Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016

HOW TO BOOST YOUR LOCAL SEARCH RANKINGS Paula Keller French

Director of Account Management

Workshop by

Search Influence90 full and part-time employees120 contract writersGoogle AdWords & Analytics Certified StaffGoogle Certified Partner

ABOUT SEARCH INFLUENCE

Reputation2011 Inc. 500 honoreeSEL Columnists, SMX, LocalU, Pubcon, mozcon, Searchfest and moreTwo decades in online mediaBest Places to Work, 2014 & 2016

WHAT KIND OF BUSINESSES NEED

LOCAL SEO?

ANY BUSINESS THAT GETS SOME, OR ALL, OF ITS CLIENTS LOCALLY

Businesses that sell services or products to customers at their

location

B2C: BRICK AND MORTAR

Businesses that sell services or products to other businesses

B2B

Businesses that sell services within a particular area

SERVICE AREA BUSINESSES

GOOGLEMATTERS

MOST

SEO SEARCH RANKINGS MATTER

THE BENEFITS OF LOCAL SEO

Local Search Results

Organic Search Results

Paid Search Results

UNDERSTANDING THE SEARCH RESULTS

“Natural”

“Maps”or

“Snack Pack”

Google AdWords or “PPC”

=

=

=

Local Search Results

Organic Search Results

Paid Search Results

UNDERSTAND YOUR SEARCH

RESULTS

Google’s Local Maps Pack Slims Down

FROM 7 TO 3

Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016

WHAT’S CHANGED?

Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016

WHAT’S CHANGED?· Full address is no longer displayed· No more links to the business’ Google+ page· Business hours are now easily seen

BEFORE

AFTER

Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016

STAY COMPETITIVE IN THE NEW 3 PACK

· Feed Google info about your business via Google My Business· Input ALL the info you can

· Optimize your website’s on-page content for local search

· Optimize your website’s off-site signals for local search

· Earn local reviews on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.· Earn links through offline marketing

UNDERSTANDING GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

· Google My Business 101· Page Type Differentiation· Best Practices & Guidelines

· Claiming and Verifying Google My Business Pages· Requesting Admin Access

GMB 101: A CRASH COURSE

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN PAGE TYPES WITH THE NEW GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

Local (Storefront/Service Area)

vs.

Brand

vs.

Personal

LOCAL GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE

· If verified, has a “checkmark” on main business page

· ALWAYS has an address on the About page

· NEVER displays an email address

· Has a corresponding Maps listing

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LOCAL PAGE

If a Service Area Business does not serve its customers at its physical location, its address will not appear in Google Maps.

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS BRAND PAGE

GOOGLE MY BUSINESS BRAND PAGE

· Will never have a checkmark next to name

· May have an address· May have an email

address

· Does not integrate with Google Maps

PERSONAL GOOGLE PLUS PAGE

· Differences in the About section· Personal terminology: Education,

Employment, Home, Lives in, Gender, etc.

· No Verified checkmark on main page

· You cannot “claim” a personal page

· Does not have any integration with Google Maps

PERSONAL GOOGLE PLUS PAGES

CLAIMING YOUR GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

PAGE

WHAT IF MY GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

PAGE IS VERIFIED?

CLAIM & UPDATE LOCAL LISTINGS

IMPORTANT LOCAL LISTING SOURCES

INDIVIDUAL SITES· Bing· Yelp· Facebook· Apple Maps· Foursquare· YP· Superpages

DATA DISTRIBUTORS· Acxiom· Factual· Localeze

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT NAP + WName

Address

Phone #

Website

HOW TO GAIN MORE LOCAL REVIEWS

Source: https://www.brightlocal.com/2014/08/14/5-visual-stats-power-of-online-reviews/

WHY DO REVIEWS MATTER?

· Unique content is being added to the site regularly

SEO BENEFITS

· Online reviews on sites like Google+ and Yelp help with local rankings

· Eye-catching Rich Snippets in SERPs

WHAT TO DO· Provide a section to leave reviews on your site· Request reviews from your customers!

· Email marketing (newsletters, offers, post-purchase, post-visit, and confirmations)

· In office signage· Business cards with URLs

· Publish fake reviews under a false profile· Duplicate of review content· Reward customers for leaving a review

WHAT NOT TO DO

WEBSITE OPTIMIZATION

TACTICS FOR LOCAL

ON SITE CONTENTPAGE TITLES

PAGE HEADINGS (H1)

META DESCRIPTIONS

FRIENDLY URL

ON SITE CONTENT

ON-PAGE CONTENT

SUBHEADINGS

SUBHEADINGS

LOCATION OPTIMIZATIONS

TAKEAWAYS● Any business that gets, some or all of its

clients locally need Local SEO

● Update local listings - Consistency is key!

● Claim your Google My Business page

● Gain more local reviews

● Optimize your website for locally specific content + NAP reinforcement

THANK YOU!QUESTIONS? - PAULA KELLER FRENCH

Search Influence935 Gravier St STE 1300New Orleans LA 70112(504) 208-3900 ext 299www.searchinfluence.com