Sunday, August 30Digital Marketing Journals

Local SEO

How to Remove Fake Reviews from Google
8Nov By WhitesparkNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Remove Fake Reviews from Google

Businesses struggle to deal with the effects fake Google reviews have on their Google Business Profile (GBP) search engine rankings. Sadly, receiving phony reviews on your GBP is not a rare occurrence. But it is easier than ever to report and hopefully have them removed using the review management page accessible through your GBP. That is true whether they’re unwarranted bad reviews on your own profile or fake glowing reviews acquired by competitors. Google continually works to improve their algorithmic ability to detect fake reviews. In January, 2023, they shared details with the FTC on how they fight against fake reviews. However, their system still struggles to identify and detect inappropriate content without negatively affecting your real reviews. Key Takeaways Understand Google’s Re...
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How to Get More Google Reviews to Improve Your Local SEO
1Jun By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

How to Get More Google Reviews to Improve Your Local SEO

Let’s play a game! Which of the following statements is FALSE? A. Keywords in reviews impact rankings.B. Keywords in review responses impact rankings.C. It doesn’t matter if you get 20 reviews all at once, or over a longer period of time. The ranking impact will be the same.D. Both B and C.E. Both A and B. And the correct answer is… D! (for Darren, duh) If you got it right, congratulations! You have not been bamboozled by all the false information out there. If you didn’t pick the right answer, don’t stress. I’m here to help you learn. Whether you’d like to brush up on your reviews knowledge or learn how to craft a successful review strategy, this week’s episode is for you. We cover everything you need to know about reviews: from common myths, to review-related ranking and conversion facto...
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Website Conversion Rate Optimization with Aaron Weiche
8May By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Website Conversion Rate Optimization with Aaron Weiche

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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How to Get Instant Verification for Your Google Business Profile
12Apr By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

How to Get Instant Verification for Your Google Business Profile

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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Doing Google Posts the Right Way
3Apr By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Doing Google Posts the Right Way

Welcome to Episode 12 of Get Ranked on Google Maps, where Anne and I work together to boost her to the top of Google’s results and get more clients for her business. We’ve already covered the Q&A section of her Google Business Profile. Now it’s time to turn to her Google Posts. In this episode, Anne and I discuss all the ways to use Google Posts to stand out from the competition and get more leads from her Google Business Profile. I also share some little-known tips on creating next-level Google Posts that are guaranteed to “stop the scroll”, such as: Did you know that you could add videos to your Google Posts, and they autoplay as you scroll through them? Utilizing video content in your Posts can make them more eye-catching and engaging, increasing the likelihood that viewers will tur...
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Beautiful Local Business Website Redesign Example
26Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Beautiful Local Business Website Redesign Example

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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How to Optimize the Q&A Section of Your Google Business Profile
19Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

How to Optimize the Q&A Section of Your Google Business Profile

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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How to Fix Your Website for Better Rankings and Conversions
6Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

How to Fix Your Website for Better Rankings and Conversions

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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The Perfect Google Business Profile Website Alternative
15Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

The Perfect Google Business Profile Website Alternative

Earlier this year, Google made the decision to delete all Google Business Profile websites on March 1st. This will leave more than 20 MILLION small businesses around the world without a website. While these simple one-page websites were nowhere near brilliant, many small businesses depended on them. Now, they have been given 3 months to create a brand new website on another platform. But many of these businesses have a limited budget and/or insufficient tech knowledge, which will leave them with no website at all. This is why our team has created a tool that can keep those websites alive. How businesses can rescue their GBP websites Let me introduce you to the new GBP Website feature in our Local Platform! Your site, just the way it was (but a bit better)  We’ve built our website feature t...
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Can You Hide Your GBP/GMB Address Without Losing Your Local Rankings?
11Jan By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Can You Hide Your GBP/GMB Address Without Losing Your Local Rankings?

How can a service area business (SAB) move their address and not lose their rankings? Well, it’s tricky. I just tested this in a new case study, and I thought I had come up with a brilliant solution, but it didn’t quite work out as well as I had hoped. But fear not. I think there is a solution, and I’m going to break it down in this video. Some Context I posted a tweet about how service areas don’t have any impact on rankings. And Trey Copeland, a service area business owner, replied with the following: This is a great example demonstrating that service areas have no impact on ranking. And it also demonstrates a common problem with Google Business Profiles: Where when a service area business moves their location, it’s very difficult to shift their rankings from the ...
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[SOLVED!] Google Business Profile Video Verification
21Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

[SOLVED!] Google Business Profile Video Verification

Google Business Profile video verification has been the bane of business owners’ existence. Unclear directions, failed upload attempts, bugs, and lack of assistance from Google are among the many pain points people have when trying to video-verify their business profiles. Well, Whitespark just went through it, too. The good news is, I got to go through this painful process myself, and, after much suffering, I successfully re-verified our Google Business Profile! And now I get to share all the tips and tricks I learned along the way with all of you. In this video, I will teach you all the requirements for GBP verification, I will outline the steps you need to take for a successful video verification, and I will take you behind the scenes of verifying Whitespark’s Profile (Spoiler alert: You...
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Opening An Office at Another Business’ Location
12Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Opening An Office at Another Business’ Location

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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Moving your business? Consider Proximity for Local SEO.
4Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Moving your business? Consider Proximity for Local SEO.

Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional questions you may have.
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Moving your business? Consider Proximity for Local SEO.
29Nov By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Moving your business? Consider Proximity for Local SEO.

Does Proximity to a City Affect Local SEO Rankings?When targeting multiple cities in SEO, proximity to a city can indeed affect local rankings. Search engines consider the physical distance between a business and the user's location when determining relevance. Being closer to a city can impact local SEO rankings positively, as it signals greater accessibility and relevance to nearby users in that area.Multi-location Pricing Request Our platform is designed to help multi-location businesses manage their reputation, whether you have 2 or 1,000 locations we can facilitate each business, and set-up your account with a plan that best suits each location’s needs. Fill out the form below to get a quote for your multi-location business. We will email you back directly and answer any additional que...
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Wipe Your Cheating Competitors Off The Map With This Strategy
26Aug By Sam KnightNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, Reviews, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Wipe Your Cheating Competitors Off The Map With This Strategy

This might be due to Mike Blumenthal’s theory at Near Media: that Google’s Spam detection AI was trained on a limited set of confirmed spam. If reviewers or Business Profiles have patterns similar to those in this limited data set, their reviews are automatically filtered. This could explain why evolving spam methods, such as AI reviews, can’t be caught, while real reviews and genuine businesses take the brunt. Leaving aside the “Why” – what can you do about it? You may feel powerless against that cheating competitor (or competitors). Maybe you’ve even flagged their profile or reached out to GBP support to no avail.  Good news: You can fight back. You might just need to get your hands dirty. Google won’t do the work for you, so you’ll need to build a case.  I know it can be frustrating or...
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Does Setting Your Google Business Profile as “Temporarily Closed” Impact Local SEO Rankings?
16Aug By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Does Setting Your Google Business Profile as “Temporarily Closed” Impact Local SEO Rankings?

Back in 2020, Google claimed that setting your Google Business Profile as “Temporarily Closed” did NOT impact your rankings.  Well, what if I told you that this is not the case anymore and that marking your business as “Temporarily Closed” CAN absolutely negatively impact your rankings?  Here’s what I found out. Google’s Stance on the Subject In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many businesses had to shut their doors and mark their Google Business Profiles as “Temporarily Closed”. Around that time, Google’s Danny Sullivan was asked on Twitter if this would have any impact on those businesses’ Local SEO rankings and visibility.   Danny Sullivan reassured all local business owners that “Temporarily Closed” wouldn’t affect their rankings or visibility. That Tweet was la...
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Content Marketing Driving Success Through Valuable Content
10Jun By SEO NinjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Content Marketing Driving Success Through Valuable Content

For effective marketing and content creation, it is important to understand your target audience. It includes understanding their demographics, interests, behavior and pain points. You can custom design your content to address a buyer persona needs and preferences. It builds a trust and drives business growth. A. Identifying your target audience It is necessary to identify and understand your target audience before creating content. This involves defining the demographics, interests, pain points, and behaviors of your ideal customers. By developing buyer personas and fictional representations of your target audience segments, you can tailor your content to resonate with their specific needs and preferences. B. Conducting market research It is one of the most important elements in content m...
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How to Get Social Media Links on Your Google Business Profile
10May By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

How to Get Social Media Links on Your Google Business Profile

How to Get Social Media Links on Your Google Business Profile - Whitespark Want to know how to get your social media links on your Google Business Profile? Google doesn’t provide a way for you to add or edit these, so you have to help it connect the dots on its own. Here’s how to do it. Add Social Media Links to Your Website The number one place that Google looks to make these connections is your website, so make sure that you have the links prominently placed in either the header or the footer. If you’re linking with icons, make sure you add descriptive text to t...
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Rank All Over Your City With This Strategy (Major Competitive Advantage)
4May By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Rank All Over Your City With This Strategy (Major Competitive Advantage)

Rank All Over Your City With This Strategy (Major Competitive Advantage) - Whitespark There’s an incredibly valuable local ranking strategy that can get you ranking in a wide radius in your city for your most valuable keyword. And the best part? Barely anyone knows about it. In this video, I will show you an example of a business that uses this strategy very well, and then I’ll take you through the process of doing the same for your business. The strategy in action I came across this Google Business Profile that’s ranking for a super valuable term for dentists: “in...
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The Beginner’s Guide To Understand Local SEO
13Apr By SEO NinjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

The Beginner’s Guide To Understand Local SEO

Customers make use of internet extensively on a routine basis for finding solutions to their problems. Those who are looking for best products or relevant answers may or may not get directed by Google towards their site and web pages, depending upon how effectively SEO services are working for improving their search engine rankings. Small and multi-location businesses both get additionally benefited with the use of local SEO. Since it adds considerable weight to your online presence, it is worth every bit to get familiar with its meaning, importance and more. What is Meant by Local SEO? Area-specific searches are highly targeted on the businesses available in a certain territory. Local SEO makes use of SEO tools to be found and ranked high in the search results. It is the most effective w...
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5 Interesting Ways To Get Improved Conversions With Interactive Content
13Apr By SEO NinjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

