Is there ever such a thing as a quiet year in local search? Well, let’s hope not, as we’d all be out of a job, but you understand the expression. 2022 has been awry with increases in fraudulent Google Business Profile and review activity, and retaliations coming thick and fast from Google. Which, as we know, has led to some, uh, chaos in the form of profile suspensions and even disappearing Google reviews. With those most recent bugs in mind, it can skew your perspective of all the other things that have happened in local search this year and, hey, we’ve seen a lot of positives—Google Maps has even helped fight crime, for goodness sake! Plus, all of the new attributes added to Google Business Profile that makes it—and its local businesses—that little bit more helpful every day, often without users even realizing. So in true end-of-year style, we’re taking a moment to look back at 2022. Although, before we delve into that, you might be interested to see what New York’s top trending recipe was this year… wait—actually, no, that’s kind of disappointing, New York. Local Year in Search 2022, Google JanuaryKicking off a new year with no messing around, Google confirmed its first big vicinity update since 2016, which local SEOs had been reporting on just before Christmas. Honing in on proximity more than ever, this key change explained some significant fluctuations in visibility for local businesses. Next, the welcome news for local businesses that Google Business Profile verification could now be carried out by video call. Shortening the verification by as much as two weeks, this was a great move by Google to encourage better engagement from business owners and managers by simply making things easier for them. And of course, BrightLocal’s own highly anticipated Local Consumer Review Survey 2022 was published, in which we found that more consumers were reading online reviews than ever before. FebruaryAs anti-tech legislation was proposed in the US, Google controversially moved to lobby local businesses on the negative impacts that limiting consumer data could have on business profiles, Google ad products, and synchronization with other core Google tools. As of yet, the American Innovation and Choice Online Act has not been passed into US law. Towards the end of February, interactive elements were introduced to the local pack, enabling users to zoom, drag and hover on map elements and open the local finder to search for local businesses. Following January’s proximity focus within the vicinity update, this change would give users more control over the way they discover local businesses. MarchGlobal focus in March turned, of course, to Europe, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. BrightLocal customers and friends will be aware that a huge part of our team has long been based in Kyiv, so naturally, we rallied to support our BrightLocal family. You can read the message from our CEO and founder, Myles, here. Google introduced several new attributes for businesses in Ukraine and its surrounding areas, including “emergency help” attributes to signal organizations that offered free services or support or accepted donations and volunteers in humanitarian efforts. Hotel listings were able to display free or significantly discounted accommodation options for those displaced in Ukraine. Following a couple of months of local SEOs scratching their heads over ranking fluctuations, Joy Hawkins reported a suspected ‘correction’ to the aforementioned vicinity update. Since the rollout in December, keyword-rich business names had been—potentially unfairly—filtered out of results. Although, there has been debate over the practice of using keywords within business names. And, after reports that further verification requirements for Google Business Profiles may be needed, trust signals were spotted appearing for confirmed business information, such as opening hours and contact details. As our very own Claire Carlile highlighted at the time, this appeared to come as another move from Google to reinforce consumer confidence in local search results.
AprilA flurry of local changes trickled into April, first with the announcement that the Google My Business app would be finally going away. Aside from the rebrand, this decision reflects changes to how profile managers interact with and edit Google Business Profiles. We saw more new attributes added to Google Business Profile, helping local businesses to promote their sustainability and be found by more eco-conscious audiences with ‘recycling’ attributes. Product searches also got the local treatment, with results displaying options for ‘in-store’ products that could be browsed by product or by store. This update should be seen as a big hint from Google that product-focused businesses should be synchronizing products from Google Merchant Center to their Google Business Profiles—or setting this up to list your products altogether, if you haven’t already. A new results overlay was tested for businesses in Google Maps which, as you can see below, rolled out and still stands. This change allows users to open results for a local business, whilst continuing to scroll the list and compare additional businesses. Though some weren’t keen on its introduction, I have to say I rather like it! MayMay was a huge month for BrightLocal as our team, supported by friends and experts