by Dan King | Mar 25, 2020 | business strategy
I’ve always been a big believer in the power of webinars! Not only do I enjoy learning from them, but we’ve also been building a library of webinar content of our own for years. And with recent shifts to moving more digital, webinars can be a great tool to help you expand the reach of your business. But the average business owner has no idea how to create a webinar.
So you know when one of my favorite resources, SEMrush, hosts a Twitter chat on the subject, I had to be there. The SEMrush webinars are some of the best out there, and they’ve helped me stay on the cutting edge of digital marketing for several years now. And having their Head of Global Marketing, Olga Andrienko, and their Head of Video Content, Anton Shulke, on the chat was a huge bonus. They are the real deal!
And because the focus of this chat was so valuable, I thought I’d share the highlights of the conversation here. I also thought it would be a good place to add a few bonus tips and resources if you’re exploring how to create a webinar for yourself.
Here’s the conversation…
Q1. Free or paid: How do you decide whether to charge for your online conference or webinar? What other ways have you found to monetize online events?
The big thing with how you use them is determining what your goal is for them. Generally, free webinars can be great for lead generation and nurturing. But there’s also a sales opportunity for deeper and more exclusive content too. Here’s what Olga and Anton had to say about it too…
I definitely agree with the idea that with a slowdown with in-person conferences, many are going to find ways to do more online. This certainly represents some great opportunity to innovate and reach more people with premium content.
Q2. What platforms and software are best for hosting online events?
Specifically, I use the OBS Studio software to manage what my live webinar video feed looks like, but YouTube Live can be broadcast with just a webcam. This can also be accomplished with your mobile phone and Facebook Live. You’re really pretty unlimited with options for how you broadcast a live event online.
Ultimately, the software and platform you use will depend on your goals. If lead capture is important, then that needs to be part of how you set it up. It doesn’t need to be complex, and often the simplest way to get started is to get the registration done by creating a landing page for the event on your own website. Then you can communicate with that email list as the event approaches. This way you can point them to anywhere you plan to run the broadcast.
Q3. Checklist: How do you ensure the quality of the stream?
I saw some chat going on about connecting via wi-fi. And the only time I would suggest that is when you’re conducting some sort of live stream from your mobile phone. But if you’re planning to create a webinar a little more formally, then run it from your desktop and make sure you’re directly connected (if possible). I would also suggest that if you’re just getting started, then don’t sweat it with getting lots of fancy equipment. If you have a webcam with a mic, then you can do it. As you get into it over time, then consider upgrading to improve quality and performance.
I definitely appreciate the focus on the setting you use when you create a webinar. Things like lighting, background, etc all can make a huge difference in how your broadcast comes off to a viewer. The big thing here is to show that you cared enough to put the effort into creating a good environment for your viewers.
Q4. Self-hosted or including guests: What makes some formats more successful than others?
Really, the bottom line for me here is that adding more people to the webinar broadcast (remotely) adds an additional layer of complexity in pulling it off. It’s not super difficult, but it is an extra layer. And ultimately, I haven’t seen the difference in goal performance when I have others on with me or not. So I tend to just keep it simple, and create my events. But that doesn’t mean I’ll always do them solo.
This is really another one that depends on your goals. I can also say from my experience that it’s difficult to keep people’s attention as a solo presenter for longer periods of time. If I’m on an hour-long webinar, then having multiple people in a conversation certainly helps. But I’ve been experimenting with doing shorter 20-30 minute webinar sessions, which is more manageable for the viewer when I’m going solo. But the key here is to test some variations, and measure how they perform. The data will tell you what you can reasonably do.
Q5. How do you measure the success of the online event?
When measuring success, things like the number of registrations I get tell me how helpful the topics are. And success is mostly determined by the number of inbound leads it generates. I’m not looking for instant sales either. But the inbound lead gets some follow-up and an offer for a free consultation. If they don’t bite right away, I don’t sweat it. They end up on my “webinar club” mailing list and get notifications of upcoming webinars. And I’ve seen some of these people reach out to us after viewing several webinars asking us for help with their projects. Ultimately it’s a long-game, and then just continuing to work my email list over time.
