Local SEO 101 presentation for Oct. 20th Workshop N
Transcript of Local SEO 101 presentation for Oct. 20th Workshop N
Who is this guy?
Parnell Pierre-Louis | Digital Marketing Consultant
@ParnellPL
Local Search Expert Bridging the gap between offline and online marketing Participates in the monthly review of client online marketing
strategy and implementation for Search, Social Media, Conversion Optimization, and Content Marketing
Expert in OOH, Guerilla and Millennials Marketing campaigns Avid Ping Pong Player, Toastmaster member, home cook guru
& father of triplet boysY
What is Local SEO?
Local Search Engine Optimization is the practice
of improving the quantity and quality of traffic
from searches with geographic intent.
How is Local SEO different from Normal SEO?
Local SEO targets users on a local level rather than nationally, subsequently rankings in geographic areas, online local business listings, and local focused content are essential.
What types of businesses need Local SEO?
Any business with local customers. If a business has a physical location, or local phone number, you should be doing local SEO.
Marketing is More Effective Than Advertising in the Long Run
Advertising
Content Marketing
Src: Brightlocal 2012
Why Local SEO is So Important There are well over 10 billion unique searches done each month, and that’s just in the United States! Of those searches,
• 20% of Desktop queries have local intent
• 50% of Mobile queries have local intent
There are OVER TWO BILLION unique Local searches per month on Google from Desktop computers in the U.S. Google and Yahoo, and Bing have made dramatic shifts in how they return results, and all the trends point to Local. Additionally, mobile search is exploding. Approximately one in five searches is performed from a mobile device, and mobile searches primarily pull their results from Local Search Engines. All of this is to say, the potential to attract new customers via Local Search is tremendous.
Anatomy of Search Engine Results For local searches, Google tends to return results that include a blend of both website and local information, mostly from Google +Local pages. Since the Spring of 2012, Google has significantly increased the percentage of "Blended“ results for local searches meaning it's Important to claim & optimize Google +Local profiles, and local business listings.
6% click on paid ads
70 % click on the first three links1
24 % click on other links & pages
1Source: IMFORZA 2013
Local Search
Paid Ads
Paid Ads
Organic
Increase your presence here to Dominate Google
Where are your customers clicking?
Wrong Name
* Custom Content Council Study 2013
61 of consumers feel better about a company that delivers local custom content and are more likely to buy from that company.
%
of consumers
Local Search Results
In addition to basic business information (business name, address, and phone number, local search results display links to Google+ pages, reviews, directions, business images, and other Google products such as street view.
Top Local Search Ranking Factors
1. Physical Address in City of Search (Approximate to Centroid )
2. Proper Business Category Associations in Business Listings
3. Accurate & Complete Business Citations
4. Domain Authority of Website
5. Reviews – Velocity, Quantity, Keywords in Reviews.
50% of Local Searches Are On Directories and Mobile Apps
0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%
15.1%
37%
43%
Missing / Wrong Address Missing / Wrong Name Customers Who WouldLook for Another Merchant
Wrong Address
Wrong Name
Go To a
Competitor
Directory Profiles Missing Basic Brand Information
* Yext Study 2012
If name, address and phone are wrong …
How Many Local Customer Touch
Points Are Missing Your
Brand Message?
Claim Your Local Business Listings
Claiming your listings gives you control over how the search engines index you and prevents spammers from hijacking them. This can also improve your search engine rankings and bring you more traffic.
How to Check Your Local Listings
See how your business is listed on Google, Bing, and other major local search engines. Getlsited.org and Yext.com provide free,
• Listing Snap Shots
• Listing Completion Reports
• Listing Accuracy Reports
Your Report – 87% Inconsistent
Errors in info
Missing Listing
Missing Information
Missing Listings in Full Report
Missing Information
Deals – Call To Action • Top 4 reasons why an active deal is great even if it doesn't get a claim directly:
• 1. If you have an active deal, it will be included in each email newsletter you send,
creating increased loyalty to people who already have signed up
• 2. They are used as a call to action on directories like Yahoo, Foursquare, Citysearch, etc. making your profile there more attractive on those sites and building links for SEO
• 3. They are syndicated on Coupons.com, 8Coupons, Local Saver, Yellow Pages app, and many other coupon sites, again getting awareness and building links for SEO
• 4. They are used as a call to action on your mobile site – if you are using our mobile site
• You may not get claims directly, but may get claims on third party sites and additional promotion and links everywhere online.
