Local SEO for Minneapolis & St. Paul

Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential to help you rank with Google and other search engines. People, including your potential customers, often search using popular keywords related to your business. The sites that are optimized are the ones that appear first in the results. Increasingly, location plays a big part in search results. That’s where local SEO comes into play. Let’s look at exactly what local SEO is and why it’s important for your business.

An Overview of Local SEO

The internet has always been a global phenomenon. Recently, however, it’s also gotten very local. People want to know what restaurants, plumbers, dentists, hairdressers, and other businesses they can trust right in their home towns (or in the area in which they’re traveling). People looking for a steakhouse in Minneapolis, for example, might do a search for “Minneapolis steakhouse.” Many searches on mobile devices, in particular, are focused on local businesses.

If you want your customers to find you nowadays, you need to optimize your website for local search. This is especially true for brick and mortar businesses and those that provide services to the local population. However, even online businesses can benefit from local SEO as many people like to do business in their own cities. Local search has grown quite a bit in the last few years. Social Media Today reports that 97% of search engine users have searched for local businesses online. There’s also a direct connection between local searches and people actually visiting businesses. According to SEO Tribunal, 78% of local mobile searches resulted in an offline sale.

Another thing to understand about local search is that smartphones and other devices are set up to conduct local searches whether or not people specify local results. For example, someone who brings up Google Maps and types in “coffee” will get a list of coffee shops nearby. Local search is simply the new way that searches are conducted.

Aspects of Local SEO

There are several key points to consider when optimizing your website for local search.

Google My Business

As Google is, by far, the largest search engine, it follows that one of your priorities is to rank well with them. When it comes to local search, the first step is to optimize your site with Google My Business. It’s free and fairly simple to list your business with Google. There are just a few points to consider.

• Make sure your listing is complete and accurate. Be sure to include information such as your physical address, phone number, and business hours.
• Choose the appropriate category for your business. Read through the entire list of categories so that you choose the most accurate one. There are currently over 3,000 categories to choose from.
• Add photos. Quality images make your listing more noticeable. In addition to a cover photo, Google lets you submit additional photos. You can show your business from various viewpoints, yourself and your employees, products, or anything else that helps tell your story.
• If your business has more than one location, you’ll want to create listings for each location. Google provides a “Manage My Locations” feature for this purpose.
• Google will send you a PIN to verify your business, either by mail, phone, or text. Be sure to complete this step as it’s essential to get listed.

A listing with Google helps you accomplish several things. Aside from making your website more visible, it literally puts you on the map, making it easy for customers to find you on Google Maps. Customers can also use Google to leave reviews for your business.

Citations

Local citations are business listings in various directories. Google My Business itself is actually the most important citation you need. However, for maximum exposure, you’ll want to acquire others as well.

NAP

For each citation, you need to include essential information about your business. Most important is NAP info, which stands for name, address, and phone number. It’s sometimes written as NAPW to include a website URL, another crucial item you need.

Where to Submit

Aside from Google, it’s helpful to have citations with as many directories as possible. Depending on the type of business you have, this may include:

• Facebook
• Yelp
• Mapquest
• Foursquare
• Trip Advisor (for restaurants, hotels, and other travel-related businesses)
• Angieslist (for businesses that provide home services)
• Avvo & Lawyers.com (for lawyers)
• Healthgrades, ZocDoc & RateMDs (for doctors)
• The above is by no means a comprehensive list. Search for smaller directories that are specific to your industry, as these can help you gain visibility with your target market.

Local Keywords

Using as many relevant local keywords in all your website content helps to optimize your site for local search. This includes not only your city or town but other identifying criteria such as your neighborhood or section of the city (e.g. West Hollywood, North Philadelphia). Landmarks can also be useful. If your business is close to City Hall, a museum or convention center you can mention that when describing your location. This is useful for people trying to find your business as well as for SEO.

Reviews and Your Online Reputation

Online reviews are getting more important all the time. Many customers today won’t consider trying a new business until they see at least a few positive reviews about it. Reviews and local SEO go hand-in-hand. Having more reviews helps boost your SEO as it’s a signal that your business is popular. Here are some tips to help you attract more reviews.

