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Imagine Google Is your Grade-School Teacher: How To Get An SEO A Plus

Last Updated: July 30, 2025

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Imagine Google as a grade-school teacher. This teacher has a detailed list of things you need to do to get the best marks—and a list of things you absolutely shouldn’t do. Your goal? Be the valedictorian, the top of the class, the business that ranks first when customers search for your services.

Google checks your “report card” based on what you do right and what mistakes you avoid. Here’s a simple guide to help you get straight A’s.

Reviews: Show You’re Trusted and Reliable

Do:

  • Get lots of positive reviews. Reviews help build trust and social proof, which Google values. Check out Google’s guide on getting more reviews for best practices.
  • Encourage customers to mention specific services and locations naturally in their reviews.
  • Reply to reviews thoughtfully, calmly, and with relevant keywords to reinforce your services.
  • Ask customers to upload photos with their reviews to boost engagement.
  • Monitor your reviews regularly and respond professionally to negative feedback.

Do Not:

  • Post fake reviews or testimonials—Google’s policies on fake reviews are strict and violations can lead to penalties.
  • Ignore or delete negative reviews without responding professionally.

Website: Make Your Site a Star Student

Do:

  • Have a great, mobile-friendly website that loads quickly. Google prioritizes mobile-first sites—see their mobile-first indexing guide.
  • Use one clear topic per page with separate pages for each service or location.
  • Create a page for every service you provide.
  • Follow ADA accessibility best practices, like proper color contrast and readable fonts. Google’s Page Experience update covers accessibility as part of ranking.
  • Use structured data (schema markup) to help Google understand your business better; learn more from Google’s structured data guide.
  • Keep your website secure with HTTPS as recommended by Google Safe Browsing.
  • Regularly update your website content to keep it fresh and relevant. Google emphasizes creating helpful content.
  • Optimize your Google Business Profile photos with clear, high-quality images.
  • Make your website easy to navigate with clear menus and calls to action.
  • Optimize for voice search by including natural language phrases.
  • Write unique meta titles and descriptions for each page; avoid duplication as recommended in Google’s SEO Starter Guide.

Do Not:

  • Combine all your services into one big list on a single page.
  • Stuff keywords unnaturally into URLs, Google Business Profile, footers, or content.
  • Use duplicate meta titles or descriptions across pages.
  • Use invisible text such as white text on white background—Google warns against cloaking and sneaky redirects.
  • Use intrusive pop-ups that block content, especially on mobile. See Google’s policy on intrusive interstitials.
  • Ignore user experience signals such as high bounce rates or poor navigation.
  • Create multiple pages targeting the same keywords, which causes keyword cannibalization.

Off-Page SEO: Build Your Reputation Beyond Your Website

Do:

  • Build quality backlinks from reputable, relevant websites. Follow Google’s guidelines on link schemes.
  • Ensure your business info (name, address, phone number) is consistent across all online listings, as emphasized in Google’s guidelines.
  • Keep your Google Business Profile and other directories up to date with accurate information.

Do Not:

  • Get backlinks from link farms, paid links, or irrelevant directories (for example, a plumber listed in a lawyer directory).
  • Use a business name that someone else nearby (within about 200 miles) is already using, as this can confuse customers and Google.
  • Neglect your local citations on platforms like Yelp and Angie’s List.

Wrapping It Up: Getting That A+ on Your SEO Report Card

Think of SEO as your schoolwork and Google as the strict but fair teacher. Follow the “do” list to show you’re responsible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. Avoid the “do not” list so you don’t get dinged for bad behavior.

By focusing on positive reviews, clear and focused website pages, good backlink practices, and keeping everything user-friendly and accessible, you’ll impress your teacher (Google) and stand out to customers.

Want help getting top marks and ranking above your competitors? We’re here to guide you through every assignment.

The 3 Analogies That Explain How Google Ranks You

Last Updated: July 30, 2025

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You have certainly already seen a lot of conflicting advice about SEO online. It can be hard to know what really matters and what is just noise.

