So you can edit your LocalSite? What do you need to know?
It's important to understand the risks involved with editing your own LocalSite. Remember your LocalSite is the anchor to your digital marketing efforts and one of the very most important things when it comes to having a strong online presence.
Any edits you make on your LocalSite could affect the performance of your overall presence. It's important to consider the following:
What page am I editing content on? Some pages will have a higher impact on your LocalSite performance than others. We don't recommend updating content on your Homepage or dedicated service pages without first speaking with your Marketing Specialist.
Is this text standard text or is it a Heading (H1, H2, etc)? Any type of Headings shouldn't be edited without first discussing it with your Marketing Specialist as they are typically keyword-focused to capture the attention of your visitors and search engines.
Is this image high quality and does it add to the user experience? It's important any new images you add to your LocalSite are high resolution, placed in the correct spot (read the nearby content), and you have permission to use the image for commercial purposes. To be safest, we recommend using your own photos you took yourself.
Is this change I'm making improving the user experience? If you're adding more content, make sure you think about what a consumer will want to read on your website and not just what you want to say on your website. Are you fully, clearly and consisely addressing questions customers may have about your business, services or products. Keeping the customer at the forefront of decision-making will often result in the best outcomes for your business.
Keep in mind your OneLocal subscription still includes hourly edits per month (depending on your subscription type) which can still be leveraged. If you're not sure about changes you want to make, you're better off leaving comments on your LocalSite and requesting the changes to be made to your Marketing Specialist.
So what happens when you've made edits and your LocalSite performance begins to decrease?
Don't panic! Dips in search engine ranking or site traffic are common and not always a bad signal, sometimes Google is reevaluating your site (along with all others) and you may see an increase shortly after a dip. It can be unpredictable at times, but as OneLocal and your business work together over a longer period of time, these hills and valleys will begin to level out and ideally gradually continue to increase too!
Your dedicated Marketing Specialist and our team of SEO and Site experts are also monitoring your analytics. If anything is concerning we'll be sure to take care of it straight away if you are on our Dominate plan. For clients on Compete plans, reach out to your Marketing Specialist about things to do if we are experiencing dips in traffic over extended periods of time.
If there are issues with your LocalSite performance from the result of an edit you made on your LocalSite, this is a risk you must be willing to assume when making changes on your LocalSite. OneLocal will do what we can to resolve any issues arising by leveraging your allotted website editing time available in your package. Hours necessary to complete work outside of your allotted time and thereby requiring additional charges will be communicated by your Marketing Specialist for your approval before completion.
What steps can you take to reduce risk?
Back up your LocalSite every time you plan to make changes. Our system automatically backs up site versions, but having an extra backup is never a bad idea. You can do this by selecting SEO & Settings in the top left, then Site Backups, and giving your backup an appropriate name. Keep in mind, you cannot use spaces in a backup name, use - or _ instead.
Leave comments on edits you make. Our system does not track individual edits, just versions of the site over each backup created. If you are making changes to your LocalSite we recommend also logging a comment to mark what changes you have made. This way we can review comments on your edits and determine which edits may have had the largest impact on your site and revert those changes.
If you're ever unsure, please reach out to your Marketing Specialist to get more insight and a recommendation on what changes may be advised or not.
Also, don't forget to "Republish" your LocalSite when changes are complete, so your customers can see your newly updated website!