Newsletter #21

Whitespark Local Insider

Whitespark's Monthly Local Search Newsletter

Local InsiderNovember 2016

Citations continue to be the bane of the existence of digital marketing agencies and businesses alike. Not only is the manual work intensely time-consuming, there are many issues people encounter when trying to resolve local citation problems. One of the biggest and arduous being citation inconsistency.It is because of the very nature of the time consuming manual work that automated solutions have surfaced and are very popular in the industry. However, most of the automated solutions suffer from a few shortcomings that are difficult to solve in a non-manual approach.For instance a messy citation footprint across the web - think many business name, address and phone number changes or a combination of any of those. Also, complicated practice-practitioner business models (doctors, lawyers, real estate agents and so on).We have yet to find much empirical research on the topic of automated solutions so we decided to conduct two very small scale case studies; specifically in the case of what happens when you cancel your subscription? or What happens when you sign up? In order to perform the study we used one of the most popular automated solutions on the market – Yext.First we wanted to know what happens when a person/business cancels their Yext subscription after they have been subscribed to Yext for at least a few months? Nyagoslav completed a similar study about 3 years ago, and it was time to follow up and see what improvements and changes have since been integrated into their automated model.It's important to recognize that we offer citation services at Whitespark, and so naturally, we're strong advocates of using the manual approach when it comes to listings, but we have tried to be as empirical as possible with this case study. Our intention is to analyze the data and simply present the facts of this specific case.

Click here to read about our research and findings

P.S. Next week we will publish another post on what happens when you sign up for Yext.Cheers,Team Whitespark

Around The Web

The Increasing Impact of Reviews and Google+ (?!) on Local SEO

With the addition of numeric call outs in the Local Knowledge Panel and the critic/top-ten-lists in mobile results, we are now seeing some big time insights into how Google is using authoritative local sites to inform local search rankings. Reviews increase both authority and relevance and seemingly at an increasing rate.

Google Begins Mobile-First Indexing, Using Mobile Content For All Search Rankings

"While called an 'experiment,' it’s actually the first move in Google's planned shift to looking primarily at mobile content, rather than desktop, when deciding how to rank results."

Local Empathy: The New Tool in Your Brand's Emergency Kit

Give generously. Take your local SEO strategy beyond the office walls and make your brand and community great. Miriam Ellis shows you how and uses some fantastic real-life cases to help give you ideas of how to give back.

Cancelled Moz Local: How Many Listings Still Stand?

Phil Rozek conducted a micro-study on what happens to your listings if you cancel Moz Local. Check out his findings.

Study shows Google’s Possum update changed 64% of local SERPs

"How significantly did the Possum update impact local search results in Google? Columnist Joy Hawkins shares data and insights from a study she did with BrightLocal, which compared local results before and after the update."

Sayonara Google Map Maker - to Be Retired Over the Next 4 Months

Google Map Maker is being rolled into Google Maps. The implications are significant. Check out some initial thoughts, and questions in this post.

How Should SMBs Track ROI From Local Search?

Looking to better track your local search metrics, and the impact your current local campaigns are having on your business? Then check out these suggestions from local search's top experts.

How To Get The Whole Number Search Volumes That You Miss

As Google's Keyword Planner has become even more useless for determining the value of a keyword, alternative methods for attaining whole search volumes quickly are a must. Check out how Mike King and his team approach getting search volumes.

Don't Miss the Winter Edition of Digital Olympus Digital Marketing ConferenceDigital Olympus is hosting a winter edition of their FREE Online Digital Marketing Conference. The event is taking place on December 6 and you can register here.Digital Olympus has lined up over 20 digital marketing experts to teach you the best practices and time-saving tricks. Including Whitespark's very own Darren Shaw. Don't miss his talk on, How Proximity is Changing Local Search. Have you noticed that local search results are getting more and more localized? Darren has been researching the impact of proximity on local search results and will share his findings, as well as provide insights on how to overcome proximity bias to reach more customers from a wider radius.Save your digital spot for this information packed online conference!