In this article, I will address the current state of local SEO in 2016, consider some results of a new local SEO study data-driven, and give you some tips for action to win the game of local SEO.
If there is one thing that is consistent about Google, it is that it is always changing. Over the years, we have seen many changes in local search. The latest changes included ads that appear in the pack 3 local results, leaving only two positions. Since Google removed the sidebar ads, you now have to scroll further down the page to see local results. These days, local SEO is more competitive and confused. So where do you start?
I suggest you start by defining your primary objectives. You can not get to your destination if you do not know where you go. If you are promoting a hotel, for example, your main goal is probably to get more bookings - Local SEO to tell you to rank high in the local results of Google, attract positive reviews on sites like Tripadvisor , etc.
The reality of local search in 2016
The algorithm, the amount of stress put business owners in the amount of effort put into their local marketing SEO - everything has changed. Where a few years ago, there were many companies on the sidelines not to do much in the way of optimizing for local search, you now see more people try harder.
The other day at the gym, my personal trainer told me how his business partner understood what was required for higher rankings in local Google results. But how Google decides which company deserves to rank higher than another, while most of them have followed the same guides who preach the same basic tactics optimization?
Do you see the problem here? If everyone is doing the groundwork now, the bar has been raised.
Speaking of goals, keep this in mind: There is no one way to look. # 1 ranking does not mean anything.
Talk User behavior for a moment because it is super important. Imagine that you are in the disappointment of a situation that I had last week. I needed a plumber. To find one, I decided to turn to Google (since I spend all day anyway) to search for a local plumber. Here is my personal journey.
Step 1: Find a local plumber. I jumped paid ads because I feel bad clicking.
Step 2: Watch the local results. Ahh, that's more like it! Let me click on the one with the most comments. I like opinion. They make me feel good.
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Step 3: Let's be honest - I'm not really happy with odds 3.1. I'll look at the results finder now. I jump on the first result and move on to the one that seems best based on the number of stars. I am in the industry, I know how people can spam these things, and yet I still like shiny objects. I am too critical and biased.
Step 4: After judging everyone at face value, I decided to click on Master Blaster and read reviews.
Step 5: I am not convinced by the reviews for some reason. After that, I found myself turning to Yelp and reading reviews I thought real people. I decided that company, which has done excellent work at a fair price.
My behavior seems really odd in retrospect, but it proves a point. There is no one way to look. Some users can not click on the first result; some will click the third result. They can click in the local pack and look at reviews. They can go to another Web site to verify your comments. I think this proves my point: you need to focus on your primary objectives.
Let's look at a study and what it means for you local SEO-oriented data
In late June, SEO and PlacesScout.com Local Guide published a large study on local SEO ranking factors. (Props to Andrew Shotland, Leibson Dan and Mark Kabana.) While there are other studies that are mostly based on opinion, they examined the data to come to their conclusions (which I really like and respect).
As with any SEO study, there are more data points we could ****yze and much we can not, as we have no access to necessary data (because Google hates us). That's why you hear "correlation is not causation" many in our industry; this is particularly true with learning machine However, I think Mike Blumenthal said it best.
"Dan and the team LocalSEOguide have done a good job trying to bring some clarity and discipline on a topic otherwise founded opinion and popular myth :. search ranking local factors While correlation studies can never elucidate causal effects, especially in an era of machine learning, they can provide real and solid clues about where to look. "
- Mike Blumenthal
I agree. To be honest, there was no local SEO numerous studies based on data reported to date; I hope this is the first of many. Now look at some of the main factors of the study and decompose.
key takeaways from the study:
Here are the top 5 ranking factors they identified:
Sites with a lot of feedback tend to rank higher.
Views correlation profile with higher rankings.
High Rank Sites Majestic AC have a strong correlation with high rankings premises. (According to a representative of Majestic SEO: "Some of our download files contain AC Rank, but in general, we went from only use Trust & Quote flow scores" I interpreted this as: ". Do not expect to see more. ")
referring subnets had a strong correlation with strong local rankings.
The total number of high correlation reference also had IP with strong local rankings.
Obviously, there were many more data points than the top five. You can see the entire chart above they did, Local SEO Guide published with permission.
Now let's break the top 5 local ranking factors from the study.
1. Locations with a lot of comments seemed to rank higher
We'll talk later, but if you do a lot of local research you will also see that companies without a lot of comments (or less critical than their competitors) can certainly classify still high.
On the other hand, if you've seen some of the click studies I ran, we have always seen as local listings with reviews tend to get more clicks. This will tie in # 2 below:
2. The profile appeared to be correlated with higher rankings
If you are new to SEO, you may not have seen some very interesting CTR studies made by Darren Shaw Whitespark and Rand Moz. There seems to be a measurable correlation, when the result is clicked more, it gave a higher ranking.
This being the case, you can see why reviews may be important and also correlate with higher local rankings. On a side note, I always click the sites of my clients in the local results and to stay on a bit in the search page.
