the case of the hidden merchants by mary bowling

#SMX #11C @MaryBowling

The Case of the

Hidden Merchants

Mary Bowling


The Case of the Hidden

Merchants

Sherlock HolmesConsulting Detective


My name is Sherlock Holmes.It is my business

to know what other people don’t know.


Let us hear the suspicions. I will look after the proofs.

“This website is better than the ones that are

ranking.”


Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?

“We’ve tried EVERYTHING

and still can’t get this site to rank well in local search!”


I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorise before one has data.


SERPs

GMB Listing

Location

Web Site

NAP + URL

InLinks

Competitors

Technical


SERPs As Expected?In Google In Google Maps


SERPs Ranking?#3 in Google #23 inGoogle Maps


Technical

Robots.txt

XML Sitemap

Webmaster Tools

Site: search


Categories Correct?

Best primary All applicable No marginal

GMB Listing


GMB Listing Find All Categories


GMB Listing Guideline Violations?

Guidelines for representing your business on Google:

https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en


Duplicate Listings?Search G+ for

Name(s) + location(s)Name(s) + phone(s)Phone

GMB Listing


Map Pin EXACTLY Correct?

ZOOM, ZOOM ZOOM

GMB Listing


NAP + URL Correct?GMB Listing


Location Faking It?


Location Address in “Right” City?


Location Within Map Radius?Baltimore, YES

Salisbury, NO


Location Biz and Address Pins Match?


Location Trouble at Google Mapmaker?


Web Site<title>Maryland Personal Injury Lawyer | Baltimore Injury Attorney | Washington DC Lawyers | Miller & Zois</title>

On-Page Opti for Geo terms?


Web Site On-Page Optimization Aligned?


Web Site More Than One Site?


Web Site More Than One Site?

“JD Law is only mentioned 2 times on this page in text form. John Doe Law is clearly visible to human reviewers in the header. There are 16 instances of James Smith in text on the page. This page is also associated with James Smith’s Google Plus page which has no mention on it, except in reviews, of JD Law or John Doe Law.There are 2 footer links pointing to the home page and contact page that refer to the Law Offices of James Smith. The plus link at the bottom right goes to David Johnson’s plus page.”

Real business name is Joe Doe Law, but has a second site using JD Law as business name.


Web Site Adequate Unique Content?


Web Site NAP Matches GMB?


Web Site NAP Matches GMB?

<title>Contact Busk Family Dentistry | (509) 662-8156 | 222 Mission Street,

Wenatchee, WA 98801 </title>


NAP + URL Check Moz Local


NAP + URL Check Yext


Where links are fromWhat anchor text saysManual penalties

Webmaster Tools

Algorithmic penaltiesPanguin Tool

InLinks

http://barracuda.digital/panguin-tool/

Link Profile?


Address in city Location within map areaMore and/or better linksA “superlink”More media attentionMore targeted focus

Competitors Do Competitors Have Advantages You Must Work

Harder to Overcome?Keywords in biz nameKeywords in URLMore and/or better contentBetter on-page optiActive and savvy on social


The Case of the Hidden

Merchants


www.searchenginenews.com/smx

Education never ends…

the case of the hidden merchants by mary bowling

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