1.July 10th 2013 The State of Local Search

2. House keeping Webinar is being recorded Post questions in question module Slidedeck uploaded to slideshare.net Follow up email with all details Presentation then Q&A 3. About InsideLocal BrightLocal & Local Search Forum Bi-weekly webinar series Hot issues, trends & opportunities Great content, excellent speakers Advanced, Informative & actionable More webinars & dates at the end 4. Speakers Mike Blumenthal Blumenthals.com Andrew Shotland Localseoguide.com Phil Rozek Localvisibilitysystem. com 5. Presenters Myles Anderson BrightLocal.com Linda Buquet Localsearchforum.com 6. The State of Local Search Agenda: Google Places for Business Dashboard, 'Carousel' & algorithm updates Google+ Business updates, tips &insights Apple Maps Update & optimization tips 7. Google Places updates Mike Blumenthal Blumenthals.com/blog mike@blumenthals.com Twitter: @mblumenthal 8. Its Not Your Mothers Yellow Pages Mike Blumenthal, blumenthals.com/blog mike@blumenthals.com Twitter: @mblumenthal 9. iCrossing 10. Started in US Single Language Countries Phased Replacement of existing dashboard Rolling out over the next few months 11. Old Dashboard MapMakerNew Dashboard Google Plus Third Party DataMain Index Canonical Local Listing Data 12. Listings display across different array of devices 13. Listings display across different array of platforms 14. Shows 9-20 Listings Depending on Screen Very Little Room Above the Fold Most Links Lead to Google Properties Ranking is the same as before 15. Use Great Photos Consider an Ad on your Brand Reviews Take on Increasing Importance 16. Its Not Your Mothers Yellow Pages Mike Blumenthal, blumenthals.com/blog mike@blumenthals.com Twitter: @mblumenthal 17. Google+ updates, insights & tips Phil Rozek LocalVisibilitySystem.com 18. What You Need to Know About Those Pages That Google cant Just Pick a Name for. 19. 7 Sections: 1. Quick history 2. Getting the names straight 3. The one thing you must know 4. Should you upgrade? 5. Upgrading in different situations 6. Common mistakes to avoid 7. What if there are problems? 20. Quick history Before May 30, 2012: Googles business listings were simple. All you had to know was your local listing was called a Google Places page. 21. Quick history On May 30, 2012: Google rocked the boat: 1. Google Places became Google+ Local 2. Gave some businesses the option of combining their Google+ Local page with a Google+ for Business page. 22. Getting the names straight 4 types of pages to (try to!) remember: 1.Google+ Local page 2.Google+ for Business page 3.Upgraded Google+ Local page 4.Personal Google+ page 23. Getting the names straight 1. Google+ Local page = new name for a Google Places page 24. Getting the names straight 25. Getting the names straight 2. Google+ for Business page = a page for any type of business (not necessarily a local business) 26. Getting the names straight 27. Getting the names straight 3. Upgraded Google+ Local page = what you get when you combine the first two. Its fully social 28. Getting the names straight 29. Getting the names straight 4. Personal Google+ page = same idea as a personal Facebook page 30. Getting the names straight Relationship between Google+ Local (#1) and Google+ for Business (#2): You can have one without the other, or you can choose to merge them (if your business is eligible). 31. Getting the names straight Relationship between personal Google+ (#4) and all the other 3 types of pages None, necessarily. They only cross paths if youve implemented authorship markup. 32. The one thing you must know The ranking benefits of upgraded pages are at most indirect. The only real difference between a page that has been upgraded and one that hasnt been upgraded: the social bells and whistles. 33. The one thing you must know We dont know whether upgraded pages have any direct rankings benefits. They probably only help indirectly. The only real difference between a page that has been upgraded and one that hasnt been upgraded: the social bells and whistles. Quick rundown of social features of G+: 34. The one thing you must know Social feature 1: Posts Google digs content. 35. The one thing you must know Social feature 2: Circles You can add customers (and businesses) to your circles, and they can add you back. 36. The one thing you must know Social feature 3: +1s Customers and others can +1 your business. This is like a Facebook like. 37. The one thing you must know Social feature 4: B2B reviews 38. The one thing you must know The other main benefits: The Google+ dashboard is much nicer than the old Places dashboard. Photo & video uploads are instant. 39. The one thing you must know Because the main reason to upgrade is to get the social features, your decision is: Do you see yourself spending any time engaging with customers - and do you see them engaging back? If not, dont bother upgrading. 40. Should you upgrade? The only case in which its a no-brainer: If youre a one-location business, and if most or all of your customers come to your location, and if youre willing to spend at least little time using the social features of Google+. Otherwise, you probably shouldnt upgrade your page. More detail: 41. Should you upgrade? Scenario 1: Service-area business If you travel to customers rather than the other way around, you shouldnt upgrade. 