Top 6 Ranking Factors for 2018

Content keyword relevance & content based metrics – To rank well, your page content must show that it’s relevant to the search being done. This is about publishing original content that is accurate to your services or products using the key phrases and geo-targets that are searched by the people you want to find you.
Quality of online identity info – Lots of online directories publish information about your business, and they may have gotten it wrong. Claiming your business on map results and optimizing your business information across these directories is important to consumer confidence and to the search engines’ view of your businesses reputability.
Responsive design / mobile optimization – If you want your site to rank in mobile searches (from smart phones and tablets) you have to have a mobile optimized site. Responsive design is the new standard. Businesses without mobile sites in 2018 are well behind the curve.
Original and relevant content – Search engines don’t want to return results filled with the same-old-same-old content. Your site must be filled with original content that speaks to your offerings and the user’s search.
Page load speed – Google is comparing the load speed of sites and returning results for searchers heavily influenced by how fast a site loads. Even sites built just a cou威而鋼
ple years ago can probably realize load speed enhancements in 2018 by implementing new coding techniques.
Backlinks – Good quality backlinks are the single biggest ranking factor, but link building is an arduous process. It’s difficult to get other sites to link to your site and it can be extremely time consuming. However no other ranking factor has a bigger impact. The better the quality of the backlink, the higher its value to your ranking, leading many SEO leaders to concentrate on expensive but effective PR backlinks (links from high quality sites that must be gained through public relations and relationship building).

Are you ready to improve your website’s ranking? Contact the SEO, paid marketing, and web development professionals at MLT Group today at sales@mltgroup.com or 507.281.3490.

January 5, 2018August 20, 2020

Backlink Boot Camp: Why Your Site Needs Them to Climb to #1

Competition for the top spot on Google is fierce and your site could use every advantage. Your site is optimized for search engines, your online identity is consistent, you’re running pay per click ads, and you’re regularly getting positive reviews, so what’s left? Backlinks are an important part of any digital marketing strategy and can help your website make it to page 1.

What is a backlink?

A backlink is a link from another site to your site. Backlinks from quality sites improve your rankings on Google and other search engines, making it an essential part of any SEO strategy. It’s almost as if another site is vouching for yours. When it comes to backlinks, quality trumps quantity. 100 low quality backlinks won’t have the same impact as a few high-quality ones. In fact, too many backlinks can seem spammy and actually hurt your SEO!

What makes a good backlink?

There are a few factors that go into a quality backlink.

Relevance- Backlinks should be related to your site and your business. If you provide carpet cleaning, you won’t want backlinks from a trucking site.
Domain Authority- Domain authority measures how reputable a site is. Backlinks from sites with high authority will be stronger than those from a site with low authority. You can use tools like the MozBar to evaluate a site’s domain authority.

How to get Backlinks:

Look for Broken Links: If there are certain sites you’d like backlinks from, search it for broken links. For example, if you’re a doggie daycare and you find a broken link on a pet blogger’s site, you can contact them, let them know about the broken link, and suggest replacing it with a relevant link to your site.

Ask: If there’s a site you want a backlink from, simply ask. This works best if you’ve formed a relationship with the site’s owner. Perhaps they’re a prominent blogger in your field? Follow their content, engage, and work on building that relationship before you ask, and you’ll increase your chances of getting that backlink.

Track Mentions: Services such as Google Alerts will track mentions of your business across the internet. If those mentions aren’t linked back to your site, you can email the publisher and request a link. For example, if your business was mentioned in the local paper’s online publication, Google Alerts will notify you and you can email the writer to link the article back to your site.

Are you ready to get quality backlinks for your website? Contact the experts at MLT Group at sales@mltgroup.com or (507) 281-3490 today! We’ll develop a backlink strategy to get your website high-quality backlinks to help your site climb in rankings.

December 7, 2017August 20, 2020

5 Benefits of Adding Professional Video to Your Website

When a visitor comes to your business’ website, you have about 7 seconds to capture their attention. If they are faced with nothing but a huge block of text, your chances of keeping them on your site are slim, which is the opposite of what you’d want from a successful SEO strategy. But how can you capture a visitor’s attention quickly and keep it? Adding a professional video to your site may be the answer.

