Local SEO Link Building

I thought that this article provided alot of good insight on blogging especially guest blogging, on local niche blogs.  It lays out what to do and how you should target people who you are trying to get a hold of. I also liked the aspect where it talks about giving testimonials to local business that you love. Its something that i never really considered doing but realize that it is extremely interesting.

In my own experience, I have greatly appreciated the increased importance of local search.  When searching for a nearby restraunt or location, this local search optimization is very beneficial to the searcher.  I also believe it will be a great new way for local small businesses to increase their ammount of traffic and enlarge their customer base.  This could do great things for local economies.

This article makes such a good argument for monitoring blogs--specifically local, niche blogs--for the purposes of networking, engagment, exposure, and recommendations.  This is advice well-taken as a potential blogger--- write about what you find interesting.  Maybe the "professionals" will come to you.  This kind of feedback in a local search really is hugely valuable.  I use it often when selecting local businesses.  

Search Engine optimization can be a great tool for businesses to create a presence on the media.  Whenever someone is interested about a certain topic that they may not know about, their typical inclination is to look to google for an answer.  The more SEO protocol a company has done, the more likelihood that they will be visible on the internet and click on by the curious customer.  It is interesting that this is not becoming more of a popular practice, as I know that the business that I work for does plenty of this in order to maintain a big presence on the internet.  In the future, I could definitely see this as being a necessary component if I want to make my website more popular.

I'm actually surprised that local search hasn't already been in widespread use. I imagine that in the coming years it will become more and more relevant, especially as a way for local businesses and events to promote themselves and their services. I think guest blogging on local, niche blogs makes a lot of sense because it helps to create trust and might appeal to loyal readers of the blog. The only problem I see with that is that it might fail to appeal to as wide of an audience as you might like. The scholarship idea seems a little beyond my reach at this point, but also a good idea.

I think its great that local search is becoming more important in search engine optimization.  Different searches can be related to different geographic areas and its annoying when search results arent what you were looking for.  For search engines to stay competitive such as Google and Bing, they need to accomidate at the local level.

This article emphasizes how important social media has become in the marketing world. If a company is not utilizing social media, they are not using their full potential. Search engine optimization is so interesting to me as it can increase a person or company’s potential marketing and ranking. There were a few aspects of the article I found especially interesting. Firstly, I never realized the impact that blogs can have on your SEO. There were many tips that included visiting and commenting on relevant, local blogs. As a new blogger, I never realized how this could influence SEO. The other aspect that I found interesting was starting general scholarships and/or sponsor local student clubs. This is a tip that I am sure people would not think could help them and could set them apart from others. Not only will it help SEO, but will help the community at large too. As most companies are using social media, it is now important for people to use search engine optimization to set themselves apart from others. 

I am also in agreement with many of my classmates. This is a very useful article and tool for businesses big and small. The internet is such a huge database that building up your SEO can be quite difficult. When you refine the search by city or area you are in, the chances of building a stronger SEO are more likely. This is especially helpful for smaller businesses because they don't have the millions of dollars to spend on advertising and to put into building their SEO. Tools like these allow businesses grow and develop, as well as gain more attention and clients. Definitely a useful and beneficial tool (and article) to remember and use in the future.

This is a very useful article for local businesses that want to be found via the internet. In today’s world, word of mouth doesn’t get you very far. My favorite approach is giving testimonials to local businesses you love. “Local businesses are always looking for testimonials and reviews of their products and services. Offer-up glowing reviews of their products and services on the condition that they link to your site. Can you say win-win.” If I were to open up my own business, I would definitely use search engine optimization to get my businesses’ name on the web to attract customers locally and online.

I think that this is a great tool especially for small businesses that lack the budget that many fortune 500 companies have for advertising. These smaller companies can capitalize through the use of the suggestions on the SEO site. One approach that I really liked was the idea to start a scholarship for a local high school/college students. Its always good PR to help out local students striving for academia. Creating the premise of a "contest" around the scholarship award could definitely increase traffic on a social media page. Commenting on local blogs is also very important. Often times local business is known through word of mouth, however by commenting on an experience that you had with a local business on the web it allows for users that are not local to get a sense of what consumers are saying. I think that I could see myself implementing a lot of these tools for future clients. We are in a changing world where optimization is everything.