This article is here to cut through all that confusion and give you straightforward, easy-to-understand explanations of the main factors that help your business show up higher on Google. Using simple analogies, you will learn what actions will actually make a difference and get you more local customers.

1. The Popularity Contest: Backlinks Are Your Votes

Imagine Google’s search results as a high school popularity contest, like voting for prom king and queen. The more votes you get, the better your chance to win.

In SEO terms, these votes come in the form of backlinks (links from other websites to yours.) Each backlink is like a vote of confidence from another site saying, “This business is legit and trustworthy.” The more quality backlinks you have, the more likely you are to rank at the top.

That’s why building backlinks through reputable directories and local partnerships is crucial. Just be sure to follow Google’s guidelines on link schemes to avoid penalties. Getting good backlinks is your path to winning the SEO prom crown.

2. The Mayor and the Acres: Website Size and Age Matter

Think of Google as the mayor of a town. Each page on your website is like an acre of land you own in that town. The more acres you own, the more important you seem to the mayor. So, having a larger website with many well-organized pages related to your services and areas tells Google you’re a major player.

But there’s another factor: how long you’ve owned that land. Old money tends to sway the mayor more than new landowners. In SEO terms, that means the age of your domain matters. Older domains usually have more trust and authority with Google because they’ve been around longer, showing consistency and reliability. While Google doesn’t give an exact age ranking factor, their explanation of how search algorithms work emphasizes trust and authority built over time.

So, owning a big piece of land (many pages) and having old money (an established domain) will help you earn the mayor’s respect and rank higher.

3. Building Your Reputation: On-Page SEO Helps You Shine

Think of your website’s content, keywords, and internal linking like building your reputation in the community. These on-page SEO factors don’t count as direct votes, but they increase how favorable Google sees you.

When your pages clearly describe what you do and where you do it, Google’s “judge” trusts your site more. This improved reputation helps you earn more backlinks (votes) and improves your chances of ranking higher.

Creating helpful, original content that answers your customers’ questions is key. Google’s guide to creating helpful content explains how to focus on quality over quantity.

Good content and keyword use make you look professional, knowledgeable, and reliable—qualities that win respect from both Google and your customers. You can learn more about on-page SEO basics from Google’s SEO Starter Guide.

Bonus: Positive Reviews and Custom URLs Add Extra Points

Don’t forget your Google Business Profile. Positive reviews act like public endorsements, boosting your local reputation and trustworthiness. According to Google’s reviews best practices, responding to and encouraging honest customer feedback helps improve your profile.

Having a clean, custom website address makes your brand easier to remember and trust. Plus, it supports your overall online presence.

If you’re looking to learn more about local SEO fundamentals, Google’s official Local SEO basics guide is a great place to start.

If you need some tips for getting more reviews, check out our previous article about getting reviews.

The Takeaway

Winning at local SEO means playing the game on multiple fronts:

  • Get backlinks (votes) from trustworthy sites
  • Build a large, relevant website (own many acres)
  • Use great content and keywords to build your reputation
  • Encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews

Combine all these, and you’ll impress the mayor, win the popularity contest, and earn the judge’s favor—leading to more local customers finding you online.

For more info straight from Google, check out their guides on Local SEO basics and How Google Search works.

Need help mastering local SEO? We’re here to guide you every step of the way.

Google’s AI Search Results Are Here, and They Don’t Like Your Website

Last Updated: July 3, 2025

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Why Showing Up in Google Search Isn’t Enough Anymore, and What to Do Before You Disappear

If your website traffic is down but your SEO rankings haven’t changed, you’re not imagining things. Google’s new AI-powered search results are changing how local businesses get found online.

Your site might still rank on page one, but fewer people are clicking. Instead, they’re getting answers directly from Google’s new AI Overviews, which appear at the top of the search results before any website links.

This is what’s called a zero-click search. If your content isn’t being pulled into those AI-generated summaries, your business is effectively invisible.

