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Crucial To Online
Success!
• 94% of search engine users choose organic over paid listings.
• 67% choose organic search engine results when purchasing.
• Organic click-through generates 25% higher conversion rates than PPC.
Why being seen is
Crucial…
“Attracting a loyal audience to
your website is best achieved
through top search engine
listings.”
Source: Forrester Research Media Field Study
Location, Location, Location
1st Position gets approximately
36% of the traffic.
2nd position gest approximately
13% of the traffic.
3rd position gets approximately
8% of the traffic.
How Search Engines Work
• Search Engines send out “spiders” to
index websites/pages.
• Cache web pages into data centers.
• Categorize data.
• Assess data for ranking.
• Update data centers.
An Online Business Directory has the
standard business name, address,
phone number and your website url
(NAPW) and links to your website.
Big PLUS:
• Photos
• Fuller Descriptions with Key
Phrases
• Types of Payment Received
• Service Hours
• Menus
• Owner or Manager Bios
• Specials, Coupons, etc.
Don’t Confuse Citations With Links!
Remember:
Citations are just mentions of
your name, address, and phone
number.
Aug 2013 by Phil Rozek
Are All Directories or Citation
Sites Created Equal?
• Domain Authority
• Indexed Pages
• Structured or Standard NAP
Display
• Quality & Nature of Site
• Free Listing
• Toxic Link CheckMarch 2014 by Myles Anderson
Types of online directories?
1. Data-aggregators-
2. Horizontal directories
3. Industry-specific directories
4. Region-specific sites
5. Sites where you can get an
“unstructured” citation, like a
mention in a newspaper or by a
"local" blogger.
http://www.whitespark.ca/blog/post/16-local-citation-building-best-practices
Top online directories?
1. Google Places
Business Page
2. Google+ Business
Page
3. Google Maps
4. Yahoo! Local
5. Bing Local
6. Apple Maps
7. SuperPages
8. YellowBook
9. YellowPages
10. Yelp
11. Citysearch
12. Merchant Circle
13. Topix
14. Insider Pages
15. Factual
16. YouTube
The New Marketing Path…
Eureka!!
Matt Cutts-
Spiders and the WebIf you want your website to get found – you need to
have quality content and a powerful link strategy so
search engine spiders find your site:
• Keyword-rich content on website
• Articles
• Blog posts
• Forums
• Social signals
• Internal links
• Link building
• Citations
• Directory listings• And much more!
What Are Keywords and Why Do They
Matter?
Keywords are the heart and soul of
searching online.
Keyword -A word or phrase that a search
engine user uses to find websites.
Goal: Target your site for keywords that are
popular but don’t have a ton of competition.
You Want Targeted Traffic: people who
come to a website because they are
looking for what the site has to offer.
• Headphones vs. 900 MHz wireless
stereo headphones Cedar Rapids
• Windows vs. window installers or
window installation contractors Iowa
City
Which term(s) are closer to making a
purchase?
Importance of Targeted Keywords
A Very Special Note:
Google rolled out the
Hummingbird release last
year.
This release has brought
about the era of semantic
search.
Use keywords that reflect like
your everyday language.
• More than 86% of local consumers and
businesses turn to the Internet first.
• One-third of all Internet search engine
queries contain a zip code or a city or
state.
• Local business listings and reviews
now sit at or near the top of natural
search results.
It’s Critical That People Can Find You!
• Include local keywords.
• Local address to your site.
• Local phone number.
• Get listed in all local directories.
• Create local videos.
• Get links from local organizations
and businesses.
If You Are Local, Optimize for
Local
First Check ForFirst Check For Existing Listings
Search by Business Name
Search by Phone Number
Search by Category
Make note of all existing listings
and go back to check for accuracy
and completeness
Why Claim Your Listing?
5-22% have addresses listed incorrectly.
6-50% have the phone number listed
incorrectly.
24-39% have the Business name listed
incorrectly.
40-64% have something listed
incorrectly.
You want control of your listing!http://streetfightmag.com/2012/04/23/yext-infographic-64-of-foursquare-business-listings-are-
incorrect/ 23 April 2012 by Steven Jacobs
Ways to Claim Your Directory
Listing
• Simply fill out the information.
• Verify through email.
• Verify by telephone.
• Verify by the US Mail.
Claim Your Google Places
• Do a search for your business by:
•Category
•Name
•Address
•Phone Number
• If Listed – Claim. It doesn’t have to be an exact match.
• Not Listed – Create.
Add Your Listing
Manage Your Listings
Google Places for Business Listing
• Be as complete as possible.
• Use keywords in your description.
• Use geography in your description.
• Geo & keyword tag photos.
• Continue to update Information.
• Add Photos.
• Complete Profile.
• Start Building
Circles.
• Start Posting
Status.
• Requires a Windows Live ID Account
• Search For Business – Claim or Add.
• Name, Address and Phone Number (NAP)
must be exact to your Google Listing.
• Use same photos as on Google.
Optimizing for Bing
• Complete Every Field.
• Use keyword and location in your tag line.
• Comprehensive description that uses
keywords and location.
• Add hours of operation.
• Use brands and professional
organizations for industry terms .
Things Bing Likes
• Older websites.
• Content – Doesn’t judge content on it’s
age.
• Likes domains with the keywords in the
URL.
• Likes backlinks and is not as particular
about the type of backlink .
• Sign up with Google Account or set up a
Yahoo email account.
• More basic listing – only one photo.
• Can add reviews.
–Reviews will appear in Google
Doing it right will take you a
few hours.
Doing it wrong will take many
hours (and possibly a lot of
money).
