Carpet Cleaning Websites

Gary Illyes, a Google Representative announced that the next Penguin update is in the making and going to be headed our way.

The update is the Real-Time Penguin, which will be an algorithm that discovers links that have been removed or disavowed immediately. So, sites that are trying to recover from a penalty will be affected quickly. However, this also means if you get a Penguin penalty, guess what, you’re going to know about it immediately.

How Does This Affect You?

If you’ve been stuck on Page Two and we’ve done the Penalty Audit and nothing much has happened this could be your moment. Google may see Links have been disavowed and you may see an increase in Ranking at a fast rate.

If, let’s say you have hired multiple SEO companies and Links haven’t been done legitimately then you may see a huge drop in rankings.

When Will This Happen?

Of course, we can’t predict when this update is going to happen but sources have told us that it could possibly take place in the next upcoming weeks.

Should You Be Worried?

If you’re an SEO Client with Big West Marketing don’t lose sleep over this. We’ve been doing things legitimately and we strongly feel that sites that we’ve done the penalty audit on will see a light at the end of the tunnel and they’ll be happy with the results. As long as you are not working with another company that is building spammy links and doing other things against Googles Guidelines then you’ll be fine.

Anchor Text: The Visible Text containing a Link. The text should be relevant to the page you are linking to.

Back Links: A Link directed to a site from another site. Having Links coming from High Authority sites will give a website more Authority thus helping it rank higher.

Citations: Is any mention of your Business on the web, so for instance when you are in Directories that is a mention of your Business in the internet world.

META Data: The title of a page. This informs search engines of who you are, what you do, and where you are.

META Description: A brief description of what is the content on the web page the user is on. So, for example when you do a Search on Google it is under the Web Site’s Title.

 

Directories: Local Listings like Yellow Pages, Facebook, etc. These Listings will list your Business Name, Address, Phone Number, and a Link to your Web Site.

SERP: Search Engine Results Page

Algorithm: The program used by all Search Engines to crawl sites and decipher where they belong in the search world.

Analytics: Google has the best program for analyzing and getting any data you need to be able to view your websites action. For A Free Video On How to Set This Up Click On the Following Link: Click here

Authority: The amount of trust a site has. The higher the Page Authority gives a site a better chance of Ranking well.

Robots, Spiders, Crawlers, Oh My! : These “bots” find new websites and pages added to sites and then they Index them to their search engines.

Content: Text and words that add value to your website. This gives users a better experience while visiting your website.

Duplicate Content: Text that has been copied and pasted onto another website. After the last Google Update this was one thing they penalized for. It’s always in your best interest to just use original content to avoid any penalties.

Conversion: Your website essentially gets you jobs and money. Whether it’s clicks or phone calls. *At times websites Rank high but are not receiving phone calls. This is when you should reevaluate your site and find what’s not working. Here’s A Free Cheat Sheet if you’re having this Issue.

Conversion Rate: The percentage of users that call, e-mail, and click.

Landing Page: The page that a user goes to when they click on a Link on a search engine results page.

Link Building: Having external pages linking to a page on your site. Over time as these Links build up and increase it will give your website more Trust and Authority which will in return increase your Rankings.

Keyword Stuffing: Basically, you add as many keywords as possible to improve your Rankings. When Google rolled out the Penguin update site became penalized for this because it looked Spammy.

Over Optimization: SEO gone overboard. Doing too much of everything and giving a user a poor experience because things on the site look spammy, content is poor, and everything is done for ranking purposes only. Search Engines what websites to offer something of quality to a user rather than a site geared only towards Ranking #1.

Organic Search Results: Results from a search that is not an Ad and is not in Google My Business (MAPS).

Algorithm? Say What?  When Ranking Became Harder . . .

In the beginning it was simpler to Rank a site because you could just put in some code on sites using the meta keywords and it usually ranked. The algorithm in the past didn’t change much but not updates and changes happen more frequently.

