It’s that time again… welcome to The Local Search Roundup! As we finish up the month that saw the launch of Google’s SGE, a number of GBP bugs rearing their ugly head, and a suspicious amount of local packs dropping from search results, we’re taking a look back at what happened across local search in May 2023. Google Business Profile and Maps Tests and UpdatesNew GBP Conversion Options Added to Google AdsGoogle Ads has launched new conversion options which lead to Google Business Profiles. Users might see the option to add in GBP Call, Tracked Call, or Learn More conversions to their ad campaigns.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable Live Chat Availability Added to GBPWant to chat with the business you’re searching for? Now’s your chance! (Sort of.) Google is testing a “Chat with live agent” button to some business profiles. It’s available if the business has Messages switched on, and are using a third-party tool. So if your business is hot on customer service, this could be a game-changer for you. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Spotted: New Google Business Profile TestsA number of new tests have been spotted on Google business profiles and Maps, including a box labeling sponsored listings on maps:
Users have also seen a new label stating whenever your profile is ‘pending’ an edit. Plus, a new label in the Map Pack has also been found which shows the user that reviews aren’t verified. This label has previously been seen on the Reviews section of a GBP, but never on the Map Pack (until now!). Source: Search Engine Roundtable New Functionality to Share Recent Maps SearchesYou might now be able to share a link to recent map searches! This new feature has been seen on Google Maps and gives the user the opportunity to share a link to a list of recent searches. For users, this is a great addition, but early days for businesses to see if it has any effect on performance. Source: Search Engine Roundtable Does Google Want to Prioritize Services in Maps?A few local SEOs have noticed the Services button is now shown first in a search in Google Maps. Allie Margeson has advised “Google wants you to give searchers the answers in the search results. Don’t sleep on optimizing Services!” https://twitter.com/SeoAllie/status/1658956784650919937 Source: Search Engine Roundtable Google Is Testing an Image Slider for GBP PhotosIt looks like Google is taking a leaf out of social media channels such as Instagram and LinkedIn’s book, with a test being spotted of a sliding carousel for images on business profiles.
Source: Search Engine Roundtable Bugs and GlitchesAnother day, another Google bug. This time, you might have found your images are getting rejected; which, frankly, could be a bug… or it could be that your images are simply just rejected. This bug seems to come and go, so Near Media wrote a comprehensive guide on what to look out for if you think this is happening again. Source: Near Media Users then found that editing posts and updates on Google left them with a blanked-out screen. Cue more confusion over another bug. Source: Search Engine Roundtable And if that wasn’t enough, users found that GBP wouldn’t let you invite new owners to your business profile, though now Google is on the case to fix this. Source: Search Engine Roundtable One user has also found that even changing Owner to Primary Owner on the back-end of a GBP is glitching. Will this rigmarole ever end? Source: The Local Pack Facebook Group Algorithm and Ranking changesA month in search wouldn’t be complete without ranking changes and disruptions, potentially down to a change in algorithm. This month, local search experts found that there has been a significant drop in local packs, particularly on common terms which always used to generate local packs in results. Source: Search Engine Roundtable What’s New in Local Search?Incentivizing Reviews by Donating to Charity Is Not AllowedIn a recent post on The Local Pack, one user asked if donating money to charity in exchange for a review was allowed. Google Product Expert Joy Hawkins took this question straight to Google and found the answer for us. Spoiler alert: This is against Google’s guidelines. Source: Sterling Sky Search Generative Experience (SGE)Probably one of the biggest news updates this month (and we saved the best until last) is the launch of Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE). At this month’s Google I/O conference, Google announced their new AI-assisted search which as of May 25, was made available to users on a waitlist across the US. Having had a very quick play with local search queries, we’ve explored what SGE looks like for local search and what it might mean for local marketers.
