Tag: Local

21Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services, Uncategorized

Doable Examples of Online/Remote Services Offered by Local Businesses

Like my post? Please share! While everything and everyone is on lockdown, how can a “local” business still bring in a little revenue?  How can you set yourself up for a strong comeback?  And how can you do it from your yurt? As you might guess, you do it by offering an online or “tele” version of at least one of your services.  Customers / clients / patients may need to keep their distance, but many still want or need now what you offer.  Only a video, phone, or other online option meets both of those needs. The problem now is you’re not sure where to begin, because you don’t have examples or blueprints of online-only services that you can adapt to your situation. I’m not saying a remote option is an option for every business.  Some businesses can only do their work in-person, and don’t ha...

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21Dec By Maddy OsmanNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services

A Complete Local SEO Checklist

A local search strategy is incredibly important.For community businesses and businesses looking to take advantage of mobile, as well as new and changing consumer behaviors, having a local SEO plan is now a necessity more than an option.Customers across all industry types are searching for the best products and services near them – and this does not just mean retail and ecommerce.They want local answers and services fast.One of the significant differences between local SEO and “regular” SEO is how you target customers.However, the differences don’t stop there.As local consumers look for better and more relevant experiences, “near me” searches continue to rise.About 46% of all Google searches have local intent.Consumers with smartphones are increasingly using GPS-based apps to search for loc...

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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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21Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Reopening Checklist for Local Businesses: Make It Confusion-Free, Local SEO-Friendly, and Safe

Like my post? Please share! No matter how operational your business has been, or how “open” it can be now, or how your goals have changed, sooner or later your local search visibility again will be one of your sorest spots.  Whether that’s already happened or is still a while off, at the very least you don’t want your local SEO to be in worse shape than it was before the lockdown. There’s a good chance you’ve been open in some capacity this whole time.  So when I say “reopening” I’m referring to whenever you’re (1) welcoming more in-person business and (2) focusing more of your local SEO effort on drumming up that in-person business.  My guess is you’re not emerging suddenly.   Of course, I don’t know your specific situation, so I assume it’s safe and legal for you to “reopen” in one manne...

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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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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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20Dec By Joy HawkinsNo Comments

GMB, googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

Are Local Services Ads Stealing Clicks from Google My Business? A Case Study of 110 Listings

Posted Dec 8, 2020 by Joy Hawkins In September 2020, Google rolled out Local Services Ads (LSA) to lawyers across the United States.  The rollout happened fast and since lawyers generally focus a lot on marketing, we weren’t surprised to see so many law firms sign up for the platform very quickly. I have heard many people ask if Local Services Ads (LSA) are essentially stealing clicks that would have otherwise gone to the local pack results (Google My Business listings) if the ads weren’t present.  We wanted to see what the data is telling us so far. Methodology In this case study, we looked at Google My Business Insights for 110 different listings for various lawyer types.  We looked specifically ...

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20Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Want to End Your Lease But Not Your Local SEO? Factors to Consider If You Might Leave It Behind

Like my post? Please share! Now you’re looking at your lease through the local SEO lens.  A combination of the pandemic, the lockdown(s), the quasi-reopening, and other changes has made you want to save money where you can, or work from home indefinitely, or move your HQ.  The basic concern is, “Will I destroy my local rankings if I rent somewhere else or stop renting altogether?” Your more-specific questions might include: Should you stay in your current building? If you stay, how long should you stay? If you move, which address (old or new) should you show online? Should you stop showing your address online? How important is your exact address, in the grand scheme of local SEO? The answer to those questions and others in a similar bucket is: “it depends.”  It depends on a lot of factor...

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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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20Dec By Lucinda HoneycuttNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO

10 Local SEO Tips to Improve Your Real Estate Websites

The real estate industry is highly competitive, especially in major cities.From the solopreneur trying to make ends meet to the massive national conglomerates, everyone is out to do whatever they can to increase their visibility and get those listings.Luckily for you, online, you don’t have to compete with hundreds of thousands of other real estate agents.Since the area you serve is hyperlocal, you’re only competing with others in that same hyperlocal area.Of course, depending on location, the competition may be more fierce, even among small businesses.But, using local SEO gives you a fighting chance. As long as you know what you’re doing.What follows are 10 tips to improve your real estate website so that it can dominate local search.1. Start with an SEO AuditBefore you can figure out whe...