• Make sure you’re listed on sites where customers can leave reviews. Aside from Google, Facebook, and Yelp don’t overlook industry-specific sites.
• Monitor your reviews. Set up Google Alerts or work with a service that provides social monitoring services so you know when people are commenting about your business.
• Respond to reviews. Always respond to reviews, if only to say “thank you” when you get a compliment. This encourages more people to leave reviews.
• Reply to negative reviews with care. Don’t let yourself get drawn into public conflict with a hostile reviewer. Respond politely and apologize if you were in the wrong. Correct any factual errors made by the reviewer in a reasonable manner. If you suspect a review is fake (e.g. that the reviewer never did business with you), report it to the site.
• Encourage customers to leave reviews. Do this in a low-key way, though. Never ask specifically for positive reviews or offer rewards in exchange for positive reviews as you don’t want to violate the TOS of review sites. You can, however, place buttons for review sites on your own website and have signs or stickers for them in your physical business. Review sites provide resources for this purpose. For example, there are stickers such as “Find Us on Yelp.”

Local SEO is Crucial For Growing Your Business

SEO is getting more local all the time. This is related to a few other trends, such as the growth of mobile devices and voice search (e.g. drivers can ask for local recommendations by using voice commands in Google Maps). Optimizing your site for local search depends on quite a few factors such as citations, reviews, and using the appropriate local keywords in connection with your business. It also helps to keep up with the latest local SEO trends so you can more easily rank your site.

Mankato Web Design is the top-rated web design company in Minnesota. To learn more about our services, contact us.

Improve Your WordPress Website With An Audit

WordPress is a robust and flexible platform for creating a website. It can be challenging, though, to keep up with all the moving parts. To be sure your site is running optimally, you need to perform regular performance audits. The following is a handy checklist to help you track what’s going on with your WordPress site.

1. Page Loading Speed

If you want your website to capture more leads and sales, it’s essential that pages load quickly. Any delay will cause you to lose traffic. In fact, studies show that many visitors will abandon a site after a mere 3 seconds. Google also uses page loading speed as a ranking factor so it may affect your SEO. Be sure to test your site on multiple devices. There are quite a few tools to help you test page loading speed, such as Google PageSpeed Insights. If your site isn’t as fast as you’d like, here are a few tips to speed things up:

• Install a caching plugin such as WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache.
• Remove unused files from your WordPress database.
• Chrome Developer Tools provide you with a convenient way to test many functions of your site. Run your website from the users’ perspective. You can emulate users’ experience on various devices by clicking on the device icon. Waterfall charts provide a quick look at how the browser is loading pages.
• Reduce image sizes. There are many plugins and services for optimizing images for WordPress.

2. Web Hosting

Your web host plays a key role in your website’s overall performance. This includes speed, security, and access to resources such as file space and features. If you find that your current hosting plan doesn’t meet your needs you can look at other web hosting companies. If you’re not satisfied with the overall performance, customer service, pricing, or available features from your current host it may be time to shop for an alternative. On the other hand, you can also look into upgrading to another plan from your current host.

Shared hosting is the cheapest but it’s also the least secure and offers the least amount of resources. If you run multiple websites using several domains, add-on domains, or sub-domains, you should consider upgrading to managed WordPress hosting, reseller hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, cloud hosting, or a dedicated server. Even if you only have a single site, upgrading your hosting can make a big difference. Here are some recommendations for reliable WordPress hosting:

• SiteGround Managed WordPress Hosting
• Bluehost 
• HostGator

3. WordPress Security

Security is a concern for all website owners, even if you only run a small business. Hackers target sites of all sizes and they often go after WordPress sites. Don’t wait until you’ve been hacked to find out that your site is vulnerable. Here are some ways to test your site and make it more secure.

• Always use the latest version of WordPress. The easiest way to do this is to set up automatic updates. However, there may be reasons you may not want to do this. For example, if you’re using any plugins, themes, or customizations you may want to make sure they’re compatible with the latest WP version. WordPress will give you a notification on your admin page if you’re not using the latest version.
• Update themes and plugins. Remember to check your plugins for updates. Using outdated versions leaves you more vulnerable.
• Scan your site for potential problems. WPScan is a free product that will test your site’s security. Wordfence and Jetpack are also popular plugins to scan your site for security issues.
• Use an SSL Certificate, which encrypts information between users’ web browsers and your server.
• Add two-factor authentication for logging into your admin page. This makes it harder for unauthorized users to access your site.