5 Interesting Ways To Get Improved Conversions With Interactive Content

Effective website has no meaning without engaging content. Websites which are considered to be powerful marketing tool promote conversions of leads with careful use of SEO services for any business. Also, websites necessarily need to have interactive and engaging content. Many E-commerce businesses have shared their experiences of trying all actions related to content like writing a blog, publishing an e-book and more but nothing turned conversions in their favor. Can you tell what may have gone wrong? Interactive content marketing is answer to all your queries as ultimate goal of attracting more number of prospects and retaining them as loyal customers can be achieved with this one vast term. When swaying web traffic towards your website is not your only look out but you want augmented c...
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How to Rank in Cities Where you Don’t Have an Address
6Apr By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Rank in Cities Where you Don’t Have an Address

Targeting local organic results for areas you serve outside of your current location requires creating well thought out and planned city landing pages. If you invest time and energy into building an awesome, informative, and relevant page, then you have the chance to earn solid traffic and drive leads without having to open a physical location in these cities. The city page strategy is nothing new, however, it is often overlooked, or is executed poorly by some businesses (and consultants), which can lead to underwhelming results. In light of this we’ve decided to put together a list of ways to help you improve and create awesome city pages. What you need to know about city pages A city page is similar to any other location landing page, except that they don’t have a physical business addre...
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6Apr By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Easily Boost Local Rankings with Google’s Predefined Services

Easily Boost Local Rankings with Google's Predefined Services A few weeks ago, the SEO world was shooketh by Joy Hawkins’ discovery that adding predefined services to your GBP significantly improves rankings. I had to see for myself, so I set up a test. You won’t believe these results! Video Transcript If you follow local SEO, you’ve probably seen Joy Hawkins’s recent research where they showed that adding predefined services to a GBP seems to have a positive impact on your rankings. I even made a video about it not too long ago. Well, it’s always a good idea to t...
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10Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Why is Google Rejecting My Google Business Profile Photos?

Why is Google Rejecting My Google Business Profile Photos? - Whitespark 1. Google has a bug where photos show as rejected, but if you wait 24-48 hours, they actually publish. So, as Mike Blumenthal likes to say, “drink 4 beers and come back on Monday.” It’s likely that the issue will fix itself. 2. If your Profile is less than 2 weeks old or was recently reinstated, you can’t publish images. This is because new GBPs are “sandboxed” for 2 weeks until they have built up some trust.Wait at least 14 days after you have been verified/reinstated before you upload images. 3....
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7Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Increase Local SEO Rankings With Predefined Services

Increase Local SEO Rankings With Predefined Services - Whitespark Huge local SEO news! Adding predefined services to your Google Business Profile can now significantly impact rankings. Until now, services have NOT been a ranking factor. In fact, the idea that services impacted rankings was the #4 local SEO myth in the latest Whitespark Local Search Ranking Factors survey. They were still valuable for other reasons: they drove more conversions and they triggered eye-catching justifications in the search results. But rankings? No. However, new research by Sterling Sky shows that selecting Google’s pr...
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How To Do Google Posts the RIGHT Way
15Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

How To Do Google Posts the RIGHT Way

Video Transcript Most businesses are doing Google Posts all wrong. They look at it as like a social media channel. But let me tell you, it is definitely not a social media channel. Someone scrolling through social media is looking to be entertained, learn something new, or see what’s going on with their friends. In general, the audience on social media doesn’t want to be sold to. Your audience for Google Posts, however, is in a transactional state of mind. They’re actively looking to be sold to. Google Posts should not be about entertaining the reader, they should not be about educating the reader, and they should not be about what happened at your holiday party. Instead, your Google Posts should talk about your services, your products, and your specials and offers. Let me show you some ex...
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Geotagging Photos is a Local SEO Myth
9Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Geotagging Photos is a Local SEO Myth

Geotagging Photos is a Local SEO Myth - Whitespark It’s infuriating that many local SEOs are still telling people to geotag their Google Business Profile photos, when research has shown time and time again that IT DOES NOT WORK. In this video, I explain why it doesn’t work, bust some myths and present a couple studies that have concluded that geotagging is a waste of time. Video Transcript I’ve been getting into TikTok a little bit lately, and I am ANNOYED. So, I keep seeing all these local SEO people on TikTok shilling this advice, li...
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Does Google Penalize AI-Generated Content?
8Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Whitespark Weekly

Does Google Penalize AI-Generated Content?

With the rise of AI, many businesses and SEOs are turning to Artificial Intelligence for generating SEO-optimized website content. However, Google is constantly rolling out new updates to combat spam, and they can and do sometimes crack down on AI-generated content. Watch my new video to find out how AI-generated articles may hurt your website. Video Transcript Case Studies on AI-Generated Website Content I saw this comment on LinkedIn. Graham had talked about how they were generating AI content at scale, 50 pages generated in one click, and how these pages are actually performing pretty well. Then, Mark Williams Cook, a very smart SEO, replied and said: “well here’s what happened when we did it on 10,000 pages.” So, it was going really well, ranking really well. An...
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How to Write a Good Business Description for Local Citations
4Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
Citations, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Insider, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

How to Write a Good Business Description for Local Citations

Here’s a hot tip many businesses don’t think about when building citations for local SEO. In my latest video, I explain why the first sentence of your description is so important, and how to make the most of it. Video Transcript Hey, here’s a quick citation building tip that a lot of businesses are missing out on. Whether or not you’re building citations with our listing service or you’re building them yourself, the description field is very important. Why business descriptions are important Let’s say you order citations from us and you’re entering the description. This field is your opportunity to get some additional keywords in. Though I wouldn’t say keywords on your Google Business Profile description have an impact on rankings, keywords in your citation descript...
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ChatGPT Sucks at Local SEO
1Feb By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

ChatGPT Sucks at Local SEO

#6 Verify your business with Google, as this can also help improve your visibility in search results. Wrong. It won’t have any impact on your rankings directly. This isn’t really a factor in terms of your ranking, but it WILL allow you to edit your listing, which, of course, is super valuable. You want to be able to make changes to your listing, update your categories, add new categories, all that will have a positive impact. But the actual act of verifying versus unvarying is not a signal in itself. You got that one wrong, too, ChatGPT. #7 Optimize your website for local SEO and make sure it has Google My Business structured data markup. Yeah, 100%. You have to optimize your website for local SEO. Make sure that you have lots of content relevant to the products and services that you offer...
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How to Rank Your Website for More Keywords with Service Pages
26Jan By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

How to Rank Your Website for More Keywords with Service Pages

How to Rank Your Website for More Keywords with Service Pages - Whitespark If you watch my videos, read our blog, or follow me on social media, you will already know that I’m a HUGE fan of adding additional categories to your Google Business Profile. You can apply this same local SEO advice to your website, too. In this video, I show you how you can rank your website for more keywords by adding more service pages, and I give you 4 ways you can find content inspiration for them.  Video Transcript Hey! In a recent video I talked about ho...
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Do Service Areas Impact Rankings for Local SEO in 2023?
25Jan By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Uncategorized, Whitespark Weekly

Do Service Areas Impact Rankings for Local SEO in 2023?

Do Service Areas Impact Rankings for Local SEO in 2023? - Whitespark I recently made a video presenting some new evidence that service areas might impact rankings in local SEO. However, upon further investigation, I realized that I was wrong. In this new video, I go over an update to this case study and discuss a surprising discovery related to the address your business was verified at. Take a look. Video Transcript Hey everybody, I recently published a video where I talked about how service areas seem to be impacting rankings. This wa...
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STOP Ignoring This Free Keyword Research Tool For Local SEO
21Jan By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Tools, Whitespark Weekly

STOP Ignoring This Free Keyword Research Tool For Local SEO

Very few businesses take advantage of the Searches Breakdown feature in the Performance section of their Google Business Profile, which is a shame because this tool is incredibly valuable and FREE. So, I decided to make this video outlining all the reasons why this feature is useful, and the best ways to use it for improving your local SEO. At the end, I share an awesome hack to make everything easier. Video Transcript Hey, there’s a free and awesome keyword research tool for local, but many businesses and SEOs are completely ignoring this. It’s the “Searches breakdown” feature in the Google Business Profile’s performance section. How to find this data So, if you click on the Performance section of your GBP and scroll down, you can see all of these keywords that your Google Bus...
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NEW! Take Your Competitive Analysis to the Next Level
16Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, Google Business Profiles, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Tools, Whitespark Weekly

NEW! Take Your Competitive Analysis to the Next Level

NEW! Take Your Competitive Analysis to the Next Level Say hello to the new competitive analysis features of our Local Rank Tracker! With our updated software, for each competitor you can: See what categories they are using See how many photos they have See their review ratings and number of reviews See their UTM tags And for all the spam-fighters out there, you can: Identify competitors that are keyword-stuffing their business name Identify businesses located at virtual offices And you can see this data for the top 100 ranking businesses for EVERY keywo...
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GBP Suspension and Reinstatement Chaos
25Oct By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google Business Profile, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

GBP Suspension and Reinstatement Chaos

If you’re following the guidelines correctly, Google Business Profile (GBP) suspensions should just be for major problems, right? And, getting your profile reinstated shouldn’t take weeks upon weeks, either. But, for a few weeks in October, it seemed that all it took to get suspended was looking at your GBP the wrong way, and the current response time for profile reinstatement is nearly a month. So what’s been going on? What happened: a bug caused Google Business Profile suspensions to skyrocket Ben Fisher, Google Diamond Product Expert and owner of Steady Demand, explained to BrightLocal over email that there were a number of causes for suspension at the time: “Causes for suspension right now: Hitting the verify button (instant suspension) Adding website parameters (33% suspended) Editin...
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4 Key Local Search Updates Rolling Out In 2022
29Sep By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google Business Profile, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

4 Key Local Search Updates Rolling Out In 2022

Wednesday, September 28 saw Google’s Search On 2022 event; a conference announcing the newest features arriving to Google. We’ve rounded up all the exciting local search updates coming to Google this year, as outlined at the event.  Multisearch Near Me  “Your camera is the next keyboard” explained Prabhakar Raghavan, Senior Vice President at Google. Updates to Multisearch will now include ‘near me’ terminology. Users will be able to search through photos and images, alongside fewer words, to find what they are looking for, and stores nearby that sell it. Whilst we have known about this update for a few months, it’s now been confirmed that this will start rolling out across the US.  Find the food you love  You’ll now be able to search (using both text, and images) for a specific dish. This...
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Getting Big Brand Buy-in for Local SEO Budgets
20Sep By Ben FisherNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local Search at Scale, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Getting Big Brand Buy-in for Local SEO Budgets

Hello, and welcome to the second installment of Local Search at Scale! This series is devoted to helping large enterprises and franchises tackle the world of local SEO. The first installment, ‘How to Best Tackle Local SEO as a Large Enterprise or Franchise Business‘, was an overview of the topic at large, and included the top five problems that enterprises/franchises often face when trying to boost their local SEO efforts, as well as five tips for how they can improve them. Here’s a refresher of those key challenges: A lack of understanding of where their marketing dollars can be most impactful in terms of local SEO (this is what we’re tackling today) A lack of communication between all involved parties at every location or branch Too many involved decision-makers can grind the approval pr...
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What’s Going On with Service-area Business Rankings?
16Sep By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

What’s Going On with Service-area Business Rankings?

