Local Search 2015

Presented by:Kristopher B. JonesFounder and CEO,

LSEO.com

About meSerial Entrepreneur / Investor

• Founder of Pepperjam – sold to eBay• KBJ Capital – 15 investments• Founder / CEO of Digital Marketing

Services and Software Company LSEO.com

• Chairman of Internet Marketing Ninjas• Contributor to Forbes, Inc., Fast Company,

Business Insider, and others• SEO Visual Blueprint (100,000 copies sold)

What has changed• New Layout - 7 pack to 3 pack (less

organic real estate dedicated to local)

• Decoupling of Google+ (emphasis of GMB data)

• Addition of website button• Google testing pay to play local

(Home)

What matters less?• Google+• Quantity of links; reviews; citations

in favor of quality• Social queues, especially G+ 1’s

and circles• Proximity to centroid (location of

search matters more)

What matter most?Local SEO Fundamentals

• Links / Anchor Text• Geo cues• Citations / NAP Consistency• Title Tags• Domain Authority (History)• Optimized Google My Business Listing

(GMB)• Reviews and Ratings

Links to your website• Quality matters over quantity• Anchor text with location and / or

business descriptive keywords is positive• Link diversity matters• Generate localized links• Focus on industry relevant links over non• Links to your Google My Business page

also appear to be a ranking factor

Geographical Cues• Include City / State in Title Tags• Include City / State in GMB Landing

Page Title• Generate relevant content based on

your geography / neighborhood• Geo keyword in domain • City / State in H1 / H2 tags on GMB

page

Citations / NAP Consistency

• Inconsistent NAP information across citations is a negative ranking factor

• Quality of structured citations more important than quantity

• Always secure locally relevant citations• Unstructured citations from media appears

particularly powerful ranking factor• Ensure your website NAP is consistent with

GMB NAP

Title Tags• Use City / State in web and GMB

landing page titles• Use business descriptive keywords in

web and GMB titles• Title tags (and descriptions) must be

unique for each web page• Google ranks web pages, not

websites

Domain Authority• History / age of domain• Total # of inbound links• Quality of inbound links• Business description / geographical

relevance in domain may positively impact local ranking

Optimized Google My Business Page

• Verify your business• Maintain consistent NAP• Select appropriate business categories• Include geography and business

description in business title• Generate high authority and

geographically relevant links to page

Reviews and Ratings• Reviews / Ratings take up prominent real

estate in local 3 pack and finder • Positive reviews (4-5 ratings) drive clicks /

calls• Take proactive approach to getting

reviews• Most recent reviews should express

positive sentiment• Reviews with geographical and business

descriptive terms is positive

Additional considerations

Mobile• 88% of mobile users use the web

to search for local content• Site must be mobile-friendly• Pay attention to conversion rates

on mobile versus web• Focus as much as possible on click

to call functionality

Website• A website button is prominent in the

new 3 pack local SERPS layout• Generate lots of geographically relevant

and business descriptive content• Keep content fresh, useful, and

engaging• Make certain NAP is crawlable• Invest in a great (or better) domain

Thank you!Let’s Stay Connected:

- LinkedIn - in/internetceo- Facebook - /kbjcapital- Twitter - /krisjonescom- Instagram - /kbjcapital- E-mail – kris@krisjones.com- kbjcapital.com / krisjones.com