LOCAL SEO MADNESS. Want to help an up and comer..?

[mccubbinaerial]

Im glad I found this site. I had been posting on mavicpilots and only saw the forums there until somehow I had missed before the huge logo that says commericaldronepilots. lol. I am a licensed and llc new startup, I have been going at the local SEO thing blindly. I had been using fiverr to freelance things like backlinks, map citations, local citations, and god knows what else. Did a google ads and yelps ad run with some success, problem is my company\hosting is only active since late july so a lot of rankings and seo work is far from being too noticeable yet.
Here is my request... For a limited budget, what have you had the most success with on paid ads? Also can someone give me a quick debrief on what to focus or pay to get more visible to local potentials? I dont understand the SEO world, if anyone is saavy let me know and ill list my site and maybe get some ideas on what im lacking.
Hopefully someone has a kind of blueprint on this for what they used or invested in and with the most success, Im just leery on doing the all in one kind of seo plans or managers, because its hard to regulate since its hard to gauge besides traffic or forecasts..

Any help helps, is fiverr an okay place to get these smaller seo stuff done? is there a better site that is similar? They did my company branding, animated logo, MailChimp stuff, and a few voice overs for some of my clients real estate videos, and I liked them especially the cost but that's also what worries me for investing in future work in the seo sector.

Happy to be here! BTW from San Antonio, TX. Howdy.

 

[clackey]

Quite honestly, I'd focus on creating great content on your site, establishing yourself as the local drone expert, getting to know the people who might use your services via chamber of commerce, ask to write some articles for local online news blogs, etc.. eventually the links will come naturally. Trying to get people to link to your site, especially by some guy overseas requesting it is a waste of time, IMO.

As far as google adwords, you can generally find some "less popular" keywords in your industry that you can bid on. Obviously everyone is going to bid on "Drone Services" but find the relevant long tail keywords - 100's of them if possible that people might search for in your area but can cost much less per click.

Make sure you only target searches in your area. It's amazing how many local businesses I see advertising nationwide and just wasting money. Also, I always use "exact match" or "phrase match" keywords on google adwords as they will take a lot of liberty and show your ads as on stuff like "real estate photography" and other keywords that really don't match for you.

C.

 

[dirkclod]

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Enjoy all the knowledge members have to offer .

 

[MapMaker53]

I agree with clackey. Focus on building a website with interesting content and then seek out and target local businesses that may be able to use your drone services. Don't expect them to look for and find you on the internet. In the early stages of any business, you need to pound the pavement and let them know you exist. I would put together a nice looking mailer to send out to businesses with your website address within reasonable work distance. Just my opinion.

Maybe that same graphics person can put together a slick tri-fold mailer containing photo examples, services, and contact information for you. I bet there is a better chance of a business looking at a drone services mailer than there is of them finding your website at this point. And I have no doubt that your mailer will be the only drone services mailer they will receive.

 

[mccubbinaerial]

Quite honestly, I'd focus on creating great content on your site, establishing yourself as the local drone expert, getting to know the people who might use your services via chamber of commerce, ask to write some articles for local online news blogs, etc.. eventually the links will come naturally. Trying to get people to link to your site, especially by some guy overseas requesting it is a waste of time, IMO.

As far as google adwords, you can generally find some "less popular" keywords in your industry that you can bid on. Obviously everyone is going to bid on "Drone Services" but find the relevant long tail keywords - 100's of them if possible that people might search for in your area but can cost much less per click.

Make sure you only target searches in your area. It's amazing how many local businesses I see advertising nationwide and just wasting money. Also, I always use "exact match" or "phrase match" keywords on google adwords as they will take a lot of liberty and show your ads as on stuff like "real estate photography" and other keywords that really don't match for you.

C.

Thanks for the input. I think I need to retune my google adwords to exact match, good idea. What about backlinks do follows and what not, are those as important as they say, or should I just do one of the all in one SEO packs from a local company?

 

[mccubbinaerial]

I agree with clackey. Focus on building a website with interesting content and then seek out and target local businesses that may be able to use your drone services. Don't expect them to look for and find you on the internet. In the early stages of any business, you need to pound the pavement and let them know you exist. I would put together a nice looking mailer to send out to businesses with your website address within reasonable work distance. Just my opinion.

Maybe that same graphics person can put together a slick tri-fold mailer containing photo examples, services, and contact information for you. I bet there is a better chance of a business looking at a drone services mailer than there is of them finding your website at this point. And I have no doubt that your mailer will be the only drone services mailer they will receive.

Again, this is what I was hoping for with this forum. Thank you. I did a postcard type deal I got from the printers, but honestly got a bit cold feet in the beginning due not having much as for photos or previously done homes, Id love to do something for commercial realtors, too. Now Ive got some experience Ill try the pound the pavement and follow up with digital mail out like MailChimp or something. I assume taking the easy way out and buying realtor list is a no go huh? lol

 

[clackey]

You can find most email addresses for realtors online. I'd pick 25 or 50 of the best then email them with a personal email and build the relationship vs just blasting 1000 with a generic mailchimp email. I had another business where my clients were RE agents in rural areas and I'd bring them cupcakes from great bakers in metro areas and just leave them at the brokerages with a stack of my cards.

To answer your question, yes nofollow backlinks etc are important but only if they are organic and relevant. Google is smart enough to know when someone has paid for 100 backlinks in a bunch of link farm sites.

 

[HAWK-i.us]

My experience with realtors in the Charlotte area has been discouraging. Most of the bigger agencies have drone photographers and ground interior photographers that they are familiar with and they're not interested in experimenting with newcomers. There's also a lot of supply chasing less demand for aerial photographers despite a white hot real estate market. It's almost like the new listings sell so fast, the realtors don't have to put much into photos, especially not aerials. If you really want real estate business, plan to do lot of cold call contacting and don't get discouraged easily. It'll probably grow, but slowly. Concentrate on quality work and cherish each client. I've actually seen pricing easier to get decent rates by getting a little distance from the high density metro areas. Just too many guys chasing business in the really active areas. Don't expect to make a living wage doing this alone until you've been at it awhile.

 

[MapMaker53]

You might have better luck seeking out realtors that are involved with the buying and selling of industrial sites and businesses. Those types of property sales would probably benefit the most from aerial photos.