within the local SEO community, was busy behind the scenes organizing the incredible Local SEO for Ukraine event. Six hours of exciting talks, Q&As, and expert panels took place in one day, as part of our fundraising efforts to buy urgent aid and supplies for the people of Ukraine. More on that later! Big news came for ‘virtual’ and delivery-only food brands, as Google finally enabled them to have listings within Google Business Profile (subject to conditions). Following the rise of delivery-only food businesses and pick-up-only locations since the pandemic, this welcome change would substantially increase visibility for these types of local businesses, beyond the work of social media, word of mouth, and (often non-existent) organic search. New features for hotel results were also spotted, highlighting another example of how Google likes to use review content in different ways. Expandable ‘top things to know’ options, using snippets of local reviews, provide at-a-glance information to support users in their browsing and decision-making. JuneAs the travel industry continues to bounce back, Google introduced updates to travel listings that would streamline the booking process for prospective customers, while also making it easier for profile managers to stay on top of their business listings. Most notably, it enables advertisers to activate ads faster and for hotel rates to be inputted directly into their Google Business Profile. June saw a new attribute in the form of ‘LGBTQ+ Owned’ joining some of the other community-focused attributes such as ‘Women-owned’ and ‘Black-owned’. This is a nice nod to helping customers support small and local businesses that are part of communities they care about. JulyInstagram threw its hat back into the local ring with the launch of an immersive local maps feature. Although it has played with map features over the years, this feature shows a big move towards local business discovery and even has its own local pack of sorts! Business information, such as opening hours, an indicator of price, and number of Instagram posts can be seen at a glance, while continuing to showcase user-generated content. It’s a nice touch to give more of a platform to small businesses and creators, although as we know, Instagram is a busy and competitive space to keep up with. Back to Google, an announcement came that Google Posts would now expire after six months. It comes as a very non-subtle encouragement for business owners and managers to stay on top of their GBPs, keep information up-to-date and post relevant, timely updates to attract customers. By this time, BrightLocal was gearing up for a four-day drive from the UK to Ukraine, packing up and driving three vans of supplies over 1,600 miles across Europe. A huge thank you again to all of those who were able to donate to or support our cause, as well as the generous contributions we received to get us there! We are incredibly proud to have raised our goal of $100,000 across the months. AugustAs our team continued the long drive across European borders, August proved to be quite a bumper month for local. TikTok, never one to be ignored, partnered with Ticketmaster to wade into the world of local events and reinforce its power as a discovery platform. Incentivizing content creators to promote events and include links through contextually relevant content, while providing Ticketmaster with a new sales platform, is quite frankly, genius. Local businesses such as restaurants and attractions got the opportunity for a visibility boost as Google tested a new photo browsing feature within mobile search results. Swipeable cards allow users to browse images associated with the business, which is particularly important for hospitality brands. So remember, presentation is key—because you don’t know who might be snapping away! At the end of August, we reported on Google’s Helpful Content Update and, at first, not a lot changed. But, as some local SEOs predicted, the update was just getting started. Since then, there has been evidence of sites with quality and authoritative content (including ours, hooray!) being rewarded, whilst Lily Ray spotted a trend in which sites using duplicate or near duplicate content, were impacted negatively.
Continuing the helpful theme, we also saw prompts for ‘sub-reviews’ being introduced within Google Reviews. You may have spotted that some reviews now have additional information attached to them, such as facilities and amenities. If you’re a Local Guide, you might have even been prompted yourself! SeptemberBarely a week later, came the September 2022 Core Algorithm Update, which unsurprisingly sent plenty of local marketers into a small panic. Unfortunately, this was shortly followed by a bug that saw dramatic local ranking changes and drop-offs. As it happens, it was unrelated to the updates and didn’t affect all businesses. So what did September’s core update impact? Not a lot apparently, and Google didn’t provide many hints on what to do if you were hit. Meanwhile, Google’s much anticipated virtual Search On event announced some major updates coming to local search, some of which we’ll cover later. Some of the most intriguing, we thought, was the potential rise of social media and ‘local influencers’ in defining neighborhood vibes, and some very interesting comments about the future of reviews and ratings.