I also look at the long-term usefulness of each webinar. I evaluate how much I direct people to webinars in other ongoing sales and support conversations. Even old, recorded webinars carry a great deal of value over time as I support the conversations we have with clients and potential clients. That’s not to mention how we can trim out sections of the video to repurpose for some short-form social media posts. I love repurposing content!
Q6. Social media, paid promotion, third party platforms, affiliate network… How do you promote your online event or webinar?
Promotion is mostly about two things for us. First, nurturing the existing Webinar Club email list. The people on that list who are already clients appreciate the expertise and perspective we share. And people who aren’t clients (yet) get more exposure to our brand as one they can trust as experts in the field. Second, social media, boosting/advertising posts help us get exposure to new potential audiences with very targeted interests.
And I love Olga’s point about lookalike audiences (in Facebook Ads). I can take my existing client email lists and my Webinar Club email lists and have Facebook target other people who are like these people. It’s a great way to focus on an audience who is most likely to engage with what you’re offering.
Final Thoughts On How To Create a Webinar (or Other Online Expert Event)
If you’re focusing on generating leads for your business and are a subject matter expert on a specific topic, then running a webinar can be a great tool in your marketing plan. Great webinars can help you engage with potential (and existing) customers in real-time, and they can build your brand and credibility. Contrary to what you might believe, they aren’t too difficult to pull off! However, you should have a plan for how you’re going to promote your webinar and capture the people who have an interest in the topics you plan to discuss.
Do you need help figuring out how to get something like this implemented? Need someone to help you brainstorm topics or a plan for how you move forward with this? Let us know! Grab some (free) time to talk with us, or hit us up in the online chat here on the website. We’ll get you on the right path to creating your own webinars and using them to generate leads.
by Dan King | Feb 26, 2020 | social media strategy
You get one link in your Instagram bio. One link on TikTok. One link on X.
For a blogger, creator, or small business owner who’s trying to send people to your latest post, your products, your newsletter, and your services all at once — that’s a problem.
That’s why the “link in bio” page exists. And if you haven’t set one up yet, or you’re still relying on a third-party tool like Linktree to host yours, this post is for you.
I’m going to make the case that building your own bio links page — on your own website — is almost always the better move. And I’ll give you free Divi templates to make it easy to do exactly that.
What Is a Bio Links Page (and Why You Need One)
A bio links page — sometimes called a “link in bio” page — is a simple webpage that collects your most important links in one place. It’s designed to sit behind that single bio link on Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, LinkedIn, or wherever your audience finds you.
The concept took off with Instagram, where you still can’t add clickable links to individual posts. But it’s expanded far beyond that now. Creators use bio link pages across every platform, in email signatures, on business cards with QR codes, and even inside books to point readers to resources.
This helps bloggers (and content producers of all kinds) share posts on Instagram about new content. Just mention “link in bio” (or hashtag #linkinbio), and people can click-thru that link to get to the content you want them to see. So where you get one link to point people to, using a landing page like this gets people to where you want them much more efficiently.
Even better, you can integrate other features like newsletter signup, products or services, event details, or other promotions you’re running.
Linktree Alternatives
Linktree is still the most recognized name in bio link tools, and it’s gotten more capable since it launched. The free plan gives you unlimited links and basic analytics. Paid plans ($5-$24/month) add custom domains, scheduling, and more advanced features.
But Linktree has a real limitation that doesn’t get talked about enough: it sends your visitors to Linktree’s domain, not yours. Instead of yourbrand.com/links, people see linktr.ee/yourname. That’s their brand, not yours — and it means you’re building traffic on someone else’s platform.
Here are the main alternatives worth knowing about in 2026:
Beacons — Popular with creators who want to sell digital products directly from their bio page. Has AI-powered features and a free plan, though the best tools require a paid tier.
Stan Store — Built for creators selling courses, coaching, and digital products. More of a storefront than a link page. Starts at $29/month with no free plan.
