OMG, the 2019 SEO Flatrate 'Christmas Tree Bonanza' is back!
It's Christmas and boy did it come round fast this year and we have been chased yet again for our Christmas offers and as in every year before this one, we will of course be running the SEO Flatrate Christmas Tree Bonanza!
Last year was again a successful Christmas tree bonanza, with over 90 applicants looking to win the main prize and to cash in on a free £170 SEO Flatrate Search Engine Optimisation service for their online business. Last years prize was won by the Bournemouth based Drone Service Company "Drone Services Dorset".
For all those who have never heard of the SEO Flatrate Christmas Tree Bonanza, it is now time for you to pull your socks up and pay attention :-).
If you dont own your own business maybe you know of someone with an online business who is desperately looking to get noticed on the Search Engines this will make a fantastic Christmas present!
So what is The SEO Flatrate Christmas Tree Bonanza you ask?
Well, it is all a bit of fun and games to be honest, we have all heard of "Where's Wally" right? Well instead of hunting down Wally, this time you are hunting for the SEO Flatrate Christmas tree.
So where have we hidden the Christmas tree and can anyone take part??
Well, this year as every other year, we have taken the time to hide an SEO Flatrate "Christmas tree" somewhere on our website! We won't tell you where it is, then that would be cheating right!
The winner can be a person or a company, all you need to do is to tell us exactly where the Christmas tree is hidden on our website. The winner takes it all here at the Christmas Tree Bonanza and we will put all applicants in to a hat and pick one lucky winner, the results will be announced on our social media platforms in January 2020!!
Anyone can take part, you don't need to be a customer the rules are simple and very rewarding for anyone who needs Search Engine Optimisation for their website, blog or video.
What is SEO?
Please take a look at some of our other blogs or simply click here to find out more about how SEO can help you grow your business and drive more potential customers to your website.
How do I notify you when I have found the SEO Flatrate Christmas Tree?
Simply contact us, letting us know who you are and where the Christmas tree is hidden, we will reply in the New Year and let you know that we have received your suggestion.
The winner will be announced on our social media accounts in the week of 6th of January 2020.
So without further delay, let the 2019 SEO Flatrate Christmas Tree Bonanza games begin!
Updated: Oct 28, 2022
There are four main pillars that underpin any online marketing strategy, these four pillars are:
Trusted location info, a diverse and quality link building strategy, a website which is locally focused and supplies relevant and unique content and finally reliable and trustworthy reviews. If you are looking to provide trusted information about your business location details, then you should be considering making use of local citations.
However, when using citations ensure that you concentrate specifically on accuracy across the high ranking and trusted citation sites, then your Google listing will be affected if your details including your business name, phone number, mail address and office location are not identical across all of them. Every business needs citation, because they offer a trusted and credible source of information about those businesses listed upon them and tend to rank well in the search engines.
Factors that influence local search results based on a Moz survey:
If a business combines citation signals with Google My Business (GMB) then it could make up to 32% of the finder ranking factors or local pack pie chart according to a Moz survey. These citations also have a huge impact on factors associated with localised organic ranking, filling around 15% of the complete pie chart.
It is widely considered that citations and Google my business (GMB) results if used consistently and published correctly using the correct name, phone number and address details can have a significant impact on a business’s local rankings and as a result could positively influence the rankings associated with local organic searches too.
Further benefits of citations:
Apart from increasing the local pack rankings as well as localised organic results, a citation can also help to achieve the following for any businesses that uses them:
1. Expands your footprint across the web:
With proper use of citation you can increase the number of your local customers as well as your online clients. This includes third-party sites such as Bing, Apple Maps, Foursquare, Yelp, MapQuest etc. and even niche sites.
2. Expands footprint on the organic results pages of Google:
Listings and websites containing citations are mostly ranked closer to the top search results of Google organically for brand searches as well as keyword searches. This is because search engines trust such websites as well as their published content to be of high relevance, ensuring you have a proper citation on such websites as well as on your Google my business account will help to get your business noticed.
3. Backlinks, both “do-follow” and “no-follow”: Most of the citation websites provide backlinks as part of their service offering. Most of these links are of type no-follow, but sometimes these links might contain do-follow links too, especially the paid listings.
4. Third party reviews:
Most websites that are used for citation purposes are also review websites. These websites provide valuable feedback on niche sites and also third-party generic websites. Such review sites have a considerable impact on local rankings for websites that use them as well as impacting the general search term rankings too.
5. Vertical and town specific directories:
Apart from data aggregators, the use of GMB and top tier citation websites is considered to play an important role in establishing an online presence for any website owner
The benefits of citation are so substantial, that they are considered to be one of the first and most important stages in building any online presence for a local business, get it right and the benefits are plentiful, however if you should get it wrong your website could be penalised for simple errors including duplication & content discrepancies.
Getting it right the first time is crucial, so no matter if you are a startup or a well-established online business, if you have little or no experience with online marketing we would always recommend seeking the advice of an award winning SEO company just like SEO Flatrate who specialise in helping small to medium sized businesses across the UK to raise their profile on the web.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) involves a wide range of activities including link building, forum and article posting, blog posting, image optimisation, website responsiveness, website load speeds, content management, meta descriptions, title tags, site headings and the use of keywords on web pages etc.
Now improving the content of your website and adding meta tags requires you to have a basic knowledge of keywords and how to use them effectively, then these can be added to your website content as part of your on-page SEO. Keywords play a very important role and should be considered carefully before adding content, so you could consider the use of keywords to be the foundation of any SEO strategy.
Importance of keywords for SEO explained:
Keywords are important for SEO because they reflect the search terms used that your targeted audience may be using to find your products and/or services. Few people would know of your business, domain name or the products and/or services you are providing if it was not for the use of search terms. Search terms allow people to find your website based on the search results without having to have heard of you before.
Establishing a link between those searching and those that are selling is vital for the growth of the internet but how do businesses get found exactly?
The answer to this is keywords. Have you ever used a search engine such as Google? Then you might be aware that to find relevant pages for your needs you need to enter a search term. For example, if you are looking for SEO companies in Poole then you may type ‘Best SEO company in Poole’ into the search engine.
Search terms like this, used whilst searching for a product or service on the search engines are otherwise referred to as keywords. Search engines match these terms with relevant content found on websites and the content they consider to be most relevant to the search is displayed in the search results, otherwise known as SERPs or search engine rank position. The keywords on your web page and the relevance of the content within it determines your SERP and for that reason it should be considered carefully as part of your marketing strategy.
Keyword research:
As keywords are very important, research is paramount. If you have little or no experience in using keyword research services, then you may end up targeting the wrong keywords and missing out on delivering traffic to your website.
Although the thought of keyword research may seem quite daunting to most, it is not such a complicated thing to do if you have a clear understanding of what it is you are trying to achieve. It will include researching and finding specific search phrases and/or words that you consider your audience will be using, in order to search for information related to your products and services. You must also pay attention to the relative local and global search volumes and keyword competition. Keyword research is not a single step process and involves a series of activities that are linked together. It is important to research the correct keywords for your business niche in order to bring your website to the forefront of search results on Google and the other major search engines such as Bing and Yahoo.
