[PremierPDS]

Hi guys- oh yes, it's me YET AGAIN lol!

As you know my new print and design site should go live within the next couple of weeks although I still have the copy to write and the SEO to do on it...

In the meantime I want to do a little SEO experiment with a little 3 page website which I'll design myself. As many of you already know, I also run a very small domestic and office cleaning business so the site I'll use for my little SEO experiment will be this. I'm going to purchase a domain name that is obviously keyword rich and has the local area in it. However, when I put the search term 'Wirral cleaners' into Google, it gives me local business results which lists every cleaning company on the Wirral. Is there any way I can top this with good SEO or will it be impossible? Don't really understand the local business results and how and why they are displayed as they are??? Anyone know and can explain to me what and why the results are shown in this way???

[admagic]

If the grid of ten is full you will never outrank it.

Google dont tell you how to become #1 in local and there is a randomness however the following seem to help

(a) being in early, with an old domain....

(b) Having a postcode at the centre of where GOOGLE think the wirral is!! (I have no idea - you will have to find out!)- not where you do! - if in doubt get separate listings for ellesmere port say and birkenhead.

(b) Using a keyword rich name as well as domain. Dont call yourself "premier cleaning" call your self "wirral cleaner"

(c) Getting yourslef listed in the right directories eg yakaz- which you can do by posting on gumtree. (my testing - maybe wrong - but seems to help) -
BTW gumtree- adzooks and craigslist help with traffic anyway

(d) Getting positive reviews for your listing although writing your own false reviews is illegal under the new act!

And a heap of other more obscure things - some I just cant fathom

[PremierPDS]

Thanks Ad, great help. Seems daft to me, every cleaning compnay in the area is lumped together in one listing under those results and everyone therefore has an euqal chance of being called by potential customers who are searching for cleaners in the area. It might give a level playing field but doesn't really inspire your competitive side does it lol!

[admagic]

Originally Posted by PremierPDS

Thanks Ad, great help. Seems daft to me, every cleaning compnay in the area is lumped together in one listing under those results and everyone therefore has an euqal chance of being called by potential customers who are searching for cleaners in the area. It might give a level playing field but doesn't really inspire your competitive side does it lol!

Game the system Nick.
Your name and domain are everything. So get a benefit into the name.
Call yourself - "Easily Affordable Wirral Cleaning" or something maybe get the keywords in front "Wirral Cleaning All Can Afford".

So TEST what headline works best on adwords, and use that headline then in google local as your business name.

[PremierPDS]

Already chosen the domain name Ad and it's good keyword rich one which I've checked with a certain forum owner lol. Haven't registered it yet as it's asking me for nameservers which I don't have ATM so gonna sort it with Phil in the morning as I have my hosting with him. My business name already incorporates the word 'clean' (Flexiclean) but I've decided not to use the business name for the domain name anyways as people aren't likely to use this for a search term in this particular case. It is however more important with my print and design site though!

[PremierPDS]

Lordy, just read back over that post and realised just how much I've learnt over the last few weeks. I would never have even dreamt of posting in the SEO section a couple of months ago....there's hope for me yet (well with a little help from my friends lol)!!!