I think this was a very useful and informative article. I really didn't realize how important local optimized results were for brands and businesses. I really liked the part about creating a scholarship for local schools and universities. You have an opportunity to improve a students financial needs all while you're getting you name out there. This is definitely a win-win. I also liked the idea about showing love to your local business. I think this is a great idea because if you loves a business's product or service, why not tell them. You get to give them positive feedback while making your own name more well known. This is definitely another win-win situation.

I've done social media internships for multiple businesses and this article is extremely helpful in breaking down the steps to a successful local SEO. Going about in this fashion and basically collecting links from blogs, non-profits, and university sites, makes so much sense. It's interesting to reverse the search engine process and study how to get the best results. These ideas will be awesome to suggest and utilize for future projects.

This just goes to show the importance of using the internet as a marketing tool. Though the internet is still relatively new, small businesses must learn to take advantage of it to gain publicity and attract local customers. Many people look online for local businesses for any needs that they have, and people will only go to businesses they can find on internet searches and those with good reviews. If I were to open up a small business I would definitely try to get my company's name online through blogs and reviews, with the hope that these pop up on search engines and draw more customers to my company. 

Local search is incredibly important to pay attention because it is so incredibly necessary in this day&age. My favorite approach from this blog was to "Give testimonials to local businesses that you love". A lot of the time your friends and even strangers want a little input. I can't count the number of times I've looked up personal reviews for a beauty product or a restaurant to see what people are saying about it. So it would definitely be great to have an excuse to talk about a product that I GENUINELY love and want to recommend. It would direct people towards my site with the "link to my site" requirement, while also making interaction with my own or my company's readers easier and potentially more interesting. 

Before the Internet I always would refer to yellow pages for any type of business I was thinking about going to. That then evolved into asking friends about what they thought about certain businesses before I would pay money towards them. However, this SEO will change how we as consumers and social media view businesses today. The biggest way to get people to care about the same things that you do or to back a business that you have good experience with is good word of mouth and blasting the Internet with it. This SEO idea also shows just how was as social media people can make such an impact. The ideas of giving step by step goals and what to do will not only help us achieve this, but also grow as individuals throughout the web.

Any small business that doesn’t utilize these concepts is leaving money on the table. One of the largest problems a small business will face is name recognition. By reaching out and effectively addressing the area of needs for other local businesses, student organizations, etc. They will in turn be willing to do what is necessary to benefit your organization as long as it doesn’t hurt their company. A simple recommendation, may not seem like much, but can go a long way in helping your business. The term “people helping people” is just a gateway to what is happening here. On a side note, I feel like Guest Blogging has been a reoccurring theme in these wall posts. At first, I didn’t see how it could be as effective as stated, but after seeing so many recommendations for it. I can’t help but believe it is an effective blogging tool for both the host and guest.

In the end, the final thoughts states: "In everything you do, add value to the community by being engaged and thorough." I love this idea because not only is it simple, but as it says in the beginning, it cancels out any idea of spamming. I believe that when anyone is attempting to create a presense on the web for themselves, or simply if they are just existing, their presense should be engaging and meaningful. It is with these thoughts that a successful community is established.

A great way to do this, aside from simply commenting, is to be a guest on niche blogs. For instance, I enjoy watching beauty Youtube videos. These videos are like a blog, but in a video format, and often times, they star guest gurus in order to expand their visits through their guest's visitors, or to assist in the visitation of their followers to their guest's site. It's an easy way to promote yourself and your guest and it expands both your vision for expansion on search engine optimization.

It seems the underlying premise to the recommendations for local search SEO aligns to strategies and tactics that creates local business integration with the community.   Being involved with the local community fabric is good PR for any business but rocking it out by tying it to a social media strategy…..is genius,  while the  goal is, hopefully, being genuine.  My guess if one were to profile the businesses that are doing it well and generate good local search results, these same business have been dynamically integrating into the community on business operations day 1.