Pallyy — Good for social media managers who want bio links combined with scheduling and analytics in one tool. From $15/month.
Carrd — A simple one-page website builder that many creators use as a bio link page. Very affordable at $19/year for the Pro plan. Design-focused but no built-in analytics.
Build Your Own (Recommended) — This is the option I consistently recommend, especially if you’re already on WordPress. You get complete control over design, branding, and data. Your visitors land on your website, not a third-party platform. Your analytics work. Your SEO benefits. And with the Divi theme — which is included in all of our WordPress hosting plans — you can build a beautiful bio links page in under an hour using the free templates below.
The Anatomy of a Good Bio Links Page
Especially if you’re going to build your own page, you should understand a few key concepts for how to build it well.
The first rule for your bio links page is to keep it simple. You don’t want to overwhelm people with so much stuff that you end up scaring them away. Remember, the main goal is to just get them to the next step. So focus on the core elements that encourage them to tap through to that important content.
A few key elements you’ll want to consider are:
- A profile pic (or logo) – This is a key branding element.
- Your name – Another important core branding piece.
- Short description (optional) – If you do this, keep it brief. It’s not the place for your full story (like your about page), but definitely good for a brand-building tagline or short description statement.
- Quick link(s) to recent content – Have a button going to your latest blog post, or even add a blurb from the post itself.
- High priority links – Use buttons to connect people to key pages on your website, including books, products, etc.
- Email opt-in – Add a simple opt-in on the page, or use a button to link to it.
- Social media links – Make it easy to connect in other places you engage with your audience.
- A clear primary CTA – Don’t just list links equally. What’s the one thing you most want someone to do right now? Make that button stand out visually from the rest.
To make this process simple for you, we’ve created several templates that you can upload to your website (using WordPress with the Divi theme), and customize from there. Check out the demos of these Linktree-alternative pages, and download your free templates now!
How To Build Your Own Bio Links Page (With Divi)
We use the Divi theme by Elegant Themes for bio link pages because it gives you complete control over design without needing to write code. It’s also included in all of our WordPress hosting and maintenance plans, so if you’re already hosting with us, you already have it.
If you don’t have Divi yet, you can grab it through our affiliate link — it’s one of the tools we genuinely recommend and use every day.
Once you import the layouts to your website, you can load them to a new page using the Divi Builder. Follow these instructions:
- Add a new page
- Click the “Use The Divi Builder” button
- Select “Choose a Premade Layout”
- Go to the “Your Saved Layouts” tab
- Pick the template you’d like to start with
After that, you can edit each module however you’d like.
Basic Layout and Design
The templates use Text modules for each of the buttons on the page. You can change the text that appears on the button, and update the link that it points to.
If you’re feeling adventurous, you can even change styles, animations, or any other properties you’d like.
The page background can be updated in the Background settings in Section Settings (click the gear icon on the blue bar). There you can change the background image or colors.
And, as with any other page built in Divi, you can add all kinds of modules to add to your page. It’s still best to keep the page simple, but modules like Email Optin, Countdown Timer, Search, Testimonial, Video, and many others can really help you take your bio links page to the next level.
To ensure the best look, toggle over to the Phone View to see how everything appears. Assuming that you’re using the page for your bio link on Instagram, nearly all of the visitors to the page will likely be coming from mobile devices. So it’s most important for it to look good there. And if you want to adjust for potential desktop viewing, you can do that too. But desktop should definitely take a backseat to mobile in the design and appearance on this page.
Page Attributes Settings
Once you have the page elements in place and are ready to publish the page, there are a few key attributes that will be important to consider. The first of which is the permalink structure. Ultimately, the page name can be whatever you’d like. But simple is best. And visitors on Instagram will see the link name in your bio. While simplicity is the key, feel free to have fun or give it a call-to-action kind of feel. It’s okay to let your personality show. A few examples for permalink page names are:
- yoursite.com/bio-links
- yoursite.com/welcome
- yoursite.com/hi
- yoursite.com/instagram
- yoursite.com/as-seen-on
- yoursite.com/click-me
- yoursite.com/hello
Also, you’ll need to update a couple of settings in order to ensure everything displays properly. Look for the Page Attributes widget and update the following settings:
- Parent: (no parent) – Do not make this page a sub-page to another page (like About, etc). That will extend the permalink unnecessarily. Keep this page on the first level (no parent) in order to keep the permalink short.
