* Yelp = FREE “Piggyback” Traffic!
Love it or not, Yelp and other lead generation sites show up in local search results consistently. You can get a piece of the action, for FREE!
By Dirk Johnson
I am not here to defend
Yelp. They’ve earned their reputation in the small business world because of
how they operate. Whatever. If you are paying them for leads, I hope that it
works for you.
On the other hand, Yelp
and other sites like them can become a very rich source of FREE leads for your business.
Third-Party Search Rankings and Free Traffic
Let’s call this SEO
tactic “piggybacking”, and you’re just along for the free ride!
Imagine if someone
searches for music lessons in your town, and you not only come up first in the
free results for your own site but you also see that your studio profile
is also listed in the free results on several other sites. Or your studio is
listed on the page of the link that takes them there.
While you should
optimize your own Website for search traffic, you can ALSO expand your presence in search results substantially by
building out good business profiles on other websites.
Google My Business (GMB)
is certainly at the top of this heap in terms of the overall impact of a
third-party listing, but there are other sites to consider as well. Unlike GMB
pages that only show up in Google, these other sites can show up in other
search engines like Bing and DuckDuckGo and more.
Yelp Has Their Search Engine Optimization Locked Down
Like them or not, Yelp is the big winner here. Yelp business listings show up
in a huge percentage of local search results for local services, including
music lessons. These search rankings can provide you with a direct gateway to
Yelp traffic.
Getting some of it is simple. Just fill out your business profile on Yelp, and
then try to get your clients to submit reviews into Yelp on your behalf.
If you are thorough and
fortunate, your Yelp profile will come to the top of Yelp’s own search results.
People will see your profile and click over to YOUR website. Bingo!
Now, if you want to
participate in their various lead generation or top placement paid listing
programs, you will have to pay them, but you don’t have to do that. If people
see you listed as a 5 star vendor, some of them will find you.
However, if your Yelp
profile is not complete, and if there is no link to your website in your
profile, then SOMEONE ELSE (i.e. your competitor!) is going to get those
inquiry, and not you.
Piggybacking for Third Party Search Traffic is Huge!
Yelp is just the tip of
the iceberg here. There are many more
review sites and directories that allow you to piggyback on their success.
Alignable, LinkedIn, Manta, CitySearch, Yext, and many more.
You can find a bunch of
them in these two articles:
50
Free Online Business Directories
The
Ultimate List: 57 Online Local Business Directories
Also, there are directories specific to music teachers and music schools, and they rank well for local search. A good list of those is provided in the 80 page do-it-yourself guide to SEO for music lesson teachers, tutors, and studios will help.
Join as many of these
sites as you can. Some charge nominal fees to join but many are FREE!
Piggybacking is #2 in Importance for SEO
The most important thing
regarding SEO is putting your own site in order first. The second most
important aspect is Piggybacking.
With Piggybacking, you
can expand your own online footprint substantially with these types of sites,
and you also get links back to your own site in the process. It is piggybacking
AND double-dipping!
Don’t Hold Yourself Back!
Using the SEO
Guide for music lesson studios, you can either do all of this yourself, or
if you don’t have time, or if you prefer to have someone else manage the basics
of SEO for you, please contact
me.
And,
as always, if you want to get a quick review of your current website SEO
condition, please contact
me with your website address, and I’ll be glad to have a look and report
back to you what I find.
Thanks again for tuning
in!