Google may have rolled out a local search ranking update around September 7th. Local SEOs in the Local Search Forum are reporting ranking drops for service-area businesses (SABs) on mobile, with some SAB Google Business Profiles suddenly not visible on desktop. These drops in rankings have only been seen in Local Pack results, and not in organic rankings. These changes in rankings seem to have started happening around September 7, suggesting a change in the local algorithm focussed on SABs, on or around this date. Sterling Sky‘s Joy Hawkins has said: “I’m hearing a few cases like this lately and I’m starting to wonder if it’s related to the algorithm updates.” However, she is not able to provide specific advice at this time. As you’ll see below, the whole local SEO community is currently...
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Unlock 6x More Ranking Insights in Local Search Grid
7Sep By Kristian BannisterNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Unlock 6x More Ranking Insights in Local Search Grid

We’ve upgraded Local Search Grid to give you more ranking insights than ever. Since we launched last year, Local Search Grid has become a valuable and popular addition for our customers. They use it to: See the real-world picture of how a business is ranking based on where customers are searching Understand which businesses they’re really competing against in local search and how to overtake them Show clients ranking improvements in an easy-to-understand and compelling way Generate visually engaging reports for prospecting and pitching potential clients Up until now, each Local Search Grid report was limited to five keywords, so you’d need to be selective about what you wanted to track and analyze. But that’s changed! Now, you can track up to 30 keywords in each report so you can: Get a b...
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The Rise of Social Search: Transforming the Way Local Businesses Are Found
1Sep By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, social media

The Rise of Social Search: Transforming the Way Local Businesses Are Found

Over the past few months, we’ve seen major changes in both the ways users consume social media and the opportunities presented to local businesses by new social media search functionalities.  In July, we reported on Instagram’s new immersive map, potentially changing the game for local business discovery. Since then, it’s also been reported that TikTok is the go-to search engine for Gen Z, with 40% of Gen Z users preferring the video sharing app, and Instagram, over Google Search.  Naturally, TikTok is jumping on product developments, improving its search functionality, and even testing a ‘nearby’ feed.  We’ve also seen Twitter introduce Location Spotlight for local businesses, which displays important business information and integrates with Google Maps to help customers find them. ...
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New Academy Course: How to Optimize Location Pages
16Aug By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, content marketing, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

New Academy Course: How to Optimize Location Pages

How do consumers find the best places to buy what they need? To eat? To relax? To have fun? They search for ‘near me’ recommendations. When a user searches for something that Google believes has a local intent, it will show local results. And because users with a local search intent are looking for something they want or need right now, you want your business to show up in these search results. That’s why you should have a location page for each of your locations or service areas.  These location pages are an important part of building a successful local SEO strategy and deserve a different approach to other types of landing pages.  Our new BrightLocal Academy course—How to Optimize Location Pages—will teach you all you need to know about what to include on location pages and how to optimi...
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How to Optimize the Local Customer Buying Journey
10Aug By Alex BirkettNo Comments
content marketing, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local Marketing, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Optimize the Local Customer Buying Journey

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Local searchers buy from businesses that not only have the best products and services but also, provide a great buying experience. According to the State of the Connected Customer report by Salesforce, 80% of customers argue that the experience a business provides is as good as their product or the service they deliver. A purchase happens in stages. By identifying what happens in each stage, you understand what a potential customer is doing, what they need, and their pain points.  While working on your client’s local businesses, your efforts are focused on providing relevant information to potential customers throughout the customer buying journey. It makes it easier for them to make informed choices and, in the process, helps yo...
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How to Best Tackle Local SEO as a Large Enterprise or Franchise Business
26Jul By Ben FisherNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local Search at Scale, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Best Tackle Local SEO as a Large Enterprise or Franchise Business

In this new series, Local Search at Scale, Steady Demand’s Ben Fisher gets to the heart of the local SEO issues that matter to large brands and franchises with 100s of locations. To say that local SEO can be a bit complicated is putting it mildly, and that’s just when speaking about small businesses with a single location. When you’re talking about an enterprise-level organization with numerous locations (i.e. franchises) across numerous markets, it can quickly become a mess. For starters, before we dive into how to best approach local SEO as a large enterprise, let’s first briefly define what we mean when we talk about local SEO. Local SEO is a marketing strategy that has a singular goal—to help your business be more visible and rank higher in local Google searches. Any type of business ...
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What is Local SEO and How Does it Work?
8Jul By Jamie PitmanNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Introduction to Local SEO, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

What is Local SEO and How Does it Work?

If you want to be more visible to local consumers online, you’ll need to get to grips with local search engine optimization (SEO). With 46% of all Google searches performed by people looking for products, services, or information in their local area, improving your local search presence could clearly benefit your business. What is Local SEO and how does it work? Local SEO is a marketing technique that helps local businesses to improve their visibility in Google’s local search results. It’s carried out by businesses who want to be more easily found online by consumers within the local area. If you’re looking to sell products or services to consumers located in a certain town or city, you need to be familiar with local search marketing.    To carry out SEO for a local business, you’ll perfo...
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New Academy Course: How to Master Local Link Building
6Jul By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

New Academy Course: How to Master Local Link Building

Local link building is the backbone of any local SEO strategy. Your rankings depend on the quality of your link building campaign, your capability to identify backlink opportunities, and your ability to network your way into link providers’ hearts! But local link building is notoriously tricky and time-consuming. And, without the right tactics, it can prove pretty fruitless. It’s also very different from traditional link building and requires an altogether different approach. So, what can you do? Enroll in our brand new BrightLocal Academy course—How to Master Local Link Building— by the local SEO master himself, Greg Gifford. During the course, Greg will teach you: the difference between traditional and local link building; tactics for local link acquisition; how to do outreach the right...
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Local SEO Checklist: 48 Steps to Improve Local Search
15Jun By Roger AvilaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local SEO Checklist: 48 Steps to Improve Local Search

With over 46% of all searches having local intent, any local business that wants to thrive in the coming years will need to keep a close eye on their local SEO traffic. That’s where local SEO comes in. If you’re new to local SEO, you might be wondering where to start. This checklist will give you each and every step to follow, to find success in local search. Understanding How Local SEO Works Google has about 83% market share in the search market. If you’re running a local SEO campaign for a client, it makes sense to focus primarily on Google Search. Google’s Local Search algorithm has three key ranking factors. Proximity, Relevance, and Prominence.  Here is a quick summary of these three key local search ranking factors: Proximity refers to the physical distance from the searcher. Rele...
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Why E-A-T Inspires Local Content Creation
2Jun By Melissa PoppNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Why E-A-T Inspires Local Content Creation

We’ve all educated ourselves on Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (E-A-T). We’ve all debated whether it’s a ranking factor or if it’s not. And we’ve all struggled to determine whether a client is part of a Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) niche and whether we should pay attention to E-A-T when making content decisions. E-A-T should inspire local content creation and all content creation at every level, no matter how big or small our clients are. E-A-T quickly shows us the type of considerations we should make when creating content, even if it doesn’t matter for checking off boxes for SEO best practices. It gives us a glimpse of the things that are important to Google and what they look for, but beyond that, it really shows us what we should find important when crafting conten...
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Dani Owens on How to Build Local Links
1Jun By Kristian BannisterNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, podcast, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Dani Owens on How to Build Local Links

Local SEOs have a love-hate relationship with link building. We love links, but building them is time-consuming, manual, repetitive and ultimately has a relatively low success rate compared to other SEO tactics. Fortunately, Dani Owens is here to help. Dani has a wealth of experience building local links for a wide variety of clients and niches. In this episode, she reveals: The differences between link building for local SEO versus traditional SEO Her simple three-step process to ensure campaign success The biggest local link building no-nos Low-effort link building tactics that any business can implement Creative link building tactics that your competitors won’t be able to replicate Watch the interview:   Resources: Subscribe today: If you like what you hear and want instant access t...
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Google Products Shake-up: Is the Products Feature Moving to Merchant Center?
31May By Qiannan ZhangNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google Products Shake-up: Is the Products Feature Moving to Merchant Center?

Google Products Shake-up: Is the Products Feature Moving to Merchant Center? - Whitespark Is it the end of Google Products as we know it? Businesses can no longer edit existing Products on their Google Business Profiles (GBP) and can only add new Products through...
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Local SEO for Lawyers: 7 Ways to Get Started
27May By Tomasz NiezgodaNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local SEO for Lawyers: 7 Ways to Get Started

In many ways, doing local SEO for lawyers is similar to other industries. 97% percent of Google and other search engine users look for local businesses online, and these businesses include law firms or individual practitioners.  However, it is also different from local SEO for other industries because law tends to be a highly specialized practice. For instance, while a personal injury attorney has a basic knowledge of taxation from law school, you’d rather engage with a tax lawyer if you’re trying to determine how much tax you’ll pay for real estate you’ve inherited from a grandparent.  So, how can you make sure that your client’s law firm appears somewhere at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs)? Well, you need a robust local SEO strategy. Such a strategy will help your client’...
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Local Citation Sites for Top 100 US Cities
26May By Rada DaktinaNo Comments
Citations, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Resources, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local Citation Sites for Top 100 US Cities

San Jose, California San Jose is the third-largest city in California, and is situated within the San Francisco Bay Area. After rapid growth in the mid-20th century, San Jose has now come to be well known for its affluence and high cost of living. It has been reported that San Jose is one of the ‘happiest’ places to work due to the high salary opportunities and the prospects for growth. Schools in the surrounding areas supply thousands of computer science graduates into the local economy ever year, and as the largest city in the valley, San Jose has been nicknamed “the capital of Silicon Valley.” We have searched for local directories and potential citation sites throughout the city, including the following local areas: Downtown San Jose, Central, West San Jose, North San Jose, East San Jo...
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A Guide to Using SEO for Better Customer Experience
12May By Jessica DayNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