How Professional Videos Improve Your Website

Increase Engagement: Visuals are more engaging than plain text, meaning you can hook your audience right away with a video.
Easily Communicate Your Message: A video on your home page or your company blog that explains who you are, what you sell, and what you do is a quick way to introduce new visitors to your business, saving them from scrawling through text to try and find the answers themselves.
Make You Memorable: People retain information better when accompanied by images. This means visitors are more likely to think of you when it comes to making a purchasing decision.
Improve SEO: Having a video that is optimized for search engines will boost your site’s overall SEO. Make sure the title and tags incorporate keywords and geotargets relevant to your business. If you have multiple videos on your site, optimize them for different terms and geotargets for additional reach.
Give Your Business a Face: Did you realize that the human face is powerful? People are able to better empathize with human faces than other images. Videos are a great opportunity to give your business a face. Whether it be the founder or a spokesperson, utilizing people in your video will help your audience better identify with your business and see themselves using your product or service.

Including videos on your website is a great way to get your message out there and engage your audience. Ready to step up your website with a professional video? Contact the videography experts at MLT Group! Whether you need animation, drone footage, or a commercial, we’ve got you covered. For a free quote, contact us today at (507) 281-3490 or sales@mltgroup.com.

May 3, 2017

How to Respond to Online Reviews to Boost Your Business

Responding online reviews — Responding to reviews, both good and bad, can help business owners promote their business.

We’ve talked about the importance of online reviews before, but when you receive a review, what should you do? Should you respond or leave it alone? What if it’s negative? Responding to reviews requires tact and strategy. If done right, responding to reviews, even negative ones, can give your business a boost! Here, we’ll talk about the importance of responding to online reviews and how to respond to both positive and negative ones.

Why You Need to Respond to Online Reviews

It’s important to respond to both positive and negative online reviews. Responding gives your business a voice in the ongoing conversation consumers are having about your services. It also lets readers know that you’re engaged and care about what they have to say. Even if a reviewer was dissatisfied, a simple and polite response can make a world of difference. But how do you respond to reviews in a way that’s tactful and boosts your business?

How to Respond to Positive Reviews

Every business loves receiving a positive review, so responding is easy. But you can maximize this opportunity , connecting with your customers and promoting your business by remembering these key elements:

Remember your manners- Always thank a reviewer for taking the time to write about your business. It’s polite! “Thank you! We’re happy to hear you enjoyed your visit!”

Make it personal- Personalizing your response to each review shows customers that you read their reviews and care about what they have to say. To personalize a response, thank the reviewer by name and highlight specifics of their review. For example, if they appreciated your attention to detail, mention that thoroughness is something your business prides itself on. Doing this also allows you to re-emphasize the positive qualities of your business.

Invite them to come again- Inviting the reviewer to visit again shows that you care about their repeat business and makes them feel welcome. You can also use this as an opportunity to promote a special event or sale you have coming up. “Come see us again for our semi-annual sale starting on June 1^st!”

Use keywords- Reviews can show up in search results, so utilize industry keywords and your business’ name when responding to a positive review so more readers will see it.

How to Respond to Negative Reviews

Receiving negative reviews hurts. However, they are a great tool for growing as a business, improving the customer experience, and even mending relationships. As expected, responding to negative reviews can be tricky, but with these tips, you can make negative reviews work for your business.

Understand what happened- What made this customer unhappy? Speak with your employees and try to piece together what happened or what went wrong. This will give you a better idea of how to respond and what you can do to remedy the issue. Was there a misunderstanding? Did your business drop the ball? Or was the customer in the wrong? This is something you should already be doing to improve your business and your customers’ experiences.

Remain calm- When responding to a negative review, it’s important to maintain a level head. Sounding angry or defensive will only reflect poorly on your business. Remaining calm shows that you are a professional and can take criticism.

Apologize and sympathize- Even if the customer was in the wrong, always apologize for their poor experience. This shows humility and acknowledges the reviewer’s feelings. This will also show other readers that your business cares about its customers and their experiences. “We’re sorry to hear you were dissatisfied with our services. We always try to put our customer’s satisfaction first, but it seems we’ve missed the mark.”

Take the conversation offline- Include your contact information and offer to resolve the issue outside of the review forum. This gives you the opportunity to make things right with the disgruntled customer and shows them that you value their patronage. It also shows readers that your business cares about its customers and takes their experiences seriously. If you are able to resolve the issue, politely ask the disgruntled customer to update their review to reflect this.

Don’t use keywords or your business’ name- As mentioned earlier, reviews can appear in searches. Avoid using keywords or your business’ name when responding to negative reviews so these reviews won’t be seen by other customers.

