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How to Rank High for SEO in Charlottesville VA

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Understanding Local Charlottesville SEO

If you’re a local business owner or a marketer, having high SEO rankings on Google, Yahoo, and Bing is crucial in order to optimize your organization’s online visibility and attract more customers. Local SEO focuses on optimizing your online presence to create more traffic to your website from relevant local searches. Here are the keys to earning high search rankings in Charlottesville:

Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Claim Your GMB Listing: Ensure your business is listed on Google My Business.
Complete Your Profile: Add accurate business information, including address, phone number, and hours of operation.
Add Photos: Upload high-quality images of your business, products, or services that will help visitors understand and appreciate the quality of your work.
Get Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. Send them a link to submit a review your GMB page, and send them a QR code so they can submit a quick review from their smartphone.

Optimize Website Content for Local Keywords

Research Local Keywords: Use tools like Google Keyword Planner to identify the keyword search phrases that are specific to Charlottesville, and that have proven to generate a significant number of clicks.
Create Location-Based Content: Write blog posts or articles relevant to the products and services that your company offers in the Charlottesville area.
Incorporate Keywords Naturally: Be careful not to be guilty of “keyword stuffing,” wherein you repeat the use of keywords too often on a webpage. Be sure to include these keywords in your website content, as well as in the meta descriptions, and headers.

Harvest Local Backlinks

Partner with Local Businesses: Offer to exchange backlinks with local businesses, particularly those who already have a business relationship with you.
Join Local Directories: Submit your business to local online directories and chambers of commerce.
Engage in Local Sponsorships: Sponsor local events or charities and get mentioned on their websites.

Optimize Your Website Content for Charlottesville SEO

On-page SEO involves optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic that generates leads for your business. Here are the key elements:

Create and Publish High Quality Content: Focus on providing valuable, well-written content that offers you website visitors useful information about the quality of your services in Charlottesville.
Use Keywords Naturally: Avoid “keyword stuffing;” use keywords where they fit naturally into the page content.
Add Internal Links: Link to other relevant pages on your website to improve site navigation and SEO rankings.
Optimize The Title Tags: Use compelling, keyword-rich titles for each page that encapsulate the product or service on each page.
Utilize Meta Descriptions: Write concise, informative descriptions that include your main keywords.
Use H1 Tags for Page Titles: Ensure the main page title is an H1 tag.
Use H2 and H3 Tags for Subheadings: Structure your content with H2 and H3 tags to improve readability and help visitors appreciate the value of your products and services.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO ensures your website meets the technical requirements of search engines. Here are some key aspects:
Your Website Must Be Mobile Friendly:  Incorporate a responsive design
Fast Loading Speed: Optimize images and use a reliable hosting service to improve loading times. PageSpeedInsights is a good resource for speed checking and mobile friendliness.

A Secure Website Is A Must

Use HTTPS: Ensure your website is secure by using HTTPS.
XML Sitemap:  Generate and submit an XML sitemap to Google Search Console.

Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO involves activities not on your website but that will improve its search engine rankings on Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Harvest Quality Backlinks
Utilize Guest Blogging: Write guest posts for reputable sites in your industry.
Explore Influencer Outreach: Collaborate with local influencers to get backlinks and mentions.

Social Media Engagement

Be Sure To Maintain An Active Social Media Presence: Keep updated active profiles on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter.
Share Your Content: Regularly share your content on social media to drive traffic and engagement.

Monitoring and Analytics

Tracking your Charlottesville SEO performance is crucial to understanding what’s working and what needs improvement:
Create A Google Analytics Account: This will enable you to track and analyze your website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

We Can Help!

For 22 years, at Dynamic Media Solutions we’ve been helping Virginia companies dominate Google search rankings for their products and services. No Internet marketing company is more experienced than DMS. We are local Charlottesville SEO experts who specialize in search engine ranking and search engine optimization services for organizations located in and around Charlottesville, VA.

Click on the Free Website Analysis button on the right side of the screen to learn how your site ranks on Google, Yahoo, and Bing right now, along with preliminary work and recommendations to improve your rankings. There is absolutely no cost or obligation for this service. Or better yet, give us a call at (434) 427-0155 to learn how we can use our Charlottesville Local SEO – search engine optimization techniques to achieve 1st page rankings for your website on Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

We get results, and we get them fast.