In the past, you would look up a number in your phonebook to find a business that would be able to take care of your needs. That, or you would rely on recommendations from friends, family, or peers. One of the greatest things about the Internet is having the ability to immediately give a review of the place or service you have just used. This allows potential users to see establishments that have been rated well, and more likely to provide them with what they are looking for. SEO has a huge effect on these businesses that are looking to gain a larger customer base. If your company comes up on the first page of a Google search, I am willing to bet that you have more business than a company on the 6^th page. The goal is to get your name out there. Develop relationships with bloggers, start sponsorship programs, give recommendations of other reputable companies. This will result in positive PR and more commotion surrounding your company, which will lead to more business. Internet marketing won’t wait for anyone, stay on your toes.

In the yesteryears consumers would go the Yellow Pages, and call businesses to get more information. The big problem about that is consumers would have to know the exact businesses they were looking for. In today's world of Google and other search engines it is important for businesses to get their names out there. This is especially important because the internet, unlike phone books, connects you to businesses all over the world. By optimizing local search engine results, businesses can become easier viewed and increase sales. In the discussion from SEOmoz, I found it interesting that the author suggests,  "everything you do, add value to the community by being engaged and thorough". This is important because not only do you build your local search engine results but you also build community relations and brand awareness.

When I read about this SEO, it’s really hard not to like everything about it. There seems to be no real disadvantage or weakness for SEO, especially for a local market company. If you were a company and you wanted to reach an exact local market then an SEO is the way to go depending on how much it costs. Yes, it does a fantastic job at finding your niche clients and getting the word out but to figure out how beneficial it is I would need to see the prices charged for a simple small business local SEO. There is no doubt that it works very well and will increase your market awareness and increase your client base, so depending upon price I don’t see why a local business wouldn’t partake in a local SEO.

Local SEO techniques have changed the way that customers find companies around them. Due to this fact they are becoming more and more important when promoting a web site or business on the Internet. This means that even the smallest local company should be putting considerable time into increasing their link rankings and creating their link pages. In the future these link pages could become the most important driver of sales from new customers.

I found the idea of creating scholarships and sponsoring college organizations and groups to help acquire local links particularly interesting. Previously, I had not thought of these tactics as something that would make a huge difference, but the way they were explained made me see how useful they could be. This article showed many great ways to gain local SEO links. 

Search engine optimization is critical for websites because it's how they get noticed. Local SEOs are even more important because they draw in users that are close and near you and will most likely continue to use you because of your location. I liked the first three approaches more because they are more relevant to me. In previous lessons for this class we've already learned the first two approaches, to comment on local blogs and to guest blogs. The third approach, to give testimonials to local businesses, is something I never thought of but it definitely seems like a good way to positively represent myself online. 

This article on localizing SEO is very beneficial for small businesses and companies that have a specific target market niche. Seomoz highlights the power of reciprocation and shows how commenting on local blogs, guest blogs and testimonials can create a positive ROI on social media engagement. Small businesses can gain leads and enhance localized brand recognition by using links to track back to your companies primary CTA. The Marketing Mix at Michigan State is a prime example of how companies are using student organizations to optimize their business strategies and increase innovative thoughts. 

Local SEO seems like a very interesting and evolving tactic to implement for not just your business but also to build a solid local link profile. It would be highly beneficial to be persistent in local searches first and build a local ranking with respect to keywords which cater to our interests and are relevant to our business. Thus, this article seems to be a great resource for search engine optimization and adding credibility through adding guest authors and their citations.  

SEO can be very useful for businesses that use it correctly and effectively. There are stores in my hometown that I try to search for and couldn’t find them to save my life (and they are successful companies). My guess is that they don’t use SEO but if they did I believe it would boost business being able to be easily found using a search engine. Even if they took an approach like the one in the article by offering a scholarship to students this would raise awareness for the business when the kids search the college website for the businesses scholarship online. I believe SEO is a necessity for any business that wants to succeed in the future.

I really enjoyed this article and feel that it will be beneficial to me in my future. It is a great tool for small businesses and can really aid in building their name. The site offers many different things that can help you learn more about local businesses and the site offers easy access to ratings and blog posts about local busniesses as well. Scholarships and sponosrships are a great way to give back to your community and groups of your interest also and I feel that that is the most important part of this site. 

