Search Engine Optimization Ottawa

If you are new to SEO as an Ottawa business, here are 6 steps that I recommend that you start with first in order to improve your SEO.

1. Decide on your most important keyword
2. Use your keyword on your home page
3. Clearly write where you’re located and 3 to 5 areas you serve
4. Set up a Google My Business listing
5. Blog about the different services that you offer
6. Track your current ranking and SEO improvement with The Hoth

1. Decide on Your Most Important Keyword

What do you want to be found for exactly on Google? What services do you offer?

These are questions that you will need to figure if you want to improve your SEO for Ottawa.

Keywords are word phrases that people enter in the Google search bar. To get started with SEO, it is important to make a list of keywords that you want to be found for.

Brainstorm by starting with the services that you offer and any idea of what people may type into Google when searching for services that you offer in your area.

Here are a few of the best SEO keywords for your service:

• service + [your city/town]
• service in [your city/town]
• best service in [your city / town]

To give you a better idea, lets take car detailing as an example. Here are some ideas if you were a car detailing company in Ottawa.

• car detailing in [your city/state]
• [city/state] car detailing
• [city/state] mobile car detailing
• [city/state] ceramic car detailers (if you offer ceramic detailing)
• [city/state] engine bay detailing (if you offer engine bay detailing)
• affordable car detailers
• car detailing packages

There are literally hundreds of keywords that car detailers can be found for on Google. Same this applies to any business. List your services and your target keywords become the service that you offer for your area.

This is a solid way to start building your keywords around and how you can rank online and be found.

Narrow down your most important keyword

To get more information about which keyword ideas are the best ones, use a tool like The Hoth’s Keyword Planner to analyze your keyword ideas.  This tool will tell you how many times a keyword is searched on Google every month.

The Hoth will also tell you which keywords would be easier to rank for than others. Anything under 40 Difficulty are easier to rank. Choose keywords with a lower SEO difficulty score if your site is newer or you don’t have very many backlinks yet.

Your most important keyword should:

• Include your city, province, or area
• Actually get searched (make sure the monthly search volume in The Hoth isn’t 0!)
• Not be too competitive for you to realistically rank (don’t choose a keyword with Difficulty higher than 40 if your business is new)

Armed with your new most important keyword, you’re ready to move onto the next step.

2. Use Your Main Keyword on Your Home Page

Most of the time, a lot of small businesses in Ottawa come to me saying that they want to rank for a keyword phrase like “Ottawa car detailers” or “Ottawa wedding photographers”, but do not show up at all.

One of the most common reason is that the keyword phrase that they would like to ranked for, is no where to be found. This is a problem as Google has no idea what your website is about.

You will not rank for a keyword that you do not have on your website. This is crucial for good SEO.

This step is a very important part of our getting started with SEO tips. Once you have your most important keyword decided, add it to your home page ideally at the top of the page in heading format such as an H1 tag.

This will give a clear indication to the major search engines what your business and website is about.

Add your keyword phrase into the content of your home page as well. You can also use different variations of your keyword phrase too. We do not want to repeat the same keyword too often. (looks spammy)

3. Clearly Write Where You Are Located and 3 to 5 Areas You Serve

If you have included your city / area with your keyword on your home page, then you have made it clear where you are located. If not, Google cannot guess where you are.

I see many small businesses in Ottawa that forget to add their location anywhere on their website. This makes it confusing and unfortunately you will be missing out on page 1 rankings.

Add your keyword and location to your home page, about page, service page and contact page. List a few other locations that you service and willing to go to or that it is close by that people will come to your location.

You can rank for nearby towns and cities for the service that you offer that can bring in more traffic and sales.

4. Set Up a Google My Business Listing

Google My Business is very important for any local business in Ottawa. This will help you rank on the Google Map pack. Businesses that ranking on page 1 organically and in the Google Map pack, get 2 times the traffic than those who do not.

For your business to appear on the “Map Pack”, you will need to set up a Google My Business profile. Optimize this profile in order to appear in the Map Pack section. A major benefit for optimizing your GMB profile is that the “Map Pack” appears above the organic results in Google search which is limited to 3 spots.

You can expand on this in the maps section but being in these top 3 spots is most beneficial. Users will generally click on the first set of results.

How to Get Started and Properly Set up Your GMB Profile

1. Create an account: Head over to Google My Business and set up your profile. If you do not have a Google account, set one up first then you will be able to access the GMB page.
   You will need to verify your business if this is the first time setting up your profile. Google will send you a postcard with the code with which you will need to enter it in order to finalize your profile. If you already have this set up, great.
2. Optimize your profile: Enter your business details with your name, address, telephone number as you have it registered with your business. In order for people to find your business, your address will appear on the maps with directions from their location. Include the photography services that you offer, operating hours and the areas that you service.
3. Add images: Upload your business logo, and various images of your business and the work that you have done. This is a great way to show off your portfolio and the services that you offer. I highly recommend renaming some of these images with the location of where the photos where captured… for ex: “wedding-photography-boston”, “niagara-on-the-lake-wine-estate-wedding”. This will give your profile a nice little boost.
4. Create posts: GMB has a section for announcements, upcoming events and posts. Create posts, events etc, with links pointing back to your website.
5. Add a FAQ section: This is a hidden gem for GMB profiles. People a searching and looking for answers. If you can provide answers on your profile to the most frequently asked questions, you will be ahead of your competition.
6. Ask you clients for reviews: Once you have you profile set up, ask clients that have used your services and that were extremely satisfied to leave their honest review on your profile. This will help move your GMB profile up the rankings.