A Guide to Using SEO for Better Customer Experience

As a strategy for driving traffic to websites, SEO is nothing new. Yet there are more uses for it than just that. Done well, SEO enables businesses to best reach target customers and accompany them along their journeys. As marketing initiatives, SEO and customer experience (CX) need to be interlinked.  We’ve put together this guide to using SEO to help you align them and ensure your customer experience hits the mark.  What is an optimal customer experience like? In a world of multiplying consumer choice, the importance of customer loyalty continues to grow. How can savvy businesses step up their customer experience game and set themselves apart?  SEO efforts must be in service of empowering customers and enhancing their experience at every touchpoint. Why? Because Google prioritizes websit...
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Blake Denman on How to Grow Your Agency (While Avoiding Screwups)
10May By Kristian BannisterNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, podcast, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Blake Denman on How to Grow Your Agency (While Avoiding Screwups)

Adventures in Local Marketing is back and we’re pretty excited because we have now introduced video versions of our interviews with local marketing experts. Scroll down to give it a watch! If you prefer to listen on the go (or you simply don’t want to see our faces!) then you can still download and listen to the audio version. Enjoy! Growing an agency is hard. There are so many things to get right and so many things that can go wrong.  Growth isn’t as simple as getting new clients on the books–and that’s not exactly simple anyway. You also need to focus on client retention, hiring and training staff, managing team workloads, creating efficient processes, and building and nurturing a winning culture–all while keeping a watchful eye on profitability.On this episode, we chatted to Blake Denma...
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A Guide to Mobile Optimization for Local Business Websites
6May By Shane BarkerNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Learn, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

A Guide to Mobile Optimization for Local Business Websites

In the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of searches conducted on mobile devices. According to recent studies, 64% of all searches are now conducted on mobile devices and I’m sure this number will continue to grow.  With the majority of viable consumers having access to smartphones, it’s more important than ever for local businesses to optimize their websites for mobile. Not only is it important from a search engine optimization standpoint, but making a website mobile-friendly also provides a better user experience for your client’s customers. In this guide, we will discuss all aspects of mobile optimization, from making your clients’ websites mobile-friendly for search engines, to improving the user experience. We’ll also cover some common mistakes to avoid ...
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Local SEO For Ukraine – LIVE
5May By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local Search Clinic, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Webinars

Local SEO For Ukraine – LIVE

Where Will the Funds Go? All proceeds will go towards grassroots efforts to support the citizens of Ukraine Our Ukrainian team is already working directly with local volunteer groups to organize and distribute food, sanitation, and medical aid to those in the most affected towns and cities across Ukraine. The funds raised will buy more essential supplies to transport to the volunteer warehouses in western Ukraine. We’ll match every dollar or pound raised, so you know your money is having double the impact!  The supplies will be driven by BrightLocal team members and handed to volunteers at the border for onward transport. We will monitor and report on the progress of the aid as it makes its journey from the UK to Ukraine, so you can see exactly where your money is going and when it reaches...
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Google Business Profile Optimization with Joy Hawkins
3May By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local Search Clinic, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Webinars

Google Business Profile Optimization with Joy Hawkins

In our first Local Search Clinic of 2022, host Claire Carlile was joined by Joy Hawkins (Sterling Sky) to answer your burning questions on Google Business Profile.  Thank you to everyone who attended the clinic, asked your questions, and shared your own insights. It’s always great to have so many of you take part! During the event, we answered questions ranging from image optimization, tips for service-area businesses, and rankings after the Vicinity update. You won’t want to miss this – check out the recording below.  Recording Resources What are the Key Optimization Strategies for Google Business Profiles?To maximize google business profile conversion optimization, start with complete and accurate information about your business. Use high-quality images that showcase your products o...
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Offer Posts Get Prominent New “Deal” Tab on Mobile, Callouts in Maps App
2May By Sydney MarchukNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Offer Posts Get Prominent New “Deal” Tab on Mobile, Callouts in Maps App

Offer Posts Get Prominent New “Deal” Tab on Mobile, Callouts in Maps App - Whitespark If you manage a Google Business Profile, be it your own or a client’s, you know the benefit of updating your profile with regular Offer Posts. This type of Post is prominently fea...
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Need Local Links in 2022? Try These 10 HARO Outreach Tips
17Mar By Wes MichyNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Links, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Need Local Links in 2022? Try These 10 HARO Outreach Tips

7. Reiterate the query in the introduction of the pitch. On the heels of the Subject line tip, I always recommend mentioning the following in your initial pitch: the writer’s name, their query summary, and the outlet. It would look like this as an example: “Hi WRITER,  My name is Wes and I’m writing in response to your HARO request for OUTLET NAME where you’ll be discussing TOPIC. I was able to connect with CLIENT who is a CREDENTIALS in LOCATION. They share their insight on TOPIC below for your review and consideration.” Trust me, this will help you immensely if you want to check in on a past pitch. I can rarely remember passing details but I can remember hot-ticket outlets I pitched or the topic. Keep in mind that many writers will not notify you in any capacity on your pitch, so don’t...
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Creative Strategies for Local Businesses to Convey Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness
10Mar By Lily RayNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Creative Strategies for Local Businesses to Convey Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness

For one, it reduces the duplication from page to page, which is obviously a really big concern in local SEO. It increases trust in the user, because they’re thinking about, Oh, I meet the team or the owner or the manager at this place, or what are the different things that I should know when I’m visiting here. Maybe you have some unique or historic photos about how the business looked 50 years ago, maybe you’re adding really unique COVID-19 protocols, or local events at that location, or anything they should know about that city, or how that location gives back. Put the task of coming up with a lot of this information on the people that work there – they could have fun with it! Ask, what are some unique things that I should know about this location, or who works there, who is the employee ...
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New Academy Course: A Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO
8Mar By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

New Academy Course: A Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential tool for local businesses and the marketers working with them. SEO is key to establishing and boosting the online presence of a business, which will naturally lead to greater interest and potentially more sales, too. The simple truth is, if you want your business to be discovered by local customers, then you’ll need to utilize local SEO to enhance your discoverability on Google. With 8.5 billion Google searches being made every day—and nearly half of them having local intent—it’s easy to see just how important this is. So, if your business isn’t using local SEO to get a piece of the action, then it should be! Our new BrightLocal Academy course—A Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO—will teach you all you need to know about local SEO, and you’...
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Why You Should Use Rich Snippets To Optimize Your Organic Click Through Rate?
5Mar By seo-ninjaNo Comments
Advanced SEO Techniques, Content Marketing Strategies, Digital Marketing Strategies, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Online marketing, organic search, rich snippet, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, SEO Strategy

Why You Should Use Rich Snippets To Optimize Your Organic Click Through Rate?

Earlier, Google search result pages looked quite dull and unorganized. They were like pages of a book that have no images and other related information. But today, when a person surfs on the internet, he or she usually gets information in a very standard and easy to read style. This happens because now Google and other search engines use Rich snippets to display search results. What are Rich Snippets? Rich snippets have been the latest trend since their introduction in the year 2009. They work as the vital elements of search engine result query. Today, you will find rich results on almost all search engine result pages. Also known as structured data markup or schema markup, it represents website data in more organized form. By implementing rich snippets you can easily imp...
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How We Can Support Women in SEO: Advice for Women, from Women
4Mar By Jenny BernardeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

How We Can Support Women in SEO: Advice for Women, from Women

We recently sponsored and attended the 2022 Women in Tech SEO Fest, a full-day conference with speakers from all corners of the SEO industry. The session covered four important topics: analyze, advance, innovate, and empower. Every session gave attendees a huge amount of information and inspiration to support their work in SEO. Not to mention motivation for them to progress in their careers and find their own personal successes both in and out of the workplace. Although the event helped celebrate the achievements of women in SEO, the work still isn’t done. Women in Local SEO In our recent Local Search Industry Survey, 35% of people who completed the survey identified as women, compared to 62% who identified as men (3% identified as ‘Other’ or preferred not to say). A survey from Moz also f...
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SEO Techniques For Multiple Location Businesses
1Mar By seo-ninjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo local, seo services

SEO Techniques For Multiple Location Businesses

Every business no matter how big or small, whether serving one location or several, needs the unique customer pulling techniques of search engine optimization (SEO). If you run a business that provides local services, SEO that helps a customer easily find your service can work wonders in improving your business and profits. A Local SEO company is characterized with pulling massive traffic and boosting sales significantly for their clients.  For businesses serving a handful of locations, SEO is simpler but for multiple or several locations, it becomes a little complicated. Managing reviews, location based optimization and content management can get tricky and hard to stay organized. Before we move on to provide you a detailed strategy to implement local SEO, let’s look at some crucial st...
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Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages
28Feb By Tomas AcunaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages

Core Web Vitals Impact on Google Business Profile Landing Pages - Whitespark In 2021 Google announced it would include page experience signals as a ranking factor. Included in page experience signals are Core Web Vitals which help measure the quality of a website experience. We want...
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Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing Strategies
28Feb By seo-ninjaNo Comments
Advanced SEO Techniques, Digital Marketing Services, Digital Marketing Strategies, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, SEO For Small Business, seo services

Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing Strategies

In today’s highly competitive business era, advertising is essential for all businesses. However, small businesses usually lack big budget for advertising purposes. Hence, such businesses find it challenging to compete against their competitors, especially if their competitors are big brands and well-known companies. Small businesses have to face many hurdles and challenges to grow and beat the market competition. They need to tackle all the difficulties and challenges to succeed and grow. Such businesses need to consider the constantly changing behavior of their targeted customers. It is significant to understand what target customers are expecting from the business. No business can deny that most customers today prefer online shopping. It is expected that the craze of online shoppin...
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Local Pack Update Allows Searchers to Interact with the Featured Map
27Feb By Allie MargesonNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local Pack Update Allows Searchers to Interact with the Featured Map

Local Pack Update Allows Searchers to Interact with the Featured Map - Whitespark Searchers can now interact with the map featured in the local pack. The map now displays zoom in and out buttons, as well as a button that opens the local finder for additional results. What’s most interes...
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Guide to Core Web Vitals
25Feb By Tomas AcunaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Guide to Core Web Vitals