- Template: Blank Page – This setting removes all of the normal website headers and footers. Everything you need in the design for these pages is included in the layout itself, so you don’t want to complicate everything with more navigation and other elements.
Whether you’re using the free templates or starting from scratch on your own, you’ll love the flexibility and virtually unlimited design options and control you can get. And hosting all of this on your own website means that you’ll get it all at no additional cost!
How To Use a Bio Links Page In Your Instagram Bio
Once you’ve published the page on your website, it’s time to add it to your Instagram bio. To edit your bio:
- Go to your profile
- Tap the Edit Profile button next to your current bio
- Type (or copy/paste) your page URL (permalink) in the Website field
- Tap the Done (or check icon) button
Whenever you make changes like this, it’s always best to visit your profile and tap the link to ensure everything works as it should. But easy-peasy… you’re new Instagram linktree-like bio links page is live! Now you can mention in your posts, “link in bio,” to get visitors to all of the great stuff you want to direct them to.
Other Places You Can Use Your Bio Links Page
While these kinds of bio link pages started with Instagram, you can use them just about anywhere. And if you want to get super cool, you can create separate linktree pages for various platforms. For example, the bio links page you want people to visit coming from your LinkedIn page may look a little different than the one for visitors from Instagram.
Get creative and explore different ways to use pages like these. Here’s a quick list to inspire you:
- TikTok bio – TikTok now allows one link in bio for business accounts. Your bio links page works perfectly here.
- YouTube channel – Add it to your channel description to give subscribers a single place to find everything you offer.
- LinkedIn profile – Share links to your portfolio, previous work, email, and social profiles
- Twitter bio – Connect people to your other social media profiles and important links
- Business cards – Increase the dynamic with special links and content for people you share your business cards with
- QR Codes – Point a QR code on posters and other print advertising to share specials, etc with people
- Your email signature – Important content to direct people to from your emails
- Links in your book(s) – Share key resources with readers of your books
The possibilities are really endless. And if you’re doing this on your own website, you can create as many of these specialized pages as you want. So change designs, content, and everything for really just about any audience you can imagine.
Final Thoughts
The tools in this space have gotten more sophisticated since bio link pages first took off — but the core argument for building your own hasn’t changed. Your website is your real estate. Every visitor who lands there instead of a third-party platform is a visitor you can track, retarget, and convert.
If you’re on WordPress with Divi, you’re already set up to do this. Download the free templates below, customize them with your links and branding, and you’ll have a bio links page that looks professional and lives on your own domain.
And if you want Divi but don’t have it yet — grab it here (affiliate link, and genuinely what we use and recommend). Or if you’d rather have someone else handle the whole website setup, our hosting plans include Divi as part of the package.
Download the free Divi bio links templates here →
Want the templates plus tips for growing your platform?
Download the free Divi templates and I’ll also send you occasional resources on growing your audience, building your platform, and making the most of your website. No spam — just practical stuff.
by Dan King | Nov 15, 2019 | social media marketing strategy
You’re probably already doing it. Failing, that is. Most small business owners I know fail miserably at social selling. They are incredible contractors, interior designers, real estate agents, and whatever else they do. It’s just that being great at your craft doesn’t mean you’re an expert in the nuances of social media marketing.
Here’s the deal. Most small business owners I know come at social media with a “sell it” mentality. Every post needs to be a homerun sales pitch. And then they get frustrated when they fall flat and fail to produce any results.
“Social media doesn’t work for us,” they say.
It may seem counterintuitive, but the best way to sell on social media is to stop selling. Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn are not inherently sales platforms. They are social platforms. When you think about buying something, you go somewhere like Amazon. That’s a sales platform. When you get onto social media sites, you’re looking to connect with people. And in those connections, you share (and discover) ideas that help you shape your life.
