#WCMKE 1 An inside look into Google Local and building local links. LOCAL OR BUST!

#WCMKE 2 RACHEL HOWE Senior Search Marketing Specialist SEO Setup Lead Outdoorsy. Crafty. Foodie. RENEE GIRARD Senior Search Marketing Specialist Part-Time Link Hygienist Lover of Tea & Rescue Mutts. WHO WE ARE

#WCMKE 3 Founded in 2003 HQ Milwaukee, WI WHERE WE WORK Milwaukee, WI Ann Arbor, MI

#WCMKE 4 BACKGROUND Local search fundamentals THE OPPORTUNITY Missed opportunities for visibility THE SOLUTION Google My Business, on-page & off-page RESOURCES Further learning and key takeaways AGENDA

#WCMKE 5 WHAT IS IT? THE FUNDAMENTALS LOCAL SEARCH BACKGROUND

#WCMKE 6 What is it? Local search engine optimization is the practice of increasing your visibility for geo-based searches. WHAT IS IT?

#WCMKE 7 WHAT IS IT?

#WCMKE 8 Local Optimization Fundamentals Google My Business – Claim, optimize and share On-Page Optimization – Optimize website landing pages (localize meta tags & copy) Off-Page Optimization – Citations, backlinks and directory listings (monitor & pursue) LOCAL SEARCH FUNDAMENTALS

#WCMKE 9 OPPORTUNITY COSTS LOCAL OR BUST THE OPPORTUNITY

#WCMKE 10 Opportunity Cost: Less visibility Lost business to competitors Why it Matters: Local visibility Mobile searches OPPORTUNITY COST Source:

#WCMKE 11 Map Pack Carousel Local 7 Pack PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

#WCMKE 12 Correlation between universal search and local search PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

#WCMKE 13 ADDITIONAL PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITIES Non-Local Query Local Map Pack Local 7 Pack

#WCMKE 14 THE LOCAL POTENTIAL IS MASSIVE 15-20% Of all searches are mobile 79% of people who own a mobile device, conduct local searches When mobile will surpass desktop 4,000,000,000 Out of 7,000,000,000 Google searches have local intent

#WCMKE 15 Sites that aren’t mobile friendly, will see a negative impact on their rankings in the mobile search results. LAST WORD ON MOBILE Matt Cutts Head of Google’s Web Spam Team

#WCMKE 16 PART I GOOGLE MY BUSINESS THE SOLUTION

#WCMKE 17 Google My Business Interface for… Business Pages Brand Pages Google+ Maps Functionality +1 (Shares) Reviews (Zagat) Communities Photos Videos Updates Hangouts WHAT IS IT?

#WCMKE 18 GOOGLE LOCAL RANKING FACTORS What’s Important? Proper category associations NAP consistency Name Address Phone Number Number of reviews Proximity to centroid (location)

#WCMKE 19 GOOGLE REVIEWS To encourage reviews for your business: Remind your customers to leave a review Become active on Google & respond to reviews Verify your business!

#WCMKE 20 CREATE & CLAIM Create a Gmail account. Claim (list) your business(s) & optimize. INCLUDE CATEGORIES Select up to 5 category associations for your Google Local page. ADD IMAGES, VIDEOS & DESCRIPTION Include a business description, along with photos and videos. GET REVIEWS! Include a link to Google page on website & pursue reviews. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

#WCMKE 21 PART II ON-PAGE THE SOLUTION

#WCMKE 22 On-Page – WordPress Landing Page Consistent NAP Keyword and city, state in title tags/H1 tag Keyword in URL Structured data for the Knowledge Graph (schema.org/LocalBusiness) Embed Google Map OPTIMIZE LOCAL LANDING PAGE(S) Included in WP plugins like Yoast Local SEO

#WCMKE 23 LOCAL LANDING PAGE(S) MOCK UP

#WCMKE 24 CREATE PAGE(S) Each location should have its own page with mostly unique content. OPTIMIZE FOR KEYWORD Your keyword is the category association. Include it with City, State in the meta data, copy & URL. ADD NAP & INFO Include NAP along with hours, contact person, driving directions, 800 number, address, photos, etc. LINK TO REVIEWS Include links or icons pointing to your most valuable citations such as Google Local, Yelp, Facebook, etc. ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#WCMKE 25 PART III OFF-PAGE THE SOLUTION

#WCMKE 26 A citation is not a backlink. It is a mention of a business name in close proximity to its address, phone number, or both. Citations are used by search engines to weigh both the accuracy and popularity of businesses. Unstructured Citation: A mention of any part of your NAP (Name, Address or Phone number). Structured Citation: A mention of your entire NAP (Name, Address and Phone Number). WHAT IS A CITATION? Source:

#WCMKE 27 Citations NAP consistency Number of citations Domain Authority of citation sources Proper category associations Proximity to centroid Number of reviews CITATION FACTORS

#WCMKE 28 Backlinks Anchor text Number of backlinks Domain Authority of backlink sources BACKLINK FACTORS

#WCMKE 29 Social Number of Google+ shares Number of Google +1’s Number of Facebook likes Number of Twitter followers SOCIAL FACTORS

#WCMKE 30 Option #1: Purchase tool or software Option #2: Claim listings through local data distributors Option #3: Manually find sources through Google search operators. HOW TO CLAIM YOUR CITATIONS

#WCMKE 31 PROS & CONS OF USING DATA DISTRIBUTORS Pros Automatically submits listings Manage listings from a single dashboard Analytics reports Cons Expensive Fixed list Doesn’t include all sources

#WCMKE 32 TOP LOCAL DATA DISTRIBUTORS: INFOGROUP

#WCMKE 33 TOP LOCAL DATA DISTRIBUTORS: NEUSTAR LOCALEZE

#WCMKE 34 TOP LOCAL DATA DISTRIBUTORS: ACXIOM

#WCMKE 35 TOP LOCAL DATA DISTRIBUTORS: FACTUAL

#WCMKE 36 TOP CITATIONS FOR THE MIDWEST Angie’s List is free to get listed but paid for users & Service Magic is now Home Advisor Source:

#WCMKE 37 TOP LOCAL CITATIONS FOR CONSUMERS Not all review sites are created equal. Yelp, TripAdvisor, Angie’s List, Citysearch, and YP are the most popular for consumers.

#WCMKE 38 GOOGLE “PIGEON” ALGO UPDATE Source: Shows Yelp results at the top of Google with queries that include “yelp” and boosts other local directories.

#WCMKE 39 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CITATIONS Get listed in your local chamber of commerce + Chamber of commerce site:..us Chamber of commerce site:..us + Chamber of commerce site:.org + Chamber of commerce site:.com

#WCMKE 40 SOCIAL CITATIONS Claim your social profiles (but stay consistent) & host events on Google Hangouts

#WCMKE 41 CONSIDER DATA DISTRIBUTORS/TOOLS Consider doing both automatic and manual citation building. FIND CITATION SOURCES Moz Local, Whitespark, search operators, competitive research, etc. ADD LISTINGS & RECORD PROGRESS Use a spreadsheet to record your listing information, citation progress, & citations that need to be fixed. CLAIM SOCIAL PROFILES Claim/add your listing to social profiles even if the your users aren’t active on that platform. OFF-PAGE OPTIMIZATION

#WCMKE 42 RESOURCES PLUGINS TOOLS TAKEAWAYS RESOURCES HOW TO IMPLEMENT

#WCMKE 43 Google My Business Moz Local Learning Center - moz.com/learn/local moz.com/learn/local Whitespark - Andrew Shotland David Mihm Mike Blumenthal - blumenthals.com/blog blumenthals.com/blog Greg Gifford LOCAL SEARCH RESOURCES

#WCMKE 44 WordPress Local SEO wordpress.org/plugins/dh-local-seo/ MapPress Easy Google Maps wordpress.org/plugins/mappress-google-maps-for-wordpress WP Google Map Plugin wordpress.org/plugins/wp-google-map-plugin Local Business SEO wordpress.org/plugins/mdp-local-business-seo Yoast Local SEO Plugin (paid) yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/local-seo SEJ Link Patrol (paid) linkpatrolwp.com WORDPRESS PLUGINS

#WCMKE 45 Google Local Business Category Tool blumenthals.com/Google_LBC_Categories Moz Local (GetListed.org) moz.com/local Whitespark Local Citation Finder Moz Local Citations by Category moz.com/learn/local/citations-by-category Schema.org Local Business Markup schema.org/LocalBusiness Google Webmaster Tools Data Highlighter Tool support.google.com/webmasters/answer/ ?hl=en LOCAL SEARCH TOOLS

#WCMKE Google My Business – Get on it! 2. Citation hygiene – Clean up duplicate or inaccurate listings 3. Get citations – To prove local relevance – preferably in waves, must be precise 4. Get links – To prove domain authority (white hat only, long-term strategy) 5. Optimize your local landing page(s) – Include city, state and business category TAKEAWAYS

#WCMKE 47 GOOGLE MY BUSINESS Create a Gmail account. List your business(s). Optimize. CITATIONS Clean up duplicates or inaccurate listings. Build links through citations. LOCAL LINKS Build authority through local link building. ON-PAGE OPTIMIZATION Include city, state in landing page meta tags and copy. KEY TAKEAWAYS

#WCMKE 48 DOWNLOAD THIS PRESENTATION

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