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Originally presented at the IBD Summit April 2014 by Mike Belasco, President and CEO of Inflow. This presentation is focused on helping local bike shops succeed with Local SEO.
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Local Search Results Page
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Mike Belasco Inflow, President and Founder
facebook.com/mikebelasco
twitter.com/belasco
plus.google.com/+MikeBelasco
linkedin.com/in/miketheinternetguy
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Houston Pic
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Skiiing Picture
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I do know about internet marketing…
• 12+ years internet marketing experience, also
founder of ConversionIQ
• 2014 DBJ 40 under 40 nominee
• SEJ, Best Local Search Blog 2006
• SEMMY Award 2010
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• I analyzed the top ranking bike shops across two keywords
• “cityname bike shops”• “cityname bicycle shops”
• And across five markets• Austin – DMA 40• Portland – DMA 22• Denver – DMA 17• Houston – DMA 10• Chicago – DMA 3
What I know + Bike Shops = Bike Shops Study
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• What Is Local Search?
• Local Search Ranking Factors Through The Lens Of Your Competitors
• Tools and Other Resources
Today’s Presentation
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What Is Local Search?What does it mean to your business?
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• 61% of users call a business after searching and 59% visit the location
• 90% of these people act within 24 hours.
What’s In It For Your Business?
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Keyword Footprint: 238 (mult. locations)
Monthly Impressions: 32,940
What’s In It For Your Business?
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Keyword Footprint: 420 (mult. locations)
Monthly Impressions: 52,460
What’s In It For Your Business?
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Keyword Footprint: 420
Monthly Impressions: 84,770
What’s In It For Your Business?
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• SERP = search engine results page
• Localized Organic Results• 3 pack• 7 pack
• Pack/Carousel Results
• Maps Results
• Google Maps App
How Does Google Present Local Results?
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Click icon to add picture
Localized Organic 3 pack
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Localized Organic 7 pack
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Pack / Carousel Results
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Maps Results
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Local Search Ranking FactorsWhat it takes to rank well in local search results
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Local Search Ranking Factors
19.6% - Place Page signals
16% - External LocalSignals
18.8% - On-pagesignals (website)
14.4% - Incoming Link signals
Source: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
10.3% - Review signals
6.3% - Social signals
6.1% Behavioral signals
3% - Personalization
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Google Places For Business PageYour business profile on Google
19.6%
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What Is a Google Places Page?
• My text goes here if I need it
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• Ensure Correct NAP (name, address, phone number) is
absolutely critical
• Local Area Code In Phone Number
• Service and Local Keywords In Business Title (be careful)
• Service and Local Keywords In Description (be careful)
• Get Verified! (100% of top ranking bike shops were verified)
• Complete and Correct Categories
• Association of Photos and Videos with Page
• Complete Your Profile to 100%
Optimizing Your Google Places For Business Page
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• Business Name, Address, and Phone Number
• Must Be Consistent Across the Web • Be careful when abbreviating name or adding
modifiers• Always be consistent with use of St. or Street, Ave.
or Avenue• Consistent Phone Number (w local area code)
The NAP
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Business Details
• Ensure Correct NAP
(name, address,
phone number) is
absolutely critical
• Local Area Code In
Phone Number
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Complete Your Profile
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Get Verified!
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Select Categories
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Top Google Places Categories For Bike Shops
Category Name Frequency
Bicycle Store 90
Bike Repair Shop 75
Bicycle Shop 75
Bicycles-dealers 64
Bicycle Rental Service****
11
Bicycles*** 9
Bicycles-repairing* 8
Bicycle Dealers Repairs & Rental**
5
Sporting Goods Store* 4
Make sure you research and use relevant categories for your market on your Google Places For Business Listing.
* Only present in Houston** Only present in Chicago*** Only present in Austin**** Only present in Portland
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Add Photos, Videos and More
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External Local Ranking FactorsCitations and NAP Consistency
16%
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• Each instance of your NAP is a “citation” (ie every time your NAP is listed on a webpage)
• Consistency is key
• Quantity and Quality also count
• Claiming listings where possible could also help rankings
Citations
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Check Your NAP Consistency
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• The average count of Yext errors across listings studied: 132.2
• The lowest count of Yext errors across listings studied:110 (note Performance Bicycle had 0 since they are using Yext to manage listings)
• The highest count of Yext errors across listings studied: 240
NAP Consistency Scores - Yext
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Here are the average number of Yext errors per market
NAP Consistency Scores - Yext
Market Average Yext Errors
Denver 122
Houston 124
Austin 134
Chicago 140
Portland 141
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Check Your NAP Consistency
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• The average Moz Local score across listings studied: 58.4%
• The lowest Moz Local score across listings studied: 36%
• The highest Moz Local score across listings studied: 75% (two tied in Houston)
NAP Consistency Scores – Moz Local
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Average Moz Local Scores per market
NAP Consistency Scores – Moz Local
Market Average Moz Local Score
Chicago 62
Houston 60
Denver 59
Austin 59
Portland 52
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Start At The Source To Ensure NAP
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• Big 4 Data Providers• Acxiom• Neustar/Localeze• Factual• InfoGroup
• Big 3 Search Engines• Google• Yahoo• Bing
Start At The Source To Ensure NAP
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Average Number of Citations for Bike Shops in our study: 127
• Austin - 161• Denver - 138• Portland - 116• Chicago - 115• Houston - 106
Average Number Of Citations For Bike Shops
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Most Frequent Citation Sources For Bike Shops
• yelp.com
• merchantcircle.com
• yahoo.com
• manta.com
• mystore411.com
• citysearch.com
• superpages.com
• yellowbook.com
• whitepages.com
• justdial.com
• nearyous.com
• facebook.com
• yellowpages.com
• yellowbot.com
• showmelocal.com
• switchboard.com
• salespider.com
• greatbikeshops.com
• local.com
• bundle.com
• privacystar.com
• mojopages.com
• staradvertiser.com
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Citation Sources Unique To Bike Shops
• Greatbikeshops.com
• BikeRumor.com
• Fatsandbikes.com
• Velolet.com
• SportRabbit.com
• BicycleShops.us
• Localbikes.net
• LocalBikeShops.net
• SurleyBikes.com
• BicycleDealersUSA.com
• FindBicycleShops.net
• Mtbr.com
• Sportlegs.com
• MapMyRide.com
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On-Page SignalsOptimizing Your Website for Local Search
18.8%
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• Business name and keywords in title tag
• NAP present and consistent on all pages
• Embedded Google Map
• Address marked up using SCHEMA
Key On-Page Ranking Factors
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The SEO title tag is still one of the most important elements for on-site optimization.