Guide to Core Web Vitals - Whitespark In 2021 Google rolled out the Page Experience update and announced that these signals would be included as ranking factors. This initiative was designed to help improve user experience across the web and encourage website owners to create and deliv...
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New Academy Course: How to Create Relevant and Engaging Local SEO Reports
20Jan By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

New Academy Course: How to Create Relevant and Engaging Local SEO Reports

When you work in local SEO, creating regular reports for your clients can be tough. It’s easy to spend a lot of time putting reports together that don’t truly highlight the value in what you’re doing or adequately explain the actions you’ve taken. When you’re good at what you do, and you know how to achieve fantastic results, it can still be hard to share those results with your clients or manager. So, what can you do? Enter our brand new BrightLocal Academy course—How to Create Relevant and Engaging Local SEO Reports. In this short but sweet training, local SEO consultant, Dani Owens, shows you how to put insightful and meaningful reports together in no time at all. During the course, Dani will teach you: what conversion data you need to track; how to track the data; the best tools to us...
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Attract More Customers with Better Search Visibility –
15Jan By Eduard KleinNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Attract More Customers with Better Search Visibility –

How often have you visited a restaurant without checking the reviews first? Given that the food industry is so saturated, you can’t expect enough people to show up to your restaurant if you’re not adequately visible online. There are many ways to enhance your restaurant’s discoverability, from having a responsive and appealing website to reviews and social proof. However, the best way to get started is with search engine optimization (SEO). Restaurant SEO Restaurant SEO helps to optimize your website and social media profiles for the search engine. This is achieved through the creation of targeted content based on your audience’s search intent. This type of SEO includes elements such as on-page, off-page, and technical SEO—all of which collectively help your restaurant rank higher in the s...
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Why You Should Use Rich Snippets To Optimize Your Organic Click Through Rate? – SEO Ninja
10Jan By seo-ninjaNo Comments
Advanced SEO Techniques, Content Marketing Strategies, Digital Marketing Strategies, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Online marketing, organic search, rich snippet, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, SEO Strategy

Why You Should Use Rich Snippets To Optimize Your Organic Click Through Rate? – SEO Ninja

Earlier, Google search result pages looked quite dull and unorganized. They were like pages of a book that have no images and other related information. But today, when a person surfs on the internet, he or she usually gets information in a very standard and easy to read style. This happens because now Google and other search engines use Rich snippets to display search results. What are Rich Snippets? Rich snippets have been the latest trend since their introduction in the year 2009. They work as the vital elements of search engine result query. Today, you will find rich results on almost all search engine result pages. Also known as structured data markup or schema markup, it represents website data in more organized form. By implementing rich snippets you can easily imp...
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SEO Techniques For Multiple Location Businesses – SEO Ninja
4Jan By seo-ninjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo local, seo services

SEO Techniques For Multiple Location Businesses – SEO Ninja

Every business no matter how big or small, whether serving one location or several, needs the unique customer pulling techniques of search engine optimization (SEO). If you run a business that provides local services, SEO that helps a customer easily find your service can work wonders in improving your business and profits. A Local SEO company is characterized with pulling massive traffic and boosting sales significantly for their clients.  For businesses serving a handful of locations, SEO is simpler but for multiple or several locations, it becomes a little complicated. Managing reviews, location based optimization and content management can get tricky and hard to stay organized. Before we move on to provide you a detailed strategy to implement local SEO, let’s look at some crucial st...
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Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing Strategies – SEO Ninja
3Jan By seo-ninjaNo Comments
Advanced SEO Techniques, Digital Marketing Services, Digital Marketing Strategies, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, SEO For Small Business, seo services

Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing Strategies – SEO Ninja

In today’s highly competitive business era, advertising is essential for all businesses. However, small businesses usually lack big budget for advertising purposes. Hence, such businesses find it challenging to compete against their competitors, especially if their competitors are big brands and well-known companies. Small businesses have to face many hurdles and challenges to grow and beat the market competition. They need to tackle all the difficulties and challenges to succeed and grow. Such businesses need to consider the constantly changing behavior of their targeted customers. It is significant to understand what target customers are expecting from the business. No business can deny that most customers today prefer online shopping. It is expected that the craze of online shoppin...
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Google Confirms Biggest Local Search Algorithm Update in Five Years
21Dec By Alix CoeNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google Confirms Biggest Local Search Algorithm Update in Five Years

Many local businesses have noticed huge fluctuations in their local search rankings over the last few weeks, with Google now confirming an important update to the local algorithm.  Rolling out between November 30th and December 8th, this update has been named ‘Vicinity’ by Sterling Sky. This is the largest change to the local algorithm since Possum in 2016 and has caused widespread ranking disruption. Google confirmed the update in a tweet on December 16th: Our November 2021 local search update has concluded. It began Nov 30 and ran through Dec 8. It involved a rebalancing of various factors we consider in generating local search results. General guidance for businesses remains the same as covered here: https://t.co/uyXFfmUEIR — Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 16, 2021 Wh...
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2021 Holiday Guide to Google My Business
9Nov By Allie MargesonNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

2021 Holiday Guide to Google My Business

Over the past 20 months we’ve learned to adapt, pivot, and embrace flexibility when it comes to operating a local business. We know 2021 has continued to be a challenging year for you, your families, and your business. As we approach the second pandemic holiday season, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite local marketing tips to get your Google My Business listing and website holiday ready.  We wish you a happy holiday season!  Holiday Local Search Marketing Tips Shopping locally continues to be more important than ever. “60% of U.S. consumers who are planning to shop for the holidays say they will shop more at local small businesses” (Think With Google).  1. Go above and beyond to keep your shoppers informed Like last year, your business is likely continuing to operate with additional CO...
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New Academy Course: How to Perform Local SEO Audits for Multi-location Businesses
7Nov By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, Client Relations, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

New Academy Course: How to Perform Local SEO Audits for Multi-location Businesses

Developing an effective SEO strategy is a process that requires time, knowledge, and the right tools. It also requires an adequate amount of insightful preparation! Before getting started with a new strategy, it’s important to conduct an SEO audit. This audit will be the foundation of your marketing efforts and will help you to develop a full understanding of the project. When there are multiple locations of the same business to consider, there will also be additional considerations for your ongoing SEO strategy. In this instance, compiling a comprehensive local SEO audit will enable you to approach your project with confidence and expertise. Our new BrightLocal Academy course—How to Perform Local SEO Audits for Multi-location Businesses—will teach you all you need to know to develop a win...
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Leveraging Conversions with GMB Bookings/Reserve with Google
3Oct By Allie MargesonNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Leveraging Conversions with GMB Bookings/Reserve with Google

Leveraging Conversions with GMB Bookings/Reserve with Google - Whitespark The Google My Business Booking feature, or Reserve with Google, allows businesses to integrate specific supported booking systems with their GMB listing, which gives customers the ability to make an appointment directly from the listing. This feature can get your b...
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2021 Local Search Summit – Day 3 Action Items & Recommendations
2Oct By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

2021 Local Search Summit – Day 3 Action Items & Recommendations

2021 Local Search Summit - Day 3 Action Items & Recommendations - Whitespark The #WLSS is officially complete and our final event day covered E-A-T, Google Justifications, reports, effective copywriting and more. We opened the day discussing Diversity and Inclusion in Digital Marketing – this is a very important topic. We implore t...
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2021 Local Search Summit – Day 2 Takeaways & Advice
30Sep By Jessie LowNo Comments
Citations, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, Whitespark

2021 Local Search Summit – Day 2 Takeaways & Advice

How To Pivot Your Facebook Advertising In A Post iOS14.5 World Many of you have probably heard about Apple’s iOS 14.5 update that limited the ability to set retargeting cookies on mobile. Well, not all is lost. Duane explained how you can pivot your Facebook advertising in a post IOS 14.5 world.  Oftentimes, we hear clients say, “we’re losing sales”. The truth is, they’re not actually losing sales. The reality is that sales are either super delayed, or they’re just not showing up in AD manager. You are not losing sales, you just can’t track what’s going on, and that is because Apple’s decided to ask people “do you want to be tracked” and rightfully so, most people say no. So what can you do to help improve your traffic and get the most out of your Facebook Ads? Here are a few of Duane’s Ti...
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2021 Local Search Summit – Day 1 Tips & Insights
29Sep By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

2021 Local Search Summit – Day 1 Tips & Insights

2021 Local Search Summit - Day 1 Tips & Insights - Whitespark Day 1 of the 2021 Local Search Summit is complete. 🔥 Today’s sessions covered the whole gamut of local search marketing advice. We’re sharing takeaways, advice, or a tip for each talk. If you couldn’t make it to the event, you can still catch the next two days wit...
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Key Learnings from LocalU Advanced, August 2021
18Sep By Claire CarlileNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Key Learnings from LocalU Advanced, August 2021

 I’ll let you into a little secret. If you’re super-duper into local SEO, and you’re not already attending LocalU Advanced you’re missing a trick. This is where the top minds and actual practitioners in the space get together and share ALL-NEW content including research, case studies, how-tos, and much, much more. I got the chance to attend the last event on August 31, and, as always, I bloody loved it. So much that I wrote up the key takeaways from my favorite talks from Joy Hawkins, Rachel Anderson, Greg Gifford, Dana DiTomaso so that you can enjoy them too! Joy Hawkins: Make Your Images Worth a Thousand Words Ah, I do love Sterling Sky’s Joy Hawkins, I always get some great takeaways any time I listen to her speak, and using images more effectively is something I’m always looking to ups...
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5 Reasons Small Business Owners & Marketers Can’t Miss the 2021 Local Search Summit
16Sep By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

5 Reasons Small Business Owners & Marketers Can’t Miss the 2021 Local Search Summit

5 Reasons Small Business Owners & Marketers Can't Miss the 2021 Local Search Summit - Whitespark Small business owners and local marketers rejoice! The Whitespark Local Search Summit is only 11 days away. This is THE local marketing event of the year and one you won’t want to miss. Join the top minds in the industry to learn how to ...
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New Academy Course: How to Master Local Keyword Research
2Sep By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

New Academy Course: How to Master Local Keyword Research

Keyword research is one of the most important activities in SEO—the bread and butter of digital marketing—and should therefor should be up there at the top of your list of priorities when it comes to any digital marketing work.  For the beginners out there, keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases that customers and potential customers use to find information and solutions to their problems. Essentially, every time somebody searches the internet, they are using keywords.  This means that thorough keyword research is a prerequisite for building an effective local SEO and content strategy. If you don’t know the types of terms people are searching for, how are you going to plan and write content that attracts and converts customers? Even if you’re familiar with keyword...
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How to Respond To Negative Reviews
14Aug By Crystal HortonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Reputation Management, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Respond To Negative Reviews