 

Mastering SEO in the Washington DC Market

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The Washington, DC and Northern Virginia market presents unique challenges and opportunities for businesses aiming to achieve high organic rankings on search engines. Although Bing and Yahoo search engines have some dedicated users in the DMV (Northern Virginia, Washington, DC, and suburban Maryland), Google is used by over 80% of Internet searchers so it is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. To effectively rank high organically with Google (without advertising) in this market, businesses need to consider several unique factors and strategies. This article addresses the specific requirements for achieving top SEO performance in the DMV.

SEO Content Optimization for Northern Virginia and the DMV

Hyper-Local Focus: Washington, DC is characterized by its distinct neighborhoods and diverse sectors, such as Georgetown, Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Fairfax, Arlington, and Prince William County, to name a few. To rank well with Google and Bing, businesses must optimize for these local areas. This involves including neighborhood-specific keywords in their content, meta descriptions, and tags.

Google My Business (GMB): Claiming and optimizing a GMB listing is absolutely critical. You need to be sure that the business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all platforms. Google and Bing reward fresh content so regularly update your GMB profile with photos, posts, and customer reviews referencing your organization’s accomplishments in the DMV. Engage your website visitors with reviews, both positive and negative, to demonstrate the your organization’s management is responsive to their clients.

Local Citations: Submit the business information to local directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and the Better Business Bureau. High-quality local backlinks from reputable sources like local news websites and community blogs can significantly boost local SEO in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and the entire DMV.

Content Strategy

Authority and Relevance: The DMV’s population includes a large percentage of highly educated and informed individuals. Therefore, it’s critical that published website content be authoritative, well-researched, and relevant to the Washington DC market as well as the industry or profession of your organization.

Regular Updates and “Evergreen” Content: It’s important to publish regular blog posts, articles, and updates on your organization’s accomplishments and involvement in local events, and other topics relevant to your business. Additionally, create evergreen content that remains relevant over time, ensuring it continues to attract traffic and backlinks to your website.

Multimedia Integration: And, don’t rely exclusively on text! Utilize various forms of content such as videos, infographics, and podcasts when reaching out to your target market. DMV residents are typically professionals who are very busy and often prefer quick, engaging content. Videos on local topics, interviews with local experts, and infographics summarizing key information can enhance user engagement and improve SEO rankings.

Technical SEO

Mobile Optimization: Given the high number of professionals who are always on the go, ensure your website is fully optimized for mobile devices. Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, so a mobile-friendly site is critical for high rankings.

Site Speed: Washington, DC and Northern Virginia users expect fast-loading websites. Be sure to optimize images, leverage browser caching, and minimize JavaScript to ensure quick load times. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to regularly check and improve site speed.

Secure and Accessible Website: Implement HTTPS to secure your website. Both Google and Bing prioritize secure websites, and users are more likely to trust and engage with them. Ensure your website is accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, by following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

Backlink Strategy

High-Quality Backlinks: Earning backlinks from reputable sources is crucial. In DC, consider sources like government websites, educational institutions (like universities), and prominent local businesses. Participate in local events and sponsorships to increase backlink opportunities.

Guest Blogging and Collaborations: Write guest posts for local blogs and collaborate with local influencers. This not only earns backlinks, but also increases your organization’s brand visibility in the community.

Press Releases and Media Coverage: Leverage the proximity to national and local media. Issue press releases for notable business activities and reach out to journalists for coverage. Media mentions from credible sources can significantly boost SEO.

Social Media Integration

Engagement with Local Community: Active engagement on social media platforms can enhance local SEO. Share content related to local events, participate in community discussions, and engage with local influencers and businesses.

SEO is not a task – It is an ongoing process: Regularly post updates, promotions, and news on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Respond promptly to comments and messages to build a loyal local following and drive Washington, DC and Northern Virginia traffic to your site.
Social Signals: Search engines consider social signals as part of their ranking algorithms. High engagement rates on social media can positively impact SEO rankings.

User Experience (UX) and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Intuitive Navigation: Make sure that your website is easy to navigate. Use clear headings, a logical menu structure, and a search function to help users find information quickly.

Incorporate Engaging and Relevant CTAs: Place compelling calls-to-action (CTAs) throughout your site. These should be relevant to the local DC and DMV audience, and encourage actions like signing up for newsletters, downloading articles relevant to your profession/industry, or scheduling consultations to discuss your services.