What’s Really Happening

Google’s AI Overviews use artificial intelligence to gather and summarize information from across the web. Users see concise answers at the top of the page, often without needing to click through to any websites.

That means your content might be getting used to answer a question, but you don’t get the traffic, credit, or the lead.

Worse, Google might be pulling content from a competitor who is better optimized for this new system.

Why This Hurts Small Businesses

You’re not just losing site visitors. You’re losing potential customers, and it’s happening quietly.

AI Overviews primarily rely on:

  • Pages with short, clear answers
  • Pages that use structured data like FAQ or How-To schema
  • Sites with strong trust signals like reviews, updated listings, and user engagement

If your content is outdated or poorly structured, it’s not being chosen to answer searchers’ questions.

What You Can Do

You don’t need to rebuild your site from scratch, but you do need to make it easier for AI to understand and pull content from.

Add an FAQ Section to Key Pages

AI Overviews prefer clear questions and direct answers. Add a short FAQ section to your main service pages. Address common questions such as:

  • Do you offer emergency services?
  • What areas do you serve?
  • How long does [specific service] take?

Even a few well-written Q&As can improve your visibility.

If you’re not sure where to start or how to format it properly, we can help. Our Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) service includes done-for-you FAQ sections, schema markup, and other behind-the-scenes enhancements designed specifically to help small businesses get featured in AI Overviews.

Use Schema Markup

Schema is behind-the-scenes code that helps AI understand your content. Without it, Google has to guess, and that’s rarely in your favor.

Be Direct and Clear

Make sure the first paragraph of your landing pages gives a direct, useful answer to the visitor’s main question. Skip the filler and go straight to what you do and how you can help.

Focus on Engagement

Google tracks what people do after they land on your site. If visitors bounce quickly or don’t interact, that sends a signal that your content isn’t helpful. Keep your pages clear, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate.

The New SEO: Be the Answer

Search engines are no longer just showing links. They’re giving users direct answers. If your business isn’t showing up in those answers, someone else is.

Now is the time to adapt. If you want to make sure your site is showing up in AI results, not just traditional rankings, our AEO service can help.

Let us know if you’d like a review of your current pages or a quick consultation. This change isn’t coming someday… it’s already here.

Google AI Overviews & Answer Engine Optimization FAQs


Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of search results, providing concise answers to user queries without requiring clicks to external websites.


AI Overviews can reduce website traffic by providing direct answers in search results, leading to fewer clicks on traditional website links.


Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is the practice of structuring website content to be easily understood and utilized by AI tools, increasing the likelihood of being featured in AI-generated summaries.


To optimize for AI Overviews, add clear FAQ sections, use structured data like schema markup, ensure content is concise and direct, and enhance user engagement through mobile-friendly design and interactive elements.


Structured data helps AI tools understand and categorize content accurately, increasing the chances of your website being selected for AI-generated summaries.


AEO enhances visibility in AI-driven search results, drives targeted traffic, and improves user engagement by providing direct, relevant answers to queries.

10 maneras fáciles de prepararse para el dominio de la IA en un mundo post-buscadores

Last Updated: May 20, 2025

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La forma en que las personas encuentran negocios locales está cambiando rápidamente. Estamos dejando atrás los motores de búsqueda tradicionales como Google y nos estamos moviendo hacia herramientas impulsadas por inteligencia artificial como ChatGPT, Grok y Gemini. Estas plataformas están ganando usuarios a un ritmo acelerado y están quitando grandes porciones de tráfico a los buscadores. Si usted todavía depende de los motores de búsqueda para atraer nuevos clientes, está apuntando a una audiencia que se reduce cada vez más.

Las herramientas de IA no solo son más inteligentes, también son más rápidas, más convenientes y, a menudo, más útiles que las búsquedas tradicionales. Por eso, cada vez más personas las usan para hacer preguntas, pedir recomendaciones e incluso para encontrar proveedores de servicios locales. Y aquí está la clave: estas herramientas ya están decidiendo qué negocios recomendar… y cuáles ignorar.

