Local Online Marketing & Consulting Services

It’s been a busy year here at LocalOnlineMarketing.ca and as a result, we’ve not updated this ranking section in quite a while. However, we decided to make a bit of time and post a small sampling of results from a four month campaign on four sites dealing with oriented strand board sheathing products. It’s too bad that we only had four months to work on their rankings because we’re convinced that another two or three months would have resulted in near complete domination of the most important keywords for their niche. We decided to post the results because it is indicative of what can be done in such a short space of time with sites that began with no rankings other than for their own names.

The sites with a small sampling of keyword search results were:

TallWallosb.com (Keywords: sheathing, exterior sheathing, exterior wall sheathing, wall sheathing, sheathing board, structural wall sheathing )

Pinnacleosb.com (Keywords: osb subfloor sheathing, subfloor sheathing, osb subfloor material )

Windstormosb.com (Keywords: wall sheathing, hurricane construction, hurricane proof construction, hurricane building code Florida )

Solarbordosb.com (Keywords: radiant barrier roof sheathing, radiant barrier sheathing, roof sheathing )

We’re especially pleased with getting two different sites (TallWallosb.com and Windstormosb.com) into positions #2 and #4 for their main keyword – wall sheathing (over 2 million competing results).

While these kinds of results are not always possible in only 4 months, it is quite surprising how often they are.

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It is pleasing to see that as of October 12th, on Google.ca, this website: LocalOnlineMarketing.ca now ranks #1 out of 64,300,000 competing pages for the keyword phrase “local online marketing”. (Perhaps it’s the kiss of death to publish these results but we shall see what happens  (Us veteran SEO’s are always a little paranoid about such things.) This ranking is also dependent on a variety of ongoing promotional activities which for a number of reasons we may choose to discontinue in the future (we are always conducting experiments and asking questions like: “just how much promotion is required to attain the top ranking?” and ”does the Return on Investment justify the continued expense?” ), so this position may not be the same when you view it months from now in a live search. You can see todays screenshot by clicking here

LocalOnlineMarketing.ca is an example of an exact match keyword domain (the search phrase “local online marketing” has about a thousand searces per month and as you can see, was registered as the domain for this website). It is also an extreme example of how helpful having the right keywords in a domain can be. As with most young industries like search, things are always changing and results could be different in the future. But, it seems unlikely that having keywords in your domain that are associated with what you do will ever be harmful. If you are just starting out, and you have the opportunity, it would be wise to do some thorough keyword research before selecting a domain. Even if you already have a website, it could make a lot of sense to set up a new website with a more helpful keyword rich domain name.

Here is another experiment that is being conducted on ranking an exact match domain name. (Click here to view, and here for “pages from Canada”) Admitedly, the site itself needs a lot of work, but this was an experiment in “ranking fast”, and not so much in creating a pretty website. Hopefully in the weeks/months to come, we find the time to “pretty it up” so that we no longer need that disclaimer

If anyone doubts that it is possible to dominate the first page of Google search results in an extremely competitive niche, I offer the following as proof:
Example 1 on Google.ca: “car insurance quotes”
Example 2 on Google.ca: “Alberta car insurance”
Example 3 on Google.ca: “car insurance quotes”
Example 4 on Google.ca: “auto insurance quotes”
Example 5 on Google.ca: “auto insurance broker”
Example 6 on Google.ca: “auto insurance agent”
Example 7 on Google.ca: “travel insurance quotes”
Example 8 on Google.ca: “car insurance brokers”
Example 9 on Google.ca: “auto insurance broker”
Example 10 on Google.ca: “second mortgage quote”
Example 11 on Google.ca: “car insurance quotes”
Example 12 on Google.ca: “mortgage quote”
Example 13 on Google.ca: “cheap auto insurance”

These rankings were held for YEARS! In fact, (not that there weren’t some serious and formidable challengers along the way) I never lost a ranking for more than a few weeks (maybe a month at most) during my entire tenure as Director of SEO/SEM & Affiliate Relations.