On the subject of review trustworthiness, Google continued its tirade against unethical incentivizing practices. Updating its guidelines, it’s now strictly prohibited to incentivize customers to leave reviews and feedback. While it’s never exactly been seen as the “right” way of encouraging reviews, plenty of local businesses have relied on tactics such as free goods and discounts—and likely still do—so, this one will catch businesses out if Google is as serious about its crackdown as we think. How to Spot Fake Reviews: Check out our tips for how to spot fake reviews and what you can do about them. OctoberWe kicked off October with the launch of our Resource Hubs and two days of fun, learning, and BrightLocal Bingo at BrightonSEO! As always, it was great to see so many faces, hear from some very insightful speakers, and of course, bag some of that sweet, sweet merchandise. Continuing the theme of photos and discovery through visuals, Mike Blumenthal covered the importance of businesses upgrading the quality of their photos and ensuring they reflect products and services visually. At the same time, Tricia Clements noted the addition of keywords to business photos being tested, as well as reviews with photos placing near the top:
And then, when it was all going so well, there was the Google Business Profile suspensions bug. All of a sudden, simply editing key business information could result in a profile suspension—which, of course, didn’t look great for us local SEOs banging on about the importance of up-to-date business profiles! It turned out to be a bug that affected a significant number of profiles, and the reinstatement periods were taking up to three weeks. The lesson there: proceed with caution when making multiple edits to your profiles and always make a note of the changes you make. NovemberThe chaos didn’t quite slow down in November. Some unpopular changes to Google Business Profile came at the start of the month, as the option to edit profiles within the traditional dashboard was removed. Although to be expected within the rollout of the New Merchant Experience (NMX), many local marketers noted some editing options were frustratingly hidden, and some features were removed altogether. That meant goodbye to photo insights, the ‘how customers search for your business’ statistics, and ‘requests for directions’.
Then, following the profile suspensions bug, some business profiles saw their Google reviews disappearing entirely around the middle of the month—big gulp. Although some suspected it may have been Google going into overdrive on the spam-fighting front, it was confirmed as a bug that caused profile CID numbers to change.
And yet, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Some of the more exciting local search features that had been announced in September’s Search On conference began rolling out. Useful search features and attributes, such as searching for local restaurants by dish, finding wheelchair-accessible businesses across more countries, and searching with Live View in some key cities became official. DecemberYou didn’t think that things would start to wind down, just because we’re in December, did you? As we know, Google loves to keep us on our toes and this month has been no different. Google has now introduced the concept of E-E-A-T and no, that’s not a typo. The new ‘E’ stands for experience, referring to the first-hand experience and reputation of content creators, as well as the overall reputation of a website. Signaling another key indicator of trustworthiness, local marketers should take the opportunity to review how they demonstrate expertise on topics across their websites. Meanwhile, back on the spam-busting front, a December 2022 link spam update is rolling out. So, if you notice your rankings begin to fluctuate, you’ll want to review your links to ensure they are natural. Learnings from 20222022 really has been the year that Google showed us it’s not messing around when it comes to spam and fraud, and that quality content remains the jewel in the crown. As we know, local search is constantly evolving and new features are constantly coming our way or being tested. So, don’t feel bad if you don’t spot them! Keep up to date with our insights and keep your eye on our Twitter feed to see everything in local marketing as it happens. That’s a wrap from us, for now. Thank you again to everyone who has supported BrightLocal throughout 2022 and, most importantly, our family in Ukraine. While we know updates and changes can come at any time, we sincerely hope that you can enjoy a break over this holiday period, however you may observe it. Look out for our upcoming 2023 predictions piece, coming at the start of January. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/7Fk2HG8 Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/
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We’re pleased to announce a major update to Get Reviews that gives you much more flexibility when generating customer reviews. Every business has slightly different needs when gathering customer feedback and growing online reviews. Appropriately enough, we’ve used our own customer feedback—your feedback—to ensure that Get Reviews can meet these varied needs. What’s New in Get ReviewsWe’ve packed a lot of improvements into this release! You’ll now be able to:
Want a guided tour of all the new improvements? We’ve put together this short video to show you how it works. Otherwise keep reading to learn what’s now possible in Get Reviews… Gather Internal Feedback with Thumbs or Star RatingsOne of the most common feature requests for Get Reviews was to provide an alternative to Net Promoter Score (NPS). Some customers said NPS wasn’t always relevant to their business types. That’s why we’ve added two new internal feedback score options: Stars: Invite customers to rate their experience by leaving a star rating.
As with NPS, you’ll have the option to determine the threshold for a positive score. Thumbs: Make it really simple for customers by asking them to rate their experience with a ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’.
No matter which feedback score you choose, you still have the option to customize the content and strike the right tone in subsequent steps based on whether a customer gave a positive or negative score. Skip the Internal Feedback Step and Only Ask for a Public ReviewWe’ve introduced the ability to send a campaign that only invites customers to leave a review on a public site—no gathering internal feedback beforehand. Now, when you create a new template you’ll be asked to choose from two campaign types: 1. Ask for internal feedback + public reviewIf you’ve used Get Reviews before, you’ll be familiar with this campaign flow. Customers are asked to rate their experience using your preferred internal feedback score: NPS, Thumbs or Stars. Once they’ve given a score, you have the option to gather additional feedback to learn more about their experience. This open text field can be shown to all respondents, to negative respondents only, or it can be completely removed from the flow altogether. This option is useful if you want to:
Finally, customers are invited to leave a review on your chosen public review sites. 2. Only ask for a public reviewAs the name suggests, this campaign skips all forms of internal feedback and just asks customers to leave a public review.