Reviews are an important part of any business. With these tips, you can maximize every opportunity to connect with your customers. Do you want more reviews for your business? Contact MLT Group at 507.281.3490 or sales@mltgroup.com and ask about our review campaign services.

April 25, 2017

Understanding Offsite vs. Onsite SEO

You’ve probably heard of search engine optimization (SEO), and try to utilize it in order to build your business online. But did you know that there are two different types of SEO? It is important to understand the different types of SEO in order to determine the best strategies for growing your business online.

There is onsite SEO and offsite SEO. Utilizing the two different types of SEO is critical for developing and implementing a successful SEO strategy.

Properly utilizing both onsite and offsite SEO strategies will give your business an edge.

What is Onsite & Offsite SEO?

Onsite SEO: Onsite SEO refers to elements that are on your website. For example, your domain name, content, keywords, and geotargets are all elements of onsite SEO. Properly optimizing these elements helps web crawlers read your site and evaluate its relevance to certain search terms.

Offsite SEO: As the name suggests, offsite SEO involves enhancing elements outside your website. This includes your online identity across different directories, reviews, social media, and backlinks to your site from credible websites. These elements are just as important as onsite SEO and shouldn’t be forgotten.

Which Type of SEO is More Important?

Your business is made of up many moving parts, all working together for your benefit. Neglecting one element of your business can negatively affect the rest of it. Implementing an SEO strategy works much in the same way. In order to develop a successful SEO strategy, both onsite and offsite SEO need to be utilized. Focusing on only one or the other will be much less effective than implementing an all-encompassing SEO strategy.

MLT Group offers a variety of services to boost SEO, onsite and offsite, for your business, including search engine friendly website design, backlinking, blog services, online identity services, and many more. To develop or improve your SEO strategy, contact MLT Group’s friendly professionals at 507.281.3490 or sales@mltgroup.com.

February 17, 2017

How Online Reviews Are Affecting Your Local Ranking

We all know that positive online reviews are important to your business; they build your reputation and are highly influential to consumers. But did you know that good reviews can also influence your local search ranking on Google?

Here is an example of Local Three Pack results for carpet cleaning in Rochester, MN. You can see the online reviews prominently displayed.

As far as local searches are concerned, every business wants to appear in Google’s Local Three Pack which shows the top three local search results. The Three Pack takes up prime real estate on Google’s search results, appearing before organic results and just below the paid ads. Having your business appear in Google’s Local Three Pack means that potential customers are more likely to find your services and click through to your website.

However, the Local Three Pack results are determined by more than content, relativity, and keywords. In a continuing effort to provide users with the best possible results, Google’s algorithm is rewarding businesses that have positive reviews, by helping them rank in the Local Three Pack.

How to Appear in the Local Three Pack

So how can you help your business receive positive reviews and boost your chances of appearing in the Local Three Pack?

First, make sure you’ve claimed your business on Google My Business. This way you can start directing customers to write reviews on Google.

Second, you will need to develop a strategy for encouraging your customers to write reviews of your business. Here are 3 tips for promoting positive reviews.

Ask. It may sound obvious, but many businesses forget to ask their customers for reviews. Try including a prompt on receipts or in follow up emails.
Learn from your existing online reviews. Learning from your existing reviews, both positive and negative is important for your business and will help promote positive reviews. Capitalizing on your businesses’ strengths while addressing its weaknesses will help you to provide a better experience for your customers, leaving them more likely to leave a positive review.
Make leaving online reviews easy. Your customers aren’t likely to go out of their way to review you. Offering them a simple and direct option for leaving reviews will increase the likelihood that they will participate. Include direct links to your review profiles in emails, newsletters, and other communications to your customers.

There’s no time to lose! The experts at MLT Group can help set up and optimize your Google My Business profile and help you promote positive reviews for your business. For more information, please contact one of our professionals at 507.281.3490 or sales@mltgroup.com.

March 23, 2016

3 Major Changes to Google Local Search Display Explained

In addition to its ubiquity, one of the hallmarks of Google is the near constant modifications to search algorithms and results displays. True to form, Google rolled out several new changes to the local search display in recent months in the name of a better experience for users.