Submitting Local Business Listings • Categories – select relevant categories accurate to your business. • Consistent Business Information – use the exact name, address, and phone number for all profiles. Include hours, payments accepted, and other relevant details. • Local Phone Number – if possible use a local phone number, some local directories reject listings
without local phone numbers. • Optimized Business Descriptions – optimize description for location and product/service keywords. • Products/Services – list all relevant products and or services • Service areas – if applicable specify service areas, this is feature is available in Google+ Local that
can help make your listing more relevant to specific search areas. • Logo, Photos, Videos • Coupons & Special Offers
Google+ Local Claiming Google+ Local is an imperative. As mentioned earlier this listing is what appears in local search results on Google. Google+ Local Listings ranking factors Include: • Proper Category Associations • Local Area Code on Place Page • Product / Service and Location Keywords in Business Title • Association of Photos with Page • Product / Service and Location Keyword in Place Page Description • Product / Service Keywords in Place Page Custom Attributes • Number of Actions Taken by Searchers on a Place Page • Association of Videos with Place Page • Inclusion of Offer on Place Page
Google+ Local Rank
Consistency of Data Across Directories
Website Schema Encoding
Keyword Usage
Content Rich Google+
Local
Factors Affecting Google+ Local Rank
Google+ Local Optimization
• Claim and optimize every location’s Google+ Local
– Descriptions, photos, videos, hours, etc.
– Localize each profile with neighborhood / city keywords so they rank better
• Work directly with Google’s Local Search Data team
– Evolve as Google makes updates (x updates last year)
Your Pages Optimized Pages
EVOLVE
Top Citation Sources
The Best Local Citations by City and Category Getlisted.org provides
recommendations for where to
get your business listed on local
websites and directories, and on
websites in your industry.
Quick Local Listings Submission
Universal Business Listings UBL.org distributes your enhanced listing to the key underlying databases that provide anchor data to major search platforms.
Other services:
Online Reviews
52% of users said that positive online reviews
make them more likely to use a local business How Do I Get More People to Review My Business? Advertise and link to your profiles on the major search engines on your own
website. Create a “How to Leave a Review” Page on your site with detailed instructions for
visitors Include a link to a site where recipients can leave a review in the signature of all
email communications. If your customer has an obvious email address, such as @Gmail.com or
@Yahoo.com, simply ask them to review your business using that particular search engine.
Do not manipulate reviews!
Onsite Local SEO Just as important as offsite efforts in Local SEO is an
optimized website.
Titles, Meta Descriptions, and Headers –
optimized for location and product/service keywords
Local content – targeted for location and product/service keywords
Schema code – markup code allows search engines to easily identify and categorize content, schema code should be used for business information including address, phone numbers and can be used for such things as reviews and recipes. your full business contact information in rich snippet format on the site.
HTML Onsite NAP matching +Local page NAP. It’s more important than ever that Google be able to associate your +Local page with your website.
KML File on Domain Name – KML files help validate accurate business contact information.
The Ultimate Local Landing Page
“The Ultimate Local Landing Page”
is a resource guide I created for optimizing
onsite location page(s).
Consider all the local related
content you can include on a
location page to enhance your
visitors experience and to optimize for
search engines.
– 40% of small businesses do not have websites
– 80% do not have mobile-optimized websites
– #1 local marketing expenditure with lowest attrition
Starts With A Modern Website
Fully responsive technology
Modern design
Engaging content
Optimized for search
Optimized to convert
Full service
Best-in-Class Websites
Demo Sites
• Medical (Dentists): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/29c2f1f0
• Professional Services (Lawyer): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/d66dd9f9
• Health and Beauty (Hair Salon): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/4e092589
Demo Sites
Auto Repair: http://dashboard.localvoxsit
es.com/preview/ee053415
Retail (Trophy Awards Shop): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/previ
ew/88bc68e7
Restaurant: http://dashboard.localvox
sites.com/preview/2128440e Home Services
(Painter): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/previ
ew/6c0667cd
Local SEO Resources • LocalVox Resources: http://localvox.com/resources/ • David Mihm for SEO Moz:
http://www.seomoz.org/users/profile/439609 • Local Search Ranking Factors: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-
search-ranking-factors.shtml • Mike Blumenthal’s Blog: http://blumenthals.com/blog/ • Search Engine Land’s Local SEO Column:
http://searchengineland.com/library/local-search/ • Andrew Shotland's Blog: http://www.localseoguide.com/ • Nifty Marketing Local Search Blog: http://niftymarketing.com/
For a Free Directory Listing
My LinkedIn Profile:
Parnell Pierre-Louis
www.linkedin.com/in/parnellpierrelouis/
Thank you.