This is a great option for maximizing the number of public reviews generated in each campaign because the less you ask of a customer, and the easier you make the process, the more likely they’ll be to leave a review of your business. Drive More Clicks with Improved Call-to-action ButtonsThe volume of new reviews is often the biggest success marker of a review generation campaign, so when it came to improving Get Reviews, we focused on ensuring that as many respondents leave public reviews as possible. When we looked at the existing flow, it was clear that the final step could be improved to increase the chances of a customer clicking through to leave a review. The biggest standout was something that, ironically, didn’t stand out: the call-to-action buttons. We recognized that the buttons could easily get missed by customers being asked for reviews, so we went about redesigning them so they stood out and had a clear ask.
Better Understand Performance with Clearer ReportingAdding in new types of campaigns always meant that we were going to need to update the campaign performance reports. However, we also used this as an opportunity to improve the dashboard to make it easier to understand and quicker to get valuable insights and trend data from. Now, you’ll see a clear breakdown of each of the channels you’re using to generate reviews, and the average feedback score of each campaign. Clicking through on a campaign will reveal further information on how it performed, including:
Delete Responses from Your ReportsLastly, in this update, we’ve added the ability to delete responses from your campaign performance reports. In most cases, you’ll likely want to delete responses that are part of test campaigns. For example, if you’re sending an email to yourself when testing out a new template. To delete a response, simply find your details in the ‘Customer Details’ column and click the ‘trash can’ icon. Greater Flexibility, Better Engagement, More ReviewsWe hope that these improvements will allow you to send the right type of campaign based on your objectives, and help you to generate more reviews than ever before. If you want to take advantage of these new options, you can either update your existing templates or create new versions. New to BrightLocal? Then take out a 14-day free trial to learn how we make review management simple and cost-effective. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/v6UY8Ce Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ A solid local SEO strategy backed by content silos is an effective way to scale the results you get for your client’s local business. Content silos help you leverage proximity, relevance, and prominence, as they’re some of the most important local SEO ranking factors. For relevance and prominence, a content silo helps your client’s content and business show up in relevant search results and, when you’ve showcased your expertise on your subject, it offers you a chance to earn backlinks from reputable websites. This increase in relevant rankings can help your client’s business earn more qualified organic traffic which, in turn, can increase conversions. If your client’s local business has several branches in different locations, creating a content silo with location-specific content helps you to optimize for proximity. In this article, I’m going to share four actionable ways to create content silos for local SEO, provide examples of local businesses with these silos, and show you how you can build them for your own client’s local business. Strategy 1: Build a Content Silo Around Service VerticalsSearchers looking for specific services that a local business provides will end up frustrated when they can’t find the service they’re looking for. So, having a content silo that dives deeper into the services your client’s business centers around is key. This also allows you to align with the searcher’s intent by answering the questions searchers have, and helps them move to the next stage of the buying journey. Content silos around the service vertical also help you create content that addresses specific pain points that potential customers have, which can help them convert. Answering any objections or questions gives them a better understanding before they click the ‘buy now’ button or take that highly sought-after medium of communication: a phone call. How do you make sure that the content silo you create around a service vertical stands out?Step 1. Narrow Down Your ServicesStart by narrowing down the services that your client offers and compare that with the services the competition is offering. As you do this, you may identify services your client can provide that no one else is providing, presenting you with the opportunity to fill in the gap. In some instances, it may even highlight a chance to narrow down three to five services your client can focus on providing and do better than anyone else. Step 2. Identify Major TopicsOnce you have a list of services your client provides, identify major topics around each of these services and then create different types of content on each of them. If your client has customers already, you could run a survey asking them what they would like to learn about each of these services, and then build content around these topics. Performing keyword research around your products or services can also unearth a number of potential topics, as can viewing the ‘People Also Ask’ in Google for related keywords. Each of these can help you spot topics you may want to include in your silo. For example, Southern Premier Roofing provides six types of roofing services, and when you click on each service, you’ll read a detailed description of what each service entails: Digging deeper into each of these services, you’ll find a landing page describing each service in detail. On the roof repair page, for example, you have a section talking about different signs that point to a worn-out roof and the process that they rely on when repairing your roof. Readers who need a roof replacement might start with more basic questions, and won’t convert simply by arriving on the roof replacement landing page. That’s where the content silo comes in. Southern Premier Roofing has organized the content silo