Here is a breakdown of three of the biggest changes in the way search results are displayed:

1. More Ad Space Among Search Results

The typical search results page (SERP) has a hierarchical structure of ads, local map listings, and then organic search results. With the latest changes, there is an increase in ad space at the top and along the right side of the SERP, which pushes the map and organic results closer and closer to the edge of the fold. While this isn’t as worrisome on a large desktop screen, these ads take up most of the screen-space on a smartphone and organic results are firmly below the fold.

2. Fewer Local Map Listings

In a layout feature nicknamed “Snack Pack”, only three results identified on and listed beneath a large map. Previously, the top seven local results were shown on the map, making those first few spots even more valuable virtual real estate.

3. New Ad Format for Local Home Services

Instead of the usual banner ads, the new local home services ads tag local businesses as “qualified” or “trusted professionals” and place their listings top and center on the SERPs. Currently this format is only available for select industries in San Francisco, CA but if the beta-testing is successful, Google will probably expand the format to more areas and business categories. Potential customers could read this section as a vote of confidence, which could be a real plus for local businesses in the home service industry.

This latest round of revisions to Google’s search results pages heighten the field of competition and places greater emphasis on paid advertising. While more ad space (i.e. revenue) is great for Google, unfortunately it’s tougher for small businesses who rely on organic search engine optimization to reach potential customers.

Keeping up with organic SEO is still important, since the ranking factors are yet unchanged and the basic principles of SEO will continue to benefit your site in the long term. Additionally, savvy internet users typically choose organic results for a sense of authenticity rather than participating in obvious ads.

However, if your business operates in tough markets or highly competitive industries, it may time to consider starting a pay per click campaign (PPC) or another form of online advertising to cut through the crowd. Contact us at sales@mltgroup.com or 507-281-3490 to discuss your best options for SEO and digital marketing strategies.

December 28, 2015

5 SEO Trends to Watch in 2016

The field of search engine optimization (SEO) is always changing, and the best practices used even just a few years ago are not necessarily relevant in today’s SEO strategies. Even as the technological landscape evolves, so must businesses adapt to the developments in SEO and digital marketing. Here are 5 current SEO trends that experts predict will become even more important in 2016.

1. Quality Content Reigns Supreme

The phrase “content is king” has been tossed around for nearly two decades, but that in recent years that mantra has absorbed an important qualifier: the idea of “quality”. Quality content in SEO terms means longer texts that go in depth about a topic, rather short pages that only scratch the surface. This kind of “thick” content anticipates users’ questions and how they will use that information to guide their next steps, whether more research or a purchasing decision. Keywords are still an important part of crafting good SEO content, but they should occur quite naturally and often as you delve into the given topic.

2. Social Media Boosts Visibility

Data shows that having a robust social media presence and numerous social signals correlates to having higher organic traffic and ranking better. Despite Google’s avowal that social media is not a factor in their ranking algorithms, social media posts are beginning to show up among some search results, and this trend would indicate that social media will continue to play a role your SEO strategies for 2016.

3. Mobile Searches Outpace Desktop Use

Earlier this year, Google confirmed that more searches are performed on mobile devices than on desktop computers, and the “Mobilegeddon” algorithm update in April 2015 eliminated the possibility that mobile is a passing fad. This means that if you aren’t taking mobile devices into account, your SEO optimization is only half-finished and you are losing out on customers.

4. Local SEO Becomes More Influential

Though online retailers warrant a watchful eye, the reality is that the average consumer still relies on local businesses in their day-to-day life for restaurants, auto repair, home cleaning services and many other industries. Additionally, as wearable technology becomes more mainstream and complements mobile devices, geographic-based searches and customer reviews will become increasingly influential in a user’s decision to visit your establishment or employ your services.

5. Long-tail Keywords Increase in Value

Search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable of processing long strings of words in search queries to help users find exactly what they are looking for. Often these “long-tail” search terms arise when people use natural language in their searches, a method that is not only more convenient for users but provides an enormous opportunity to capture the top ranking spots in a niche market. Few people target long-tail keywords, so you could significantly increase your organic search results if you emphasize your SEO efforts where the competition is sparse.

At MLT Group, we can help you develop a comprehensive optimization strategy based on industry best-practices. Contact us today at sales@mltgroup.com or call 507-281-3490, and position your business for SEO success in 2016!

April 1, 2015

Managing Link Building by Effectively Managing Change

With evolving search algorithms and digital environments, SEOs and digital marketing companies are required to adjust their methods based on the change being presented. Change management tells the digital marketing industry that we cannot stay in the past; we must adapt to the changing digital world. Change management is incredibly applicable when concerning link building and other methods commonly becoming dubbed as “dead” or “black hat” SEO strategies. Link building, a common practice among SEO, is not dead – it’s evolving.

