local seo hotseat

Local SEO Hotseat

Phil RozekLocalVisibilitySystem.com

Worcester Web MarketersJanuary 28, 2014

Local SEO Hotseat

What’s “local search”?

Local SEO Hotseat

What’s “local search”?

Local SEO Hotseat

What’s “local search”?

Local SEO Hotseat

What’s “local search”?

Local SEO Hotseat

What’s “local search”?

…but let’s focuson Google

There’s also…

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

Location – where are they?

Relevance – what do they offer?

Prominence – are they any good?

3 basic considerations

…a little more detail…

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

Is your business in the city where Google thinks someone wants to find a business?

“Location”

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

1) The address you use for Google Places

2) “Localness” of your site

3) How many local competitors are there

“Location” factors

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

Does Google think they’re searching for something in or near that city?

“Relevance”

Dentist = yesDentist salary = no

Restaurant reviews = yesRestaurant financing = no

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

1) Your Google Places categories

2) Your other categories (e.g. on YellowPages)

3) Your entire site(guts/content, title tags, page names, etc.)

4) Links and reviews

“Relevance” factors

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

Why should your business outrank others?

“Prominence”

Local SEO Hotseat

When can businesses rank in local Google?

1) Citations – e.g listings on Yelp, CitySearch, etc.

2) Reviews – on Google+ and beyond

3) Links – mostly in tougher markets

“Prominence” factors

Local SEO Hotseat

4 basic steps

Local SEO Hotseat

4 basic steps

1) Have a Google+ Local (AKA Places) page

2) Work on your other listings

3) Make your site “local”

4) Get reviews and maybe links

What you need to do:

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1

(Sturbridge)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

“I did very little SEO because very few people look for my type of business online.

“My primary customer is the facilities or purchasing manager for an office, school or medical building. They usually look for their janitorial services via their network."

-Anthony Fors, Owner, Absolute Clean Online

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

He could rank locally for:

cleaning servicecommercial cleaning servicehouse cleaningcarpet cleaningetc…

Local SEO Hotseat

So how’s it going?

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Problem: no Google Places page

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Solution: create a Google Places page (AKA Google+ Local)

google.com/business/placesforbusiness/

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Problem: no “citations”

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Solution: create listings on all those sites

…and ideally more (use the Local Citation Finder tool).

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Problem: website isn’t “local”

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Solution: name / address / phone number on every page

Must match what’s on Google & other listings:

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Problems with homepage:

1) It’s a blog

2) No mention of specific services

3) No mention of service area or location

4) No links to relevant pages

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Solutions for homepage:

1) Static page – same few paragraphs, always

2) Use that space to describe services

3) Describe where you are and where you serve

4) Link to “service” pages. Speaking of which…

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Other problem: thin site – not much info on services

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Problems with homepage:

1) It’s a blog

2) No mention of specific services

3) No mention of service area or location

4) No links to relevant pages

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Solution: create a page for each service

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Final Local Visibility Grade: D

F - Google Places page

F - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)

C - Website

F- Reviews

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2

(Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

So far…

A+ - Google Places page

B - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)

…but what else?

Local SEO Hotseat

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Strengths of homepage:

1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Strengths of homepage:

1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom

2) Name / address / phone in footer

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Strengths of homepage:

1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom

2) Name / address / phone in footer

3) Not spammy and stuffed with keywords

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Weaknesses of homepage:

1) Title tag

<title>The Armsby Abbey - 144 North Main Street, Worcester, MAwww.armsbyabbey.com 508.795.1012</title>

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Weaknesses of homepage:

1) Title tag

2) Better internal linking

Local SEO Hotseat

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Other pages’ weaknesses:

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Could rank organically for “wine bar”…

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Other pages’ weaknesses:

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

Could rank organically for “cheese shop”…

Local SEO Hotseat

How ‘bout reviews?

Local SEO Hotseat

Links?

Local SEO Hotseat

Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

Final Local Visibility Grade: A / A-

A+ - Google Places page

B - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)

B - Website

A+ - Reviews

A - Links

Local SEO Hotseat

A few good tools

Local SEO Hotseat

Tools to help with your local SEO:

GetListed.org

Local Citation Finder

Google Places Category Tool

Google+ Review Handout Generator

Local SEO Hotseat

Thanks!

Phil RozekLocalVisibilitySystem.com