around this service by creating different types of content that first educate them on roof vocabularies, such as roof underlayment and roof membrane, and then different types of roofs that customers can consider. Then, there’s comparison content that dives deeper into comparing different roof types; for example, hip roofs vs gable roofs. We also have more bottom-of-funnel content such as ‘how to prepare a house for roof replacement’ and identifying different signs that point to someone needing a roof replacement. This helps nudge the reader towards considering roof replacement services. While this might seem like a linear path, the different types of content in this silo make it easier for Southern Premier Roofing to get hold of more readers who might be interested in their services and, crucially, keep them on their site so that eventually some become their customers. Strategy 2: Build a Content Silo Around Each Location You ServeIf your client has offices in different locations, build a location-based content silo by creating web pages for each office and linking to it from the “main locations hub” page on your client’s homepage. If your client has a service-based business where they have to go to the customer’s location, build out individual neighborhood, community, or local landing pages and make them subsets of the main city page in the city that your client operates in. Here’s how Baker Roofing does it: They provide roofing services and have a list of different locations they operate in with a search bar that you can use to set your preferred distance to see how far they are. There’s also a map showing you the different locations. How to Create Location-based Content SilosTo create a location-specific content silo, have a list of the cities or locations your client serves, then create specific web pages for each of these locations. Once you do this, link them to the main locations hub on your client’s homepage so that web visitors can navigate to their preferred location easily. Why create different pages instead of talking about your different locations in your blog posts? A potential customer looking for roofing services in a particular location is further down the sales funnel and their search is often transactional. They want to know whether they can find a roofing company in the area where they live and how far the service provider is. To make sure that you’re meeting their needs, you’ll want to have a web page that answers these questions. This is the kind of content you want Google and other search engines to index and show in search results to increase your client’s click-through rates. Once you have created each of these web pages, go ahead and create different types of bottom-of-the-funnel content such as competitor comparison content and listicles. Performing localized keyword research can help you identify topics and questions around a specific area. Some queries that searchers use are not only satisfied by writing content that matches the search intent. You need to match the context around each search. For example, a searcher who just bought a new house in one of the locations that Baker Roofing serves will need more than just a list of different locations. They would also benefit from content that talks about different roofing services and even content that provides comparative data that pits Baker Roofing against the competition to help them make an informed decision. Strategy 3: Build a Content Silo Around Localized Content for Specific Services and LocationsAnother content silo you can build contains localized content for different locations and services that your client provides. For example, a real estate company in a given state has to comply with state and local laws for each county of the state they serve. The content they create needs to help potential homeowners understand these laws based on their location. This is very useful for businesses that serve a large area where localization is important based on different laws. Pay It Forward Lending has a section on FHA loan limits in each county in Nevada: When creating localized content for specific locations, focus on what makes each location unique. Here’s how Smith and Wollensky do it: Once you click on any of the locations above, a new tab will load and you’ll see a different header image that matches each location that the steakhouse serves. Swapping your copy and inserting a different location won’t cut it. Not only will you have lots of duplicate content, but you’ve not said anything different to highlight real expertise about an area. Ask yourself what’s special about each location that would resonate with the readers in those locations. There could be a few nuances in terms of language, specific challenges your client’s customers face, and geographical landmarks that influence the needs of the people your client serves. Bonus Strategy: Optimize Your Google Business Profile to Augment Your Silo StrategyLocal Pack results will include your client’s Google Business Profile, which potential customers are likely to see before your website. If they’re in the decision stage, the content of your client’s Google Business Profile could determine if they choose to work with your client or go to a competitor. So, how do you make sure it complements your silo strategy? Optimize your client’s Google Business Profile by adding links that point to specific landing pages. For example, this law office’s Google Profile Post links to each landing page that’s relevant to the post’s subject. For example, this one leads to the Medical Malpractice page: If your client is running a brick-and-mortar store, you could include photos of the area surrounding the business and inside the business to give your customers a feel for what it would be like when if visit the premises. If it’s an outdoor service, include photos of your client or their team at work. It helps bring the service to life and potential customers can then decide whether that’s what they need. Here’s a handy checklist that you can use to help you optimize your client’s Google Business Profile to complement your content silo strategy: What else should you consider when implementing silos for local SEO?When creating content