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- Newsletter #18 (copy 03)
Newsletter #18 (copy 03)
Whitespark Local Insider
Whitespark's Monthly Local Search Newsletter
Local InsiderAugust 2016
There is no denying that Google has thrown some major curve balls to Local SEO this past year and there will be more to come. It is because local search is such a mixed bag that there are so many other areas to focus on aside from Google pack rankings and this is a great thing.
The local pack results and maps are just a few of the very many elements that make up local SEO.
Take comfort in knowing that the local community is on the same page. Local will never be how it was 5+ years ago. Competition has increased and it requires you to go beyond just the basics.
The Future of Local From Other Industry Experts:
Phil Rozek
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"If Google’s local map results change significantly or go away, it’s not the beginning of the end, but maybe just the end of the beginning."
Casey Meraz
sums it up well in
:
Mike Blumenthal
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"Certainly the basic tactics of local SEO still have merit not just for ranking, but to be sure that customers can find you. Finally, the time has come where diversifying your local marketing strategy seems to be both possible and the best route."
David Mihm
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"Which many of us have been saying for quite a few years… it’s just taken a little longer for Google to validate our advice than we thought!"
Diversifying Your Local Strategies
Local pack/map rankings are still extremely valuable drivers of business, but make sure you're also spending time on the other areas of local marketing that are within your control. Don't obsess over local pack rankings. Let your goals and intent direct your local search efforts.
Goals - What's your primary objective? (We know the end game is more sales or customers... but get more specific.
For example, if you're a moving company, perhaps you want to grow larger scale moves that include packing services; more qualified referrals that help you phase out smaller services like apartment moves.
Customer Service/ Experience - We've all heard that it costs five times as much to attract a new customer, than to keep an existing one. Creating a relationship with your customers post-sale is something all businesses can reap benefits from.
What's your engagement with customers post sale? What are you doing to impress/delight your best customers? Spend some time identifying your best customers, then figure out a way to show them how much you appreciate them. Turn those happy customers into brand advocates.
Reviews - this goes hand in hand with the above. We can't stress reviews enough, and having a review process in place. Asking for online reviews is one of the easiest, quick win local strategies out there. It all comes down to one thing: "ask every customer." When you start doing that, it all just falls into place.
There are so many amazing platforms on the market to help you get your review strategy up and running (we have the Reputation Builder and it's super rad).
There are also ample free resources at your finger tips... Our Review Handout Generator for example.
Also, picking up the phone and following up with a customer costs only a few minutes of time.
Be on the top review sites in your industry and the big players.
Local Citations
Build business listings if you haven't yet. Citations are a key basic building block for local SEO.
Clean up your citations. Messy NAP data does have a negative impact on businesses that have moved, changed business information, or have had name changes in the past.
On-Site/Technical Optimization
Is your site mobile?
How's the page speed?
Do you have a location page(s)?
Content - well, written non-spammy content about your services and products. Do you have a detailed page for each service?
Add customer testimonials & reviews and mark them up in schema.
Use other relevant local mediums
Yelp - are you active on Yelp? Do you have a full listing, images, reviews?
Facebook - depending on your business Facebook can add a huge boost of qualified traffic to your site.
Industry/Niche Relevant Referral sites - Know the influencers in your industry and take part in the discussions and forums. For example, as contractor you may see the value in being active on Houzz and Porch both platforms to showcase your work, knowledge and connect with consumers.
Neighborhood rankings
Located in a specific or unique neighborhood? Take advantage of your hyper-location and use it to gain advantage over other local competition. Focus on neighborhood specific content and link opportunities.
Local organic
Get noticed beyond the pack and map with high ranking organic placement. Triggered by long tail keywords, high quality content, and link signals.
Find opportunities for people to link to your website - local sponsorship's, partnerships, media, or interviews are just a few examples.
From where we're sitting the future of local search is bright! We're with Phil Rozek "[a]s long as there are local customers, local businesses, and the Web, there will always be local SEO. It’ll just continue to morph over time, as it always has."
Cheers,
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Around The Web
Google My Business recently reformatted their Insights and there have been a few changes. Joy Hawkins lay’s out what you need to know.
It's been over two years since Google launched Featured Snippets, and yet many search marketers still see them as little more than a novelty. If you're not convinced by now that Featured Snippets offer a significant organic opportunity, then [Dr. Pete J. Meyers will] attempt to change your mind, [in this post].”
"Launched with five approved publishers, Google opens the doors to anyone to apply -- even Yelp and TripAdvisor."
In this follow up click test study, Casey Meraz focuses on local finder desktop results to see where users are most likely to click and what influences their clicking behaviour.
"There are many trends that have sparked the “keywords-are-dead” attitude, including the significance of evolving search-engine-ranking factors like searcher intent and inbound links. Marketers also shape authoritative content around ideas and not specific keyword phrases. At the end of the day, however, you can easily fall short if your strategic set of “ideas” and “topics” excludes any keywords analysis.” Mike Murray gives you seven reasons why keywords are still worth your time!
“Online reviews for a business owner can be downright intimidating. Tens of thousands of businesses exist without one single review online, and though they would love to start getting positive online reviews, they are scared to get started and have no idea what they can do to get traction.” Check out Aaron Weiche’s tips on how getting your first reviews.
Harlan Kennedy gives you three ways brands can improve their customer data collection process.
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