Approximately 22% of customers will leave a business after receiving just one negative review, whereas around three negative reviews can drive away 59% of customers. Reviews assist consumers in making quick decisions about purchases in their research by providing a clear picture of your company. Studies show that of businesses who respond to bad reviews, 33% turn around and post a good review, and 34% delete the original negative review. Whether a review is good or bad, it makes sense to respond. When someone leaves a negative review about your company, it can be really difficult to know how to respond. There are many ways you could handle the situation, but one of the best responses is simply asking for more information and trying to find out what went wrong. Despite your natural feeling ...
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Google My Business News: New Features, Updates and Tests from March-May
14May By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Google My Business News: New Features, Updates and Tests from March-May

The midway point of the year isn’t far off, and it’s safe to say that a lot has gone on in local SEO already this year.  So far in 2021, we’ve seen big changes to Google Posts, updates to review summaries in Google My Business (GMB), high scores from Local RankFlux, and 2-Packs showing on Google mobile results. But, in the past couple of months alone even more tests and updates have been impacting GMB. In this GMB news roundup, we take a look at the biggest headlines affecting local SEOs recently. Think we’ve left something out? Put it in the comments section down below! Competitor quotes in GMB Messaging It’s often recommended that businesses make use of GMB’s Messaging feature to better communicate with customers. But you might want to hold your horses. LocalU shared  that when searcher...
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Why Do I See Different Rankings Than What My Rank Tracker Reports?
12May By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Why Do I See Different Rankings Than What My Rank Tracker Reports?

Why Do I See Different Rankings Than What My Rank Tracker Reports? - Whitespark When it comes to rank tracking, the data is often misunderstood. A very common concern amongst business owners is, “I checked my rankings and see different results than my rank tracking report. Your tool is inaccurate.” In this Whitespark Weekly episode, Darren discusses this common concern and breaks down the top 4 factors that impact ranking results. If you’ve ever struggled with seeing different results or fluctuations in your ranking campaigns, don’t miss the video below. Video Transcript Hey there, Darren here from Whitespark. Have you ever looked at the results ...
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Apple Maps Ratings: What’s New and What’s Next?
30Apr By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Reputation Management, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Apple Maps Ratings: What’s New and What’s Next?

UPDATE: The Apple Maps Ratings update was launched in the USA as part of iOS 14.5 on April 26th, 2021 (some territories had access to it earlier). The update functions exactly as described below, back in October 2020. Sometimes it’s nice when there are no surprises, huh? Originally Published October, 2020 At the end of August 2020, Apple revealed it would be launching its very own ratings solutions within Apple Maps. Talk of “Apple reviews” flew around the Twitterverse and, as usual, there was a lot of conjecture about what this new feature might mean. Apple Maps ratings (yep, that’s right — ratings not reviews, though they may be on the way) has been in beta testing in iOS 14 and will soon roll out globally. The update was first spotted by Twitter user, Beau Giles. Source: 9to5mac Curren...
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NEW: Manage Local Search Grid at Scale with New Support for Enterprise Plans
28Apr By Jamie PitmanNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

NEW: Manage Local Search Grid at Scale with New Support for Enterprise Plans

Great news for agencies and brands managing 100+ locations: you can now set up custom plans for Local Search Grid credits! This means no more repetitive, manual purchasing of additional credits for businesses using this powerful tool at considerable scale. What’s New? Since launching Local Search Grid in February of this year, we’ve spoken to dozens of agency and brand customers who were excited to use the tool, but were unable to make it work with their otherwise fully-customized BrightLocal Enterprise plans. Now that Local Search Grid has been added to these custom plans, no matter how many Grid Points, keywords, Locations or reports you need each month, you can easily set up recurring, automated purchases of the required credits by speaking to the Enterprise team. Not sure how many cred...
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Title Tags for Local SEO: Increase Your Local Traffic and Click Through Rate
21Apr By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

Title Tags for Local SEO: Increase Your Local Traffic and Click Through Rate

So this business here, their title tag is actually Angels Moving Company in Vancouver | Fast, Friendly, Professional Movers.  Fast, friendly, professional movers, that’s what you want to catch. You want them to see that. But it’s been cut off because Angel’s moving company in Vancouver, they’re stuffing those keywords in the beginning and it’s actually taking up space, removing those sort of compelling words. And so, this is where you’ve got to think about what is going to fit in the search results.  Okay, with this in mind, how can I make Jim’s title tag even better? We had all the keywords in it. Now let’s make it catchy. I’ve updated his title tag, to Jim’s Plumbing in Salem, OR – Plumbers You Can Trust and Count On. So I’ve got plumbing, Salem, Oregon – that’s his primary market that h...
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6 Tactics for Marketing During Covid-19
14Apr By Jonathan BirchNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

6 Tactics for Marketing During Covid-19

The pandemic has taken its toll on businesses across the globe, particularly local businesses that rely on regular footfall. During this time, it’s been more important than ever to have a solid digital strategy and gain visibility online. Here, Jonathan Birch, Creative Director at Glass Digital, shares six ways local businesses can ensure they’re seen online and excel at marketing during Covid-19. With Covid-19 driving businesses into online-only approaches, it’s vital for local businesses to use digital channels to keep their audiences in the know. But, as well as keeping the discussion open, it’s also important that local businesses prepare to make the changes needed to compete in this quickly changing new landscape.  While for some that means making a totally new move to selling online,...
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Local Quizness – What Happened in Local SEO in March?
9Apr By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Quizness – What Happened in Local SEO in March?

The world of local marketing never stands still, and staying on top of the trends can take its toll.  That’s why we created Local Quizness – a monthly quiz to help you recap the biggest stories affecting local businesses and marketers. Test your knowledge in 10 quick questions – and rest assured you’re aware of the news that matters most. Happy with your score? Share this on Twitter using the hashtag #LocalQuizness! If there are any you missed, check out all the links below:
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Local 2-Packs Spotted in Google Mobile SERPs
1Apr By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Local 2-Packs Spotted in Google Mobile SERPs

Google’s Local 3-Pack might soon be a Local 2-Pack (on mobile at least). This week, Joy Hawkins at Local U (via Mariano Rodriguez from LawRank) shared findings of 2-Packs being spotted in local search results on mobile.  Since the news was first shared, more and more people have reported seeing a set of just two results when performing local searches on mobile. Seeing a 2-pack on Android Mobile. Anyone else?#localseo pic.twitter.com/bpICh5W2tX — Ben Fisher (@TheSocialDude) March 30, 2021   Both Android and iPhone users are being presented with 2-Pack results: I’ve been seeing it on iPhone/safari: pic.twitter.com/ArBEDQuzJ2 — Frank Olivo (@FrancoOlivo) March 31, 2021 What’s new? When performing a local search, users are usually presented with three top results. This is referred to as the...
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New Local Search Grid Module Added to BrightLocal Academy
28Mar By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
academy course, Beginner, Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

New Local Search Grid Module Added to BrightLocal Academy

We’re pleased to announce the arrival of a new BrightLocal Academy module all about how to use our latest tool: Local Search Grid. The module is called Put Your Rankings on the Map With Local Search Grid and is part of the ‘Level Up Your Local SEO with BrightLocal’ course. It includes lessons on: How to uncover deeper ranking insights How to set up a report to get the insights you need How to spot opportunities for growth and get ahead of the competition The module also has two short quizzes to test your knowledge and understanding. What is the ‘Level Up Your Local SEO with BrightLocal’ course about? The ‘Level Up Your Local SEO with BrightLocal’ course uses the power of interactive content to guide you through the theory of local SEO and shows you how to tackle it more effectively using...
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How to Use On-site Features to Complement Physical Stores
20Mar By Elliot MarkNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Use On-site Features to Complement Physical Stores

In this article, guest contributor Elliot Mark explores how local businesses can create online customer experiences to complement physical brick-and-mortar stores, and provides customer service tips for retailers. Throughout recent years, the growth of the online retail industry has made it increasingly difficult for brick-and-mortar retailers to compete, pushing them to adapt to maintain their viability. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic has only added urgency to this process. Unable to carry on as usual, even the staunchest holdouts have had to embrace online operations. While there are some notable distinctions, online and offline retail overlap far more than they differ. Consider what it takes to bring a customer back, for instance. Superb customer service, whether it involves providi...
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10 Common Local SEO Myths Debunked
17Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

10 Common Local SEO Myths Debunked

There are many strategies and tactics that you can implement to help your business increase rankings in local search results. But for every well-known and proven ranking strategy, there is an equally well-known unproven strategy masquerading as an effective local SEO tactic. In today’s Whitespark Weekly episode, Darren is busting 10 common local SEO myths! Stop wasting your time implementing these tactics in the hopes of positively impacting your rankings! Video Transcript Hey there, Darren here with another way Whitespark Weekly video. These videos are to help you understand local SEO, give you optimization strategies, and keep you up to date on the latest in local search. If you’re new here, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and sign up for our newsletter. We will send you an em...
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How to Land Your First Local SEO Client
13Mar By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, Client Relations, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Land Your First Local SEO Client

We’re incredibly excited to announce the launch of our second free course for BrightLocal Academy, called ‘How to Land Your First Local SEO Client‘. We’ve created this course in collaboration with local SEO specialist Claire Carlile because we realized that while there’s plenty of content out there that helps people learn how to do local SEO, there’s little that helps people get their local SEO agencies off the ground.  Winning that first client is a massive milestone for anyone starting out, but there’s a lot of work needed to get to that point. For the most part, it’s trial and error but early missteps can have negative knock-on effects as your agency grows. For example, you might find yourself in a tricky situation down the line after having underpriced your services at the start, leavi...
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Local Quizness March 2021 – What’s The Story in Local SEO?
13Mar By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

Local Quizness March 2021 – What’s The Story in Local SEO?

Claim your listing on the new BrightLocal Agency Directory to begin generating leads from businesses that are searching for help with digital marketing right now. Every week, BrightLocal’s Customer Success team receives requests for recommendations of top-rated agencies that can help our local business customers with their digital marketing. And, just as often, we receive… Read More
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What Happens to Your Rankings if You Do No SEO Work for Over a Year?
10Mar By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Whitespark Weekly

What Happens to Your Rankings if You Do No SEO Work for Over a Year?