Por eso, negocios como el suyo deben actuar ahora. Si espera hasta que empiece a doler, será demasiado tarde. Y no puede simplemente “pagar por entrar” como lo haría con anuncios PPC. Aún peor: estos modelos de IA no se actualizan todos los días, ni cada semana, ni siquiera cada mes. Es común que estén desactualizados por uno o dos años, porque reentrenarlos cuesta millones de dólares. Eso significa que la información nueva (como su sitio web) podría no estar incluida durante muchos meses, o incluso años.

Aquí hay 10 acciones fáciles que puede tomar hoy para ayudar a la IA a reconocer su negocio y recomendarlo a futuros clientes.

1. Pida Mejores Reseñas

No solo más reseñas, sino mejores. Pídales a sus clientes satisfechos que sean específicos:

  • “Instalaron rápidamente y de manera profesional un nuevo calentador de agua en San Marcos, TX” (¡oro puro!)
  • “Buen plomero” (mayormente inútil)

La primera tiene un servicio específico, usa buenos adjetivos (rápido y profesional), e incluye la ciudad y el estado. ¡Eso es la trifecta! Cuanto más detallada sea la reseña, más fácil será para la IA (y para los clientes) entender exactamente qué hace usted y dónde lo hace. Si tiene que ofrecer un descuento o recompensa por una reseña, hágalo. Si tiene que ofrecer una mejor recompensa por usar las PALABRAS CLAVE correctas en la reseña… también hágalo. Sea directo y dígale al cliente por qué. Apreciarán su franqueza y pensarán que usted está al tanto de la tendencia de la IA.

2. Consiga Más Reseñas

Ya no basta con tener 10 reseñas. ChatGPT, el más flexible en este tema, dice que espera que los pequeños negocios locales tengan al menos 50. Grok quiere 100 o más. Si tiene menos, es probable que la IA lo pase por alto en favor de un negocio con una mayor cantidad de reseñas.

Pídale reseñas a cada cliente satisfecho. Ofrezca un descuento o una pequeña tarjeta de regalo si es necesario. ¡Empiece a subir esos números!

¿Necesita ideas para conseguir más reseñas? Échele un ojo a estos artículos que hicimos sobre ese tema:

  1. Reseñas: Por qué DEBE conseguirlas y consejos para obtener más
  2. ¿Quiere conseguir más reseñas en Google? Esta es nuestra estrategia
  3. Cómo obtener más reseñas de clientes solo con pedirlas

3. Responda a las Reseñas (De Forma Profesional)

Las herramientas de IA (y los humanos reales) prestan atención a cómo responde usted a las reseñas — especialmente a las malas.

  • Agradezca las reseñas positivas.
  • Mantenga la calma y sea profesional con las negativas.
  • Nunca discuta ni culpe al cliente.

Las buenas respuestas muestran que usted es responsable y confiable. Créalo o no, estas son dos cualidades que la IA está programada para valorar.

¿Se le complica esto? No se preocupe, a la mayoría le pasa, pero nosotros ayudamos a nuestros clientes con esto todos los días. Solo contáctenos y con gusto lo ayudamos.

4. Cree Páginas para Cada Servicio que Ofrece

Nos ha escuchado insistir en esto por años: haga una página para cada servicio. Ahora no es solo para Google, también es para la IA.

En vez de decir solamente que ofrece “servicios de plomería”, divídalos en páginas separadas como:

  1. Reparación de inodoros
  2. Instalación de grifos
  3. Instalación de calentadores de agua

La IA no puede recomendarlo para un servicio si no sabe que lo ofrece. Por muy inteligente que sea, aún necesita que se le diga exactamente qué hace usted.

