Data Management for Local Search

Data Management for

Local SearchMary Bowling

Small Biz Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.comBlog: www.MaryBowling.com

Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]

http://www.ignitordigital.com/

http://www.marybowling.com/

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About Me

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MaryBowling.com


Slides and Checklists

http://www.IgnitorDigital.com/DataManagement


Get This Powerpoint & Checklists Here

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NAP Consistency MattersCritical 2013 Local Search Ranking Factor!*

*http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

“Your Places page may be naked. Your website may beg for a mercy killing. You may not have a single customer review. But you still may rank OK…if your NAP is accurate and consistent everywhere it appears on the web. This is do-or-die.” Phil Rosek

“Citations will always be a major factor and can help or seriously hurt a listing if the data is incorrect across the ecosystem.” Mike Ramsey


“…I've hardly had a case where the NAP of the business was perfect across the board." Nyagoslav Zhekov

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

Why Everyone Doesn’t Do It

Don’t understand or believe positive impact

Mini Case Study:

Tracked 8 terms in very competitive niche and location Did not rank in top 50 organically for any of them Did not appear in Local Pack for any of them Best Places ranking #17

After 90 days of proactive data cleansing (no organic work)

Ranked in Local Pack for 6 of the 8 terms Ranked 7 and 8 in Google Places for the other 2

For 8 fat head terms, went from 0 Local Pack listings to 6 in 90 days JUST by scrubbing data

876543210


Be the One That Does It!

It’s a tough, tough job Some of the battles you have to fight:

Don’t understand the process Can’t just add new, correct listings-must update/delete old

ones Time consuming and frustrating Usually you don’t have logins to modify listings Most require creating and verifying a new account What you need to do is different at nearly every site Takes attention to detail, patience and persistence

Clients/Bosses don’t want to pay for the time it takes People think it’s easy, so they give job to lowest paid workers

When you think you’re done, you’re not –check & recheck


Data Scrubbing Process

Quick check the extent of data inconsistency* Determine your strategy* Check/update NAP info on ALL websites for that client Gather the information you need Discover inconsistent data and prioritize updates Report duplicates and problems at Google ASAP Correct/submit/report problems at data providers Correct/submit/report problems at Tier 2 directories Correct/submit/report problems at add’l trusted places Wait 45-90 days Recheck and repeat

One way to do it

*TIP: You need this info before pricing a job Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]

Quick Audit Quick check for data inconsistency

Tools to use: GetListed.org Tool Yext.com Tool Google Places Tool (log in to G)

www.google.com/local/add/g?hl=enUS&gl=US#phonelookup

If you have many locations:Spot check 6-8 in large cities Ask client where problems are Ask client which locations are most

important to business


http://www.google.com/local/add/g?hl=enUS&gl=US


Determine Your StrategyHow will you tackle the job?

How many locations involved? How much inconsistency discovered? Budget for submissions? Time by which you NEED to see some results? Is the company planning a move? Will you bite off in chunks or do it all at once? Time, manpower, budget to do manual updates ?* Time to wait for new data to flow through the ecosystem?* Have logins to most of the places where listed?*

*Tip: Once you claim a listing, you have to keep it updated Tip: All of the above helps determine cost and time frame. You can do it fast or you can do it cheap, but not both.


Discover Inconsistent NAPAsk the business owner!

Business name Business street address Business mailing address Business local phone number w/area code Have you changed phone numbers? (Old numbers?) Do/have you use more than 1 phone number. (All numbers?) Have you moved? (All old addresses?) Have you used call tracking numbers? (All numbers?) Have you used local phone numbers for areas you serve, but where you don’t

have an office, shop or store? (All numbers?) What are the URLs for all of your websites? Have you done internet advertising through a phone/yellow pages company? Have you used more than one business name, including variations? (Names?) What does the sign outside your business say on it? What name, address , phone number are listed in your local phone book? Have you ever used a PO Box, UPS Store, virtual office or employee or friend’s

address for your business? (All addresses?)


Get the Info You Need, FirstGather info for each location before starting

Business name Business street address Business mailing address Business local phone number w/area code Days and hours of operation, methods of payment List of main services offered List of main products and brands offered Pertinent certifications, education, memberships, licenses, etc Where customers will park ( ex: free adjacent lot, parking garage 1 block) ZipCodes of areas served and/or radius of area served Images (must live on Unique URLs on website)

Logo (square and small 100x100) Storefront (with sign if possible) Staff (headshots and in action performing services) Main products Show people what’s of interest in your niche (wedding cakes, menu

items, hotel lobby, apartment swimming pool, etc.)


Discover Inconsistent NAP Look!

Check NAP on all websites – correct? in text form? (preferably in local business schema format)

Confusing or conflicting info? Correct it now!

Check address at USPS database https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action


https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action

Discover Inconsistent NAP Use Google

Google Places – search all numbers used www.google.com/local/add/g?hl=enUS&gl=US#phonelookup

Google Maps search – look at Google’s suggestions

Google organic search for name address/phone



Discover Inconsistent NAP

Use Darren Shaw’s methods


Get Google search tips and learn ways to use some other tools to help uncover NAP inconsistencyhttp://www.slideshare.net/DistilledSEO/darren-shaw-audit-and-fix-citations-for-local-search-gains

http://www.slideshare.net/DistilledSEO/darren-shaw-audit-and-fix-citations-for-local-search-gains

Report Problems at GoogleUse Google Support Options

Report/Edit using Mapmaker Directly from listing

Find answers http://support.google.com/places/bin/answ

er.py?hl=en&answer=176504 Report using trouble shooter

http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/business

Get a call back-talk to support! login to Google account https://support.google.com/business/contac

t/business_c2c

Google Support has improved


http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=176504

http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=176504

http://productforums.google.com/forum/

http://productforums.google.com/forum/

https://support.google.com/business/contact/business_c2c

https://support.google.com/business/contact/business_c2c

Check Exact Location

Google Map PINs are Critical!Check Map Pin Location(s)

Type full street address into Maps Zoom in on Street View Make sure it’s in the right place Correct, as needed

TIP: You can rarely do this accurately w/o client involvement.TIP: Check Google’s driving directions for accuracy, too.



