Last September Google implemented an algorithm that tended to favor proximity over quality. In other words, how close the search was to the business had a huge impact on the result. Consequently, any sort of local SEO effort was met with very little improvement - if any. We saw results diminish no matter what we did as the results simply accumulated around the general vicinity of the searcher. That has changed!

If your social media bears the fruit then your RSS should be the root. Hey! I just made that up! If you haven't read my last three or four blogs you might consider it. Those blogs got me on the first page of Google with very little effort. They show what I wanted to rank for and how. That's not to say it was easy, there's a bit of planning on the front end that allows this to happen over and over again.

Ok, that's a bit of a parody. I'm not really into self-aggrandizement but I do want to make a point. About I month ago I found a search term in Google webmaster tools that I should be ranking better for: "SEO Agency Dayton Ohio". This is the third blog after a little over a month of simple SEO / blogging and testing. Here is the final result.

I almost forgot about this! Toward the end of July I blogged about ranking for SEO Agency Dayton Ohio. I wasn't quite making it to the first page and wanted to fix that. I tell my clients all the time that blogging is the answer if done correctly. Did I have to eat my words? You be the judge!

Today, according to webmaster tools, I rank "almost" on the first page of Google for SEO Agency Dayton Ohio. This blog is a Walk-Your-Talk example of how to fix that!

Feeling left out lately?
You’re not alone. Your competition for placement on the first page of search results is getting stiffer. Your direct competitors are getting better at SEO. The local directories like BBB, Yellow Pages, Angie’s List, Thumbtack, Home Advisor are gaining more prominence. Ad space is increasing for both Adwords and now even in the Google MAPS Local listings.
It’s not going to get any easier! Here’s what you need to be doing.

It's a very common thing to want to do in the new year. Part of getting your business goals moving forward is to upgrade your website. There are many reasons to do this and even as I write this I'm considering doing the same for my own site. BUT BEWARE!

I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that SEO, like everything else on the web is changing. We've prided ourselves at staying on the leading edge of these changes and it's nice to see that some of what people are now saying are trending we have been saying for two years! I found this infographic and I think it's worth posting.

It's fascinating to me how quickly I can get a page ranked on Google. I'm not bragging here, sometimes it's downright tough! But the things that improve your ability to rank are not necessarily the things a local SEO guru can provide as a service. YOU have to want it. Here's a case in point from my own site, down to the exact detail - you'll soon see that there's no hocus pocus here, just brute force.

I am Google's biggest competition. Without the slow steady progress and 1st page placement my clients enjoy and have come to rely on, they would be relegated to the average, me-too, I'm nobody placement of those who don't consider SEO important.