That’s it for this roundup! For the very latest in local SEO, updates to Google Business Profile, and more, don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled on our Twitter account! via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/EBUWi3h Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/
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Google recently announced their Search Generative Experience (SGE), a new way of integrating generative AI into search. SGE works to personalize and innovate the search journey, pulling key information from a variety of sources and presenting it in a snapshot. This snapshot is designed to allow users to make detailed searches from the beginning. Now that SGE is rolling out, (currently in the US, and hopefully worldwide soon) it is set to shake up the search world in multiple ways. In fact, Greg Sterling of Near Media has suggested ”Search Generative Experience is going to change the way users interact with SERPs. Local and products may be two of the most affected segments.” We’ve gone ahead and compiled what we know so far about SGE for local search, what the experts say about it, and how it might impact both users and businesses in the future. So, what is it?Put simply? Say goodbye to ‘hairdressers near me’, say hello to ‘mens hairdressers offering traditional wet shave and trim package in Boston’. The snapshot returned to the searcher is designed to offer a comprehensive, detailed response to the user’s query—no matter how complex the question (within reason, of course… but, hey, who are we to doubt Google?). The response is generated using a variety of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as MUM and PaLM2, allowing users to, in the words of Google:
But don’t fret—this isn’t the end of simple searches. Google SGE seems to respond just as thoroughly to classic searches like “brew pub near me”. These results can then be expanded upon through what Google has dubbed ‘conversational mode’, where users will be prompted with further questions that follow the natural line of questioning (or, at least, what Google’s AI predicts it to be): Google SGE v. Bard Previously, Google launched Bard, an “experimental conversational AI service” which helped users make sense of search by answering user questions. Bard relied upon “draw[ing] information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses.” Bard sits separately to Google’s search engine, and is described as a “helpful, and creative collaborator, here to supercharge your imagination, boost your productivity, and bring your ideas to life.” Essentially, Bard is a creative AI assistant to help generate content and ideas for you. SGE, on the other hand, is a completely new take on search, designed to change the user’s search journey from the very first click. What does SGE look like for local search results?SGE has started to roll out and we’ve had a quick play around with some local searches in the US. So far, we’ve noticed a few key things:
What are the experts saying about SGE and local search?SEOs have jumped at the chance to delve into SGE to find out what it looks like, how it works for the end-user, and what it could suggest for people working in the SEO space. Amanda Jordan, RicketyRoo, has noted that results vary between the New Pack and the Local Pack:
Others pointed out the significant overlap that exists between SGE results compared to traditional local pack results. Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky, noted that SGE results give visibility to businesses that show in the local pack already. However, she has found that “the two lists don’t match up identically. Sometimes the map in the AI box has a wider map view which shows different businesses than the local pack.” Aleyda Solis commented with a similar point saying, “The SGE provides the least useful result I’ve seen: pretty much a duplication of the map pack that Google is already featuring below the first two organic search results anyway. Not useful.” How will BrightLocal respond to SGE?Myles Anderson on SEG CEO and Founder of BrightLocal
“As a local business, understanding your ranking in search has always been complex. Your business can appear in multiple result types including traditional organic results, the local pack, knowledge panel, maps results, video results and even in local service ads if you monitor those. For local business it’s not as simple as saying “I rank #4 in Google”. Now with the introduction of SGE we have a whole new set of results to monitor and report on. The monitoring aspect is pretty straightforward and we’ll be updating our ranking tools shortly to include these new result types. We are seeing different businesses, and different ordering of results, in the SGE pack vs local pack; even the quantity of local results showing in the SGE varies for different queries. All of this increases the complexity faced by marketers in determining how their clients are performing in search, and our team is focusing hard to reduce this complexity and provide clarity. Overall, I think that monitoring your ranking will remain a valuable data point to monitor, but the ultimate proof of success is in lead and revenue generation and the clarity of these metrics are less distorted by changes in Google’s interface.” What does this mean for local businesses?With the heart of SGE being comprehensive results, Google has placed an emphasis on vertical experiences, including local search. According to Google, “SGE will provide context about local places, using AI-powered insights that make it easy to compare and explore options.” Preliminary research by Near Media revealed that most local searches seemed to return a snapshot featuring five or more listings as well as a carousel. Clicking on individual listings prompts a knowledge panel; clicking on one of the carousel items brings the user to the business’s website. SGE also allows for more specific comparisons of businesses: Andy Simpson, Digital Law Marketing, has even found that SGE uses content from Google reviews in its answer, meaning that processes like review management may be more important than ever:
The takeaway? Local businesses shouldn’t be scared about SGE. In fact, it’s still distinctly possible that SGE will give small businesses more opportunities to get in front of customers due, at least in part, to the duplicated local pack. While that also potentially leaves more opportunity for your competitors, we’d suggest continuing to keep your listings optimized and keep your business as visible in organic listings as possible. We know that SGE shows business descriptions, images, and reviews in results, so make sure these are up to date and relevant. So, in essence, while SGE may be something to keep your eye on, for now the best thing to do is continue on with best practices for local SEO while Google continues to experiment. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/FIHZaTN Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ It was meant to be the big rival to Google Maps. And yet, right off the bat in 2012, Apple Maps fell short of expectations: using mapping data from TomTom, providing incorrect directions, misspelled place names, and even omitting some places altogether. When its first iteration of business listings, Apple Maps Connect, was released in 2014, the news flew somewhat under the radar. In fact, many of the tweaks Apple has made to its maps product have. Skip forward to January 2023. A big announcement came from Apple: they were re-releasing their listings service as Apple Business Connect, and local marketers were intrigued. Finally, it looked pretty good. Finally, Apple users might consider switching to their device’s native maps app. And, importantly, it was a new(ish) platform for local business discovery. So, where are we five months in? Are more users adopting Apple Maps now, and are businesses making use of Apple Business Connect? What is Apple Business Connect? Apple Business Connect was introduced in January 2023, announcing new tools for businesses to optimize their listings, similar to those we’re familiar with in Google Business Profile. You can now update photos and logos, add promotions through ‘Showcase’ cards, and create custom actions, such as making hotel bookings or restaurant reservations. This followed the rollout of an overhauled Apple Maps interface in 2021 and 2022, with better iconography to identify different location and place types, as well as improved map detail and navigation. Apple Maps vs Google Maps: who uses what?In terms of device preference, global market share data from StatCounter shows that Android’s operating system takes the lion’s share, with an impressive 72% of the global market in Q1 2023 and iOS at around 27%. Historically, though, Apple devices and iOS operating systems have been heavily preferred by consumers in the US. I distinctly remember listening to an episode of The Vergecast a few years back and being astounded by the “blue bubble” phenomenon. If you’re an iOS user, you’ll understand what I mean—but for all of us Android (or other) users: essentially, Apple users hate us and our stupid green bubbles. As of 2023, market research highlights that Apple’s iOS takes between 55-57% of the US market share, with Android claiming between 42-45% (ranges use data from both Financial Times and Statista research). But does that mean all of those iOS users automatically side with Apple Maps? Not necessarily. While Apple Maps is exclusive to iOS devices, any user can download Google Maps. We polled our social communities across Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to find out their overall preference, as consumers, between Apple Maps and Google Maps.
It’s important to note that our social communities cover mostly US, Canadian, UK, and Australian audiences, so there will be a broader representation of Android users. But the results are staggeringly clear—Google Maps is the clear victor! As for delving into the reasoning behind their choices, some of our community volunteered their thoughts:
“As a consumer, my phone is Android so I use Google Maps for my GPS. Also, when friends use Apple Maps to navigate to our house it always sends them to the wrong place. We always have to tell them to use Google Maps or they won’t make it. Google is simply a better, more accurate product at this time.” – David Byrd, via The Local Pack It’s clear that, even after many improvements to Apple Maps in recent years, users see Google Maps in a much more favorable light, whether due to better location accuracy, a more enjoyable interface, or familiarity and trust in its linked Google Reviews. Are Businesses Using Apple Maps?Either way you look at it, Apple has previously stated that Apple Maps has hundreds of millions of users. When you spend so much of your working day in Chrome browsers (and generally at the behest of Google’s guidelines) it can be easy to forget about claiming and optimizing an Apple Maps listing. But if your business isn’t correctly listed, you’ve got a lot of people to potentially annoy–and many that won’t find you altogether!