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20Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Google Local Services Reviews Not Showing in Google Maps? Why That Happens and What to Do

Like my post? Please share! Many businesses use Google’s Local Services Ads (AKA “Google Guaranteed”) program to show up at the very top of the local results – above all the other ads, and above the local map (AKA the 3-pack). Local Services Ads (LSAs) are still not an option for every business, and they’re not a good option for everyone, but they often earn their keep for the businesses that do use them – if my clients’ experiences are good indicators.  By which I mean people see the ads, click on them, and in some cases become customers.  (If you’d like to know more, Tom Waddington did a great overview of LSAs.) Google even makes it extra easy to ask customers for reviews: Google gives you a special “write a review” link (different from the Google My Business one) and encourages you to ...

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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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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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20Dec By Loren BakerNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Search, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Webinar

Local SEO Workflows to Better Manage Your Google My Business Listing

Want to learn how to keep returning customers engaged and convert new customers through your Google My Business listing?On October 28, I moderated a Search Engine Journal webinar sponsored by SEMrush and presented by Ross Tavendale, Managing Director at Type A Media.He walked through some simple workflows that small business owners can start doing today in order to work smarter with their Google My Business (GMB) listing.Here’s a recap of the presentation.Running a small business is hard.Often, as the owner of a small business, you are in charge of HR, finance, operations, sales, marketing and a million other things.In today’s fast-paced environment, if you’re just standing still and maintaining the status quo, that actually means that over time your business will experience attrition and ...

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20Dec By Tessa HughesNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, Local Mailbag, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo company, seo services

LocalMailbag: What Are the Critical Elements of a High Converting Local Contact Us Page?

Many businesses treat their contact page as just a place to put a plain old contact form or address, but it needs to be so much more than that! If you give this humble page the attention it deserves, the pay off can be extremely rewarding for your business, winning you more customers and bringing in high quality leads on a regular basis. Here are the absolute must-haves for a winning contact page that actually converts site visitors into paying customers. Business contact information Trust factors and social proof Strong location-specific content On-page optimization Including core business information also helps reinforce trust and build relevance in both Google and Bing, because it signals to these search engines that your business is legitimate and credible.  Include a sim...

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20Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

10 Bootstrap Ways to Grab More of Your Service Area in Local Search

Like my post? Please share! You’re probably frustrated by the puny patch of land in which you rank for anything.  How can you grab at least a little more of your service area? It takes work, but you can rank in (and get more business from) places beyond the one city or few towns where you rank today.  Those gains will happen mostly in the local organic results, but most strategies can drag your Google Maps rankings along, too. Here’s a video of my talk at the recent Whitespark Local Search Summit, hosted by Darren Shaw.  It’s called “10 Bootstrap Ways to Grab More of Your Service Area in Local Search,” and I hope it gives you some doable ideas for how to do exactly that. If you want a handy reference, or if you don’t need my color commentary or the Q&A at the end, here is a one-page ch...

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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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20Dec By PhilNo Comments

googe optimize, google optimization, google seo, pagerank, search engine optimisation, search engine optimising, search engine optimization, SEO, seo services, Uncategorized

Goofiest Local SEO Metrics and Better Numbers for You to Watch

Like my post? Please share! It’s hard enough to pilot your business into Google’s local search results and pick up the right customers.  That’s even harder if your instruments point you in the wrong direction, or you look at them wrong, or you look at the wrong instruments. In local SEO it’s easy to waste precious time and energy on goals that don’t matter, problems that don’t exist, or showy numbers that obscure important numbers.  The end result is you waste time and work less on what affects your business the most, and generally achieve the opposite of what you want.   I spend a lot of time with clients (long-term, audit, and consultation) homing in on one thing and tuning out another thing.  Below is a rundown of what I’ve found to be most common goofy and unimportant measurements of s...

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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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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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