* 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 inquiries, 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.

I should also mention the Fons Marketplace, which is managed by Eric Branner and his team at Fons.

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!