silos, consider the different stages of the local customer buying journey, and create content that resonates with them at each stage. You may decide to build your silo by creating content targeting customers who are in the decision stage. That will yield quick wins in the short term, but you also need to play the long game. Consider creating content for other buying stages to drive awareness of your client’s local business, and help those in the evaluation stage to learn more about the solutions available to them. Going back to our roofing example, Southern Premier Roofing creates content about different types of roofs to drive awareness: You can also provide a list of different services for potential customers in the evaluation stage, sharing different features, and the pros and cons of each of these services: What stands out about this review piece is that, in addition to providing a list of virtual mailboxes, it is up to date. It talks about the best mailboxes and business addresses in 2022, so the reader doesn’t have to wonder whether they’re still in service. Alternatively, you can create actionable content that empowers your client’s customers to solve an immediate problem they have, such as learning how to create better marketing strategies for their business: Once you have published content for readers in the awareness and evaluation stages, link it to your main location, service, and localized content pages. It will improve the user experience by helping readers naturally progress to the next stage of the buying journey. Consider having a simple URL structure for your content, and work towards earning backlinks from service directories and from other reputable blogs that are relevant to your client’s customers. Make sure you keep your on-page SEO consistent across all pages within the content silo. Optimize your content for H1, H2, and H3 tags with relevant keywords to include location, city, and services they need. For location pages, embed maps, and keep your name, address, and phone number details up-to-date on relevant pages. Lastly, make your client’s content accessible through proper formatting, adding relevant alt text to images, and using keywords in your title tags to help the reader have an easy time reading your content. ConclusionYou now have what you need to get started with creating content silos for your clients. As a quick recap, the content silo you choose to create will help you leverage ranking factors and increase the amount of traffic and conversions your client’s business gets. To get started, pick any content silo that we’ve discussed and start building it by creating content and optimizing it for readers and search engines. Keep tracking and optimizing the results you get from your efforts to identify areas of improvement. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/JSq84kI Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ During times of wider economic turbulence, you’d be forgiven for burying your head in the day-to-day running (and survival) of your business without coming up for air. So, it can be hard to get a read on how others in your industry are doing. If you’re feeling the pinch, are they? If you’re not feeling the pinch, should you be reassured—or worried—you’re missing something? Well, the good news is that we’ve done the research for you. We surveyed over 400 BrightLocal customers, from small local businesses and marketing consultants to multi-location businesses and agencies, to gauge confidence within the local SEO space going into 2023, and to better understand some of the key challenges they’re frequently coming up against. Spoiler Alert: the even better news is that, as you’ll see below, business leaders are feeling pretty positive. Key Findings
Business Health and Optimism Is StrongPerhaps the key headline of this research is the striking sentiment that 90% of respondents feel either somewhat or very positive about their business health in the next 12 months. You can see the breakdown by business type in the chart and table below. While confidence levels vary somewhat between different business types—notably smaller businesses and independent consultants—you’ll note the optimism flows across the board.
Industry-wide, it feels like businesses of all types are taking the challenges of inflation, and threats of a recession in the last year, in their stride. By seeking opportunities to diversify, and adapting to continually evolving changes in consumer behavior, businesses will be better placed to meet customers’ needs. Naturally, one of the key solutions for being better able to meet your customers’ needs is looking to introduce new services. We found that over three-quarters of consultants and agencies are looking to introduce new services within the next 12 months, as a result of the upheaval inflation has brought about. It is interesting, however, to look back throughout 2022 at separate reports on the subject of business optimism. The results have shown plenty of fluctuation up until this point:
From findings in our own research, as well as the third-party reports mentioned above, we can see that while current factors in the wider economic environment do influence business optimism, they are not directly responsible for marketers’ feelings towards their own business health. The fact that 76% of consulting local SEOs plan on developing their service offerings reflects this optimism further. Local Businesses Up Marketing Budgets Amid Inflation TurbulenceThere is, then, a general sense of confidence, but how are service prices and marketing budgets changing? While inflation fluctuations are part and parcel of life, at the time of writing, global inflation sits at some of, if not the highest levels in decades, squeezing consumer spending, upheaving supply chains, and driving up the costs of goods and general running costs for businesses. It won’t come as a surprise then, that more than half of the agencies and consultants polled are looking to increase their prices in the next 12 months. This may result from businesses having avoided the inevitable thus far, as 2022 has already seen waves of businesses across the US and the UK reluctantly having to pass on increases to their customers. As you’ll