4. WordPress User Experience

User Experience (UX) is a crucial aspect of WordPress performance. UX refers to how easy and user-friendly visitors find your site. On the one hand, it’s the sum total of the design and performance. There are also some specific areas that you can look at to measure UX.

• Navigation. Users must be able to easily find what they’re looking for or they won’t spend much time on your site. Make sure your pages and menus are accurately labeled and easy to see. Breadcrumb navigation helps visitors keep track of where they are on a site and lets them easily return to a previous page.
• Responsive design. Make sure your site is equally accessible to people on all types of devices. It’s especially important to make the site mobile-friendly as more and more people use smartphones to shop and access websites.
• Use images strategically. As the internet gets ever more visually oriented, it’s important to use high quality, relevant, and eye-catching images. At the same time, don’t make your pages so cluttered that it’s hard for people to focus on anything. Clutter reduces the effectiveness of your calls-to-action and can also slow down your site.
• Make your text readable. You obviously want visitors to read your text but some websites make this difficult by using very small fonts, having very long paragraphs, or using background colors that don’t contrast with the font color. Using sufficient white space between sections and adding lists and bulleted lists make your content more readable.

5. WordPress Content and SEO Audit

Your content strategy is another area that you should audit consistently. This includes a number of factors such as:

• Keywords. Are you focusing on the right keywords in your content? Your post and page titles, headings, and image tags should all be optimized.
• Local SEO. If you’re a local business, local SEO is extremely important these days. Be sure to include keywords related to your city, region, and neighborhood. Local landmarks can also be helpful. For example, if you’re trying to rank your law firm locally you might include terms such as “lawyer near Minneapolis Convention Center.”
• Use a plugin such as Yoast to easily check SEO factors before publishing posts. SEMrush is another useful plugin that helps you manage your advertising as well as SEO.
• Revisit old content. If your SEO strategy has changed, you may want to go back and edit or remove some old posts. This is also good to do when you have outdated facts or statistics to update. Or you may be targeting new keywords that you can work into older content.
• Practice internal linking. Linking internally is a simple and powerful SEO strategy that helps you rank. It’s also a way to keep visitors on your site longer as they check out different pages.

WordPress Requires Regular Monitoring & Maintenance

WordPress audits help you stay up to date with how your site is performing. This is something that you need to do consistently to keep up with the latest changes and challenges. WordPress is always evolving and website owners need to keep up with the latest issues regarding SEO, UX, security, and content. While you can rely on many tools to help you audit your site, don’t overlook the value of eye tests. Browse your own site and ask people whose opinions you trust to do the same. If something doesn’t look quite right to you, there’s probably something you can do to improve it.

Mankato Web Design is the leading Minneapolis web design company for all your SEO and online marketing needs. To learn more about our services, contact us.

Affordable Video Production for Minnesota Lawyers & Attorneys

Mankato Web Design is an award-winning web design agency with over 100 five-star reviews on Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau. In ten years, we accomplished more than 1,000 projects. With this background and the accolades we have received, we know that we can help your law firm, company, or business boost your web traffic and sales.

One of the tools we provide to our clients is the capability to use live videos to address their potential customers and allow clients to see the person with whom they will be working and to get a sense of that person’s demeanor and communication style. We are proud of our video production process and our partners ReelLawyers.com.

Reel Lawyers Video Production in Minnesota

Based in Minneapolis, Reel Lawyers is a service that allows top US lawyers to answer frequently asked questions about the law. Without leaving their homes or offices, viewers can hear from real lawyers on topics with which they are experienced and knowledgeable. It’s simple. Just visit the Reel Lawyers’ site, type in your location, enter the type of law you are asking about, and begin your search. Doing so will lead you to first-rate lawyers who are involved in almost any kind of legislation imaginable.