That’s why looking to social media strictly for selling is the wrong approach. You should be there to connect. And if you’re really good, to tell a story about who you are, what you do, and how that intersects with your customers – and potential customers – lives.
The North Wind and the Sun (Aesop’s Fables)
There’s a great fable from Aesop that serves as a guide for how you should approach your social media strategy for business.
The Wind and the Sun are arguing over is stronger. Suddenly they see a traveler coming down the road. They decide to settle to an argument over whoever can get the traveler to take his coat off. The Wind blows as hard as it can, but the traveler tightens his coat up even more. Then the Sun softly shines its rays on him. The traveler suddenly feels hot and finally removes his coat. Declaring the Sun, the winner.
The lesson here is that persuasion is a far better tool than force. The same applies to your social selling strategy. You’ll get much further with a more kind and humble and gentle approach than you will by blasting at them.
Forcing It Never Works
“I want to get on social media and hang out with a used car salesman.”
– No one ever.
Here’s my big challenge to you. Don’t be that guy. You know, the one who tries to sell you a car just because you have a driver’s license.
Don’t get me wrong. You probably have a great product or service. And it likely could make people’s lives much better. The problem is in the approach, not the product. For car buyers, 60 percent of the process occurs online. People search third-party websites (78%) and dealer/manufacturer websites (53%). So much of the legwork for car buying happens like this because people don’t want to deal with the pushy salesman. We naturally reject that kind of in-your-face tactics.
If you go into your social selling approach like the North Wind, you’ll get the same result. People will pull that coat tighter and try to protect themselves from your blow-hard approach.
The Art of Persuasion
Social selling is about persuasion. And persuasion is about influencing convictions or beliefs. In our fable, the Sun didn’t force the traveler to take off his coat. Instead, he created an environment where that outcome was more likely. The traveler became convinced that taking off the coat on his own was the right idea.
In a social media setting, sales persuasion looks like:
- Sharing your story in a way people can relate to
- Establishing yourself as an expert in your field
- Making them look smart to their friends by being a helpful resource
- Being the fun guy in the room
You’ll get to social selling opportunities when you present the kind of personality people want to do business with. Social selling is the result of creating the right kind of environment. When they decide the time is right, they’ll buy from you.
Final Thoughts on Social Selling
The bottom line is that there are customers out there to be found on social media. Lots of them! But winning at social selling is more about taking the softer and more persuasive approach than it is about forcing your sales pitch on people.
It’s also worth noting that social selling works best when you understand the differences between how people use each platform. What you do on LinkedIn should look very different than what you do on Facebook. They are different kinds of parties. The key is to connect well – and naturally – in the environment you’re in.
Get this right, and you’ll have sales rolling in through social media. That’s how we’ve done it. And hit us up if you want to talk through what might be the right digital marketing approach for your small business.
by Dan King | Oct 16, 2019 | business strategy
Stories have been the primary tool for connecting people and sharing ideas for thousands of years. And if you want to develop deeper connections with your customers (existing and potential), then brand storytelling is a marketing strategy you’ll want to master.
Storytelling has been a big part of my journey both as a blogger/author and a business owner. So you can imagine my excitement when #SEMrushchat, a weekly Twitter chat with some of the best minds in digital marketing, picked this as a discussion topic.
In fact, this is something I’ve talked about before with local business groups. (Check out the full Facebook Live from our page.)
I’m not going to share every Tweet from that conversation, but I thought the conversation was worth sharing here. Here are the questions, my responses, and the SEMrush question recap posts that include details from other people’s responses.
Q1. Why is storytelling important for business?
Step away from marketing strategy for a moment. Stories have been used to communicate and carry on ideas for thousands of years. Hearing a story gives you a greater opportunity to connect emotionally. It also makes the idea easier to remember and communicate. We still tell stories written decades and centuries and millennium ago. The staying power is awesome.
Now think about how powerful it would be if you could use that in your business. Brand storytelling is all about using the power of story to connect with your customers over shared ideas and values. And that can be an incredible marketing tool!