Local search optimization is very important and this article is very informative in that aspect. SEO can make a huge impact on a businesses success. If businesses were not promoted on the internet then a lot of their advertisement would not be known. Being able to be easily found on the internet is crucial in gaining more consumers. I thought it was very interesting that this website gave testimonials to local businesses of my liking. Allowing people to promote businesses on their testimonial page can increase their business in a positive aspect.

I found this article to be interesting and beneficial to local small businesses. I liked all approaches because I think each approach can help a business grow overtime. I mean a business don't have to use all of the approaches to make it successful. One of the approach I like was creating a local scholarship for high schoolers or college students. I believe this will help generate and increase sales for your local business. It is the reputation of your business that you're building on. Another tatic that I found to be useful is giving testimonials to business you love. I think having from testimonials from real people, it will give future prospects a chance to visit your business. I would use both of these tatics for my business.

This article is one that I believe I will be referencing again in the future. It has some great ideas that were obvious as well as some that were not so obvious. Commenting on local blogs and giving testimonials to local businesses makes sense, but beginning a scholarship and funding student clubs? That's genius! Like the article states, that is a win-win that I would love to be a part of. I think it is important for even the biggest companies to become an integrsal part of their community. It will be a good way to promote business, build trust, encourage word-of-mouth advertising, as well as give back to others.

I thought this was a very good article. The things it said to do may seem simple and not very effective, but the more you do for your company whether it be big or small contributes to the bottom line. Most of the ways are free which is always a plus. At the same time it is getting your name out there and getting a foot in the door in that industry. The scholarship idea also is a sign of goodwill which also promotes a good reputation for your company especially in the local area.

This article was great to read and truly taught me a lot about search engine optimization. I was very pleased to read that testimonials really help a company grow on the internet. I think thats a great touch to make a brand feel personal and authentic. I also think the scholarship oppertunity is a great idea to get your company out there especially in colleges. My sorority has a bunch of scholarships and it is very cool to think that one day I could create a scholarship for the company I will be working at. I am so happy that I learned so much about SEO and can apply it to my future jobs. 

Awesome article. I really like the idea of creating a scholarship for local schools. This tactic would be great for a small company to get their name out in the community. It would great to suggest this to a future client and hopefully create search engine optimization for them.

This was a great article to help small businesses get an edge over bigger businesses in local markets. Big businesses tend to ignore small market media and this article capitalizes on how one can use local media to their advantage. Having your company name attached to a scholarship or a student club can be very beneficial for a small company. If done right, word of mouth will spread from one community to another and will get you even more exposure.

This is a very informative article. It really highlights how important local search optimization is. I find the idea about sponsoring local students clubs or helping sponsor anything that has to do with your business to be very positive, and an idea I would like to implement. This is smart and beneficial for both sides. I also found the idea of guest blogging interesting as well. These tactics would be extrememly effective.

This is a very informative article. It really highlights how important local search optimization is. I find the idea about sponsoring local students clubs or helping sponsor anything that has to do with your business to be very positive, and an idea I would like to implement. This is smart and beneficial for both sides. I also found the idea of guest blogging interesting as well. These tactics would be extrememly effective.

I really like this article. Its useful when you can just search something along with your location and find it immediately and also find testimonials for local businesses. Although it may not be the deciding factor for your business, it is always something to think about. Its always good to show some love for your local businesses that are doing it right.

Search Engine Optimization is critical in today's online marketplace that creates millions (billions?) of individual web pages worldwide, daily.  In order to get attention, SEO is paramount, allowing those who browse the Web to find your page. Without utilizing keyword-specific outreach, your page may go unnoticed in the mix of blogs worldwide. Commenting on similar blogs will allow for users to find your blog to solve their problems in that specific niche. Commenting on a food-processing blog when you incorporate a sports-marketing blog would be useless, but finding the right local market to disseminate your vital information is a great way to spread the word. Incorporating local businesses, scholarships and activities is a great way to grow within your own community and begin to create some sort of fan base/readership. Adding value to your community through engagement and interaction is a mutually beneficial activity.

I think this is a great post from SEOmoz. There are so many tips and ideas that I liked, one being "Start a general scholarship for local high schools and colleges." It is a win win situation, getting more people to visit your site and helping students out. The post provides so many ideas and really stresses the importance of doing it right and doing everything with value. All of the information about links was very helpful too and I'll put it to use for my own benefit.