In 2010 it all started with “Caffeine” and this update basically makes changes in Rankings happen daily. Google does 600 or more changes to its algorithm a year.

Panda Updates

The first Panda Update was in 2011 and its focus was to show high-quality sites higher in the results. The Panda Updates target on site issues such as duplicate content, does the content offer value, keyword variations, are there a lot of ads, and does the site feel spammy? Google now will refresh their Panda algorithm monthly. They do not announce this any longer. Some updates are minor and some like Panda 4.0 are major and cause significant changes across the web.

Penguin Updates

The first roll out of the Penguin algorithm was in 2012 and the whole idea of this was to target those who cheated with unnatural backlinks. For instance, let’s say you bought a ton of links from some guy in the Philippines and they were all linking to your site in Ohio then Google said, “ok these links mean nothing and are fake” and your site dropped.

What Google wants is a site with a high authority with a lot of trust to link to your site. And to go further into this they also want that site to be talking about something close to your industry. For instance, they don’t want a site all about wrestling adding a link suddenly about a carpet cleaning company.

Google also wants to see a variety of Anchor Text. This tells Google what you are and where you belong in the Internet world.

After the last Penguin Update things were hit hard with this. A lot of companies used tactics like the disavow tool and removed the spammy links. This process could take a site 6 months to recover. Google is rolling out a new update that would make things like these much faster.

Hummingbird

Basically Hummingbird was created to be more effective on finding out what a user wants. So, when you say into your phone, “Best Carpet Cleaning Company in Missoula Montana” the search engines gets that you are searching for a carpet cleaner. Basically, the best practice to get in good with this is content. Having content on your site and having Reviews across the Internet help search engines to pull from that and know where to place you and if you fit what they’re asking.

If you can provide content to users that answer users questions then you’re staying on top of this.

Bottom Line:

The more you try to cheat the system the more risk you are taking. Black Hat SEO is not the way to go. Being honest and legit will always make you stay ahead of your competition.

This short video follows the Carpet Cleaning & Restoration Cheat Sheet: https://carpetcleaningwebsites.net/cheat-sheet/
Cheat Sheet

We go step-by-step on all improvements made to increase both SEO rankings and website conversions. Enjoy!

Colors are one of the most important things to think of when creating a logo and a website. There was a study done called Impact Of Color In Marketing and they discovered that 90% of snap judgments are made due to color alone. When consumers view colors they develop a thought about that businesses personality and make a judgment of whom they are. There are key questions you should think of as a business before choosing colors.

Who is my main consumer that we’re targeting?

Men? Women? Rich? Middle Class?

What do I want to represent? And how does that appeal to whom I am targeting?

90 seconds is the amount of time people take to make a subconscious judgment about your service

According to studies done Blue is the most Favorite color for Men and Women.  Below is a image showing what Men and Women like and don’t like.Most Online Visitors will only spend 15 Seconds On A Website

One very popular topic is the best colors to get conversion rates out of a website. Many consumers prefer websites to have similar hues of color and like highly contrasting accent colors to go with. So, for instance a Red call-to-action button to create an emphasis on customers clicking on something helps in getting someone to fill out an online estimate form or in calling you.

 

Fun stat: 64% of online consumers did not purchase anything because the website was too slow!

 

Look over the Sites Below & Just Think About How They Make You Feel by Looking at Color alone:

Example Of Being Bold:  http://www.thesteampatrol.com/

Example of Building Trust:  https://sanibrightcarpetcleaning.com/

Example of Showing Responsibility:  http://completeinteriorscarpetcleaning.com/

Example Of Safety:  http://www.carpetcleaningocpros.com/

What about Stanley Steemer? They use oranges and yellows and they are the biggest carpet cleaning company in the country so shouldn’t I copy them?

No, be careful about copying the BIG BRANDS. Stanley Steemer has over 70+ years of branding behind them. As a small operation you want to separate yourselves from the franchises. Many high quality clients want the personal attention from the small guys and will pay more for the personal attention.

