Today I want to talk to you about an interesting local SEO checklist I found this weekend. Sure, there are lots of them out there, but this one struck me for a couple reasons, and hard enough that I felt compelled to write about it. What makes it so special? First, check it out for yourself.
You can find it at http://localseochecklist.org/
So the first reason that I like this checklist is that it actually hits on all of the beginner local search engine optimization steps. You have
- On Site Optimization
- Google+ Profile
- Schema
- Other Important Directories
- Citations
- Reviews
- Conversion
- Social
All of these categories are key to starting your local SEO efforts, and it further breaks down these topics into individual sub-checks like “Do you have keywords in your title?” and “Do you have at least five photos to optimize for the Google Local carousel?” If you went right down this list and checked all these boxes, you’d be in pretty good shape. Which brings me to another reason I like this checklist: you can actually check the boxes. It may seem silly, but having a tactile check is a big motivator. Every other local SEO checklist out there is just a static list, the addition of the actual check boxes and little blue arrows with links kicks this one up to the next level.
The second major reason I like this checklist is that it’s a prime example of the best kind of content marketing. If you look at the top, you’ll see a link to a company called Synup. Obviously this checklist was designed by them to get more traffic, and guess what? It’s absolutely working. They are providing a tool that is genuinely helpful, and the best part for them is that it’s genuinely helpful to exactly their target market. To put the cherry on top, they didn’t go crazy with branding. It’s a simple logo and link along the top of the page.
When you’re looking for some content marketing ideas for your business, this is a nice example that a competent team could replicate in under an hour. So think about how to apply it to your vertical and go crazy with it!