Include Local Testimonials and Case Studies: Showcase testimonials and case studies from local customers to build trust and credibility. Highlighting local success stories can resonate more with the DC audience.

Conclusion

Ranking high organically in the Washington, DC and Northern Virginia market requires a tailored approach that considers the local demographics, competitive landscape, and unique characteristics of the area.

At DMS, we are the most experienced Internet marketing company in the DMV.  We have been offering SEO and PPC services since 2001. Nobody understands SEO and PPC better that we do. We help organizations grow and prosper by increasing the ROI of their websites.  We earn high SEO website rankings fast on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. We create pay per click campaigns that get results, and offer social media optimization that help visitors appreciate the unique value that our clients provide. get results, and we get them fast.

SEO in the Northern Virginia and DC market is complex and competitive.  If you would like a free assessment of your current website and SEO campaign, click on the Free Website Analysis button on the right side of the screen, or call us at 703.365.7878 for a quick consultation. You won’t be disappointed. We guarantee it.

Google is rolling out “continuous scroll” on mobile devices in the U.S.

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Mobile users will no longer see the “more results” button on Google when reaching the bottom of the page. Mobile devices will now see the next “page” of results as long as they keep scrolling. You could think of it as infinite scroll, but Google has entitled it continuous scroll.continuous scroll on google

Google as stated, “With this update, people can now seamlessly do this, browsing through many different results, before needing to click the See More button. You can often find what you’re looking for in first few results, sometimes you want to keep looking. You will be able to continuously scroll up to four pages of search results without requesting more results.”

It’s way too early to know if this will motivate more searchers to look beyond the first page of results. Advertisers might see an impact the click-through rates, along with more traffic from Google search.  Only time will tell.

 

Google December 2020 Algorithm Core Update

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As you probably know, Google typically makes numerous tweaks to its search algorithm throughout the year, but only makes major core updates a few times/year. Google recently made the “December 2020 core update,” and it’s the first one was the May 2020 core update. So this update took seven months to roll out and is probably more substantive as a result.

Google recently issued a statement that “the December 2020 Core Update is now rolling out live. As is typical with these updates, it will take about one to two weeks to fully roll out.”

What to do if your organic search rankings take a hit by the December 2020 core update. Needless to say, these core updates affect the ranking so some sites positively, and others negatively. If your website gets “hit” negatively by this core update, Google advises that there really are no specific actions to take to recover. Google goes on to explain that a decline in organic search rankings may not signal that there is anything wrong with your pages. You are not probably not being penalized; your content just doesn’t meet the requirements of the updated algorithm. Google has published a page with recommendations for recovering from a drop in rankings following a core update. It’s a timeless piece and well worth the read.

Keep in mind that Google is determined to send its visitors to web pages with the most useful and informative content related to their visitor’s search string.  A drop in rankings (core-update related or otherwise) is an indication that your competition has strengthened their content and you need to do the same.

How To Rank High on Google

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Content Is King

I may have coined a phrase in 2002 when I wrote “Content Is King.” Whether I was the first to use it is not important, but the underlying concept is: All search engines, and particularly Google, are looking to send their search visitors to the web pages that contain the strongest content related to the search string. That was a fact in 2002 and remains the overwhelmingly important criterion today when Googlebot crawls sites and ranks pages. The algorithm that programs Googlebot is updated regularly, but it always rewards the most indepth, useful, and current content with top rankings.

When Google is asked what you should do if there is a decline in search rankings for a website after a core update, Google’s answer is always the same: “There is nothing to fix. There may be nothing wrong with pages that perform less well in a core update.” The obvious website owner follow-up to that answer is, “Well then, how can I revise my webpages to rank high all the time – even after core updates to the algorithm?”

Google’s advice today is very similar to the recommendations following its Panda algorithm in 2011: “We suggest focusing on ensuring that you’re offering the best content you can. That’s what our algorithms seek to reward.”