5. Blog About The Different Services That You Offer

Blogging is one of the best ways to add new content to your website. This way you will notify Google that your website is being updated regularly with fresh content and keeping relative.

It also shows Google that you are an expert in your niche.

Write about success stories for the services that you offer. I highly recommend writing 3 to 5 blog posts per month. These can be anything from informative articles about your products of services to how to guides. You will attract more readers to your website and keeping them engaged.

Start with at least 500 words and optimize them with area name searches. Use images to keep it interesting and use titles with your keyword phrase.

By blogging, you will start to notice that you are ranking for new keyword phrases that you may not be targeting.

Imagine getting clicks when people that are searching for services in your area or products that you sell – it’s even more opportunity to get your expertise seen!

6. Track Your Current Ranking and Local SEO Ottawa Improvement With Ubersuggest

If you’re going to put the work in to do local SEO Ottawa for your business, I really want you to know if it is working.

But I don’t want you wasting your time typing your keywords into Google and scrolling through anxiously to find where you are. I guarantee, that is not the best use of your time, and often doesn’t give you accurate results.

Instead, you can use a free SEO tool to track your position on Google over time. Your final “getting started with SEO” step is to set up free tracking with Ubersuggest.

This way you will be able to track the rankings positions of your primary keywords and other keyword phrases that your website it ranking for.

By doing this, it will allow you to expand on what you already have with new ideas that you can easily rank for.

When you set up your Project, you will enter the keywords you’d like to be found for. Then, Ubersuggest will comb through the Google results and tell you what “Position” you are in on Google.  Positions 1-10 are generally Page 1, positions 11-20 are page 2, and so on.

What’s cool is that Ubersuggest will keep a history of where you ranked, so you can actually see if you are moving up or down for each keyword over time.

And that’s it! Get started with these steps as your basics for wedding photographer SEO. Keep reading for a few frequently asked questions and how you can get more help.

Benefits of SEO Marketing in Ottawa

SEO Marketing in Ottawa is key to local business’s success. In order to be found by potential prospects who are searching online for services that you offer, you will need to improve your online visibility.

Here are 6 key advantages that will benefit your business in Ottawa by ranking on page 1 of Google:

1. Increased Visibility and Traffic

Being on the first page of Google significantly improves your website’s visibility. Users are more likely to click on links that appear on the first page of search results, leading to increased traffic to your site.

Users who are searching online for services that you offer, tend to click on the first results that show up on page 1 of Google.

If your website is well positioned in the top 3 search results of Google as well as the Google Map pack, there is a better chance of increased traffic that can lead to potential customers.

People want to find solutions to their issues right away and will not page through the search results. This is why it very important for your business’s success to rank on page 1 of Google.

By ranking on page 1 of Google for search results in Ottawa, ON, will exponentially drive more traffic and sales.

2. Enhanced Credibility and Trust

People often trust websites that appear at the top of search results.

Achieving a high ranking on Google signals credibility to users, making them more likely to trust your business over competitors.

This shows that you are positioned as an authority in the market and leads to more credibility. In the user’s mind, if you are ranking on page 1 and positioned high up the rankings results, you must be doing something right.

This all adds up to whether a potential client will choose your business over your competitors.

3. Better User Experience

Google tends to prioritize websites with quality content and a positive user experience.

By optimizing your site for search engines, you’re also likely improving the overall user experience, which can lead to higher customer satisfaction and retention.

This is what most businesses seem to miss. Quality content! They will just throw up a quick page with minimal information just to have something on.

Take the time to improve on this and provide useful and meaningful information that will tempt the user to stay longer on your website and want to learn more about the services that you offer.

The goal is to keep the prospect on your website that will convert into a lead that your team can follow up with.

4. Competitive Advantage

Outranking competitors on the first page of Google gives you a competitive edge.

Users are more likely to explore and engage with businesses that appear at the top, potentially leading to increased market share.

If your competitors are ranking above you, they are more likely to get the traffic and click throughs.

By ranking above your competitors, you will be in a position for success that will exponentially improve your sales.

Do not let your competitors dominate the market.

5. Increased Conversions

High visibility on Google can result in more targeted traffic, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Whether your goal is to generate leads, make sales, or drive other desired actions, being on the first page improves your chances of achieving these objectives.

With higher rankings comes more traffic and potential clients. Do not miss out on these opportunities with poor SEO strategies.

As mentioned above in the first point, ranking high on page 1 will increase visibility and click through rate. With increased traffic, you are now in a better position to convert these visitors into leads by providing them with the information that they are looking for.

6. Data and Analytics Insights

Ranking on the first page allows you to gather valuable data and insights through analytics.

You can track user behavior, analyze keyword performance, and adjust your strategies based on real-time data to continually improve your online presence and performance.

Keep in mind that achieving and maintaining a high ranking on Google requires ongoing effort and a solid SEO strategy.

Regularly updating your content, optimizing for relevant keywords, and staying informed about search engine algorithms are essential components of a successful online presence.

Data is crucial for any business to grow. The best way to gather data about users is by ranking on page 1 of the major search engines. With increased traffic, you will be able to see which keywords are brining in the traffic and which you can improve upon.

You will also be able to determine new ranking opportunities that you may have not considered. New keyword phrases may appear that were not in your target list.

This will allow your business to expand your reach by creating new content based on new keyword phrases resulting in higher rankings for more traffic.