Local Search

What Local Businesses Need to Know About Local Search

presented by seOverflow

• What Local Search Is• On Page Optimization for Local

Search• Off Site Optimization for Local

Search• Local Platforms-Where You Need

to Be• PPCs for Local Businesses

What We’ll Cover

What Is Local Search?

presented by seOverflow

• Local Search is any search made with the goal of finding something in a specific geographic area.

• This is known as searching with local intent.

Local Search Is…

• The searcher uses geographic modifiers.

• The searcher has personalization settings on.

• The Searcher uses a “local” place.• The Search Engine interprets local

intent from the search phrase.

How Is Local Intent Determined?

The 3, 8 or 10 Pack

• Neighborhood?• City?• Nearby cities?• Region?• State?

Where Are Your Customers?

• The broader your geographical reach, the more time and money you need to be successful.

• Generally, the narrower your reach, the easier it will be to compete online.

• Why? There is usually less competition and it is usually less savvy about internet marketing.

Where Are Your Customers?

• Rank well in Universal Search• Rank well in the Local 10 Pack• Rank well in Local Search Engines• Be in the Internet Yellow Pages• Be on Local/Social web sites• Be in vertical directories for your

industry and location

Local Search Challenges

On Page Optimization for Local

Making Your Website Work in Local Search

presented by seOverflow

On Page Optimization

• Build relevance and trust in your location+keywords.

• Do all the usual things when optimizing - title, description, h tags, content, good internal linking, etc – but with a geographic slant.

• Place your full street address and local phone number on all pages of your website.

• Optimize your Contact or About page for your business name and location.

• Use the hcard microformat to make your location unmistakable to the Search Engines.

Where Are You?

• If your business name doesn’t make it very clear where you are and what you do, then use a tagline to communicate that information to both humans and Search Engine spiders.

TIP: Give Your Biz a Tagline

What’s Wrong With This?

• Create a separate page for each location• Use local info on each of these pages• Link internally to location pages, using the

right link text• Use other terms on the page that will help

the Search Engines understand where you are: street intersections, highway exits, what’s nearby, nicknames for neighborhoods, etc.

TIP: For Multiple Locations:

Off Site Optimization For Local

presented by seOverflow

What Else Helps Your Business Rank?

• Use the same name, address and phone number everywhere online and offline.

• Go to the sources of business data and standardize there.

• Use a local database directory - check out UniversalBusinessListing.org and GetListed.org

Standardization Builds Trust

Create free profiles on:• Google Maps www.google.com/local/add

• Yahoo Local http://listings.local.yahoo.com/

• Bing Local https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

If you never do anything else, do this!

Create Local Business Listings

Anatomy of a SERP

Organic

Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click

Local Ten Pack

A Google Maps Listing

Google Maps Dashboard

• Use your main keyword phrase and complementary terms in your profile descriptions

• Grab the long tail by including:

Your products and services

The brands you carry

The locations you serve

Anything else important in your niche

Optimize Your Biz Listings

• Choose – or create – the right categories

• Give your listing attributes

Optimize Your Biz Listings

Citations, aka web references, are web pages that cite or mention your business or web site.

They do not have to contain a link!

Create Citations

• Citations are important in building Google’s trust in the information it has about you.

• Citations can drive targeted traffic to your business.

• Citations are easier to get than links – many are free.

Keep Creating Citations!

Reviews and Local Search

presented by seOverflow

The Impact of Reviews on Local Search

“Online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the driver of purchase decisions; user reviews are more influential than third-party reviews. ("Web users and web community," Rubicon Consulting, Inc. October 2008)”

“81% of online holiday shoppers read online customer reviews (Nielson Online, December 2008)”

“86% of consumers read online business reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)”

“The Trust in Advertising survey of 26,000+ found that Consumer Recommendations are the most credible form of advertising. ("Social Media Marketing: The Right Strategy for Tough Economic Times" Awareness, 2008)”

Statistics from BazaarVoice.com See more at http://www.bazaarvoice.com/industryStats.html

The Impact of Reviews

• Ratings and reviews enter into the algorithm on some sites-like Yahoo!Local

• The more reviews, the better.• Highly rated items can rise to the top on

some sites and poorly rated ones are rarely seen.

• Users can sort their results by ratings on some sites, creating their own personalized rankings.

Reviews Influence Rankings

ONLY FROM HAPPY CUSTOMERS!• Have a plan in place. • Use surveys and follow-up emails. • “Bribe” people to submit reviews.• Send reviewers to a variety of web

sites.

TIP: Ask for Reviews

Link Building

Strategies For Finding and Acquiring Powerful Local Links

• The right incoming links can help with location trust.

• Look for links from local authority sites.• Look for links from sites that rank for what

you want to rank for. • Use existing relationships to get local

links.

Tip: Get Local Links

Pay Per Click Basics

Successful Local PPC Campaign Components

• Pay Per Click (PPC) is not just used for an organic traffic alternative.

• Other uses include:– Branding and Reputation Management– Keyword research– Expanded search engine presence (would

you rather show up once or twice?)

How PPC is Used

Advantages of Organic Search Advantages of Paid Search

More traffic on the same keywords Quick to market

Trusted more by the public Easy to cast a wide net

Cheaper over the long term (for some) Ability to geo-target customers

Not prone to click fraud Control over traffic levels

Organic vs Paid Search

• Does PPC work?– It can. More likely If managed professionally.

• How much will it cost per click– How do I know that I am not a victim of click

fraud?– You don’t unless you use expensive and sometimes

inaccurate analysis tools

• Why shouldn’t I just run PPC myself?– Most do-it-yourselfer’s waste more money trying it

themselves than they would have paid a pro. The search engine’s goal is to get you to spend as much as possible.

PPC FAQ

• Google Adwords– Most advanced– Most traffic

• Yahoo Search Marketing– A little less complex– Usually cheaper clicks than Adwords

• Microsoft adCenter– Mostly low quality content ads

Popular PPC Programs

►Geo target your advertising on Google by using geo qualifiers in the terms you bid on .

►An geo target ads to show only to people in the places you choose.

TIP: For Local PPCs

• Optimized! http://www.marybowling.com • Local Search Column at ClickZ

http://www.clickz.com/3630485 • Local Search News• seOverview Local Search Audit • seOverflow Blog • Email: mary@seOverflow.com

Local Search Resources