Google might choose your title tag to link to your website.
Make sure it includes your primary keywords and your location and keep it to
70 characters or less.
Optimize Title Tags
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NAP On Every Page
Place your business name address and phone number on every page of your website. Mark it
up in Schema code if possible
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Embed a Google Map On Your Contact Page
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Incoming Link SignalsBuilding links to your website
14.4%
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Incoming Links
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• Have been important in “traditional” organic search for a long time
• Google has cracked down on link manipulation more and more over the years
• Becoming less important in and of themselves, but still an important ranking signal
• More about quality than quantity
Incoming Links
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• Average number of incoming links among listings
studied:11,487
• Average domain authority among listings studied: 38
• Highest number of links among listings studied: 218,696 -
REI
• Highest domain authority among listings studied: 86 - REI
• Lowest number of links among listings studied: 24
• Lowest domain authority among listings studied:17 (two
tied)
** link and domain authority numbers skewed by bigger players like REI and Performance Bicycle
Incoming Links – The Data
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Incoming Links – The Data
Market Average # of Links Average Domain Authority
Austin 2097 38Portland 14182 44Denver 31954 39Houston 7887 35Chicago 1318 34
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• Get links from relationships (vendors, partners, friends, bloggers)
• Get links on local and vertical directories (see citation source list for some ideas)
• Sponsor groups and events (make sure you get a link. MeetUp groups work too!)
• Join the BBB, get a great link and a citation
• Create a great resource on your website like a buying guide, ride list, etc. Promote it on social media.
How To Get Incoming Links
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Online Review and Rating SignalsBuilding links to your website
10.3%
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• Average number of reviews across listings studied:48.6
• Highest number of reviews across listings studied: 249 – Bicycle Sport Shop, Austin, TX
• Lowest number of reviews across listings studied:2 (but only 4 listings with under 10 reviews)
• NOTE – Reviews seemed to be a more important than usual ranking signal
Online Reviews
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Online Reviews By Market
Market Average Number of Reviews
Austin 87
Portland 57
Chicago 42
Denver 36
Houston 21
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• Average number of stars across listings studied: 4 (the average was 4 in every market)
• Highest number of stars across listings studied (more than 10 ratings): 4.9 - Portland Bike Tours and Rental
• Lowest number of stars across listings studied:2.5
Online Ratings
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Reviews/Ratings are featured prominently in Google Maps Desktop searches and mobile apps Like Google Now
Reviews Help More Than Rankings
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• Create a detailed “How To Leave A Review” page on your website with instructions etc. Link to the page in your email signature
• Verbally get customers to “commit” to leaving a review for you by asking them in person. Respond to commitment by saying “thank you, I am looking forward to your comments”
• Investigate tools like FiveStarReviewSystem.com and BrightLocal’s ReviewBiz
• Get customers to leave reviews using Google Maps App (it takes less than 60 seconds)
Online Review Strategy – Do’s
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• DON’T Send unsolicited emails requesting reviews – this is SPAM.
• DON’T Freak out when you get a bad review. Keep a cool head and respond/react appropriately
• DON’T Pay for reviews
• DON’T Ask For YELP reviews
• DON’T Get a bunch of reviews all at once
Online Review Strategy – Don’ts
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Other SignalsSocial, behavioral signals, and personalization
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• Claim and optimize your Google Places For Business profile
• Claim and clean your NAP
• Build citations to your business
• Optimize your website for local search
• Build links to your website
• Plan and execute an online Review collection strategy
Your Next Steps
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Meet InflowAttract. Convert. Grow.
Denver-based inbound marketing agency providing SEO, PPC, CRO and Content Marketing services for eCommerce, Lead Generation and Local Search sites.
www.GoInflow.com
facebook.com/goinflow
twitter.com/goinflow
plus.google.com/109323918893578995526
linkedin.com/companies/208642
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• http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors• http://www.slideshare.net/fathomonline/local-101• http://blog.sumall.com/journal/local-seo-basics-for-your-business-2.html• https://www.distilled.net/blog/mobile/optimizing-your-local-presence-for-mobile-
search-and-vice-versa/• http://searchengineland.com/how-to-rank-outside-of-your-physical-location-in-
google-places-159043• http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2284954/Getting-Started-With-Google-
Places-for-Business• http://veepopat.ca/google-local-page-optimization/• http://veepopat.ca/google-places-listing-changes/• http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/local-businesses-need-reviews-12-seo-
approved-ways-get/• https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html• https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-category.html• http://www.brightlocal.com/2013/09/11/top-50-local-citation-sites/• http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/definitive-local-search-citations/• http://www.leanmarketing.ca/lean-top-50-best-local-citation-sources-in-the-usa/
Resources