42. Should you upgrade? Scenario 2: Multiple locations Only if youre willing to upgrade just one location. Google wont let you do more than one location in the same account. (Technically, you could create separate accounts for each location, but theyre probably all in the same account.) 43. Should you upgrade? Scenario 3: Data issues If theres inaccurate info on your Google page, hold off on upgrading until fixed. 44. Should you upgrade? Scenario 4: Not interested in engaging with customers As I mentioned, no point in upgrading if you dont think youll use the social features. Simply having them wont help. 45. Upgrading in different situations Situation 1: Youve got one location and one Google Places page 46. Upgrading in different situations Sign into Google account you created your Google Places page in. Go to plus.google.com. Create page for Local Business. Follow Googles prompts for merging the two. Wait until Google sends you a postcard in the mail with a PIN on it. Only once you sign into Google+ and enter that PIN will you have an upgraded page. 47. Upgrading in different situations Situation 2: Youve got multiple locations, and multiple Google Places pages 48. Upgrading in different situations Pick ONE location youd like to upgrade. Sign into Google account you created that Google Places page in. Go to plus.google.com. Create Local Business page for location youre upgrading. Follow Googles prompts for merging. Go through PIN-verification process. 49. Upgrading in different situations Situation 3: Youre hanging your shingle on local Google for the 1st time 50. Upgrading in different situations Go to google.com/placesforbusiness and create a Places page. Verify by postcard. Takes 1-2 weeks. (At this point, youll have a Google+ Local page, but not the upgraded kind. Granted, youll probably have the sleek new dashboard, but thats different.) If you want to upgrade, do the same process I described: create a Plus page in the same account, request the merge, and verify by PIN. 51. Common mistakes to avoid Mistake 1: Not making absolutely certain youre creating your Google+ page in the same Google account that your Places page is in. You wont be able to merge the two. 52. Common mistakes to avoid Mistake 2: Not creating a Google+ page of the Local Business variety You wont be able to merge. 53. Common mistakes to avoid Mistake 3: Trying to upgrade if youre a service-area business. Youll be able to merge the two pages, but youll probably be penalized because you wont be able to hide the address on your Google+ for Business page. 54. What if there are problems? If you do the stuff I mentioned, youll likely be able to upgrade without incident. But its Google, and that means anything can happen. Fortunately for us, these days Google is OK at helping you sort out issues. 55. What if there are problems? Use the Google Places Troubleshooter 56. What if there are problems? Theyll ask lots of diagnostic questions. Youll want to have the links to your Google listing(s) on-hand. Heres the part of the link theyll want: 57. What if there are problems? You might also be given the option of getting on the phone (!) with a rep. Dont shy away from picking up the phone. 58. Thats it! Phil Rozek localvisibilitysystem.com 59. Questions? Google+ updates, insights & tips 60. Optimization for Apple Maps Andrew Shotland localSEOguide.com 61. How To Optimize Your Business for Apple Maps LSA 2013 Andrew Shotland LOCAL SEO GUIDE Enterprise SEO Consulting for Companies With Screwed-Up Websites 62. Think Apple Maps Suck? LSA 2013 Andrew Shotland LOCAL SEO GUIDE 63. 1,000,000,000 iOS Devices by 2015 http://www.asymco.com/2012/09/17/projecting-ios-devices-through-itunes-account-growth/ 64. Top 5 Client OS 9/12 1. Windows 2. iOS 3. Macintosh 4. Android 5. iOS6 Source: Google Analytics, Average for 50MM Visits, Sep 2012 v. Feb 2013 v. July 2013 2/13 1. Windows 2. Macintosh 3. iOS 4. iOS6 5. Android iOS6 Devices = 82% of all iOS visits 7/13 1. Windows 2. iOS 3. iOS6 4. Android 5. Macintosh 65. Default Map for Every iOS Location App 66. 35% of iPhone Users Use It? http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/03/05/driving-directions-survey-a-fragmented-but-important-market/ 67. Apple Maps US Data Core business listings Reviews 68. Sushi for Lunch? 69. Reviews 70. Tips Yelp Mobile 71. Pics 72. No Pics 73. Bad Pics 74. Business Lost? 75. Report a Problem 76. Report a Problem 77. Update Data 78. Move Pin 79. Check Your Data! http://webapp.localeze.com/directory/search.aspx http://www.mybusinesslistingmanager.com/ http://factual.com/contact 80. http://applemapsmarketing.com/2012/10/how-to-add-your-business-listing-to-apple-maps/ 81. Questions? Optimization for Apple Maps 82. InsideLocal: upcoming webinars July 31st Optimizing the perfect local business website Mike Ramsey + 1 more (tbc) August 14th Great sales strategies for local agencies Laura Betterley & David Sprague September 10th Enhanced citation optimization David Moceri, Myles Anderson + 1 more (tbc) 83. Unanswered questions Post these on Local Search Forum Speakers & Presenters will try to answer as many as possible www.localsearchforum.com/ 84. www.localsearchforum.com/tbc. www.brightlocal.com/insidelocal 85. Thats all folks!