As my time as SEO/SEM Director for my old company was coming to a close at the end of January 2010, I made sure to chronicle my achievements with an extensive Rankings Check for all of the keywords I was trying to Rank for. While a close scrutiny will reveal several areas where rankings were not what I had hoped for, I believe the Rankings and broad reach that was achieved is without precedent in such hugely competitive niche’s in Canada. (Admitedly, I have not done extensive research on this – it’s more of an observation by myself and other SEO’s who know me.) I do not mention this to boast or brag, but simply to inspire confidence in you if you’re a small business manager (or big business manager) who is nervous about choosing the wrong organization to implement your online search marketing campaigns. No doubt, there are many false claims and charlatans operating in the “online advertising” space. I would like you to Rest Assured that we’re not one of them.

Rather than bore you with countless aditional screenshots, I’d like to present a few last shots of rankings from my records. These are by no means comprehensive, but simply some of the most relevent.

Car/Auto insurance on Google.ca: Example A

Life insurance, Business insurance, Motorcycle insurance & Critical Illness insurance on Google.ca: Example B

Health insurance, “Insurance”, Home insurance & Travel insurance on Google.ca: Example C

Classic Car/Auto insurance, Commercial Car/Auto insurance, Commercial Property insurance & Recreational Vehicle insurance on Google.ca Example D

And lastly, the Mortgage arena. Another HUGELY competitive niche, with lot’s of smart and well funded competition. This was a new venture for the company (launched about 9 months earlier), and experimentation was still going on with what worked best and what the right keywords were. Here you will see many top rankings, but also, several areas where campaigns had not yet been fully enabled on Googe.ca: Example E

It’s been a while since resigning as the SEO/SEM director for this company, so I have no idea how many of these rankings still hold. Search engines are constantly refining and changing the way they do things, and any SEO worthy of the label has to stay up-to-date with the changing ranking factors. It takes ongoing study and maintenance work to hold a spot for a long time against all challengers. Once again, this is not said to brag or boast, but simply to inspire confidence if you feel completely lost in this particular environment. (It’s OK if you do, I’m sure I would have a rough time trying to compete in the business you’re in :-} from a standing start.)

If these results can be achieved in such competitive niche’s as “Insurance” & “Mortgages”, just think what may be possible in your particular niche with expert keyword research and expert campaign implementation. This is advertising that really produces results.

Get in touch with us today, and we’ll assess what is possible with the time comittment and budget you have available. (I know that you know that you need to invest in online marketing – it’s more a matter of what is the right amount of time and money to budget for it) Let us help you figure out what makes sense in your situation. I believe we can achieve similar results for YOU and really GROW YOUR BUSINESS too!

Here are some screen captures for a few really “big” keyword terms in October of 2009. “Big Keywords” refer to the broadest and most competitive phrases. These are usually the hardest to achieve rankings for, but drive the most traffic. Most of these rankings are for the search engine Google®, because most traffic (about 70%) comes from Google. However, results on Microsoft’s “Bing”® and Yahoo® search were similar, and a few screenshots are included from “Bing” and “Yahoo” . Also, keep in mind that in most cases, the first three results and results on the right hand side are PAID results, not “free” organic traffic (see this picture for an explanation of how search results are typically displayed and an explanation of our notations). These screen captures were initially done to see how stable these rankings could be kept over time, and to keep track of competition. As you will see, if you peruse these various screenshots and ranking posts, the rankings were maintained for as long as I was in charge of the SEO/SEM for this particular company (years in fact). Most of these screenshots were captured on October 28 2009.

One aditional thing to consider is that slight differences in kewords like singular versus plural (quote vs quotes or car vs auto) are usually taken into account by the search engines, and to rank for both terms may require considerable additional effort.