3. Majestic AC Rank seemed to have a strong correlation
There are tons of metrics backlink there. Moz has, Majestic SEO, Ahrefs, Research Tools Links ... and the list continues. This study compared Moz & Majestic. In the future, it would be good to compare other tools as well, to get a better sample. Link tools do not detect any links that Google is, as of course Google itself has the most resources for web indexing.
It is important, 3 of the top 5 ranking correlation factors of this study include link signals. So, if you believe all those "SEO is dead" messages? No. links still carry a huge amount of weight. Not only does this study show that the help I can tell you from personal experience that move the needle in competition law offices of niches requires good quality links (assuming you do everything right) .
What was missing from the main factors?
Noticeably absent were the main factors quotes and website landing page (on site) factors. I know what you're thinking: "But wait, Casey, everyone says to build those pesky quotes!" I'll answer that in the section below.
Overall, the study had a lot of great ideas. I suggest you check yourself and dig when you have a chance. But now I want to shift the focus a bit and talk about what you need to do to rank higher in competitive local niches.
Conquer the competition
Are you ready for the super-formula secret that we use for our customers classified in competitive niches? Well, it's probably no secret. We just work hard and take into consideration that the tools are not 100% accurate.
Speaking to compete here and beat your competitors, I will assume that you put in the elbow grease to get your Google My Business card optimized. Otherwise, I suggest you read the best practices in my final check of Local SEO Guide and make sure that your listing violates Google guidelines.
And if you are not the organic rankings for your keywords, you have a lot of work to do. Do not expect to classify locally unless your site deserves and ranks organically. Here are the things I look at once everything else is in order.
If you have devices major issues, securing the first
If you are not ranking in the top 20 results of local search engine for the keywords you are targeting, this article may not be for you yet. First make sure you have no underlying problems with your website or list. If you are sure you do everything right and see the movement, then feel free to follow along. If not, here are some common problems you can look first:
Duplicate ads // Have you duplicate advertisements for your business? Read it.
You are suspended // If you spammed GMB, check that.
You are trying to rank for a keyword you can not // Are you in search of the city? Keep in mind that if you are outside the city limits, you will have problems for research using a modifier of the city.
Incorrect Categories // Bro, are you even right categories?
Stop taking shortcuts // Report spam
Seriously. If your competitors are spamming, make sure to call them. Google has made this much easier now. If you need practical advice, see Joy Hawkins The Ultimate Guide to fight against spam on Google Maps. Those of us who work in this industry have an ethical and professional responsibility to avoid spamming local results and to report to those who misbehave.
traditional signals go a long way
Although I've been seeing more variations than normal, it still rings true that companies that rank higher in the organic results, non-local research also rank high in the local search results. Your organic optimization should be in order, both the ranking point of view and perspective of the user experience. Do not think of them as separate strings and isolated.
Reviews Reviews are cool
Millennials talk for a second. A study by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States Foundation,
millennials like me are review-happy. The study found that millennials' using mobile devices to read user comments and explore information on social networks. Having grown up with mobile and digital technology as part of their daily lives, they turn their attention between media platforms 27 times per hour. " While millennials are not the only group of users by any means, it highlights my point earlier: feedback is important to many.
Notice, in my opinion, can have a positive impact on the ranking because of the resulting increase in CTR. Notice also help you build confidence in your business and win more business. I am very pleased that the next big local SEO study is expected to take a deeper look at reviews.
Building opinion and customer feedback into your business model
If you have not already, you should be sure that you get reviews. They need to be integrated into your business processes. It's that simple. If you do not have a review strategy, you'll struggle with this forever. If you are in the house or need a solution for your customers, see a review service like Get Five Stars. It is easy to use and allows you to streamline your guest reviews. It also allows you to easily add a rating widget on your site.
Easily create a comment link for customers
If you use your own marketing system like Infusionsoft you can generate direct links to review your emails using tools like this. This will show a direct link to the screen "comment" for your business if your user is logged into Google. See the sample link that we created for ourselves here.
Put comments on your site
One thing I want to do for my clients is legal add reviews on the site. Not only we like add yellow stars, customers faces, and quotes on the pages of the actual site, but we also like to add the review scheme to help get stars in their organic search results. Although this is more of a conversion and the organic game, you should try it.
SEO On Page SEO technique //
I raise on page SEO technique because of the shocking number of people I talk to who say things like "Well, I do not care about organic SEO, I just want to show on the map." That's another idea common false. Try to be the best in all your marketing efforts and you will be rewarded for doing things the right way.
How your site speed is? If you do not know how Google sees your site speed site, see their mobile-friendly test here. Is it bad? Is it slow? If you get traffic to your website, you are probably running on conversions, unless you take the speed and ease of use the site considered.
friendliness
What is the conversion that you like? Now ask yourself this question: "If I was given a list of search results with an ad, my business, and a competitor, would the user clicks on my result before the others and once they clicked, will they be satisfied? The results? "If the answer is no, you need to consider why.
It's nice to have a high ranking for important keywords, but you have to think the customer journey. If the user sees your list, click on your website and then bounces to click on another result, how this look? Why would they do that? It is probably because a) they could not easily find the information they need, b) it took too long to load, or c) there were problems using.