5. Liste Todos Sus Servicios Claramente

Si aún no está listo para crear páginas individuales para cada servicio, al menos asegúrese de listar todos sus servicios por separado en un solo lugar. Eso significa, por ejemplo, que debe poner “instalación de calentadores de agua” y “reparación de calentadores de agua” como elementos distintos. Haga esta lista lo más completa posible. Aunque esto no ayude mucho con SEO, sí puede darle un poco de ventaja en el mundo de la optimización para IA.

6. Indique Claramente Su Horario y Si Ofrece Servicios de Emergencia

Este punto es importante y se pasa por alto con frecuencia. Si usted responde llamadas las 24 horas y ofrece servicios de emergencia, dígalo de manera clara y visible en su sitio web. ¿Por qué? Porque cuando alguien le dice a una IA: “Necesito un plomero de emergencia cerca de mí”, usted solo aparecerá si esa frase está en su sitio. De igual forma, si alguien busca un plomero a las 8 p.m., el que esté marcado como abierto hasta las 9 p.m. tiene más probabilidades de salir en los resultados.

7. Haga Que Su Información de Contacto Sea Muy Visible

Asegúrese de que su número de teléfono, correo electrónico y dirección estén fáciles de encontrar. Póngalos:

  • En el encabezado y pie de página
  • En una página de Contacto
  • En sus páginas de servicios

Las herramientas de IA no pueden recomendarlo si no saben cómo pueden contactarlo los clientes.

8. Presuma Su Experiencia

¿Tiene 10, 20, 30 años en el negocio? ¡Dígalo! Tener un historial sólido genera confianza. Las IA (y los clientes) son más propensos a recomendar empresas que parecen estables, experimentadas y confiables.

9. Gane Algunos Premios (Y Muestre los que Ya Tiene)

No necesita un Premio Nobel, solo algo que le dé credibilidad:

  • Un premio local de “Lo Mejor de…”
  • Reconocimiento de la Cámara de Comercio
  • Mención en una asociación de su gremio
  • Premios de HomeAdvisor, Angi, BBB o Thumbtack

Estas menciones de terceros le dicen a la IA que usted es confiable, y eso lo hace más recomendable. Incluso si sus premios tienen algunos años, consiga el gráfico y colóquelo en su sitio junto con un par de oraciones al respecto. Esto le dirá a la IA que usted está ganando premios y aumentará su credibilidad.

10. Aparezca en los Directorios Correctos

La IA obtiene mucha de su información de los directorios de negocios. Claro que mientras más, mejor, pero asegúrese de que su información esté incluida (y sea consistente) en los siguientes específicamente, ya que estas son las fuentes que las IAs usan para formar opiniones sobre su negocio.

  1. Google Maps / Perfil de Negocio de Google
  2. Yelp
  3. BBB (Better Business Bureau)
  4. Thumbtack
  5. Nextdoor
  6. Houzz
  7. Angi

Estas fichas también le dan más oportunidades para recolectar reseñas, lo cual, como ya sabe, es fundamental.

Reflexión Final

Como comentamos la semana pasada, la IA está cambiando la forma en que los clientes encuentran negocios. Desafortunadamente, aunque esto facilita las cosas para el consumidor, las complica bastante para los negocios. Tiene que seguir haciendo todo lo que ya hacía para los motores de búsqueda, pero ahora tiene más trabajo y menos oportunidades de aparecer en los resultados. A veces, solo una… Pero con algunos movimientos inteligentes, puede mantenerse a la cabeza y asegurarse de que su empresa aparezca cuando alguien le pida ayuda a una IA.

Y si en algún momento necesita ayuda con cualquiera de estas cosas (sitios web, reseñas, directorios), estamos a solo un mensaje de distancia.

online digital marketing industry info

Last Updated: April 14, 2025

Do you need online marketing?

We offer a wide range of options to help you with your online marketing. Unlike many other companies, we do NOT use a one-size-fits-all approach. Depending on what you already have in place, we’ll work with you to fill in the gaps and get your online presence working to support your business. We have solutions for:

  1. Building Websites
  2. PPC Ads ( Google or Facebook )
  3. Social Media Marketing
  4. Backlinking
We’d be happy to have a conversation with you about what might best fit your circumstances and budget. We’re a low-pressure operation and you can reach us from 8am to 6pm ET at 800-689-1273

How can digital marketing benefit my small business?

