 Marks | Objective+Descriptive | Offline mode | 2 Groups (4 subjects in each) |  No Negative Marking |
  • CMA Final: 8 Subjects | 800 Marks | Objective+Descriptive | Offline mode | 2 Groups (4 subjects in each) | No Negative Marking |
  • Passing Percentage: 40% in each paper & 50% in aggregate.


Note:
1. With the amendment syllabus & examination schedule may change.
2. Fees charged by ICAI are nominal. 
3. Coaching fees can go into lakhs depending upon popularity & quality of service. 
4. Mandatory three-year articleship (Practical Training).
5. Emails on updates, procedures & orientation will be sent after registration.

Admission Link










CMA course details, CMA course duration, CMA course certification, CMA course syllabus,