Use tools! GetListed.org – enter business

name(s) and ZipCode(s)

Yext.com – enter business name(s) and phone(s)

Whitespark Citation Finder Tool enter name(s) and phone(s)www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/

Tip: None are 100% - double check


http://www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/

http://www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/


Check & Modify or Submit at Data ProvidersUse all methods to check for existing listings for best results InfoGroup http://www.expressupdate.com/search

Localeze http://www.neustarlocaleze.biz/directory/index.aspx

Acxiom https://mybusinesslistingmanager.myacxiom.com/

Universal Business Listing http://search.ubl.org/


http://www.expressupdate.com/search

http://www.neustarlocaleze.biz/directory/index.aspx

https://mybusinesslistingmanager.myacxiom.com/

http://search.ubl.org/

Data Provider Tips Localeze

Support slow More listings in account, harder to manage Can’t always tell if modification incurs a charge or not Defaults listings to auto-renew – change to do not renew

If they lapse, they are still in account and can be renewed UBL

Slow support Data probably not as trusted, but widely distributed Data feeds to Acxiom and InfoGroup

InfoGroup and Acxiom Use these to check for bad/duplicate listings Modify/delete, as needed If data doesn’t match, phone verification is done

Infogroup – they call biz Acxiom – biz calls them from listed phone

TIP: Each requires different formatting & info for bulk uploads Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + [email protected]

Data Distribution

From David Mihm : http://moz.com/blog/2013-local-search-ecosystems


http://moz.com/blog/2013-local-search-ecosystems

Data Distribution


From David Mihm : http://moz.com/blog/2013-local-search-ecosystems

http://moz.com/blog/2013-local-search-ecosystems

ProcessScrub Your Data Clean – Phase 1Find & Correct Data: Company Website(s), Google Places and Major Data Providers

Check and correct any confusion on company website(s) Use schema coding for NAP

Discover old/bad/duplicate Google Places listings Use Google

Report Google duplicates, near duplicates, listings w/bad info Use Report a problem (takes you into Mapmaker) Use other Google support options

Discover and update/modify bad listings at data providers Use data providers’ tools

If no listing at data provider, add it (paid is better than free)


Process

Scrub Your Data Clean – Phase 2Update or Submit Listings at Tier 2 Local Directories

Trusted industry Directories Vary by industry – start here: https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-category.html

Trusted Local Directories Vary by location – start here: https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html

Local phone provider – print and online directories Historic providers of business data & still matter Google tends to trust local landline numbers and info associated with them

Bing Business Portal Yahoo Local


https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-category.html

https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html

Process

Scrub Your Data Clean – Phase 3Prioritize Updating and Submissions at Other DirectoriesGoogle web search and Whitespark tool

Search for business name/address/phone at Google Look at first 20-30 results to see which listings Google finds most

important Experience will help you to spot the good outliers , scraper

sites and junk sites The more work you do in a niche or location, the easier this gets Don’t bother updating listings on low quality sites - SEOmoz domain

authority provided by Whitespark Tool Eyeball the site – you can tell its quality


How Long For Updates?

http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/09/26/infographic-citations-time-to-live/ From Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm :


http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/09/26/infographic-citations-time-to-live/

Many Locations?Enterprise-level solutions for data management are expanding

Placeable from Location InsightsRio SEO From Covario

Local business listing management & distribution Store locators Optimized local landing pages for websites


Many Locations?Create your own database solutions

Get APIs for data submissions Input data once and be able to pull it out into properly

formatted spreadsheets for data providers and other directories important for you industry

Enable local operators to log in and update some of their own data

Use database to populate individual location pages that matches data you’re pushing out


Many Locations?But you still need to do most data cleanup manually right now. How?

One chunk at a time, prioritized for your goals: City, region or state? Large cities or small towns? (most to least competitive) Most profitable or least profitable?

*YOU need to provide direction/training


Many Locations

Enlist local staffs to:


Check Google driving directions Check Google Places listing Look for duplicate Google listings Check Google map pins Check Google driving directions Check accuracy at GetListed Check accuracy at Yext Check accuracy at major data providers

Provide direction and training

Measuring Success

Baseline and Compare Organic rankings Rankings in Local Packs and Maps Number of inconsistent listings at trusted sites Amount of website traffic in general Amount of traffic from Google Maps For multiple locations, amount of website traffic to

location-specific landing pages Number of referrals from sites important in your niche

TIP: Can happen more quickly, but give yourself 3-6 months.


Moving Forward

Advise clients about how to keep data consistent forward so they don’t have to go through this again.


Thanks!


Mary BowlingBlog: www.MaryBowling.com

SMB Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com Get Slides & Checklists: IgnitorDigital.com/DataManagement

http://www.marybowling.com/

http://www.ignitordigital.com/

http://www.ignitordigital.com/SMXLocalSearch

http://www.ignitordigital.com/SMXLocalSearch