For thousands of years, the best type of business is referral business. Unfortunately, most businesses cannot survive on that alone. That’s where digital marketing comes in. These days, you need a strong presence on social media, a well-optimized website, and a strategy to knit it all together. Fortunately, you’re in the right place. We can help you figure out what’s working well, what’s not, and what gaps exist in your current efforts.

What’s the difference between Facebook ads and Google ads?

The simplest way to think of it is “push” vs “pull.” When it comes to a product or service that people know exists, they’ll search for it. That’s where Google Ads are a good fit. If you have something that is brand new or generally unknown, you have to push that in front of people to raise awareness. That’s the right situation for Facebook Ads. Once we figure out which situation you fit into, we can devise an ad strategy to help maximize your return.

What are backlinks, and why are they important?

Backlinks are simply links to your site, on someone else’s site. In Google’s world, each of these links counts as a “vote” and the more votes you have, the more likely you are to make it to the top of the search results.

How long does it typically take to see results from a digital marketing campaign?

This will depend on what you have going on already, as well as what you sign up for with us. On average and in general, our SEO clients start to see traction in about 60-120 days and reach peak performance some time after that. PPC clients will see results right away and then reach peak performance after a couple of months.

How do you measure the success of a campaign?

This will depend on what sort of campaign you’ve signed up for. For campaigns that involve a website, backlinks, PPC, etc., we like to focus on the number of phone calls, texts, and emails received. Traffic, ranking, clicks, and things of that nature are important, but ultimately no one is going to hand you money for being #1 on Google’s search results. What you want is humans to contact you so that’s where we focus.

Can I target specific demographics or regions with my ads?

Yes, but this will vary in granularity and capability depending on if we’re talking about PPC or SEO. With the SEO we can target geographies, but we won’t have much control. It’s up to Google et al to match up the search query with the proper location and content so it’s really out of our hands. PPC, however, allows us to fine-tune and target very granular geographies and demographics.

What is the importance of mobile optimization, and how do you approach it?

We design sites in a mobile-first methodology. We don’t ignore the desktop users, but we’re mobile-first and have been for years. We’ve been through all the itterations over the years ranging from “mobile what?” to separate themes for mobile and desktop to the modern responsive designs. Google does not view this as optional anymore so neither do we. We’ve got you covered on this front.

Can I choose specific platforms or channels for my campaigns?

Depending on what you mean, yes. We can tailor our services to your specifications because we are NOT a one-size-fits-all shop. Just let us know what your requirements are and we’ll work with them.

How do you handle negative feedback or reviews online?

When clients get negative reviews, we strongly encourage them to let us write  the reply. We’ll need their side of the story and all the details from them, but when it comes to crafting a reply, it’s best that a dispassionate 3rd party writes the response. It’s critical to remember that you’re not writing the reply for the person who reviewed you. That ship has sailed. It’s for the next person who comes by and reads that review. That’s where your opportunity still lies.

What is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and how does it work?

PPC is a style of digital marketing where you pay for every click, as opposed to SEO where you get traffic organically. It will produce results much more rapidly than SEO but can also be much more expensive, especially when it’s not done well.

What is Google’s phone number?

If you’re a paying customer of Google Ads, you can typically get access to a representative at Google, including by phone. Outside of that situation, it’s all but impossible to speak to anyone there.

How can I get a phone number for Google?

If you’re a paying customer of Google Ads, you can typically get access to a representative at Google, including by phone. Outside of that situation, it’s all but impossible to speak to anyone there.

Is this call from Google legitimate?

If you get a call from a caller ID claiming to be Google, it is often fake. However, if it is from 650-417-9099 it is real. That’s a call you want to answer because it is actually Google calling you for a legitimate reason.

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