Adjusting Website To Target Certain Areas?

curapa

I am looking to better my search result standings in a few areas a bit better than what they are now. I had previously focused on Savannah Ga. and I am having pretty decent success with that by appearing on the first page on both Google and Yahoo along with usually being #1 in the local results.

I am interested in targeting the cities around the Savannah area a bit better. For example: the city of Pooler which is right outside of Savannah, I am not found within the first 10 pages of results. I do a large majority of work there so what are the best ways to increase my search results there?

Current page title :

Serving the Savannah area for all of your fence and deck needs

Meta Description:

Serving the Savannah Ga. area for all of your wood, vinyl and composite fence and deck needs. Call or visit us online for your free estimate.

Keywords:

fence fences fencing deck decks contractor builder Savannah Pooler Wilmington island

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www.ParkerFenceandDeck.com

wizendwizard

Thats the only change i know that would make what you have more focused on those areas.
What searchwords are you entering to determine you are coming up on first page of google?
Your company name does come up first page when searched but not savannah ga fence contractor.

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curapa

"Savannah Ga fence" are the keywords I enter.

I had never noticed that I drop off the page when additional words are added.

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www.ParkerFenceandDeck.com

wizendwizard

Thats the big problem with keyword searches. You have to think of exactly how a HO would phrase what they are looking for on searches.

Example: I am in Rincon and want to have a pool deck installed. I would search "Rincon Ga. deck installer or builder"

This is where a good SEO tester helps you when making sure your site is optimized.

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"If you start the grout process over, you too could use sparkly grout!"
There is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, they are either illegal or immigrants.
I'm Retired, or a student, don't really know anymore.

wizendwizard

That keyword brings you page 1 listed 5th with nothing in the local section?

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"If you start the grout process over, you too could use sparkly grout!"
There is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, they are either illegal or immigrants.
I'm Retired, or a student, don't really know anymore.

cbscreative

How's the conversion with the traffic you are already getting?

I ask this question because I consider it a priority before looking to target more areas. Once the site converts, extending your reach is the next logical step.

With that said, check out www.wordpress.org to see what you might be able to do with custom themes. GoDaddy's WT is not the best solution with building a good ranking site. There are SEO plugins to use with WP too.

Another thing I noticed, unless I missed something, I did not see a physical address listed on your site. Not only does this reduce trust and significantly undermine your conversion potential, it will be much more difficult to rank well for local searches.

You may have already done this, but I'll mention it just in case. Make your your Google profile is complete with your location/service area. Same for Yahoo, same for yellow pages. Look for any local directories and be sure you are accurately listed. Be sure any trade association web sites you are part of have your info if they publish it. Do a Google search using key terms you want to rank for and make sure you list with any top ranking directories. Beyond that, directories are overkill, so don't get to over zealous. Just know that the key ones are important.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

curapa

Yeah, some days I am #1 on the local and others I am not on it at all?

I stay on top of the local with Yahoo but I am somtimes further down in the results.

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www.ParkerFenceandDeck.com

curapa

I am happy with the conversions I am getting now. I have been thinking about canceling my Yellow pages ad and trying the web page alone this year.

You are correct, there is no physical address on my site. My business is based from home so I never put it on.

I have very detailed profiles on Yahoo and Google local, max pics and all info completed.

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www.ParkerFenceandDeck.com

wizendwizard

The problem with any of the local listings is address. to show up as local you have to have an address inside the actual city where you are focused. When serving large areas like you and i do, it's hard to stay on the local listings at all.

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"If you start the grout process over, you too could use sparkly grout!"
There is no such thing as an illegal immigrant, they are either illegal or immigrants.
I'm Retired, or a student, don't really know anymore.

cbscreative

That's great you are doing well enough to consider dropping the YP. It gives you the opportunity to focus your advertising better. I also figured you probably had your Y&G Local thing covered, I just needed to mention it.

On the physical address issue, I am not sure if your concerns are for getting walk-in traffic to your home, privacy concerns, or just not wanting to publish a residential address as your business office. For any of these reasons, here would be a simple solution you may want to consider.

Many communities have a shared business facility, and I would think Savannah is large enough to have a few of these to choose from. Basically you get a mailing address, receptionist, phone answering service, and access to an office with all the amenities (conference room, business equipment, etc.). It's not that you can't provide all the needs of your business from home, I'm sure you're doing fine with that. But it gives you a physical location so you don't have to list your home address. And it is far more economical than a leased office space when you don't need one.

This solution could offer benefits to you that would increase your business to more than cover the cost of the membership. It's a known fact that not listing a physical address is costing you business opportunities.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

marketingmaven

Steve,
How about an address at a UPS Store or similar? I've heard that will qualify for the physical location need for the local listing but I've never tried it.
Regards,
Annette

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cbscreative

Excellent point, Annette, that is a very viable solution too when the address doesn't sound like a PO Box. Personally, I think PO Boxes send up flags. It's not that way for everyone, but I still don't recommend them. I know others are like me and are more reluctant to do business with someone who only lists a PO Box as an address.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

MattCoops

Very valid point. And are you and the contractors on here the only ones searching for those search terms?
Have you filtered out your IP address from your analytics program?
What's the bounce rate for users that did use keywords: "Savanna Ga fence"?

I understand you're trying to increase traffic by gathering more keyword search results.
But what about the current traffic you're getting from your target audience. Have you looked at any of your statistics filtering by Region?

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tinner666

I use my home/office address. My warehouse ddress even shows up as a second listing for some reason. Never had an issue in 20 years. Unless you consider some clients dropping checks off at my door, in my mailbox sometimes.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

Ohmy

We use our office address and every once in a while folks show up at the office, which is fine. We list are address on our website as well so I guess it doesn't really matter. Though, I could understand not wanting people to stop by your home.

Whats the rule for post office addresses? Does google allow them?

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cbscreative

Without being an insider at Google, only specualtion and observation can answer that question, and it's still partly a guess. Google most likely credits the zip code as a valid location, but I imagine they flag PO Boxes knowing that it is not a physical location. How seriously that effects ranking, I can't know. What I do know is if all things were equal between two competitors and one had a PO Box, the one with a physical address would rank higher.

That also sums up my approach to SEO. If all things were equal, one fine detail can make a difference. So looking at your local competition will tell me a lot about what you need to do to rank higher.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.

tinner666

Now, that's worth a fortune in free advice. I've taken many competitors' sites apart to see where we differed. It was very helpful.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

curapa

I got a PO Box in one of the city's I wanted to target and created a local listing for that city. The first day I was already one of the top listings.

I will PM you my competitions web addresses if you want to take a look.

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www.ParkerFenceandDeck.com

karunnt

This is discussed widely in blogs on local search:

Andrew Shotland
Bill Slawski
Greg Sterling
Matt McGee
Mike Blumenthal
Search Engine Land

cbscreative

Yes, I'd Highly recommend Bill Slawski's SEO by the Sea too. I'm an admin at a small biz forum, and we are fortunate to have Bill as a valuable member there.

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Steve Chittenden
Web/SEO Geek • Graphic Artist • Writer • Marketing Guy
One reason I know so much about the web and marketing is that I don't have to know as much about construction.