Was busy for most of the day, but I'll try and answer what I can.
If someone types in "Phoenix Accountant," there's a pretty good chance they're looking to find an accountant in the Phoenix area. To cut out an extra step, Google provides the directory listings (Google+ Local Pages, previously Google Places) near/at the top of the results. Having a listing with reviews and business information is a great way to position yourself as the expert and bring leads into your site. If you're a local business and these listings show up for search terms in your market; it's a really good place to start. I recommend Moz's free tool called GetListed.org.
The other strategy is leveraging other directories. Yelp, Yellow Pages and many more hold first page spots for huge search terms. Sometimes they're category listings, but other times they're single company listings. If you push these up alongside your site, you hold a lot more real estate on the first page and will bring in a higher percentage of the traffic.
In general, you want to have quality content on your site. If someone lands on your site, they may want to read about your industry and make sure you're the right match for them. In the case of an accountant, it would make sense to have simple explanations of tax laws, best practices for keeping receipts and some other relevant industry information. If you're mixing in social (and even if you're not), blogging is a great way to increase content on your site, have users share it and further expand your online resource. Don't just blog for the heck of it, have goals for the content such as keywords and a "share factor." Google will also see all the relevant content on your site, which can only further help your rankings for short and long tail search terms.
When coming up with a strategy, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Look at industry leaders in big cities who are doing things right. Model their content and parts of their marking strategy for your own company. It will save you a lot of time and money.
If I am a local professional business (i.e. lawyer, accountant etc.) is engaging users and enticing content still they best SEO practise? Google maps?
I feel like when you search for a local business, specifically a professional service, Google quickly turns into a directory with map listings and whatnot.
If someone types in "Phoenix Accountant," there's a pretty good chance they're looking to find an accountant in the Phoenix area. To cut out an extra step, Google provides the directory listings (Google+ Local Pages, previously Google Places) near/at the top of the results. Having a listing with reviews and business information is a great way to position yourself as the expert and bring leads into your site. If you're a local business and these listings show up for search terms in your market; it's a really good place to start. I recommend Moz's free tool called GetListed.org.
The other strategy is leveraging other directories. Yelp, Yellow Pages and many more hold first page spots for huge search terms. Sometimes they're category listings, but other times they're single company listings. If you push these up alongside your site, you hold a lot more real estate on the first page and will bring in a higher percentage of the traffic.
In general, you want to have quality content on your site. If someone lands on your site, they may want to read about your industry and make sure you're the right match for them. In the case of an accountant, it would make sense to have simple explanations of tax laws, best practices for keeping receipts and some other relevant industry information. If you're mixing in social (and even if you're not), blogging is a great way to increase content on your site, have users share it and further expand your online resource. Don't just blog for the heck of it, have goals for the content such as keywords and a "share factor." Google will also see all the relevant content on your site, which can only further help your rankings for short and long tail search terms.
When coming up with a strategy, you don't need to reinvent the wheel. Look at industry leaders in big cities who are doing things right. Model their content and parts of their marking strategy for your own company. It will save you a lot of time and money.
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