Newsletter #6

Whitespark Local Insider

Whitespark's Monthly Local SEO Newsletter

Local Insider

June 2015

What-the-what, we can't believe that it's already June. The Whitespark Team is pumped to be a Partner at MozCon this year, July 13-15. If you're attending this magical conference, be sure to come and say hello and have a few drinks with us on Monday Night at the #mozcrawl. If you can't make it to MozCon, you can get your Whitespark fill at LocalU Advanced in Minneapolis. Darren will be there discussing End-to-End Citation Discovery and Management, as well as, Learning from Your Local Competition.We also would like to introduce you to the newest Whitespark team member, Eduard de Boer, he has joined the LocalSpark team as a Project Manager.Fun facts about Eduard:

He can speak 4.5 languages (Dutch,English, German, French, Ki-Swahili).
Eduard lived in Kenya from 2000 - 2004.
He is a Certified Google Maps Business Photographer.
A Reiki Master Teacher.
Loves to cook delicious meals with him family in his spare time.
He is the proud owner of two wonderful pigs and eight chickens (bacon & eggs).

We're so excited Eduard's on our team!!! Cheers,The Whitespark Team

Recent Blog Posts

Google Maps to Google+ Page Bookmarklet

Mike Blumenthal recently reported that the links to the Google+ Page have been removed from Google Maps results.This is annoying.Now, you have to click on the "X reviews" link, close the pop-up for reviews, then click the Google+ page link in the search results. Worse, if the listing is unclaimed, the search results won't even have a link to the Google+ page.Fortunately, the cid is in the source code, and you can use it to go directly to the listing. No one wants to have to tinker around with viewing source, hunting for the id, copy/pasting, etc, so... Read More.

The JSON-LD Markup Guide to Local Business Schema

Schema.org…Love it or hate it, schema is an essential part of optimizing your website for local search.Difficulties with MicrodataSince Microdata often uses visual markup to style actual elements on the page, I often find myself messing with CSS and HTML in an effort to make everything look visually appealing on a client’s website. The unnecessary layout problems created by Microdata result in unproductive use of my time.What is JSON-LD?JSON-LD is a markup data-linking format that allows for easy embedding of data in a script tag. Unlike Microdata, JSON-LD data runs in the background so to speak. There’s no need to tweak actual HTML elements which creates a much faster experience for marketing professionals. With scripts, there’s no need to worry about a missing opening span or a closing div – everything just works. Think of JSON-LD as a faster, cleaner, more simple delivery vehicle for schema. Search engines love it as they are able to crawl the code with ease to understand the data more quickly. Read More.

How to Find All* the Categories on a Google+ Business Page

Did you know that you can click on the categories of a Google+ page to see all the other categories on the listing? Read More.

Local SEO Around The Web

Google Now Requiring Null Edits to Keep GMB Listings Active in US

Google is now requiring that US accounts periodically login to a given listing to prove that it is active (so if you haven't logged into your account for a few months - now's the time). Google will provide a 2 weeks' notice of the pending unverification via email. If the user is unresponsive to their attempts or does not login to their GMB dashboard, their listing may be unverified.

Game of CRO: 5 Incredible CRO Hacks That Boost Conversions by 3-5x - Larry Kim's Presentation for the Boston Unbounce Road-Show

While we didn't have the pleasure of attending this presentation by Larry Kim, there are so many fantastic tips that are actually helpful and implementable! This a must read for anyone who needs a little inspiration on how to increase their CRO.

Virtual high-five to Larry Kim.

Google Now on Tap Means Local Search Now

Google just accelerated the customer journey from mobile devices to offline locations. At Google’s 2015 I/O event, the company announced “Now on tap,” a virtual assistance of sorts that makes it easier for consumers to find information on their mobile phones without needing to toggle from one application or Web screen to another.

Yahoo Maps Hits A Dead End, Shutting Down End Of This Month

Yahoo has announced changes to several of its products and services, but the biggest surprise is that the company is shutting down Yahoo Maps at the end of this month after an eight-year run. Yahoo said, “The Yahoo Maps site will close at the end of June. We made this decision to better align resources to Yahoo’s priorities as our business has evolved since we first launched Yahoo Maps eight years ago.”

The Best Digital Strategists Don’t Think in Terms of Either/Or

It has become an axiom that “strategy is about making hard choices,” as we have been advised for over 20 years by leading thinkers including Michael Porter and Roger Martin. But our work with a community of senior executives in the Bay Area suggests that today’s market leaders are following the advice of Yogi Berra: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

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