I love the responses that get into things like how “stories humanize brands.” So much of how small businesses do digital marketing is to blast features, benefits, and technical aspects of their products. That misses the mark. If you can get into the story you need to tell, then you’re building something people can better relate to.
Q2. Once you’ve decided to create a storytelling strategy, what are the steps you should take?
The stories we tell can be dynamic and flexible for sharing in different ways on and offline. So the first thing you need to do is clearly define certain common elements. I often take an approach of making the customer the hero of the story, not you (the brand/business). And you can have a few different stories related to different types of customers and/or problems they encounter. So being clear on what the hero in your stories looks like helps you to have a framework for telling many different stories everywhere you want to tell them.
But this idea of not telling your story, and making the customer the focus (hero) is something others don’t always easily get…
This is an idea that I’ve experienced in many of my non-profit storytelling adventures. We’ve raised large amounts of money online by inviting other people to be the hero of the story. And applying the hero/guide concept to brand storytelling is something one of my favorite writers has been teaching too. Donald Miller’s Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen (affiliate link) book is a great resource that digs much deeper into this topic.
Point taken. In Star Wars (the original trilogy), Luke Skywalker is the hero. And with brand storytelling, that’s where we want our customers to be. It’s all about their journey. Then there’s Yoda, the guide. And that’s where you want your business to be. It’s not that Yoda’s story doesn’t matter, but it’s not his journey, and he’s not the hero of that story. In fact, the more we learn about Yoda’s backstory, the more helpful it is to understand his role in Luke Skywalker’s journey. So I’m not saying ignore yourself. Just position yourself properly within the story.
One of the biggest things I see from others in this part of the conversation is the importance of planning your content. And that’s definitely a big factor with any marketing strategy. The stories we develop can be used in various ways across many platforms. Take the time to develop it well, and plan how you are going to use it in different places. Then let it guide how you share everything. Even when you’re curating content from other sources on your social media profiles, ask yourself how it supports the stories you’re telling.
Q3. What are the essential questions to begin gathering your own stories?
For me, the biggest questions are around the elements of the story. These elements can help you draw strong connections between the stories you have in your back pocket, and communicating what a particular customer needs to hear. It’s important to have a library of stories that you can tell. Not every one of them is going to match the journey another new customer is on. So spend the time thinking about all of the problems/obstacles you encounter, so that you can have one of those stories ready for the next person who needs to hear it.
And I love seeing responses talking about things like values. As a business owner myself, my values are part of the reason my customers like me. The core products themselves can maybe be purchased elsewhere. But not everyone has the same values I do. And that kind of thing can be a big deciding factor for potential customers.
Q4. What are the possible forms of storytelling available for any business?
Not only can the stories be told across various platforms, but how you tell them can vary too. And it should also be the filter for anything else you do, whether you’re “telling the story” or not. Think of your company’s Facebook page timeline. Look over the posts for the last couple of months like you’re reading a book. What story does it tell?
And I totally agree with the idea that everyone learns and engages differently. Too many businesses use the same exact post shared on multiple social media platforms. Take the time to evaluate and customize the messaging for each platform. It’s a little more work, but the payoff is huge.
Q5. What resources on marketing storytelling would you recommend to go deeper into that topic?
Basically, I believe it’s important to be a student of the subject in order to be an effective marketer. One practice for that is to read good stories (and watch movies with good stories). This is also where books like Invisible Ink, Rivet Your Readers With Deep Point of View, and On Writing (affiliate links) have proven to be valuable resources for making me a better marketer.
And when I mention the webinars we do, specifically 3 Steps to Focus Your Story and Unlock Customer Growth is a good one on this topic.
The other resources mentioned here are all fantastic. I’ve already seen several of these and can attest to how valuable they are. And the others just got added to my list of things to study on the topic.
Final Thoughts on Brand Storytelling
One important takeaway I got from this #SEMrushchat session was that brand storytelling is something that needs to be strategic and well thought out. It’s not good enough to scribble a few ideas on a napkin, make a quick YouTube video about yourself, drop on your website, and call it a day.
