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7 BILLION SEARCHES PER MONTH on Google are for local businesses/services. With that type of search activity, it’s pretty much guaranteed local customers, even here in Rhode Island, are searching Google for the products and/or services you offer … but are they finding you? If you’re not getting enough customers from Google, then you need to attend this class on Local Search Engine Marketing and learn how to get Google to work for you. —— Upon successful completion of this class, you will be able to: Get your business listed in Google’s Local Search Results. Place your business listing in targeted online directories where customers are looking for you. Improve your organic search engine results so that more customers find you in Google. Obtain more positive online reviews and ratings from customers. Understand how local search engine optimization works so that you’re not guessing and following misinformation. Implement a local search engine marketing plan that is easy to follow, saves you time, and actually produces results. —-- 64% of customers use online search engines and directories to find local businesses. Don’t be left out.
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Local SearchHow to attract more customers with Local
Search Engine Marketing.
Brian Bigda
Ella J Designs - Warwick, RI
http://ellajdesigns.com
904.662.3045
What is Local Search?
It’s when prospective customers
search online for businesses that
provide particular goods and/or
services nearby them.
Why does local search matter?
● 7 billion searches per month on Google are for local businesses/services.
● Roughly 15-20% of all searches (~17 billion a month) are mobile.
● 50%+ of mobile queries have local intent.Source: SEOmoz
Local Search Matters ...
Prospective customers who need
your products and/or services are
looking for your business online.
Is your
business
being found?
Optimizing for local search will send
more prospective customers to your
business.
But is local search just search
engine optimization (seo)?
NO, local search is more than just targeting keywords.✓ online citations
✓ your website
✓ reviews and ratings
✓ social media
Image Credit: SEOmoz
Sounds complicated? Not really,
when it’s broken down, but it is
involved ...
An online profile or business listing that
contains your business name, address,
phone number (NAP), and other details.
Online Citations
64% of customers use online search
engines and directories to find local
businesses.
Source: Curvve Media
Online Citations
Citations are a key component of the
ranking algorithms in Google and Bing.
Other factors being equal, businesses with a greater number of citations
will probably rank higher in search engines than businesses with fewer
citations.
Source: getlisted
Online Citations
Where do you list your business? ✓ data-aggregators
✓ national directory/review sites
✓ local directories
✓ industry-specific sites
✓ events sites
Data-aggregators They feed directories and search engines.
✓ Infogroup - free
✓ Neustar/Localeze - pay ($297/yr)
✓ Acxiom - free
✓ Factual - free
Source: SEOmoz- as of 2012
National Directory/Review Sites Where people go. What influences search results.
● Angies List
● BestofTheWeb
● Bing Local
● Citysearch
● eLocal
● Foursquare
● Google Plus/ Maps
● HotFrog
● InsiderPages
● Kudzu
● Manta
● MapQuest
● Merchant Circle
● MojoPages
● Superpages
● WhitePages
● Yahoo Local
● Yellowbook
● Yellowbot
● YellowPages.com
● Yelp
Local Directories/Websites ● Chamber of Commerce, Kidoinfo, localRIfinder
Industry-specific Sites● TripAdvisor, UrbanSpoon, Service Magic
Events Sites● EventBrite, the Patch, CitySeekr
What’s the citation strategy? 1. Organize your business information
○ consistent NAP
○ know your business categories
○ gather links to your website, videos, social media
○ have a business description and summary ready
○ collect up to 10 - 15 images
○ hours of operation
○ industry codes
2. Create/Claim Google+ Business Listing
3. Use MOZlocal ($49/year)
4. Go out and claim your existing/created listings
5. Keep creating new listings (local, industry, events)
6. Actively monitor/manage/update
What’s the citation strategy?
Knowing where to create listings
● Best Citation Sources by City - MOZlocal
● Best Citation Sources by Category - MOZlocal
● Local Citation Finder - Whitespark
● Discover Competitor Backlinks - MOZ/Whitespark/Excel
● Search: [location] directory, [industry] blog
What if your current listings are incorrect?
Fix them first.
What is it and why is it so important?
Search Ranking Factors Review Signals (10.3%)
(Review quantity, Review velocity, Review diversity, etc.)
Social Signals (6.3%)
(Google+ authority, Facebook likes, Twitter followers, etc.)
Behavioral/Mob. Signals (6.1%)
(Clickthrough rate, Mobile clicks to call, Check-ins, Offers, etc.)
Personalization (8.3%)
Place Page Signals (19.6%)
(Categories, Keyword in Business Title, Proximity, etc.)
External Loc. Signals (16%)
(IYP/aggregator NAP consistency, Citation Volume, etc.)
On-page Signals (18.8%)
(Presence of NAP, Keywords in Titles, Domain authority,
etc.)
Link Signals (14.4%)
(Inbound anchor text, Linking domain authority, Linking
domain quantity, etc.) Source: SEOmoz
Optimize Your Page
● Remove duplicates
● Carefully select your categories
● Use photos
● Complete all fields
● Get reviews
● Make sure your NAP is consistent across
other directories
● Create a custom business description using
primary keywords, but write to your
customers
Your website should be growing your
business. It’s your best tool for marketing to
and engaging customers, but Search
Engines also need to understand it for local
search.
Your Website
Tell a story while at the same time, guide
customers toward what you want them to
do on your site - Calls to Action.
Your Website
It improves your local search.Your Website
● Title Tags and Meta Descriptions
● Use keywords that match your products,
services and business
● Organize your site around products,
services, and the right keywords
● Use headings
Your Website
● Mobile friendly NAP on every page
● Have an active site - blog
● More content is better than less
● Display testimonials
● Provide social media sharing
It improves your local search.
Your WebsiteIt improves your local search.● Make sure it’s mobile friendly or responsive
Your WebsiteIt improves your local search.● Use Schema.org markup language
Search engines including Bing, Google, Yahoo! and
Yandex rely on this markup to improve the display of
search results, making it easier for people to find the right
web pages.
http://schema.org/
Your Website
● WooRank
● Google or Bing Webmaster testing tools
Test your site’s local search optimization.
Reviews & Ratings● 70% of Americans now say they look at product reviews before making a purchase
(PowerReviews).
● 70% of global consumers trust online consumer reviews, making them the second most
trusted form of advertising behind earned media like word of mouth (Nielson).
● 80% of online shopping time is spent researching rather than buying (TechCrunch).
● 92% deemed customer reviews as "extremely" or "very" helpful (JupiterResearch).
● 59% of users think customer reviews are more valuable than expert reviews (eTalling Grp).
● Reviews have a 10.3% weighted influence on search engine rankings.
○ review quantity, review velocity, review diversity, etc.
Reviews & RatingsWho would you contact?
Reviews & Ratings
● Know where your customers
leave reviews.
● Look at your:
○ analytics
○ competitors
○ industry search results
Do you just let them happen? No, You must be proactive.
Reviews & Ratings
● Ask your customers to leave a review.
○ Email them
○ Ask them in person
○ Link from your website
You must proactively manage them.
● Hire someone who specializes in
reputation management
○ an online marketing agency
Or a service
○ getFivestars
○ CusomterLobby
Reviews & Ratings
● Build positive reviews to mitigate negative reviews.
● Respond to negative reviews.
● Build positive PR.
Reputation Management
Social MediaThese are some of options:
Brian Bigda
Ella J Designs
Warwick, RI
http://ellajdesigns.com
904.662.3045
