how local listings work, aha!local univ. session 2
DESCRIPTION
The second session of Aha!Local University, a seminar series designed to teach business owners and operators how to market their business online to local customers. This session focuses on local listings, like Google Maps or Bing Local, and how businesses can take advantage of these as a marketing tool.TRANSCRIPT
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Aha!Local University Session Two Local Lis)ngs are the New Yellow Pages
The second in a series of seminars and webinars about how to market your business online to local customers
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Agenda
• What Are Local Lis8ngs? • Why Do They Ma@er? • How Do They Work? > What Can the Local Business Operator Do Herself? > What Should be Done by an Agency? • What Should You Look for in an Agency?
• Preview of Next Session • Final Thoughts
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Why Do They Ma=er?
• Modern replacement for Yellow Pages • Local business searchers are farther along in the purchase cycle
• 74% of Internet users do local searches (Kelsey Group) • 86% take ac8on on the results (call or visit)
8
67% of searchers 20-‐45 years old reported when they searched online, they believe the top list of companies on Google are the “highest recommended” or “most authorita8ve” businesses to
contact. (SearchOnomics)
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Google is Winning Among Search Engines and Directories
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Jun-‐08 Jun-‐09 Jun-‐10
Yelp
Dexknows
Bing Local
Mapquest
Yellowbook
Superpages.com
AT&T (Yellowpages.com)
Yahoo! Local
Google Maps
9 (15Miles)
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But, Social Media is Coming on Strong • From 2009 to 2010, local search volume grew 13.8% > Search engine searches grew 9% > Non-‐search engine searches grew 22%
10
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Local Search Tool Varies by Searcher Age 18-‐24 25-‐34 35-‐44 45-‐54 55-‐64 65+
Print directory 9% 12% 20% 27% 34% 43%
Local newspaper or magazine 2% 1% 2% 2% 3% 3%
Telephone directory assistance 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
Mobile device 3% 7% 3% 2% 1% 0%
General search engine 45% 36% 35% 29% 25% 22%
Internet yellow pages 15% 23% 24% 21% 21% 16%
Local search engine 15% 14% 11% 14% 11% 11%
Social networking site 6% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0%
11 (15Miles)
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The Data Wholesalers
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The Local Search Engines
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The Internet Yellow Pages
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The Social Networking and Review Sites
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The Local Search Portals
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp. (Getlisted.org & David Mihm)
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What Does All This Mean For Your Business? • Google has largest share, so: > Make sure your business is presented well > Performance (placement) on Google is most important
• But 60% of your market is looking elsewhere, so: > Make sure your data is broadly distributed and accurate
19 January 13, 2011
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How Do Local Lis8ngs Work?
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History Of Google Local Lis8ngs
• 2005: Google Local integrated with Google Maps • 2006: OneBox Business Lis8ng Map appears on main search results page
• 2008: Displaying 10 business lis8ngs rather than 3 • 2009: Displaying 7 business lis8ngs (Google 7-‐pack) • 2009: Dashboard for Local Business Center • 2009: Google Place Pages • 2010: Google rolled out integrated Places Results
Google is s8ll changing Maps dynamically as they try to grow their revenue
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It Used To Be So Much Easier
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LOCATION
RELEVANCY AUTHORITY
Current Lis8ng Placement Factors Is your lis8ng showing up on Page 1 of Google for relevant searches?
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Loca8on: Business Loca8on In Rela8on To City Center
• Local lis8ngs are designed to get you to display in the city you are located
• Less important factor in less compe88ve ci8es or markets (luxury car dealer or spice shops)
• Loca8on trumps informa8on on Places page in most cases
• For service businesses (plumbers, contractors, etc), Google has a way to define service areas
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Authority: Cita8ons
• What is a cita8on? • Cita8ons come from various sites – BBB, Yellowpages, Local lis8ng sites, etc
• Importance > Google looks for cita8ons as part of regular web crawl
> More Cita8ons = Higher Rankings > Compe8tors have cita8ons – you should have what they have
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What Are My Cita8ons?
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Authority: Garnering Reviews
• Benefits Of Reviews > 70% of searchers find online reviews important to their decision process > Search engines use reviews to determine credibility of business > Reviews are on many sites – Yahoo, Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor,
Citysearch, Insiderpages, etc. • Drawbacks Of Reviews
> Hard to control > Some types of businesses have a harder 8me genera8ng reviews > Angry customers more likely to leave reviews > It is hard for business owners/employees to ask for reviews
Important: Ask For Reviews!
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Examples Of Review Performance
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Examples Of Review Performance
Boulder Auto Tune Ups
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Relevancy
• Google is in the “search” business • Your lis8ng must be presented in such a way that the
search engine knows that it matches the searcher’s intent
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What Can I Do Myself?
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Claim Your Google Places Page
• Ensures that your business data (phone, address, business name, URL, etc) is correct
• Gives you control of upda8ng > You can’t update your lis8ng if you don’t claim your page
• Represents your business the right way
Your Google Places Page is your online representa8on of your business.
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Claim Your Google Places Page
• The most important aspect of claiming your lis8ng is to put you in control of your business informa8on
CLICK HERE
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Local Address and Phone
• Have local address – no PO box • Have local phone number – no 800 number • Provide Google with address & phone (you can hide your address from the search results)
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Monitor/Respond To Reviews
• Know what is being said about your business on the web
• Many sites let you respond to reviews lep on their site > Google Maps > Yelp (paying customers) > Citysearch (paying customers) > TripAdvisor
• Use common sense when responding to reviews
Remember: Less is more when responding to reviews
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Monitor/Respond To Reviews
• Monitoring and responding to reviews helps you understand how others see your business and how you can improve!
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Distribute Your Business Informa8on • Distribute your business informa8on beyond Google (40% of
local search market) • The more places your business name, address, and phone
number are listed, the more cita8ons you get on Google • Where to start:
> Yahoo > Bing > Citysearch > Insiderpages > Yelp > Yellowpages (free lis8ng) > Merchant Circle
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Why Do I Need An Agency?
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What Agencies Offer
• The rules in local search change constantly > Agencies monitor and respond to these changes > Agencies know how to op8mize your data for performance
• Agencies know what works on a Place Page and what does not
• Agencies advise on where the local search traffic is
It is an agency’s job to understand the rules and intricacies of local search
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Agencies Advise on Opportuni8es
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Agencies Advise on Opportuni8es
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Agencies Correct Problems
• Duplicate Lis8ngs > Everyone is supplying everyone with informa8on
• Incorrect data > Phone numbers > Addresses > URLs
• Responding to changes in results > Compe8tors > Algorithm changes
Agencies know who to call to get this stuff fixed
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Agencies Provide Distribu8on
• Agencies have access to large distribu8on networks that individual businesses do not
• The ideal distribu8on network is always changing – make sure you can be found in all the right places
Make sure your distribu8on network is always growing
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How Do I Select An Agency? • Experience > How many lis8ngs do they manage? > Client references
• Repor8ng • Distribu8on Network
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Wrap-‐Up
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Planned Curriculum
• Local Lis8ngs and Local Search • Local Paid Adver8sements • Social Media • Reviews • Online Coupons • Loca8on-‐Based Social Networking • Mobile
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Final Thoughts
• Slides will be posted online > Link will be sent to meetup.com group and to Twi@er followers (@parallelpath)
• Please sign in to make sure we have your complete contact info
• Please provide feedback on the meetup.com group site
• Referral gip: Bring another next 8me and get a gip!