Spend some time thinking through what your brand stories should accomplish, craft them well, and let them take on their own life… everywhere. Putting in the effort will get results if done consistently over time.
by Dan King | Sep 24, 2019 | local seo strategy
Most of the small businesses we work with don’t have huge marketing budgets, so they need affordable local SEO services. But navigating the complex landscape of search engine optimization for small local businesses isn’t easy.
Either the strategies are too confusing, or the budget required to get results is (way) too high. Or both.
That’s usually a recipe for a hopeless business owner/manager. Many who find themselves in this spot either:
- Walk away and give up on the idea of ever ranking a website on search engines
- Invest in cheap (and very questionable) tactics that ultimately can get them penalized
Getting on the first page of Google too often feels like a pipe-dream. Especially for people in ultra-competitive markets.
And that’s where we were with one real estate agent (in Florida). The thought of getting on page one of search results organically seemed out of the question. As a result, the client dished a lot of money into some very expensive Google Ads.
The problem with ads is that the second you stop paying for them, they go away. So we wanted to build some natural rankings that would stay there.
The good news?
We stayed focused, with a limited budget, on some key SEO strategies that ended up driving some pretty nice results.
What’s better?
That was an ultra-competitive market with tons of hardcore competition. So if we can see these kinds of results there, then it’s absolutely possible to do it on other niches as well.
Let’s take a look at what happened…
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IMPACT OF LOCAL SEO SERVICES THAT GET YOU ON PAGE ONE
If you can get onto page one of the search results, then that can drive a significant amount of traffic. And those are potential customers who are actively looking for what you have to offer!
Better than that, if you could get into one of the top three positions, then that’s even better! Studies have shown that approximately 62% of search engine traffic goes to websites ranked in the first three positions (33% to position one, 18% to position two, and 11% to position three).
Our studies have also shown that the quality of traffic coming from organic (non-paid ad) search results is typically higher quality (more time on site, lower bounce rates, etc) than traffic coming from the paid ads.
Basically, not all traffic is equal.
And generally speaking, higher quality traffic is more likely to convert into a lead or customer (considering your website is built to optimize for conversions).
Local SEO has some unique factors as well. It’s not just about targeting keywords. You also need to drill down to geographic locations. You can’t just add keywords like “[your niche] near me” on your web pages and expect it to flood in the traffic who are looking for you.
And that’s where most business owners stumble.
Getting the right mix of the right tactics is important. Oh, and without breaking the budget, pretty please.
WORKING IN A HIGHLY-COMPETITIVE NICHE
As we worked out the strategy with this client, generating leads was the single most important desired result. Part of the downside of a great SEO strategy is that it just doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to build the reputation on search engines required to get and stay on page one.
Truth be told, they didn’t have time to wait for the organic rankings to come.
So they made a large monthly investment ($2,000/mo+) in Google AdWords. The results weren’t always fantastic. But they were results. Enough to justify the investment.
We just wanted better rankings and higher-quality leads.
That meant that we needed to establish a high level of local credibility online.
Being a real estate agent in Florida is a tough market too. There are literally thousands of them in the local area, and every one wants their website to rank on page one. Standing out in a market like that is certainly a high order!
Building Authority and Momentum in a Competitive Niche
The initial baseline report at the end of December showed a very low volume of total keywords, especially those on the first page. Just one term ranked on the first page, and there were only six total keywords on the first three pages. And while there were other terms ranking on pages 4-10, the overall volume was still pretty insignificant.
The September report (nine full months later) showed a very different picture. We increased the number of keywords ranking pretty significantly:
- Page 1 results increased from 1 to 10 (a 900% increase)
- Pages 1-3 results increased from 6 to 82 (a 1267% increase)
- Pages 1-10 results increased from 81 to 505 (a 523% increase)
While the total volume of terms appearing on the first page of search results still isn’t overwhelming, this definitely shows a trend of increasing opportunities to get found. Those 72 keyword results on pages 2 and 3 are great low-hanging fruit, ripe for boosting onto the first page!
