Local SEO 101 An Introductory Guide to Local Search Engine Optimization

Who is this guy?

Parnell Pierre-Louis | Digital Marketing Consultant

@ParnellPL

Local Search Expert Bridging the gap between offline and online marketing Participates in the monthly review of client online marketing

strategy and implementation for Search, Social Media, Conversion Optimization, and Content Marketing

Expert in OOH, Guerilla and Millennials Marketing campaigns Avid Ping Pong Player, Toastmaster member, home cook guru

& father of triplet boysY

What is Local SEO?

Local Search Engine Optimization is the practice

of improving the quantity and quality of traffic

from searches with geographic intent.

How is Local SEO different from Normal SEO?

Local SEO targets users on a local level rather than nationally, subsequently rankings in geographic areas, online local business listings, and local focused content are essential.

What types of businesses need Local SEO?

Any business with local customers. If a business has a physical location, or local phone number, you should be doing local SEO.

Customer Lifecycle Marketing

Marketing is More Effective Than Advertising in the Long Run

Advertising

Content Marketing

Src: Brightlocal 2012

Why Local SEO is So Important There are well over 10 billion unique searches done each month, and that’s just in the United States! Of those searches,

• 20% of Desktop queries have local intent

• 50% of Mobile queries have local intent

There are OVER TWO BILLION unique Local searches per month on Google from Desktop computers in the U.S. Google and Yahoo, and Bing have made dramatic shifts in how they return results, and all the trends point to Local. Additionally, mobile search is exploding. Approximately one in five searches is performed from a mobile device, and mobile searches primarily pull their results from Local Search Engines. All of this is to say, the potential to attract new customers via Local Search is tremendous.

You Have 2 Types of Customers

Anatomy of Search Engine Results For local searches, Google tends to return results that include a blend of both website and local information, mostly from Google +Local pages. Since the Spring of 2012, Google has significantly increased the percentage of "Blended“ results for local searches meaning it's Important to claim & optimize Google +Local profiles, and local business listings.

6% click on paid ads

70 % click on the first three links1

24 % click on other links & pages

1Source: IMFORZA 2013

Local Search

Paid Ads

Paid Ads

Organic

Increase your presence here to Dominate Google

Where are your customers clicking?

Wrong Name

* Custom Content Council Study 2013

61 of consumers feel better about a company that delivers local custom content and are more likely to buy from that company.

%

of consumers

Local Search Results

In addition to basic business information (business name, address, and phone number, local search results display links to Google+ pages, reviews, directions, business images, and other Google products such as street view.

Top Local Search Ranking Factors

1. Physical Address in City of Search (Approximate to Centroid )

2. Proper Business Category Associations in Business Listings

3. Accurate & Complete Business Citations

4. Domain Authority of Website

5. Reviews – Velocity, Quantity, Keywords in Reviews.

50% of Local Searches Are On Directories and Mobile Apps

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%

15.1%

37%

43%

Missing / Wrong Address Missing / Wrong Name Customers Who WouldLook for Another Merchant

Wrong Address

Wrong Name

Go To a

Competitor

Directory Profiles Missing Basic Brand Information

* Yext Study 2012

If name, address and phone are wrong …

How Many Local Customer Touch

Points Are Missing Your

Brand Message?

Claim Your Local Business Listings

Claiming your listings gives you control over how the search engines index you and prevents spammers from hijacking them. This can also improve your search engine rankings and bring you more traffic.

How to Check Your Local Listings

See how your business is listed on Google, Bing, and other major local search engines. Getlsited.org and Yext.com provide free,

• Listing Snap Shots

• Listing Completion Reports

• Listing Accuracy Reports

Your Report – 87% Inconsistent

Errors in info

Missing Listing

Missing Information

Missing Listings in Full Report

Missing Information

Deals – Call To Action • Top 4 reasons why an active deal is great even if it doesn't get a claim directly:

• 1. If you have an active deal, it will be included in each email newsletter you send,

creating increased loyalty to people who already have signed up

• 2. They are used as a call to action on directories like Yahoo, Foursquare, Citysearch, etc. making your profile there more attractive on those sites and building links for SEO

• 3. They are syndicated on Coupons.com, 8Coupons, Local Saver, Yellow Pages app, and many other coupon sites, again getting awareness and building links for SEO

• 4. They are used as a call to action on your mobile site – if you are using our mobile site

• You may not get claims directly, but may get claims on third party sites and additional promotion and links everywhere online.