see below, it’s perhaps surprising to see that 54% of small to multi-location business customers actually plan on increasing marketing budgets (if they haven’t done so already), compared to just 13% that either have or will be looking to decrease their marketing budget in the next 12 months. A significant learning for many within the first year of the pandemic—along with the uncertainty and changeable restrictions that came with it—was just how much consumers need local businesses, and how important local and broader SEO services are for businesses to survive. So, in continuing to navigate the ongoing turbulence of a global outbreak, and coming face-to-face with new economic threats and political unrest, it would be logical to assume that businesses—from small and independently-owned businesses to large, multi-location organizations—now much more widely recognize marketing efforts as integral to business success instead of a “nice to have” and are reflecting this in their budgeting. Agencies and Marketing Consultants Face New Business ChallengesDespite high levels of optimism across the board from different business types, there are challenges that will inevitably come from concerns around a recession. We surveyed marketing agencies, freelancers, and consultants on the issues arising from inflation, and how they impact existing clients and new business alike. This research highlights an interesting contrast in the challenges faced by agencies against how small and multi-location businesses plan on spending in marketing budgets going forward. As discussed in the budgets and services analysis above, we’ve unearthed that over half of local businesses plan to increase their marketing spends. Yet, among agency and consultant respondents, 44% cited existing clients looking to spend less as a key challenge, with 33% also experiencing more difficulty in winning new business. One possible way to explain this contrast is revealed by looking more closely at local businesses’ intentions for the year ahead: with almost a third of these spending more on software and business tools, it could be that they are considering taking some marketing services in-house, and factoring this into increased budgets as part of their growth plans or changing ambitions. Additionally, what may suggest difficulty in winning new business, or hesitance towards long-term marketing commitments, could be a reflection of how many businesses are reconsidering pricing strategies and services moving into 2023, potentially pausing agency commitment. We decided to explore these new business challenges even further, and presented five different areas to respondents, to see where agencies and consultants feel they are most affected (this is to be compared with experiences before the impact of inflation set in):
While we identified the price sensitivity and lack of commitment from prospective clients as the joint leading concerns, you’ll see below that a significant proportion of marketing agencies, freelancers, and consultants have expressed each area of concern as affecting their ability to win new business. The biggest takeaway from these circumstances? As a marketing professional, you need to ensure you’re providing your current clients with a strong reason to stay with you (and your expertise), and be sure to stand out from any competition when pitching to prospective clients. The contrast in our findings also highlights an opportunity for agencies and freelancers to consider gaps in targeting, where local businesses have an appetite for investing in local SEO services. Could revisiting your targeting and positioning strategy highlight significant changes in customer behavior and potential new audiences? Or maybe you’re now in a better position to meet the needs of what had previously been a smaller customer segment? Alternatively, there could be an appetite for additional general and local SEO services that have grown in importance and that consultants aren’t currently providing. So ensure you are continually thinking about how you can add value to your existing clients’ service and consider this in new business pitching. On that note: Why not brush up on your local SEO prowess and discover some of the latest developments by enrolling in our expert-led Academy courses? SummaryDespite ongoing fluctuations in economic optimism on a local, national and global scale, the Local Marketing Confidence Survey finds a strong sense of optimism towards business health, a sentiment that is reflected in other key business research from throughout 2022. As post-pandemic life and pressure from inflation continues to shape consumer behavior, remember that this, too, influences the needs and behaviors of businesses. At BrightLocal, we’ll be continuing our research and analysis to provide leading insights into the world of Local SEO, kicking off 2023 with our 11th annual Local Consumer Review Survey. Do let us know if there is anything you’d like to see from us in the coming year down in the comments, or by getting in touch with our content team. MethodologyThe Local Marketing Confidence Survey was distributed to BrightLocal customers in September 2022 and received 417 responses. Of these respondents, 76% were located in the US, 9% in Canada, 9% in the UK, 4% in Australia, and 1% were categorized as ‘Other’. Regarding business type, 61% of respondents represented agencies, 15% were marketing consultants/freelancers, 15% small businesses, and 9% multi-location businesses. Publishers are welcome to use the charts and data, crediting BrightLocal and linking the URL of this research. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, feedback, or observations about this survey. