Online Marketing for Local Business
Local SEO
Local SEO Tips – Citation Building in 2017
7 years
LOCAL SEO and CITATION BUILDING in 2017
Citations still play a critical role in local ranking factors both for local pack/finder results and local organic, so Citation building in 2017 hasn’t changed much from the passage of time. However, not every Citation has the same weight, and these both objective and subjective rankings change over time. This is important, because Local SEO professionals need to know where their time is best used to the benefit of their client.
And online directories and other data sources come and go, or change in nature. A huge example of this was the closing of the DMOZ business directory (also known as the Open Directory Project), the largest directory on the web. It went off line in March of 2017, as its owner AOL no longer wished to support the project.
DMOZ is the largest web directory currently in existence, but now defunct – frozen in time, March 17, 2017 to be exact!
The easiest way to understand this weight is to break down each Citation and data source into various classifications.
PRIMARY DATA SOURCES
These are the Big Four data aggregators that gather and validate business data from all types of sources, and then distribute this business information to hundreds of other sites. (Foursquare is becoming part of a new Big Five category that is emerging) The information contained within each of these aggregators – its accuracy – is CRITICAL to the Local SEO success of any business.
InfoGroup, Acxiom, Localeze, Factual (plus Foursquare)
LEVEL 1
These sites are prominent on Google and Bing, etc. and are well known, frequently used sites for people searching for businesses. In addition to generic sites that are used nationally, this tier also includes geo-located and industry/niche Citations that add significant value to your specific Citation profile.
Examples: Yelp, Facebook, Yellowpages, BBB
Niche Examples: Lawyers.com and Avvo.com for attorneys, Denver.com for that area, Wellness.com for healthcare
LEVEL 2
These are business listing sites that have some prominence on Google, decent domain authority, but may be lesser known.
Examples: Yellowbook, Merchant Circle, HotFrog, Manta, Brownbook
LEVEL 3
These will be business listing websites that very few people will know about, or use. Still, they do have benefits as Citation sources – every instance of your NAP online provides at least some benefit – though you are getting to the point where the gain doesn’t equal the time spent here.
Examples: Yellowise, My Local Services, Local Database
If a Directory is in category Level 1, you’ll know it…these are some of the most popular sites on the web. As far as Level 2 and 3, or even beyond? Here you need to rely more on the consensus of those SEO professionals across the country, and world, to help you decipher which is which.
Again, most of these directories are free, so the only thing you lose is the time associated with posting on a Directory site if it doesn’t have the value you assumed. (But also again, time is a very valuable resource, not to be taken lightly!)
CITATION BUILDING IN 2017 – ADDITIONAL NOTES
It’s important to understand here that Citations of NAP aren’t the only thing that affects Local SEO rankings. Some geo-focused content for example can go a long way.
The most vital however is certainly the Reviews your business gets online. Online publication Small Business Trends reported in April of 2017 that:
- Positive comments from customers produce an average increase in sales of 18%.
- Consumers are likely to spend 31% more because of positive reviews.
- 68% of millennials trust online reviews, only half that number trusts TV ads.
- 72% of consumers say positive reviews online make them trust a local business more.
So Google and others view Review data as important because consumers do. Reviews are the connection between the physical store and how its information is shared online. More stats from 2016 help support their importance:
- 70% of consumers will leave a review for a business when asked.
- 41% of consumers say reviews are often their top factors in judging a business they don’t know.
- 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Nearly 90%of consumers read reviews to determine the quality of local businesses.
It’s important to note that it’s considered unethical to provide incentive for customers to leave positive reviews, and that too many good reviews within a short period of time may be considered suspicious.
It’s best to exercise patience in requesting reviews. And instead of asking for positive reviews, ask if there is anything you would need to do to deserve a top ranking.
This way, you’re 1) gathering valuable consumer research input into what issues are of concern to them, 2) are able to build brand loyalty by high-levels of customer responsiveness and service, and 3) influence Reviews in a positive way – without simply asking customers to give the.
Maximum Visibility Local SEO Program
Maximum Visibility Local SEO Program – Affordable, Effective Marketing for Local Business
Our proprietary Maximum Visibility Local SEO Program is best package you can find anywhere – offering more features and benefits than you can find from anyone else online.
As the leader in Local SEO, our enterprise-level relationships with third party vendors gives us access to data that others cannot replicate, and we have connected to the APIs of a number of partners – with more on the way – to provide even more actionable information to you!
And in the end, isn’t that the real point? Not just numbers. But using this data to truly track your performance, and make the adjustments you need for your Brick and Mortar store or office, or local service to improve and expand?
Local SEO is still something that (a good number of) competitors are not (yet!) doing…so you have a window of opportunity available to you to gain a lead in your local marketing – take it while it lasts! Each directory you are entered into not only assures that your potential customers get accurate information while they are out and about, ALREADY searching for someone like you (…the hard work has already been done). Each one also creates a Citation for your business too.
Think of a Citation as one “vote” for your company online – every singular page that contains your NAP – Name, address, and phone number (*EXACTLY the same in all places) and a Citation is generate. Google and other search engines count up how many Citation you have when considering how highly to rank your business in Local search, and there are 100 million Local Searches done daily now.
