A professional SEO company takes vertical search very seriously and so should you. A vertical search engine is one that allows users to search across different mediums. For example, Google is a vertical search engine: it allows users to search for text, images, and videos. In addition, it allows search engines to search for news, blogs, maps, videos, stores, books, and more. Professional SEO companies fully exploit the opportunities available and this is how they do it.
Please note that while the following tactics are specific to Google, they may work for other vertical search engines such as Yahoo or Bing:
1. Use alt tags (ie tagging an image with a keyword-rich title and description). Search engines can’t read images, but they can read their tags, so your website can be easily found when your images are tagged efficiently. However, keep in mind that most people who are looking for images want to download these images for free. Therefore, you must include a copyright notice or place a watermark on your images.
2. YouTube can be operated very well. You may have noticed that page #1 of Google results contains some videos that are playable right there on the results page. This presents a huge opportunity for professional search engine companies that create meaningful videos, use high-paying keywords in their title and tags, and then drop them on YouTube. A well-made and useful video that is accurately described can propel your website to the #1 Google search results page, even if your website ranks low.
3. Google Maps and Google Places are also becoming very popular. GPS programs are catching on fast and the search is becoming more focused. Professional SEO companies register your website on Google Places and Google Maps, which makes it very easy for your business to be found. Check out your business on Google Maps to see for yourself: if you’re registered, it will appear as a rounded exclamation point on a map. So when your business is registered with these Google sites, and assuming the right keywords are used, your site and place of business can be discovered quite easily.
4. Here’s a killer secret straight from the mouth of one of the best professional SEO companies: Upload your product listing to Google so your products can be easily found when people use Google Shopping search. Such listings will help you boost your ecommerce engine.
These were some of the top vertical search secrets that came out of the mouths of the CEOs of top professional SEO companies. There are many more secret tips and strategies adopted by these SEO companies and learning all these strategies is simply not possible unless you are practicing SEO yourself. Also, a professional SEO company keeps up with the changes in the search engine algorithm. So, if you own a website, know that it’s not enough to just list your website with a couple of search engines. There is more to SEO and what you read above just scratched the surface.
So, go ahead and get a professional SEO company that can skyrocket your website’s rank. Good luck.