Submitting Local Business Listings • Categories – select relevant categories accurate to your business. • Consistent Business Information – use the exact name, address, and phone number for all profiles. Include hours, payments accepted, and other relevant details. • Local Phone Number – if possible use a local phone number, some local directories reject listings

without local phone numbers. • Optimized Business Descriptions – optimize description for location and product/service keywords. • Products/Services – list all relevant products and or services • Service areas – if applicable specify service areas, this is feature is available in Google+ Local that

can help make your listing more relevant to specific search areas. • Logo, Photos, Videos • Coupons & Special Offers

Google+ Local Claiming Google+ Local is an imperative. As mentioned earlier this listing is what appears in local search results on Google. Google+ Local Listings ranking factors Include: • Proper Category Associations • Local Area Code on Place Page • Product / Service and Location Keywords in Business Title • Association of Photos with Page • Product / Service and Location Keyword in Place Page Description • Product / Service Keywords in Place Page Custom Attributes • Number of Actions Taken by Searchers on a Place Page • Association of Videos with Place Page • Inclusion of Offer on Place Page

Google+ Local Rank

Consistency of Data Across Directories

Website Schema Encoding

Keyword Usage

Content Rich Google+

Local

Factors Affecting Google+ Local Rank

Google+ Local Optimization

• Claim and optimize every location’s Google+ Local

– Descriptions, photos, videos, hours, etc.

– Localize each profile with neighborhood / city keywords so they rank better

• Work directly with Google’s Local Search Data team

– Evolve as Google makes updates (x updates last year)

Your Pages Optimized Pages

EVOLVE

Top Citation Sources

The Best Local Citations by City and Category Getlisted.org provides

recommendations for where to

get your business listed on local

websites and directories, and on

websites in your industry.

Quick Local Listings Submission

Universal Business Listings UBL.org distributes your enhanced listing to the key underlying databases that provide anchor data to major search platforms.

Other services:

Online Reviews

52% of users said that positive online reviews

make them more likely to use a local business How Do I Get More People to Review My Business? Advertise and link to your profiles on the major search engines on your own

website. Create a “How to Leave a Review” Page on your site with detailed instructions for

visitors Include a link to a site where recipients can leave a review in the signature of all

email communications. If your customer has an obvious email address, such as @Gmail.com or

@Yahoo.com, simply ask them to review your business using that particular search engine.

Do not manipulate reviews!

Onsite Local SEO Just as important as offsite efforts in Local SEO is an

optimized website.

Titles, Meta Descriptions, and Headers –

optimized for location and product/service keywords

Local content – targeted for location and product/service keywords

Schema code – markup code allows search engines to easily identify and categorize content, schema code should be used for business information including address, phone numbers and can be used for such things as reviews and recipes. your full business contact information in rich snippet format on the site.

HTML Onsite NAP matching +Local page NAP. It’s more important than ever that Google be able to associate your +Local page with your website.

KML File on Domain Name – KML files help validate accurate business contact information.

The Ultimate Local Landing Page

“The Ultimate Local Landing Page”

is a resource guide I created for optimizing

onsite location page(s).

Consider all the local related

content you can include on a

location page to enhance your

visitors experience and to optimize for

search engines.

– 40% of small businesses do not have websites

– 80% do not have mobile-optimized websites

– #1 local marketing expenditure with lowest attrition

Starts With A Modern Website

Fully responsive technology

Modern design

Engaging content

Optimized for search

Optimized to convert

Full service

Best-in-Class Websites

Demo Sites

• Medical (Dentists): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/29c2f1f0

• Professional Services (Lawyer): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/d66dd9f9

• Health and Beauty (Hair Salon): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/preview/4e092589

Demo Sites

Auto Repair: http://dashboard.localvoxsit

es.com/preview/ee053415

Retail (Trophy Awards Shop): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/previ

ew/88bc68e7

Restaurant: http://dashboard.localvox

sites.com/preview/2128440e Home Services

(Painter): http://dashboard.localvoxsites.com/previ

ew/6c0667cd

Local SEO Resources • LocalVox Resources: http://localvox.com/resources/ • David Mihm for SEO Moz:

http://www.seomoz.org/users/profile/439609 • Local Search Ranking Factors: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-

search-ranking-factors.shtml • Mike Blumenthal’s Blog: http://blumenthals.com/blog/ • Search Engine Land’s Local SEO Column:

http://searchengineland.com/library/local-search/ • Andrew Shotland's Blog: http://www.localseoguide.com/ • Nifty Marketing Local Search Blog: http://niftymarketing.com/

For a Free Directory Listing

ppierrelouis@localvox.com

My LinkedIn Profile:

Parnell Pierre-Louis

www.linkedin.com/in/parnellpierrelouis/

Thank you.