Wow what a great resource. Many helpful insights essential for any local business that wants to actively increase their local clout. My favorite is definetly the idea to sponsor local clubs, big win-win all around.

My favroite technique provided from this website was giving testimonials to local businesses you love. I definitely think that all of the points can be very helpful, but this is my favorite because everyone does have an opinion. If you are a huge fan of a local business or doctor you go to, why not promote them on their testimonial page? I always read reviews about different places and this is a great way to promote your favorite places. 

Amazing article. This is information that I definitly my don't think my competitors are using and that I now plan to use in my businesses. The scholarship idea is great and so is the one about giving testimonials to local businesses. Anchor text is my new bestfriend. I have saved this website to my bookmarkedtoolkit.

Being identified and easily found on the internet is an important quality for any professional. This is the goal of Search Engine Optimization. The beginning level of this is local search. You must build links within local searches to become identifiable within your close geographic area. Building this local awareness around your name is important for utilizing searches to your advantage. Other ways to optimize your search visibility include commenting on popular blogs, blogging yourself, and creating opportunities online to be recognized by more than just those who specifically search your name. The ultimate goal is for your most important pages to be the top results on a given search engine. It takes activity and the use of popular pages and the tips from sites such as seomoz.org to gain the best optimization. Other resources exist for tips on search engine optimization also. 

I think SEO is extremely important for businesses. People may think that because they are local, they don't need as much advertising because everyone already knows about it. But, there are some businesses in my town that I didnt even know existed until this past summer. Local businessed really need to rely on things like SEO to get the word about their company out there so people from out of town can hear about it if they ever come visit or anything.

I found this post to be interesting and informative, but mostly what I appreciated about it is the approach to SEO and promoting a business or organization with integrity. Matt Green advocates for ideas such as giving testimonials, getting involved in sponsorships and establishing a scholarship -- all with the goal of link building, but not at a cost of being phony or spam-driven. With all the various tacts available for SEO, bloggers and content developers, I find it critical to maintain a sense of decency in the online word in the same way one would hope our fellow citizens do in the real world. To me, this speaks volumes about the type of business, the people behind the organization and the type of associates they would be.

I think it's a fantastic idea to offer compliments and testimonials to area businesses that you already support, leave constructive comments on other blogs and share insight in an area of expertise via guest blogging -- and hey, if it helps your SEO efforts along the way, then it's a score for all involved. This type of strategic participation sounds like a great way to add value via your participation while achieving the results of improving your own local search results.

All these tips for increasing your SEO seem so simple and obvious, but most people don't think of them. How easy it is to just write a review for a business you like and get your links out there in return! All you have to do is tell people about how much you like them and you're set; scratch their back and they'll scratch yours.

I think going local is way more important than trying to up your SEO on a global scale. Word of mouth is such a great advertising technique. People trust companies that their friends, family, and colleagues trust. They can do all the Google searches they want, but when they hear about a business from someone close to them - like a small business in their own town that they're familiar with - then they are more likely to pay attention to other recommended businesses. 

Sponsoring student clubs is also an excellent idea. It doesn't take much out of your pocket to do so and there are a multiplicity of clubs at each university - we're talking hundreds! You sponsor a couple groups, put your name out there, and you've already got potentially hundreds of people on your side!

SEO is definitely a key component to a business being successful or not. Just think, if a business had no internet traffic, it would be solely relying on word of mouth, loyal customers, and advertisements through fliers and television. While that might be beneficial in many ways, so many people are on the internet 24/7 and rely on it for reviews and answering questions. If the company's name even happens to pop up on the side or even be slightly mentioned, it seems like its guaranteed to help even get a little bit of traffic.

Local search has become a new tactic companies are picking up on in their area to gain more consumers. By targeting their direct market, it is a sure way to bring in more business. Wherever you live and whoever you are, SEO is a great way to become more relevant in a marketplace if you have something to share or something to sell and need coverage. In order to gain more ground companies should maintain this type of coverage as it most directly relates to their more common customers and sales. SEO can also be used for online social media bloggers/sports writers/etc. who want people to read what they are saying with relevant interest to what it is they are talking about. What a great idea!