The momentum was building. And even with just a few keywords ranking on page one (for some pretty high volume search terms), we started seeing some of those leads flowing in.
The best part is that the approach consisted of some simple and affordable local SEO services.
TWO Affordable LOCAL SEO SERVICES THAT GOT US THE RESULTS
We focused on what I considered two “must-have” tactics that I believe every small business should be doing. This helped us keep the budget as low as possible, but still gave us some on-site and off-site pieces that drove the results we were going for.
ELEMENT #1: Content Marketing (a.k.a. business blogging)
Every month we would produce two strategically-developed SEO blog posts. We would do one 500-word post ($97) and one 1,000-word post ($173). These helped us develop the keyword breadth on the website itself.
ELEMENT #2: Local Citation Link Building
After running a full citation audit, we would add/update ten online business directories (i.e., Yelp, BBB, Thumbtack, etc), ten geotagged photos, and ten social profile links every month ($197).
So for less than $500/mo we were building links and developing a core of content on the website with a focus on high-value, local search terms. We did this consistently, month after month, without fail. And consistency is one of the keys to building momentum with search engine results.
Element #1: Blogging for Local SEO Results
Blogging is one of the best ways to create some keyword authority on your website, but few know how to do it effectively. A few key elements to making this work well are:
- Start with keyword research. It’s important to look for current trends in the user’s search behavior. And you’ll want to focus on terms that provide a good combination of higher search volume and lower competitive density.
- Build on competitive content research. Once you have your target keyword, then you’ll want to evaluate other similar content out there to see what’s getting others ranking for similar terms.
- Write for the users, not for search engines. Crafting good, useful content is what search engines want. Think about building a great resource that helps people, and it’ll pay off with the search engines too.
In this example (above), we targeted “selling waterfront property” to attract the kinds of potential sellers the agent wanted to get listings from.
As you build a library of useful content like this on your website, you’ll be creating more entry points for visitors to come through.
Element #2: Local Citation Link-Building
Links are what drives the Internet. And a good link-portfolio for any website will feature a variety of types of links from several different places.
Generally, things like guest-post links and contextual links can help you build a strong base of keyword-focused links. And that’s a great thing! But when the budget is limited, then you’ll need to focus on the stuff that drives the biggest geographic impact possible.
That’s where local citation link building comes in. With this strategy, there are three things we focus on to build the local push we want:
- Local and business directories. The biggest of these you’ve likely heard of is Yelp. And there are thousands of others that exist and can have listings for your business. The trick here isn’t thinking about the traffic that they may (or may not) drive. But the location-based links back to your website from (generally) high-authority websites is a big deal.
- Geo-tagged photo posting. Adding images with geo-location factors on image websites is another tactic that creates location-based links, signaling areas you want to show up in for searches.
- Social profile posts. This is a little bit different than just your standard Facebook or Twitter posting. But there are similar sites where profiles and links can be created to provide an additional layer of references.
The result is a regularly growing and diverse set of links with a geo-focus. It’s not as strong with the keyword factors, but it’s great for the location factors.
Do this, along with a strong Google My Business profile, and you’ll be setting up all of the right signals for search engines to know where you’re at.
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Implementing Affordable Local SEO Services
Your local business doesn’t need to suffer in obscurity! Getting found in a local search isn’t that difficult if you’re doing the right things. But consistency is the key. Results won’t happen overnight with just one or two months of trying these strategies.
And depending on how competitive your niche is, you might be able to get away with a smaller budget (for less competitive niches than Florida real estate agents). You could also see better results faster. Regardless, the bottom line is that we’ve seen this strategy work over and over with lots of clients.
The key is to stick with it, follow the data, and keep building based on what the data is telling you.
With a strategy like this, you’ll build strong rankings that will drive substantial traffic to your website. And that traffic is likely to be more highly qualified and motivated to connect with you.
If you have any questions about how a plan like this might work for you, or just need a little coaching along the way to make sure you’re doing it right, then grab some time for a quick chat. We’re always happy to help!
