Local SEO Stats & Tactics
Presenter:Date:
John McPhee, Vice PresidentSeptember 4, 2013
Formic
• Launched in 2008 to service small business & partners
• Specializes in search engine & social media marketing
• 100% of Account Team Google AdWords & Google Analytics Certified
• Strategic partnerships (Travel Portland, website design/dev shops, agencies)
• Focus on education via monthly Seminar Series
A Look at the Search Results Page
Difference Between Organic & Local
Difference Between Organic & Local
• Location, location, location
• Organic/Paid search = “the what”– Nike running shoes, Sony DSLR camera
• Local Search = “the what” & “the where”– Nike shoe store Portland, Camera World Portland
Difference Between Organic & Local
The Evolution of Local Search
Blended Results (most recent)
Why is Local Search so Important?
• Roughly 30% of all searches have local intent• Google = ~12.5 billion searches/month• Yahoo = ~3.6 billion/month• Bing = ~2.6 billion/month
• ~18.7 billion searches/month• ~5.6 billion searches have local intent
Local Search Volume by Month
How are Consumers Finding Local Merchants?
Mobile Phone & Tablet Searches on the Rise
Local Ad Spend Going Digital
• 97% of American internet users shop online (NPD Group)– 57% of these users say they purchase offline (NPD Group)
• 90% of online commercial searches result in offline brick and mortar purchases (comScore)
• 82% of local searchers follow up offline by an in-store visit or phone call (comScore)
• 80% of all budgets are spent within 50 miles of the home (DMA)
Local Search User Stats
Local Search: Business Stats
Local Search: Business Stats
The Local Search Ecosystem
The Organic Search Ecosystem
The Local Search Ecosystem
The Local Search Ecosystem
The Local Search EcosystemCourtesy of GetListed.org
Top Criteria for Local Search Rankings• Address in city of user’s search• Claimed Google+ Local page• Proper categorization• Volume of citations from data providers• Off-site factors (i.e. inbound links)
Open for Questions or Keep Going?
Local Search Components
Local Search Components• Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing Local Listings)• On-site Optimization• Off-site Optimization
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)• Claim & verify your Place page
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Courtesy of Category Preview Tool by Mike Blumenthal
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google+ Local Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Google Place Page (Yahoo/Bing)
Local Search Components• Google Place Page (Yahoo/Bing Local Listings)• On-site Optimization• Off-site Optimization
On-site Optimization• Still need to focus on website optimization– Geo-specific keyword targeting– Title Tags– Meta Tags– H1 tags– Body Copy
On-site Optimization
• Structured Data is used to help parse out business data for the search engines
• Types of Structured Data include:– Person– Product– Event– Recipes– Full list: http://schema.org/docs/full.html
On-site Optimization
On-site Optimization
• hCard microformatOn-site Optimization
• hReview microformatOn-site Optimization
• Local phone number = Good• 800 phone number = Not ideal• Tracking phone number = Bad
On-site Optimization
• If you have multiple store locations, you should:– Create unique pages for each location
On-site Optimization
On-site Optimization
Local Search Components• Google Place Page (Yahoo/Bing Local Listings)• On-site Optimization• Off-site Optimization
Off-site Optimization• Web Citations & Inbound Links– More citations/links = more trust + higher rankings
Courtesy of GetListed.org
Off-site Optimization
Courtesy of ZipLineInteractive.com
Off-site Optimization
Off-site Optimization
• User reviews also help gain trust from both the search engines and users– Quantity is still more powerful than quality– Engines are working to understand sentiment
Off-site Optimization
• Get reviews through:– Email campaigns– Encourage employees to ask for reviews• Incentivize your employees if necessary
– Google window sticker– Utilize in-store collateral– Social media– Use website widget by BrightLocal.com
Off-site Optimization
• Social Media Activity– Be active within social media• Post fresh, new content regularly• Post interesting content that will be shared
– Increase Likes, followers, etc– Engage with fans/followers– Build authority/credibility– Optimize social media accounts/profiles
Off-site Optimization
• Social Media Content– Share interesting stories about your
industry/company– Show your company’s personality through
jokes/humor (videos, text, images)– Create polls/surveys; share the results and ask for
feedback/opinions– ALWAYS stay within the brand’s voice
Off-site Optimization
Measuring Success
Measuring Success• Google Analytics• Google Places Dashboard• Marketing Trackback Question
• Google Analytics
Measuring Success
• Google Places Dashboard
Measuring Success
• Marketing Trackback Question
Measuring Success
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