Here’s one I’m really proud of. Over 17 million competing pages and beating out some of the biggest companies in Canada:
A search for “Insurance” on Google.ca: Example 1
Here’s another one I’m really proud of: ‘Authority Site’ Status achieved and over 24 million competing pages. (To be honest, I cannot take the credit – a lot of people worked very hard to make the site as good as it is – but I’m still really proud of my role in bringing it to Google’s attention – it goes to show what can be achieved when people work together to achieve a comon objective):
A search for “Canadian insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 2
A search for “best auto insurance quote” on Google.ca (nearly 38 million competing pages): Example 3
A search for “travel health insurance” on Google.ca (over 98 million competing pages): Example 4
A search for “car insurance” on Google.ca: Example 5
A search for “auto insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 6
A search for “auto insurance quotes” on Bing (Canada):Example 7
A search for “auto insurance quote” on Google.ca: Example 8
A search for “auto insurance” on Google.ca: Example 9
A search for “auto insurance broker” on Google.ca: Example 10
A search for “auto insurance agent” on Google.ca: Example 11
A search for “cheapest car insurance” on Google.ca: Example 12
A search for “car insurance rates” on Google.ca: Example 13
A search for “car insurance brokers” on Google.ca: Example 14
A search for “car insurance broker” on Google.ca: Example 15
A search for “car insurance broker” on Bing (Canada): Example 16
A search for “car insurance agent” on Google.ca: Example 17
A search for “best car insurance” on Bing (Canada): Example 18
A search for “auto insurance rates” on Google.ca: Example 19
A search for “auto insurance quote” on Yahoo (Canada): Example 20
A search for “business insurance” on Google.ca: Example 21
A search for “business insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 22
A search for “home insurance” on Google.ca (nearly 5.5 million competing pages): Example 23
A search for “home insurance quote” on Google.ca: Example 24
A search for “home insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 24
A search for “health insurance” on Google.ca: Example 26
A search for “critical illness insurance” on Google.ca: Example 27
A search for “condo insurance” on Google.ca: Example 28
A search for “property insurance” on Google.ca: Example 29
A search for “medical insurance” on Google.ca: Example 30
A search for “travel insurance” on Google.ca: Example 31
A search for “travel insurance quote” on Google.ca: Example 32
A search for “life insurance” on Google.ca: Example 33
A search for “life insurance rates” on Yahoo (Canada): Example 34
A search for “life insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 35
A search for “life insurance quote” on Google.ca: Example 36
A search for “motorcycle insurance” on Google.ca: Example 37
A search for “mortgage rates” on Google.ca: Example 38
A search for “mortgage rates” on Bing (Canada):Example 39
A search for “mortgage rates” on Google.ca: Example 40

Once again, this graphic explains our notations and shows how search results are displayed, including maps, paid listings and so called “free” organic listings: “Toronto auto insurance quotes”
Same as above, but half size: “Toronto auto insurance quotes”

Here are some screen captures for lesser keyword terms (the “Long Tail” keyword reach) in October of 2009. However, some of the keywords listed here are in fact huge and extremely competitive like “Ontario auto insurance” or “Ontario mortgage rates” to name just two. Most of these rankings are for the search engine Google®, because most traffic (about 70%) comes from Google. However, results on Microsoft’s “Bing”® and Yahoo® search were similar. Also, keep in mind that in most cases, the first three results and results on the right hand side are PAID results, not “free” organic traffic (see this picture for an explanation of how search results are typically displayed and an explanation of our notations). These screen captures were initially done to keep track of competition and for reference purposes. If you peruse these screenshots and ranking posts, you will realize that these rankings were maintained for years.

