Directories, Data Feeds, and Local Search Optimization

Helping small businesses succeed online.

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• Partner Accounts Team Manager

• LSU Mass Comm / Advertising Graduate

• Leads team of 15 Account Managers

• Social Media Marketing Columnist on MarketingLand.com

ALISON ZERINGUEABOUT ME

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WE HELP YOUR CLIENTS GET FOUNDWITH DIRECTORIES & DATA FEEDS

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SO, WHY DO DIRECTORIES AND DATA FEEDS MATTER FOR YOUR CLIENTS?

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• Local Search Optimization• NAP Citations

• Search Engine Visibility / Discovery• Barnacle SEO• Authority building• Inbound Links

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DIRECTORIES PROVIDE 2 MAJOR BENEFITS FOR SEO:

• Your local search fingerprint• Any online instance of the

business’ Name, Address and Phone Number (AKA N.A.P.)

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WHAT IS A CITATION?

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THE ANATOMY OF N.A.P.NAME

ADDRESS

PHONE NO

WEBSITE

LINKS ARE THE STREETS OF THE WEB

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Links are like the streets between webpages that help Search Engines navigate the web to discover new content.

When other trusted sites like directories link to your website:• Your site can be found and

crawled by the Search Engine spiders more frequently

• Your site will be seen as a trusted / authoritative source

2 TYPES OF ONLINE DIRECTORIES:

1.LOCAL Directories2.CATEGORICAL Directories

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LOCAL DIRECTORIESOrganize listings by NAP information (by location).

PRIMARY BENEFIT: Citations

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CATEGORICALDIRECTORIESOrganize listings by business category rather than location.

PRIMARY BENEFIT: Links

CATEGORICAL vs. LOCALDIRECTORIES

The primary source of local data for all major search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

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WHAT IS A DATA FEED?

DATA FEEDSOrganize listings by NAP information (by location) and seed this information to other directories around the web.

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The Local Search Ecosystem

STAKE YOUR CLAIM ON THE BIG 3

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STAKE YOUR CLAIM ON THE BIG 3

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The first and primary local search ranking factor is Name, Address, Phone Number consistency across the web. While the quantity of citations on the web is important, the consistency of them is even more so due to the Local Search Ecosystem.

ESSENTIAL: A CONSISTENT NAMEADDRESSPHONE NO.

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INCONSISTENCY & DUPLICATION OF CITATIONS

• NAP should be in each of these places:• Website• Social media profiles• Business directories

• Number of citations is important, but consistency is more important

DON’T CONFUSE GOOGLE!

ON-SITE N.A.P. INFORMATION IS CRITICAL, TOO.

LOCATION LANDING PAGES:EMBEDDED MAP LINKING TO G+

ON-SITE LOCAL OPTIMIZATION:N.A.P. IN FOOTER OR SIDEBAR

HOW DOES THIS FIT INTO OUR SEO CAMPAIGNS FOR YOUR CLIENTS?

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• Month 1• Claiming, verification, and

optimizing local listing on: • Google+ Local• Yahoo Local• Bing Local

• Support from client is required to complete these crucial steps

• Month 2• On-site location optimizations• Submit business to 2 major

data feeds:• Universal Business Listing• Localeze

MONTH1-2

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MONTH 3+

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• Month 3 - 4• Submit to 50 local directories• Process to begin in this

month but does take time to complete

• Month 4 + Beyond• Submit to categorical

directories

• Month 7 - 8• Submit to additional 50 local

directories

THANK YOU!ALISON ZERINGUE

Partner Accounts Team Managerazeringue@searchinfluence.com

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