What Happens to Your Rankings if You Do No SEO Work for Over a Year? - Whitespark Today, we are revisiting a case study that we did for MozCon 2019 on the process of going from zero web presence to ranking hyper-locally, From Zero to Local Ranking Hero. This was an 8-month-long journey of a business growing its digital footprint and analyzing what worked (and didn’t) along the way to discover exactly what impact different strategies have on local rankings. Over a year later we want to know, where are their rankings now? In this Whitespark Weekly episode, we’re investigating what happened to their rankings after the local SEO work was done and NO additional ...
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The Most Popular Local Search Blogs
9Mar By Nyagoslav ZhekovNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

The Most Popular Local Search Blogs

As mentioned above, one of Mike Blumenthal’s posts – “Google Testing (Or Rolling Out?) New 3-Pack Carousel” – was broadly shared and gained a large number of links. This article is the most linked-to local SEO article, even after we do adjustments for some domains sending unusually high numbers of links. Overall, the list is dominated by Moz (Local) with most posts written by Miriam Ellis, and by Sterling Sky (written mostly by Joy Hawkins and Colan Nielsen). Of the top 30 posts, only 7 were not published on either of these two blogs. After Mike’s article, the most linked-to non-Moz and non-Sterling-Sky article was Whitespark’s “2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Presentation” (written by Darren Shaw) which ranked 19th, followed by GatherUp’s “Do Consumers Support Businesses Requiring Masks...
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Core Web Vitals and the Page Experience Update: What They Mean for Local Businesses
3Mar By James EwanNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Core Web Vitals and the Page Experience Update: What They Mean for Local Businesses

Google is currently putting together the final changes for a search algorithm update that they’ve announced will land in May 2021.  The update is being called the Page Experience update because of its focus on usability rather than things like keywords or search relevance. Google has already provided some information on the update, which aims to measure and potentially rank the experience that a user encounters when visiting a page. The fact that Google have given so much warning about the update says all you need to know about how seriously to take it. We know it’ll impact organic search results but as of yet, there’s no word on whether there will be any specific impact on Google My Business rankings. Although this update is due to hit the algorithm in May, there’s no reason not to get ah...
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Local Search Grid: Put Your Rankings on the Map
10Feb By Jamie PitmanNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Search Grid: Put Your Rankings on the Map

We’re incredibly excited to announce the launch of Local Search Grid, a brand-new local rankings tool from BrightLocal that allows you to see the bigger picture of search. Without further ado, here’s how awesome it looks. Snazzy, right? There’s a lot I could say about Local Search Grid and what this new tool means for your search strategy (and I will!) but for now I’ll let our launch video do the talking: If that’s piqued your interest and you want to start using Local Search Grid right away, simply: Log in to your BrightLocal account Select a Location from your Clients & Locations dashboard Click ‘Rankings’ in the Location Sidebar menu Click ‘Local Search Grid’ in the dropdown that appears Want to know more before you dive in? Read on to find out just how Local Search Gri...
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Local Quizness February 2021 – What’s New in Local SEO?
10Feb By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Quizness February 2021 – What’s New in Local SEO?

It may have only been the first month of the year, but the local SEO news didn’t ease us in gently!  Test your knowledge of last month’s biggest stories in our monthly local marketing news quiz – Local Quizness!  In just 10 questions, you can challenge your knowledge of the biggest tests, new features, and changes affecting local businesses in January. And as always, you can share your scores over on Twitter using #LocalQuizness.  If you wanted to catch up on any of January’s news, we’ve provided links to some great articles exploring the stories.  We’ll be back next month with another news quiz – see you then! 
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7 Ways Local Businesses Can Improve Website SEO
3Feb By Ian LoewNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

7 Ways Local Businesses Can Improve Website SEO

Anyone who runs an online business needs to get to grips with search engine optimization (SEO). SEO is the process of working to make your website rank more highly in results pages on search engines such as Google. There are a few strategies you can use to help your site rank better in local search results. In this article, we’ll discuss how you can improve your website SEO through simple WordPress improvements. Why is ranking well for local search queries so important? According to Business Wire, 67% of Americans prefer to shop with local businesses where possible. Additionally, an estimated 46% of all Google searches have local intent. Speaking anecdotally, I have seen the importance of local search results first-hand. 80-90% of the business for my web design agency, Lform Design, comes...
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Google Posts No Longer Expire After Seven Days [NEWS]
23Jan By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Google Posts No Longer Expire After Seven Days [NEWS]

TL;DR Google Posts are now visible in the business's Knowledge Panel for more than 7 days Before this update, Google Posts expired 7 days after creation Google Posts are a great way to communicate with customers directly within SERPs On Tuesday, January 19th, eagle-eyed SEO Brodie Clark spotted that Google Posts older than seven days were appearing in the local business Knowledge Panel.  Nice one for Local SEOs to be aware of. Now seeing standard Posts appears from months back by default. Would show for 7 days previously, then “expire” and become hidden behind the ‘view all’ button. Glad to see more visibility given to Posts – this change makes sense IMO. pic.twitter.com/H3pQTDG5qH — Brodie Clark (@brodieseo) January 20, 2021 As Brodie mentions, Posts created within Google My...
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Where to Be in 2021: Conferences & Events to Improve Your Local Marketing
23Jan By Delon RajphangthongNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Where to Be in 2021: Conferences & Events to Improve Your Local Marketing

Where to Be in 2021: Conferences & Events to Improve Your Local Marketing - Whitespark Updated on January 19, 2021 (Originally published December 17, 2019 by Jessie Low) There is no shortage of marketing conferences, webinars, and workshops to attend to help grow your skill set, stay current, and advance your knowledge to drive...
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Local SEO Audit – How to Do a Quick SEO Audit + Free Template
22Jan By Team WhitesparkNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, On-page SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Local SEO Audit – How to Do a Quick SEO Audit + Free Template

Start 2021 off right with this quick local SEO website audit that Nick Pierno – Whitespark’s Director of Custom Projects – presented at our 2020 Local Search Summit. Nick runs through the importance of how assessing the SEO viability of a website can help surface potential problem areas and shares his audit checklist to get you set up for success. Video Transcript A Note on SEO Scan Tools There are some good SEO scan tools (Woorank or SEOptimer) out there that I usually run sites through during my audit process to catch anything I missed or just get a kind of programmatic look at things, I’d say these scan tools work better in tandem with a manual audit, rather than as a replacement for one. Gauging a Website’s Overall Local SEO Health You can obviously spend a dozen hours or l...
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Local Quizness – Quiz of the Year 2020!
14Jan By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Quizness – Quiz of the Year 2020!

In our first webinar of the year, we’ll be joined by local search experts Ben Fisher, Joy Hawkins, and Andrew Shotland (from Steady Demand, Sterling Sky, and Local SEO Guide, respectively) to discuss the key local SEO events and trends of last year and look ahead to what might be coming in 2021. The State of Local Search… Read More
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What is Google My Business ‘Direct Edit’, and What Does It Mean for Agencies?
12Jan By Ben FisherNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company

What is Google My Business ‘Direct Edit’, and What Does It Mean for Agencies?

Ben Fisher is a Platinum Product Expert for Google My Business. He’s a master of the spam redressal form, is always on top of the latest news, and loves to share his knowledge with others. Here, he explains the new ‘Direct Edit’ feature in Google My Business, or, as he’s calling it, the Transparent Merchant Experience. In 2017, Google My Business (GMB) launched the ability to update your business information, make posts, upload photos, see how many views you have received, and more, within SERPs. The blog post they released was then titled ‘Manage your business listing without leaving Google Search.’ Now fast forward to 2020, and they have upgraded the experience in a blog post titled ‘Update your Business Profile on Google Maps and Search‘. See the difference there? The main change is h...
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Expert Local SEO Predictions for 2021
11Jan By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, paid search, Reputation Management, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Expert Local SEO Predictions for 2021

Now that 2020 is well and truly behind us, we can begin looking forward to bigger, better things. That’s right folks, the time is once again upon us to bring out our BrightLocal crystal ball and enlist some of the local search community’s most well-loved experts to help us with some local SEO predictions for the coming year.  But, before we get started thinking about what’s to come for 2021, how did our experts fare with what they predicted in 2020? Reflecting on 2020’s Local SEO Predictions A lot happened in 2020, but how many of our experts’ local SEO predictions came true?  Unfortunately, a lot of our pros had hoped 2020 would see a reduction in spam, but with the introduction of new Covid-19 support, resources, and features, plus limited Google My Business support, it seems Google had ...
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What You Need To Know About Google Local Services Ads
21Dec By Tom WaddingtonNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, PPC, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

What You Need To Know About Google Local Services Ads

Google’s Local Services ads (aka LSA, Google Guaranteed ads, Local Services by Google, Google Local Services) is a pay per lead advertising platform that has expanded across the United States, and in Canada (excluding Quebec) but limited to 4 business categories. Below is a list of the eligible business categories Google has set for Local Services ads. Nationwide Categories Appliance repair services Bankruptcy law services Business law services Carpenter services Carpet cleaning services Cleaning services Contract law services Countertop services Criminal law services Disability law services DUI law services Electricians (available in Canada) Estate lawyer services Family law services Fencing services Junk removal services Financial planning services Flooring services Foundations services...
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2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Presentation
21Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Presentation

2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Presentation - Whitespark The 2020 Local Search Ranking Factor survey results are in! I just presented the top highlights and takeaways at Whitespark’s Local Search Summit, and the slide deck is available below. Stay tuned for our upcoming blog post and resource with the complete analysis. Made wit...
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Google Review Attributes, Local Link Building & UTM Tagging Guide for GMB
21Dec By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

Google Review Attributes, Local Link Building & UTM Tagging Guide for GMB

Meh, Links: A process for identifying local links that generate customers, leads, and search visibility Gyi is well known in local search circles for his catch-phrase “meh, links” which is the most succinct way of saying, “All other SEO factors considered, it’s probably the links that are making the difference in why one business is outranking another” You will hear a lot from people within the industry that “links are way oversold, all you’ve got to do is create great content, fix your site, incorporate searcher intent, create for users, add Schema…” Yes, all of that is important… BUT the difference maker is the links. Re-frame your mindset around local link building, especially in competitive verticals.  It’s time to correct your myopic view on link building and stop thinking about eve...
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Cindy Krum on Building a Mobile-first, Future-proof SEO Strategy
21Dec By Kristian BannisterNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Cindy Krum on Building a Mobile-first, Future-proof SEO Strategy

I’ve got something to confess. I’m not the most technical SEO. I mean, I have a basic understanding of how crawling and indexing works, and I’ve overseen a few technical SEO projects – from a safe distance! But when it gets down to the nuts and bolts of technical SEO… Well, let’s just say, it’s not exactly lighting my fire. But that’s all changed, and it’s thanks to this month’s ‘Adventure in Local Marketing’ guest Cindy Krum, CEO and Founder of MobileMoxie. Cindy is not only super knowledgeable about the nitty gritty of technical SEO, she also has an amazing knack for making it really accessible and easy-to-understand. Cindy is one of the leading experts in mobile SEO, but her knowledge doesn’t end there. She’s always at the fore when it comes to understanding (and predicting!) what Googl...
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Location Page Technical Audits, Local SEO for Hotels & Building Relevance
21Dec By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Location Page Technical Audits, Local SEO for Hotels & Building Relevance

Location Page Technical Audits, Local SEO for Hotels & Building Relevance | #WLSS Day 2 Recap Day 2 of our Local Search Summit was filled with lessons in link building, GMB suspensions, technical SEO, local services ads, email marketing, and more. Today we are shining a spotlight on the technical side of location pages, local sea...
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How Do You Keep Your Clients Engaged?
20Dec By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, We Asked the Experts

How Do You Keep Your Clients Engaged?