Different Color Schemes:

Monochromatic: Using a single color but in different shades. This is usually very pleasing to the eye.

Complimentary: Using high contrast of color – you basically select colors that are directly the opposite of each other on the color wheel.

60-30-10 Rule

Jared Christopherson wrote an article on the 60-30-10 Rule. Basically what you do is select three different colors and use them in a ratio of 60%, 30%, and 10%. You really don’t want let’s say ten buttons that are red on your site because then they’re competing with each other. One red button obviously stands out better than five, right?

Don’t forget about White and how powerful that color can be. It’s simple and is typically forgotten because it’s a background color to a lot of sites. If you think of sites like Google and Facebook, start thinking of the simplicity of those site but they work. White tends to give you a feeling of space and breathability.

 

A lot of people create a website and blame others for not getting phone calls. If you are not getting a conversion rate from your website maybe you should think of changing some colors. There is never a right and wrong answer to colors and if something isn’t working then maybe its time to re-evaluate your site and what you’re trying to accomplish. Spy on competitors and if something is working for them why not use that to your advantage as well. Don’t just leave the color choice up to your web designer; be proactive on choosing the right colors for the market you are targeting.

Some Of My Sources On Info:

https://blog.kissmetrics.com/color-psychology/

http://www.helpscout.net/blog/psychology-of-color/

http://mashable.com/2013/06/09/color-schemes-business/#R8Eity1C6gkY

Citations are a key role in Ranking on all Search Engines. A Citation is basically a listing that helps endorse your business as being apart of your community. For an example, when you List your business on Yelp, Facebook, and Manta that’s a Citation. Any Listing where you enter your Business Name, Address, Phone Number, and Website Link is a Citation. Citations are often free and the more you do the more you establish trust with Google.

Google has actual Guidelines to how you represent your business. All search engines are hammering down more and more on how your information is presented because search engines are growing tired of spam and false listings.   Major search engines are also penalizing companies for duplicate listings because they don’t know which listing to trust and it sends up a red flag.

The Google Local Business Information Quality Guidelines

Search engines basically find out about your business by links pointing to your websites (they also track the site those Links are coming from) and by tracking your citations, and they use those methods to determine where to Rank your site.

It’s extremely important that all your information on these citations is the same. If these search engines see different phone numbers, addresses, and even the business name written differently everywhere it’s going to confuse Google and other search engines as well. The best rule of thumb is to match all Directory Listings to your Google Business Page.

Enrich Your Listings

Technology has changed things immensely. The majority of people use smart phones and search engines basically want their users to have a more engaging experience. What does this mean you ask? All the Major Search Engines want to see your Listings filled with photos, reviews, and all information possible. Currently there is no proof that photos and reviews increase your Rankings, however, with the new iPhone coming out and other indicators we believe this will eventually be a factor in where you are listed. Obviously, for users to have a more engaging experience Directories are going to want Listings that are filled with photos, reviews, and content ranking above boring Listings that may just have a name, address, and phone number. Enriching your listings has become a growing requirement that will help weed out the spam and keep legitimate businesses in play.

The Future

I’ve read several articles this year on the fact that Mobile Searches are going to surpass Desk Top searches next year. These giant companies want to predict what you want. That’s what Google Now, Siri, and Cortana are attempting to do every time you ask your phone for help in finding something. Apple will for sure be challenging Google in the future for being the number one go to. The more they develop phone apps and programs that gain knowledge about you and your behavior the harder it will be to cheat the system. The future of SEO is for sure a scary one especially for companies like us. These programs on your phone look at several things to help them determine what you want and what’s best for you. Google Now, Siri, and Cortana look at e-mails, search history, browsing history, your calendar, your location, and App history to help them predict exactly what you want and what suits you best. Scary, huh? The future is moving quickly and Apple and other companies’ goals are simple, they want their computers to know what you’re searching for before you even think it.