Google has recently offered the following list of questions to consider when evaluating your content:

General Guidelines

  • Does the content provide original information, reporting, research or analysis?
  • Does the content provide a substantial, complete or comprehensive description of the topic?
  • Does the content provide insightful analysis or interesting information that is beyond obvious?
  • If the content draws on other sources, does it avoid simply copying or rewriting those sources and instead provide substantial additional value and originality?
  • Does the headline and/or page title provide a descriptive, helpful summary of the content?
  • Does the headline and/or page title avoid being exaggerating or shocking in nature?
  • Is this the sort of page you’d want to bookmark, share with a friend, or recommend?
  • Would you expect to see this content in or referenced by a printed magazine, encyclopedia or book

How credible is the piece, and how authoritative is the author?

  • Does the content present information in a way that makes you want to trust it, such as clear sourcing, evidence of the expertise involved, background about the author or the site that publishes it, such as through links to an author page or a site’s About page?
  • If you researched the site producing the content, would you come away with an impression that it is well-trusted or widely-recognized as an authority on its topic?
  • Is this content written by an expert or enthusiast who demonstrably knows the topic well?
  • Is the content free from easily-verified factual errors?
  • Would you feel comfortable trusting this content for issues relating to your money or your life?

Stylistic issues and display.

  • Is the content free from spelling or stylistic issues?
  • Was the content produced well, or does it appear sloppy or hastily produced?
  • Is the content mass-produced by or outsourced to a large number of creators, or spread across a large network of sites, so that individual pages or sites don’t get as much attention or care?
  • Does the content have an excessive amount of ads that distract from or interfere with the main content
  • Does content display well for mobile devices when viewed on them?

Content Strength

  • Does the content provide substantial value when compared to other pages in search results?
  • Does the content seem to be serving the genuine interests of visitors to the site or does it seem to exist solely by someone attempting to guess what might rank well in search engines?

BOTTOM LINE: Google (along with Yahoo and Bing) are continually searching for the strongest and most useful content for their search visitors. Follow these guidelines and Google will reward your pages with page 1 positioning.

Since 2001 (that’s the beginning!), the author, Kelley Lott, has been helping organizations grow and prosper through more effective Internet marketing. He can be reached at info@dynamicmediasolutions.us or by calling 703.365.7878.

Managing Your Business During The Coronavirus

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Just because your business is throttled back, doesn’t mean you should stop marketing your products and services. Here are some proven tactics that business owners are using to generate income during the Covid-19 economic crisis

Publish an attention-getting Covid-19 message at the top of your home page describing how the business is continuing to provide services during the corona crisis. This could include a link to a new page that offers guidance on specific options for buying products and services until the economy reopens.

Update your Google My Business Page to Reflect Your Company’s Current Status
Your Google My Business profile often appears when people search for your business on Google. This includes Google local search results. In response to the Covid-19 restrictions, many Google users are making more “near me” and “open now” searches. Make sure that the business hours are correct, and change your description to reflect any changes caused by COVID-19.

Create Posts on Google My Business
You can write and publish posts to your Google My Business listing for free. These posts provide the opportunity for you to let prospects know about updates and promotions. Google My Business posts offer a great opportunity to reach and retain customers during COVID-19.

Covid-19 Promotions and Discounts
Consider a deep discount or “freebie” for orders placed within a particular time frame. This will create more audience engagement and increase conversions (people who contact you to buy your products and services).

For other suggestions on how to make the most of the Covid-19 crisis, contact us at covidrecovery@dynamicmediasolutions.us.

Survey Indicates Northern Virginia Businesses Will Concentrate on SEO and Scaled Back PPC During Covid-19 Economic Downturn

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A recent survey shows that business owners and managers reflect the importance of maintaining your SEO efforts through the coming downturn while scaling back paid advertising. The survey of industries included business to business (24%), retail (12%), healthcare (11%), media (10%) and others (travel and hospitality, consumer technology, financial services, insurance, automotive, e-commerce and manufacturing).

Owners/managers anticipate reduced online budgets, but with campaign goals being the same or up. They indicated that their online marketing budgets are being impacted by the economic downturn. However, the majority of the survey respondents indicated that their budgets were only decreasing slightly or remaining the same. Only 20% were implementing large decreases in marketing, indicating the need to maintain a strong organic ranking position when the economy recovers.

SEO is a “race with no finish line” over time as businesses continually jockey for top page one positions with the search engines, particularly Google.  The majority of survey participants anticipate that their marketing goals would be more difficult to reach this year. Over 60% felt that SEO would be more important due to the economic downturn. Only 5% indicated that SEO would be less important.