Why I still talk about quotes // What you should do
As I mentioned above, quotes were notably absent from the study of local ranking factors. This is probably because Google has gotten much better with data and data sources. quotes devaluing as a ranking factor has been a discussion in the world of local SEO for some time. I'm in the camp that citations should be cleaned, but probably will not help you much outside of the base. Here are some thoughts to go with that.
Enhance your head Quote Service
First, many quotes are links, or have a place to add a link. These sources where your link is hidden among millions of companies and given a nofollow are not really going to help you move the needle in my opinion. At the same time, you need to evaluate your quote sources as sources of links, too.
Correct the data header
Second, you still need to correct data on the data aggregators and high level of citation due to poor potential data problems. If you are a new business, you can simply create these and go. If you are an established business that has moved in the past, you need to get the right things. Why? It would not be the first time I see incorrect list created out incorrect or old data. If a new Google My Business page is created out of this bad and old data, you shoot yourself in the foot. Otherwise, if there is not much wrong or false information sending signals, you should be fine. Get a local Moz to solve this problem - it is super easy to use.
Get to 3rd party sites header Business
Third of all, you can always do business from 3rd party sites. As the example I gave earlier, if you are promoting a hotel, you want to be registered TripAdvsior. This brings value to your primary objectives. You must not be listed on ThisAwesomeHotelBookingWebsiteThatNobodyWillSee.com.
I'll tell you really should focus on the best quotes, however. Let's face it ... No YourCitysIndustryDirectory-CitationSourceofAwesome.org visit, which is ranking on page 47 for your city and the keywords industry. I did it in the past. Do not get this tunnel vision. Focus on what will make a difference.
Outside the main quotes, be sure to focus your attention on the links instead of quotes to avoid diminishing returns. I have not seen an example where more low quality quotes helps a business rank better in local results ... but I saw just the opposite with low quality sites link to penalties.
On a side note, make sure your quotes are also indexed. I recently did a study that showed an automated platform does not work well.
Get links // No more crappy links, get fewer large links
If you've done everything else, my advice is to focus the majority of your efforts on the links. Links still work and they still make the biggest difference - not only to me but also on the basis of data from studies such as those discussed here. Out of curiosity, I also reached out to Garrett Consulting Mehrguth the directive for its # 1 tip to move the needle:
"The thing above, you can do to move the needle in the local SEO today, in my opinion, is to create bonds of authority.
While I believe that the quotes and consistency of the NAP are essential, they are to me more than the needle-pushers requirements. For action items, we have seen success with the chamber of commerce links, local scholarship links, links to industry partners (business wholesale plumbing supply connecting to a plumber for example) directory of hyper-local links (we find these by searching "city name" and looking at all the directories associated with the area that rank well organically), links in local newspapers via press releases at business magazines, and content creation for local magazines. All of these are great victories that definitely move the needle once you already have your keyword targeting, content, NAP, quotes, design the site, and other fundamental principles in place. "
After working with a client who received a nasty manual penalty in the last few years, I have changed the way we get our links for our customers. If you can get your name or type of business city in the anchor text naturally, then that's great. Not too well.
Now let's you get 4 links that are legitimate for your business.
1. Sign HelpAReporter.com
Spend 10 minutes each morning to read the daily emails from HARO. HARO stands for Help a Reporter Out and wow. Daily there are a couple of emails that come through journalists seeking to interview experts. The owner of a company or even an employee of your company should be able to get an application. Do not be afraid of failure or rejection and often. Here is an ideal start guide for links to get help from HARO.
2. Sponsor a local event
Find a cause that is dear to your heart and sponsor the organization. Many causes logos list of sponsors and links to their websites on their local landing pages. If you host your own event, you can usually get listed on the website of the city (if it is an event approved by the community).
3. Get a list of your local business directories
You know the quote sources top. Now, Google the name of your city and see which rank websites for your town. Does the Chamber of Commerce? Join. Does the BBB? Join. Are there specific directories to the city? Join.
4. Start a Community initiative; give back.
I work with many law firms these days and we are always looking for ways to give back to the community. Some of our most successful campaigns this year are free programs taxi on holidays, toy drives and food drives. These are all ideas that get media exposure and are real marketing ideas.
Need more links? Check Point Blank SEO Guide link building here; it is a very good list for the entire industry. If you are a law firm in need of links, check these specific resources.Moving the needle over
If you have trouble moving in the SERPs at least the number 3 position, remember that it becomes more difficult to classify the higher you get. Those competing in this landscape are likely to invest resources. You should not spend more than their resources, but you have to outsmart them. On top of that, I think Google is much slower than used to be. The effects of the links you receive may take more time to have a positive effect.
In situations where I have to move the needle in a difficult market, you will find me do this:
Ensure that I do just as I can
Creating content that is gaining links to other pages on my site
By focusing on other ways that I can gain links and boost my authority ← This is my top tip!
Keep in mind that the tools are imperfect. If your settings look best on a tool relative to another, this is not a breakpoint. There is a point where more effort should be made to understand that you are away. Expand your toolbox, rack your brain, and work to thwart people trying to outsmart you.
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