Environment: What changed?
Following the Google Penguin algorithm update, link building practices changed significantly. In the past two years, both Google and SEOs have released statements about the changes – the decline of paid directories, articles, authorship, and guest blogging. Although these strategies have definitely declined in algorithm importance, we need to be careful to forfeit old strategies abruptly without a replacement solution.

Adhering to the practice of change management, begin change with a strategy. Formulate a strategy by means of brainstorming and questioning: How will we replace old methods? What can we learn? What needs to stay and what needs to go? Do we have data to support these decisions? Once a strategy for change has been formulated, put a plan in place to innovate your strategies based on data, empirical research, and the knowledge that a new practice must be implemented to maintain the power of links on your website.

Industry: How do we change?
Once a strategy is in place and you’ve come up with a plan for change, you can begin to implement your plan towards digital innovation and change. Again, you must have a strategy and plan in place, or you may risk your rankings, your SEO’s morale, and your understanding of the change at hand. Changes that have been common in the recent year have revolved around the parallel between link building and PR. Many digital specialists say link building is digital PR. Rather than paying for links, using reciprocal links, and guest blogging, reach out to real companies, agencies, and sources on the web and begin to build REAL relationships. Along with building relationships, keep pushing out great content. And by great content, we mean GREAT content – no spammy advertising articles, no duplicated content, but real stories that will grab the attention of your customers and will hold the potential to be linkable, sharable, and hopefully viral content.

Change is necessary. Though it is not pleasant in digital marketing, if the integrity of the web is to be maintained, digital strategies must continue evolving to uphold the quality of the way we search and the way we find great content. Now is the time to adapt and adjust – set a plan for change and innovate your link building practices to yield the best results possible!

March 13, 2015June 30, 2023

Mobile-Friendly Websites are No Longer Optional

Google shook up the SEO world last month when it announced that “mobile-friendliness” will soon be added as a ranking factor in its mobile search algorithm. The change will be implemented worldwide on April 21, at which point websites with search-engine-friendly mobile versions will have a significant leg up on their search competition.

Like all Google search algorithm changes, the new ranking factor is intended to improve the search experience for users. Recent studies estimate that about half of all Google searches come from smartphones, and those searches account for nearly 40% of total website traffic across all industries. Those numbers are expected to continue climbing, which makes it easy to see why Google put an emphasis on rewarding high-quality mobile sites.

So what does this all mean for you and your website? Simply put, your mobile search visibility, rankings, and traffic will decrease starting April 21 if your site is not mobile friendly. You don’t want that to happen, so here’s what you need to do:

1. Visit 犀利士
ly/?utm_source=wmc-blog&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=mobile-friendly”>Google’s mobile-friendly site checker and enter your homepage URL*. If your site passes, then you’re good to go!

*It’s important to note that this tool only checks the page entered. If your homepage passes the mobile-friendly test, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your whole website is mobile-friendly. To determine if your site is 100% mobile-friendly, you’ll have to check each individual page.

2. If your site fails, then you either have no mobile website or a poorly-designed mobile website.

No mobile website: If you don’t have a mobile version of your website, then the desktop version appears when accessed on a mobile device. For the most part, desktop websites are far too complex and crowded to be considered mobile-friendly by Google.

Poorly-designed mobile website: Just because there’s a mobile version of your website doesn’t mean Google will consider it mobile-friendly. To meet Google’s mobile design standards, be sure that your site…

doesn’t use software unavailable on mobile devices.
includes enough space between links for easy clicking.
has text that’s readable without zooming.
doesn’t require horizontal scrolling.

To fix these issues yourself, consult Google’s Mobile Guide for extensive information regarding mobile design, development, and usability.

3. If you don’t have in-house web development capabilities, then you’ll need to work with an outside web developer/designer. The company or professional that built your site can probably build you a mobile site as well, although you should do some research to make sure they know what they’re doing.

The clock is ticking – April 21 will be here sooner than you think! Start your site’s mobile-friendly conversion today or you’ll risk losing website visitors and potential customers.

At MLT Group, we design, build, and optimize websites for a wide variety of clients. Our responsive websites automatically adjust to be viewed on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Google loves our websites because they’re well-designed, user-friendly, and compatible with all browsers and devices.