Google will offer $340 million in Google Ads credits for small and medium sized businesses

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In response to the coronavirus pandemic, and its impact on the economy, Google announced that as part of its commitment of more than $800 million to help the economy, it is offering $340 million in ad credits for small and medium-sized businesses.

Advertisers who are eligible will see notifications regarding the ad credits available in their Google Ads accounts. The credits can be applied on ads on Search, Display and YouTube ads, and on any campaign types.

To be eligible, companies will need to have had active Google Ads accounts since January 1, 2019. It is unclear whether an account is eligible if all ads were paused at some point.

Google has also committed $20 million in ad grants to community financial institutions and non-government organizations to run public service announcements on relief funds and resources for small and medium size businesses.

Google says it hopes to “alleviate some of the costs to stay in touch with their customers.” At this point, it is unclear just how much financial assistance the typical business will receive. The credits are intended to support existing customers.

THE NEED FOR SPEED – Google Now Using Page Load Times As Ranking Factor

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Kelley Lott, president and founder of Dynamic Media Solutions, has been providing SEO and Internet marketing services to organizations located in the DC area since 1998. He is widely recognized as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on effective search marketing. If you find this blog useful, please leave a comment. Otherwise, we may conclude that maintaining the blog is not worth the ongoing effort.

The three major search engines — Google, Yahoo, and Bing — are all about trying to send their visitors to websites that offer positive experiences. Research has shown that over 80 percent of web surfers in 2017 indicate that they simply won’t revisit a website if it loads too slowly during their first visit.

Google has made it clear since 2010 that page load time is a major ranking factor in the algorithm that their search engine crawler Googlebot uses when evaluating each website for ranking purposes. Google accounts for more that 80% of searches made in Washington, DC, Northern Virginia, and Maryland as well as throughout most of the country. Interestingly, the Bing/Yahoo search engines have a slight edge in searches on the West Coast.

So, when pages take too much time to load it can cause Googlebot lower your search rankings, and motivate your target customers to bounce off your website.

Why Do Some Web Pages Load Slowly?
Unfortunately, there are many factors that can cause web pages to be slow loading. Identifying factors that are slowing down your website, and then correcting the problems can be complicated and require some programming expertise. That said, here are some of the factors that most commonly cause pages to load slowly and consequently rank poorly with Google and Yahoo/Bing.

  • Large images are often data hogs. All site images should be resized to minimize their impact on page load times.
  • Ads and tracking tools can wreak havoc in terms of data consumption and need to be minimized.
  • Slow delivery by your web hosting service can slow down your page speed. Not all web hosts are created equal. Make sure yours is not dragging you down.
  • Embedded media – Video and streaming media — are huge data hogs. While properly configured video can enhance your website’s search rankings, be sure video clips are short and properly optimized to restrict data usage
  • Unnecessary or outdated apps and plugins can have a major impact on page loading speed. Adobe Flash and Java are examples of plugins that can dramatically reduce page load times.
  • Themes for template sites (like WordPress, Wix, and Joomla) vary widely in terms of data usage. Open source platforms like WordPress are great in that anyone can produce themes but not all themes are created equal. Basically, the more complicated your theme (like animated elements), the greater decrease in page speed.

While identifying problem elements contributing to slow page loads is fairly easy, correcting the problems without compromising the design and layout of your website is a challenge that requires a deep knowledge of website programming languages, as well as an understanding of the current strategies for effective SEO (search ranking techniques). If you’d like a free evaluation of your site’s page loading issues, give us a call at 703.365.7878 or click here and submit an online request.

Thanks for taking the time to read our blog!

 

CONTENT IS KING: The Often Overlooked Front End of SEO

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Linking, particularly backlinking, is all the rage with the SEO blogs and newsgroups today. And, there is no doubt that linking is extremely important to SE. However, linking is not the central issue. If the page being evaluated by the search engine robots does not rank high for the keyword phrase being evaluated, the page is going to be downgraded substantially. Effective SEO must begin with building pages that rank high for keyword phrase content. And, it’s common sense: the search engines are programmed to help people find the information that they’re searching for. Most people don’t go to business websites to be entertained by animation, streaming media, or flashy graphics. They make the first visit, along with return visits, because they expect to find information, products, or services that they want and need.
Continue reading “CONTENT IS KING: The Often Overlooked Front End of SEO”

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