Google filed suit on Wednesday on a search engine optimization firm for making robocalls to businesses asking for people to update their Google listing or they’ll be deleted from Google. The suit is filed against Local Lighthouse Corp whose sales agents make consistent phone calls to companies saying they worked for Google and if you actually talked with them past the recording the company continued to want a $100 fee to fix Google Listings.   Even if you pressed one to get off the Do Not Call List they still called businesses. The company also claimed that your Listings would show up multiple times on the front page. This company also has five other civil suits pending for violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

Google also created a page where you can report abusive callers trying to pose as them. Report Calls Here

I know I have heard a lot of our Clients asking if Google is really calling them. The phone call basically starts as a recording that wants you to press a button in order to speak with an agent and they claim that your Google My Business Listing needs to be updated or that you should be performing better in Google AdWords. It’s believe the company was scamming money out of people and attempting to get login information to get peoples listings or to spam listings.

If Google does call you to verify a business listings or because of AdWords or any other product Google will always have live representatives. The best thing to do if you receive a phone call from an automated robocall is to just hang up. DO NOT press any buttons because when you do that they have your phone number and you’ll just keep getting more illegal calls.

Okay, so I usually write about some pressing matter in the SEO World but this time I thought it would be fun to write about a new feature coming to Facebook!

Mark Zuckerberg announced they are testing new features on Facebook and revealed they may add a “Dislike” Button. This is something people have been wanting for years. He said the Dislike Button would be more for showing empathy towards things like natural disasters or someone dying. He never said when this feature would be revealed so some day you could log into Facebook and suddenly it’s there. A Dislike Button could really change the way we use Facebook personally and in the sense of running Ads. It’s still somewhat unclear on how this Button will be used in that sense. I think it’s an awesome feature to be added and it sounds that Facebook is really working on this to work in a way that won’t promote hate or anger. It’s truly amazing how something so simple can be so complicated.

How will this impact your Business? It’s scary to think you could post something about your Business and someone decides to Dislike it. This feature may end up just being in your Personal Feed. Currently someone can Like and stand by a Business or if they don’t like them they have no real way to voice an opinion, however when the Dislike Button appears they will have a chance to not approve of someone or something. If you post or say something wrong you may feel a little embarrassed if you start getting a bunch of Dislikes. I guess it will make people a little more cautious of what they post on their Business Page if this option appears there.

Whether you like Facebook or not Mark Zuckerberg is being said to be one of the most influential business owners who literally changed the world with Facebook. And that’s why the simple Dislike Button is going to change our behavior on this Social Media giant.

I just wanted to write a quick something about a Scam that goes around on a regular basis. So, if you receive this e-mail I just want you to have a heads up on it and know to ignore it and delete it.

If you receive an E-mail from SEO Service/Domain Registration Company it’s a company saying you need to be paid to submit your Domain to the search engines. It usually says it’s an Expiration Notice to get your attention and make you believe you have had to pay for this in the past. You do not have to submit your Domain to search engines they will crawl it and that is always FREE.

Example Of Scam Letter:

 

They are basically trying to get a quick $64 out of you. The only thing you should be paying for with your Domain is to whomever you bought if from like Go Daddy. And they will just automatically deduct your account with whatever Credit Card you had given them when you purchased your Domain. Above is a sample of the E-Mail people get from these Scammers. These Scammers may have a U.S. Address but they are usually in China or Nigeria.

Just be aware of any Scams and giving out your Credit Card. You can always E-Mail me when you have questions or concerns about an e-mail you receive or a call as well. What we like to say is if a company is calling you and trying to sell or get money from you they are usually not trustworthy and are trying to scam or rip you off. I know it’s sad that people out there do this but there are a lot of people that make their living off of scamming nice folks.

Step 1: Go here: https://mapsconnect.apple.com/

Step 2: Either sign in with your Apple ID or create a new one using the provided link

Step 3: Do a search for your business

Step 4: If it exists claim it and update the information. If it does not then register it with correct info

Step 5: Verify. It could take up to a week for Apple to respond by email to confirm your business has been verified.