A search for “Montreal Life insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 1
A search for “Montreal Life insurance” on Google.ca: Example 2
A search for “Montreal auto insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 3
A search for “Mississauga car insurance agent” on Google.ca: Example 4
A search for “Kingston motorcycle insurance” on Google.ca: Example 5
A search for “insurance questions” on Google.ca: Example 6
A search for “mortgage rate quotes” on Google.ca: Example 7
A search for “Toronto car insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 9
A search for “Ottawa car insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 10
A search for “Ontario mortgage rate quote” on Google.ca: Example 11
A search for “condominium insurance” on Google.ca: Example 12
A search for “Hamilton car insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 13
A search for “Edmonton auto insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 14
A search for “Calgary car insurance quotes” on Google.ca: Example 15
A search for “auto insurance question” on Google.ca: Example 16
A search for “insurance broker Toronto” on Google.ca: Example 17
A search for “car insurance brokers” on Google.ca: Example 18
A search for “Alberta car insurance” on Google.ca: Example 19
A search for “Alberta auto insurance” on Google.ca: Example 20
A search for “Ontario car insurance” on Google.ca: Example 21
A search for “Ontario auto insurance” on Google.ca: Example 22
A search for “Ontario mortgage rates” on Google.ca: Example 23
A search for “Toronto mortgage rate quote” on Google.ca: Example 24
A search for “Quebec car insurance” on Google.ca: Example 25
A search for “Quebec auto insurance” on Google.ca: Example 26

New site making it’s way up the rankings:
A search for “mortgage question” on Google.ca Example 27
A search for “mortgage questions Canada” on Google.ca: Example 28

Here are some screen captures for a few “big” keyword terms in September of 2009. The first 3 examples are for the search engine “Google.com”, and for the United States. Also, keep in mind that the first three results are PAID results, not “free” organic traffic, and that each Keyword term is different. i.e. “car” is different than “auto” and gets ranked independently.

The first example is not bad for a search term with 102 million competing pages and some huge companies competing in this space:
Example 1 (Sept. 24 2009)
Also not bad for a search term with nearly 85 million competing pages
Example 2 (Sept. 24 2009)

Example 3 (Sept. 24 2009)

The below results are for Google.ca search engine (Canadian resuts) and for a brand new market (mortgages – about 3 months into launch)
Example 4 (Sept. 24 2009)
Back to insurance, and 2 different websites dominating page 1:
Example 5 (Sept. 24 2009)
Just 1 website this time (Keyword did not aply to the others):
Example 6 (Sept. 24 2009)
Example 7 (Sept. 17 2009)

Here are some screen captures for keyword terms targeted at the US market in August of 2009. A good SEO must decide what Keywords to go after, as it makes no sense to go after targets that will cost too much to attain. For example, if you are a smaller business in a particular area, you would want to balance your budget with the ability to actually rank. Long tail keyword reach is essential if you are to stake out your particular niche. (High level keyword research and an understanding of the bussiness and it’s goals is essential for this reason) This was the case with the following examples. Does it make sense to compete with Geicko or Alstate for the term “car insurance” – no, the budget was not there. What did make sense was the following long tail keyword terms:

A search on Google.com for “cheapest car insurance rates” : Example 1
A search on Google.com for “cheapest auto insurance” : Example 2
A search on Google.com for “cheapest car insurance rate” : Example 3

I wish I had more screenshots to show for US results but unfortunately, I just can’t seem to find them anywhere (I know I took more – maybe they’ll turn up later)

Here are some screen captures for a few “big” keyword terms in April and May of 2009. These are for the search engine “Google.ca®”. Also, keep in mind that the first three results are PAID results, not “free” organic traffic. These screen captures were initially done to see how stable these rankings could be kept over time.

Example 1 (May 22 2009)
Example 2 (May 22 2009)

Notce how in Example 3, the second listing is in 4th place in this example and then moves up to 3rd place in Example #1 (Later Date examples will show further improvement)
Example 3 (May 05 2009)
Example 4 (May 05 2009)
Example 5 (April 22 2009)

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Please feel free to contact us at any time at:  service [at] localonlinemarketing [dot] ca if you would like a free consultation or if you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

The Team at LocalOnlineMarketing.ca