Local searches are the most motivated, anywhere…80% of searches will end in a purchase! So you need to be found by these folks. See the PDF link below where we walk you through each page of the customized, monthly dashboard you will receive as part of our Package ~
Local SEO Services and 2016 Resolutions You Should Follow
9 years
Local SEO Services – Steps to Take This Year
2016 is now in full swing, it’s time to really look forward into the year and discuss marketing plans.
David Mihm, the local search wizard at Moz, just released the annual Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which helps give local marketers like me more insight into which ranking factors matter the most.
The survey shows a definite shift toward more traditional web ranking factors. Last year’s Local Search Ranking Factors survey had Google Places and Citations weighted heavily, but this year’s study shows that on-site signals and links are the most powerful factors.
This shift is consistent with Google’s recent local ranking algorithm update, Pigeon. Many Local SEOs reported they weren’t hit by Pigeon – because they took a more wholesome approach to local SEO, it’s likely their sites simply had more authority to begin with.
The most important point we try to hammer home to potential clients is that you can’t fool the nerds at Google. Everything you do, both on and off site, should be working toward the end goal of making your user experience awesome… not trying to fool Google into placing you higher on search results pages. Besides, web visitors that don’t convert because their experiences are sub-optimal aren’t worth much, are they?
So, taking what we’ve been able to figure out about the Pigeon update and adding in the results from the 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, these are two very simple tips to help you with Local Search success in 2015:
1) Be Really Awesome
2) Earn Really Awesome Links
Yes, it’s that simple… but at the same time, it’s NOT really easy for most local businesses. Take a look at your competitors in your vertical – nearly every website has the same or similar content, and most sites don’t have that many inbound links.
Okay, So How Are You Supposed To Be Awesome using Local SEO Services?
The best thing you can do for Local Search success in 2015 is to take all the energy you put into trying to fool Google and instead use that energy to make your site better.
Take a long, hard look at your site and look at your competitors’ sites. What can you do to be better? You know that your potential customers will be looking at multiple sites, so make your site the best in your vertical.
Make sure you’re avoiding these common pitfalls – they’re all basic, but we still see far too many websites tripping up on these:
No Home Page Content. You have heard us talk about web content for 6 years now. Your customers (and thus the search engines) need to know what you’re all about. If your home page has a slider or banner or just a few sentences, you need to add more useful content immediately.
Only A Few Sentences On A Page. Once again, your customers (and the search engines) are checking your website for useful, relevant information. If you offer a product or service, don’t just say, “We sell X, call us today for more info!” Today’s shoppers want immediate gratification when it comes to research and comparison shopping, so you need to pack every page with useful content.
Spamming Keywords. You would think that word had gotten out by now, but far too many websites rely on this (extraordinarily) outdated tactic. You’re not going to rank well everywhere in your state simply because you listed out 100 various cities separated by commas on your home page. Does that huge list of cities provide useful information for customers? No. Does it help you rank in Google? Definitely not. Get rid of the junk and populate your site with relevant, informative content instead. It’s not just about SEO, it’s about SALES CONVERSIONS, this keyword spam just turns people off.
Awful Title Tags. You’ve got about 500 pixels of width for your title tags; anything longer will be truncated when it’s displayed in search results. The title tag should summarize the page – it shouldn’t be a huge chunk of keywords you’re trying to rank for. Put your primary keyword phrase at the beginning and your business name at the end. If you’ve got 100 keywords stuffed into your title tag, you just look desperate.
Don’t Forget Your Local Optimization
With on-site signals now carrying so much weight, it’s more important than ever to have your local optimization ducks in a row. It won’t do you any good to bang out a ton of citations if your site doesn’t include the local signals that Google expects it to have. Our Local SEO Services are all about addressing this increasingly important topic.
Again, these are old-school basics, but we hardly see any websites correctly optimizing for Local areas:
– Include City/ST in your title tag. Remember, the title tag is incredibly important for optimization, and including your city and state is an important signal for local relevancy.
– Include City/ST in your H1 heading. It doesn’t have to be the entire heading in and of itself — what’s important here is to include your city and state in the page heading to further show local relevancy.
– Include City/ST in your content. Far too many sites forget to include City/ST information inside the site content. Optimizing for local search won’t work unless you’re talking about your local area in your content.
– Include City/ST in your alt text on images. It’s amazing how many times we see sites that don’t include alt text. Remember, Google can’t see what’s in your images, so alt text helps provide a better understanding of your page content. – – Including City/ST information can really help boost local relevancy.
– Include City/ST in your URL. If you’ve got the ability to edit your URL structure, try to include your city and state information in your URLs. Again, this can go a long way toward providing a stronger local signal to both customers and Google.
(Important Note: if you’re going to update your URLs, don’t forget to set up 301 redirects so that the old address is permanently pointed to the new one.)
These are all just specific tactics to help with the main goal: to make your site more awesome. Stop thinking about how to make your website rank, and start thinking about how to make your site the best in your niche. That’s how you’re going to rank better and convert more visitors. Isn’t that the goal?
If you’re looking to connect with your awaiting audience thorough Local SEO services in St. Louis and elsewhere, give Hat Trick Associates a call today at (314) 494-3494 or send me an email directly, at: jhaynes@hattrickassociates.com.