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/GnyfbBH Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Welcome to the Local Search Roundup! This is our space to bring you a summary of all that matters in local search. Whether it’s important Google Business Profile updates, recent industry findings, or developments in marketing technology, every month you’ll find the latest in local marketing and how it affects your business as a whole. What’s new in Google Business Profile?The in-SERP edit experience fully rolls outGoogle has rolled out its new editing experience within the search engine results pages (SERPs) for anyone managing Business Profiles. Users are no longer given the option to continue editing their profiles within the traditional dashboard. Photo insights are not being transferred to the NMXThe new editing and insights experience for Google Business Profile will not include photo insights. Many local SEOs are frustrated with this change, but Google has stated: “While we are moving away from providing Photo Insights, Business Profile users will continue to have access to a number of profile insights like profile views, number of calls, messages, bookings, and others.” Photo cropping added to the NMXThe new in-SERP editor now has an easy-to-use photo cropping tool to Google Posts and Updates. This means it’s easier to create images cropped to your preference when uploading. Source: Claire Carlile Videos in GBPs are automatically playing in the Google Maps appVideos uploaded to business profiles are now auto-playing and seem to appear in second place within the carousel of images. This may prompt more video views, encouraging business profile users to upload videos alongside photos. Hospitality businesses can select preferred menus for business profilesBusiness profiles offer a ‘Manage your menu’ option, where restaurant and hospitality businesses can select their chosen menu from the ones automatically sourced by Google. Google Business Profiles now include a ‘Showing the World Cup’ attributeYou can now let customers know if your establishment is showing World Cup matches by adding a new attribute to your business profile. Users will also be able to search for “Where to watch the world cup near me” to find a nearby venue of their choice. Source: Google Google Map’s Augmented Reality Live view is now rolling outAnnounced earlier this year, you can now view Google Maps in AR. You’ll find ATMs, coffee shops, and more on the map. These are just some of the updates Google has made to make Maps more interactive for users. You can now search restaurants by dishAlso announced earlier this year, and now rolling out, is the functionality to search for a specific dish near you. Results will show restaurants with the dish on their menu. A new layout test has been spotted, with larger photos and street view formatsA number of local search experts have spotted a full-screen experience for business profile photos and street views. These images appear when clicking through from the knowledge map. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Google is testing a new placement for local businesses in SERPsA test has been spotted where business maps are placed underneath their respective snippets. There’s also a slightly updated design for the local panel which appears on the side of the results. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Google is suggesting service areas to add to your Google Business ProfileFor service-area businesses, Google is prompting ‘Suggested service areas’ to include on your business profile. Remember, just because they’re ‘suggested’ doesn’t mean you should include them, as you should only include the areas you actually serve. A spike in scam ownership requests from Google Business ProfilesThere’s been an increase in fake ownership requests over the last few weeks. Please be on the lookout for these requests as they may look official. Some business profiles are displaying a label for edit review timesA new label estimating how long your requested edits may take to be reviewed has been spotted. Most local search experts have said these edits have taken around ten minutes to be reviewed as stated. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Google is now identifying previous business locationsA pin on maps has been spotted which shows a business’s ‘previous’ location. According to Mike Blumenthal, these pins will only be visible for verified businesses and for people viewing the suggested edits via the NMX. Local pack headers are now generic headersIn a report earlier this year, Miriam Ellis and Dr Pete J Meyers reported on the diversity of local pack headers. It’s since been spotted that local pack headers are now made up of generic terms. What’s new in Reviews?Google reviews are displaying the number of reviews left in that cityGoogle reviews are now showing the number of reviews left by a user in that particular city. This is another step towards helping users assess the legitimacy and trustworthiness of reviews. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Google reviews are displaying the number of reviews left in that categorySimilarly, Google reviews are also showing the number of reviews left by a user within that particular business category. A user can see reviews grouped by locations and business category when viewing their own profile. Source: Damian Rollison Google reviews are now showing a positive vs unfavorable percentage barA new rating bar has been added to some business types, to demonstrate positive vs unfavorable reviews. This bar appears when clicking into one of the ‘People often mention’ categories when viewing a business’s reviews. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Does the length of a Google review matter?A new case study has revealed that reviews that are longer in length, stay at the top of Google local listings for a longer period of time. What’s new in Local Services Ads?New headers have been spotted in Local Services Ads resultsSome minor variations in headings have been seen on Google Guaranteed & Google Screened results. Some of the headers also include an ‘Ads’ label. Source: Search Engine Roundtable What’s new in Marketing?Are ad agencies advising their clients to quit Twitter?With the uproar of new ownership, many businesses are taking a step back from using the social media platform. But are agency experts advising their clients do the same? Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled on our Twitter account for the very latest in local search, Google Business Profile, and more as it happens! via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/hEObodt Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ |
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