We Asked the Experts is a series designed to provide you with the most relevant insights from local search experts. Each month we’ll cover a different question and share insights from key figures in the local SEO community in an effort to help you further your knowledge and strategy. Have any of the following ever happened to you? You’ve got a handful of clients, but you never or rarely have calls with them You do have calls with your clients but you have to send a bunch of emails before you can get them on the phone You share links to reports with clients, but have no idea if they’re reading them Your client is resistant to your input or ideas Your clients still won’t follow your advice and respond to customer reviews If you’re sitting there nodding your head, then I’m afraid to say it ...
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SEO Techniques For Multiple Location BusinessesBest SEO Company | Professional Digital Marketing Agency USA
20Dec By SEO NinjaNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo local, seo services

SEO Techniques For Multiple Location BusinessesBest SEO Company | Professional Digital Marketing Agency USA

Every business no matter how big or small, whether serving one location or several, needs the unique customer pulling techniques of search engine optimization (SEO). If you run a business that provides local services, SEO that helps a customer easily find your service can work wonders in improving your business and profits. A Local SEO company is characterized with pulling massive traffic and boosting sales significantly for their clients.  For businesses serving a handful of locations, SEO is simpler but for multiple or several locations, it becomes a little complicated. Managing reviews, location based optimization and content management can get tricky and hard to stay organized. Before we move on to provide you a detailed strategy to implement local SEO, let’s look at some crucial st...
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How to Create Location Landing Pages that Convert & Local SEO Reporting with Google Tag Manager
20Dec By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

How to Create Location Landing Pages that Convert & Local SEO Reporting with Google Tag Manager

How to Create Location Landing Pages that Convert & Local SEO Reporting with Google Tag Manager - Whitespark That’s a wrap for Day 3 and our Local Search Summit is now complete!  Our last day included talks on reputation management, Local Services Ads, LinkedIn partnerships, analytics, link building, spam-fighting and more. Today...
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Local Quizness November 2020 – How Well Do You Know Last Month’s News?
20Dec By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Quizness November 2020 – How Well Do You Know Last Month’s News?

October was a bumper month for news – and with so much going on in the ‘real’ world, we wouldn’t blame you if you’d missed some of the stories affecting local marketers. Test out your knowledge of the biggest changes, tests, and bugs hitting headlines in October in the latest edition of Local Quizness – our monthly quickfire quiz created to help you stay on top of the news that matters most. If you wanted to do a bit of revision before attempting the quiz (hey, it’s not cheating, it’s learning!), we’ve included links to all of the stories covered below. Get quizzing now, and for those of you that’d like to share your scores, head over to Twitter using #LocalQuizness. Take a look at the full reading list to brush up and learn more: See you in December for even more quizzing (erk, where’s ...
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Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing StrategiesBest SEO Company | Professional Digital Marketing Agency USA
20Dec By SEO NinjaNo Comments
Advanced SEO Techniques, Digital Marketing Services, Digital Marketing Strategies, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, Local Seo Packages, local seo services, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, SEO For Small Business, seo services

Grow Your Small Business Effectively With Digital Marketing StrategiesBest SEO Company | Professional Digital Marketing Agency USA

In today’s highly competitive business era, advertising is essential for all businesses. However, small businesses usually lack big budget for advertising purposes. Hence, such businesses find it challenging to compete against their competitors, especially if their competitors are big brands and well-known companies. Small businesses have to face many hurdles and challenges to grow and beat the market competition. They need to tackle all the difficulties and challenges to succeed and grow. Such businesses need to consider the constantly changing behavior of their targeted customers. It is significant to understand what target customers are expecting from the business. No business can deny that most customers today prefer online shopping. It is expected that the craze of online shoppin...
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Carrie Hill on Creating Kick-ass Local Content
20Dec By Kristian BannisterNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Carrie Hill on Creating Kick-ass Local Content

There’s no doubt content is key to both ranking high in local search and generating more leads, but there’s a lot of mixed messages about the best ways to approach this. And often what ranks and what converts can be very different beasts. Luckily, we’ve enlisted Sterling Sky’s content creating champion Carrie Hill to get answers to questions such as should local businesses be blogging regularly? What kind of content coverts? And what do you do if great content isn’t ranking? On this episode, Carrie reveals her secrets to make the words (and leads!) flow. Listen to learn: How to do effective content research How to ensure content doesn’t just rank, but also converts The mistakes to avoid when creating content The methods Carrie uses to make writing much easier Listen to the episode Subsc...
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2020 Holiday Guide to Google My Business
20Dec By Allie MargesonNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

2020 Holiday Guide to Google My Business

This year, the holidays will look very different for most of us. The pandemic has affected us all in different ways and its effects are far reaching across economies and consumer habits. Here at Whitespark, we love local businesses and strive to create useful free resources for small businesses owners and marketers on this blog. We know this has been a challenging year for you, your families, and your business. We wish you and yours a happy holiday season! Adapting Your Holiday Sales Strategy for COVID-19 According to Google’s latest consumer trend report, half of U.S. shoppers say the pandemic will affect how they’ll shop for the holidays this year. Shopping locally is more important than ever – but everyone’s looking for a deal. What’s a small business to do? We’ve created a new Holiday ...
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Local Quizness December 2020 – Put Your News Knowledge to the Test!
20Dec By Rosie MurphyNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Quizness, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Local Quizness December 2020 – Put Your News Knowledge to the Test!

It’s time for the last Local Quizness of the year! Every month, we pay close attention to all of the new features, bugs, and trends affecting local marketers – so you don’t have to. Answer 10 quick questions to find out if you spotted some of the biggest stories in local SEO from November, and catch up on any you might have missed in the complete reading list below. Only the most vigilant local news-readers can score more than 6/10 – try your luck, and share with your colleagues and peers to find out who’s the highest scorer! Refresh your memory with all the news below, and don’t forget to share your score on Twitter using #LocalQuizness. We hope you enjoyed this month’s Local Quizness. We’ll be back in the New Year with another challenge!
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a free online school dedicated to local SEO
20Dec By Kate Herbert-SmithNo Comments
Blog, BrightLocal Products, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

a free online school dedicated to local SEO

We’ve been working hard behind the scenes and are thrilled to announce the arrival of BrightLocal Academy: a free online school dedicated to teaching you all about local SEO. Built with busy professionals in mind, it will help you to: Make the most of the time you have to learn with short interactive videos. Fill your knowledge gaps by letting you learn what you want, when you want to. Make what you learn really stick, through regular quizzes. Stand out from the crowd with certificates you can add to your CV or LinkedIn profile.   The first course we’re launching is Level Up Your Local SEO with BrightLocal which uses the power of interactive content to guide you through the theory of local SEO and shows you how to put its awesome powers into practice with confidence.  So if you’r...
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Everything You Need to Know About Google My Business Posts
20Dec By Jessie LowNo Comments
googe optimize, Google My Business, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

Everything You Need to Know About Google My Business Posts

Image/Video: You can choose to represent your event with an image, GIF, or a 30 second video (max upload size is 100 mb). You can add up to 10 photos or videos. The image above is a perfect example of when a post photo doesn’t fit the ideal dimensions, and a black background appears from using the built in photo editor. Event Title (Optional): You can use up to a maximum of 58 characters (with spaces) for your title. If you are using all of the allowable characters, some of the text will get cut off in the thumbnail preview (more on that below). It’s not mandatory to add a title, but if you do add one your post will stand out in search results and the title will be bold. Currently you can’t manually bold any  text in posts, and so having a title does make it pop more. Event Details: You ge...
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The 2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey Analysis
20Dec By Darren ShawNo Comments
googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

The 2020 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey Analysis

Back in September I presented the results of the 2020 Local Search Ranking Factors at Whitespark’s inaugural Local Search Summit, and today, finally, I am pleased to release the written analysis and full survey results. Sorry for the long delay! It has been a couple of years since I published the last Local Search Ranking Factors Survey results, and much has changed since then. Google continues to add new features to GMB, tactics and strategies are shifting, and Google is getting serious about monetizing local. Before I dive into my analysis, here’s the iconic pie chart that you’ve all been waiting for. This is how the local search experts think local pack/finder rankings are weighted in 2020: Side note: Particularly observant readers may have noticed that social signals have b...
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The Year in Local Search – 2020
20Dec By Stephanie NewtonNo Comments
Blog, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local SEO, News, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

The Year in Local Search – 2020

2020 has nearly come to an end (cue sighs of relief!)  While this year presented many challenges, especially for local businesses, it also created the opportunity for triumph. Google My Business introduced more new features than ever, and we saw the good side of many organizations that strived to provide extra resources and relief to those in need. Although we may all be glad to see the back of what’s been a pretty hectic year, we’d be remiss not to look back on all the exciting things that have taken place. For us, it’s been a year filled with GMB news, updates, and changes, and we even had some laughs along the way too, (Four Season Total Landscaping anyone?) So, before we say “so long” to 2020 for good, we invite you to join us in reflecting upon the year in local search. What would a ...
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