ReelLawyers.com is the first website of its kind offering information and insights, on short videos, from 5-star-rated attorneys on a vast array of topics. Some of the most visited videos are concerning the following issues: Business law, Medical Negligence/Malpractice, Divorce, Personal Injury, Criminal law, Family law, Estates & Probate, Commercial litigation, and many more areas of the law

Every lawyer on the Reel Lawyers site meet the site’s Excellence in Practice Standard and pass screening on their experience, peer recognition, and professional achievement.

These short videos give potential clients a peek into the attorney’s persona, his or her presence, and communication style. The site makes it simple to find lawyers in your area who are knowledgeable in the field of law with which you need assistance.

Why Video Production for Lawyers?

According to the American Bar Association, videos are becoming a tool that will advance marketing technology. Short videos can attract and retain clients. This organization also supports the ABA Techshow Expo, which assists attorneys in expanding and promoting their products and services.

But more specifically, technologists have found that using video for marketing purposes online has many game-changing possibilities::

• Video is easy to digest and relieves the stress on eyes that receive such an overabundance of textual information.
• Incorporating videos into your content is necessary to remain competitive.
• Videos are engaging, versatile, give a real-life feel to viewers.
• Short videos can bring a significant return on investment.
• Anyone with Internet access can access videos.
• Currently, the trend is toward high-quality video that meets a professional level.

In the case of videos made by lawyers on specific topics with which they have dealt during their practice, attorneys can educate viewers and give short, concise guidelines. The script can adjust to the desires of the video client in myriad ways.

Video Stats For Attorneys

The Wyzowl’s 5th Annual State of Video Marketing Survey found that:

• 81 percent of businesses are using video as a marketing tool.
• The average consumer watches over an hour and a half of online video content a day.
• More than 80 percent of traffic will be video by 2021.
• Ninety percent of consumers claim videos help them make a purchasing decision.
• James McQuivey, the digital marketing expert, believes that one minute of video content is equal to 1,800,000 words.

Combining Video Production with Professional Web Design & SEO For Lawyers

Mankato Web Design saw a need and took the steps necessary to fill that need. Partnering with Reel Lawyers.com was an essential step for Mankato Web Design and was just as beneficial for Reel Lawyers. Mankato Web Design saw a way to:

• Bring in the additional high-quality case leads to firms every month
• Highlight the professionalism of the law firm
• Build an active pipeline of leads
• Customize responsive design websites for tablets, mobile phones, and desktops
• Use WordPress’ content management system to update websites easily
• Offer local SEO optimization for maps
• Rank higher on Google by using a technical audit, content strategy, link building, and on-page SEO

Our collaboration with ReelLawyers.com, a Minnesota company, as well, allows us to produce specialized video interviews with Minnesota-based attorneys. The videos our collaborators and we create can be a feature of our legal clients’ homepage. The discussion can include key practice areas of the firm; attorney profiles and will allow visitors to learn about and connect with your practice.

Additional Law Firm Website Benefits of Video Production

Yes, there’s more. Mankato Web Design offers:

• Custom responsive website design
• Existing content migrated to your enhanced website
• A discovery process that allows us to learn all we can learn about your practice to build a proposal that suits your needs
• Your website videos will belong to the website you own
• You can add case results and testimonials by using an easy-to-use interface
• We build your website with WordPress; there is no limit to the number of pages you add
• We ensure your contact forms are not affected by spam
• Your website will connect to all your social media accounts, and much, much more

Contact Mankato Web Design To Get Started at 612-558-1020

Named one of 2019’s Best SEO Agencies in Minneapolis by Expertise.com, Mankato is always learning, growing, and improving. We are aware of the importance of online video marketing. We strive to be on the cutting-edge so our clients will be there also.

We’re proud to be local, authentic, small, and affordable. We may have grown as a company since we opened in 2006, but our small business mindset and our connection to our clients has not changed at all.

We view your website as a “sales pipeline.” We track metrics, personalize your image, target your advertising, and enhance your productivity. Our company makes an extra effort to ensure that everyone speaks to our customers in everyday language, or as we like to say, “We don’t speak Geek.”

One of our highest priorities is to educate our clients through free training, screen share technology, and ongoing support.

When you have decided, or even before you decide to join with our team, we will share with you a free “health check report,” showing you how we can build your business and obtain more traffic, sales, and insights.

Contact us today for more information at 612-558-1020.