Who’s claimed their Apple Maps business listing?We wanted to find out how many businesses are making use of the listing service, so we polled our customer base to find out 1) if they have claimed their listing on Apple Maps and 2) whether this was claimed before or after Apple Business Connect was released.
Although this is along the lines of what we expected, it’s quite shocking to see that almost two-thirds of businesses are missing out on their Apple business listings altogether. In its most basic form for businesses, Apple Maps is a credible and important platform for ensuring your name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistency. Additionally, as Claire highlights above, it’s also really important to consider what other services may be relying on Apple Maps, such as DuckDuckGo.
Do Businesses know about Apple Business Connect?We also wanted to explore the awareness levels of Apple Business Connect among businesses and whether those that have claimed their listings were actively using the tools. While January’s announcement was covered in local SEO and digital marketing news, we know that some of these can fly under the radar—particularly as far as Apple Maps is concerned. Has this knowledge reached the audience who arguably need it most: small businesses? Again, we polled our customer base and highlighted several of Apple Business Connect’s features, announced in January 2023, to measure their awareness.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a similar picture, with just as many businesses who haven’t claimed their listings on Apple Maps also completely unaware of the newer listings tools. With 8% of businesses saying they are unsure, it suggests that they are probably unaware of the listings tools available, although it’s also possible that their listings are managed and optimized by an agency or consulting partner. The bottom line is: awareness of Apple Business Connect is low. This means missed opportunities for optimizing your business listing with engaging content, such as professional and inspiring imagery, or raising awareness of unique offers with custom Showcase cards. What should marketers do with this data?First of all, if you haven’t already: claim your Apple Maps business listing! Whether you’re a local marketer working with clients or a small business managing your local SEO, you should consider claiming your business listings across prominent platforms as a foundational element. Next, ensure your key business information is displayed and correct, such as your NAP, opening hours, website, and any other crucial information (think restaurant menus, payments accepted etc). Take your efforts up a notch by optimizing your listing with Apple Business Connect’s tools. If you’re a marketing consultant or agency, speak to your clients and ensure you’re not missing out on any key offers or updates. Aim to educate them in the power of these tools and encourage good communication so they stay up to date. While they’re likely (hopefully!) aware of the importance of their Google Business Profile, remember that potentially millions of people use Apple Maps as a default, or may visit alternative search engines like DuckDuckGo. So, are you surprised by these results? Has this information made you more likely to consider spending time on your Apple Maps listings? We hope you found it useful and that it’s given you something to think about for your business(es) or clients! Please feel free to share your thoughts on the topic with us over at The Local Pack or via our Twitter. MethodologyOur consumer poll “Do you use Apple Maps or Google Maps?” was conducted across Twitter, within BrightLocal’s Facebook Group The Local Pack, on Instagram stories, and on LinkedIn. A total of 143 votes were received. It’s important to acknowledge the small sample size and likely limitations around demographics here, but it helps us to form an overall picture of the current appetite for Apple Maps within the local marketing world. The BrightLocal customer poll was conducted within our tool platform and received 384 responses from local SEO consultants, agencies, single-location businesses, and multi-location businesses. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/Sb7hmOv Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ No one talks about Bing Places! In this guide, I will dive into what Bing Places listing features are available, how they can affect rankings, and how to optimize a Bing Places listing. Let’s go! Disclaimer: There isn’t a ton of information on Bing Places ranking factors out there. However, most principles that apply to Google Business Profile (GBP) optimization, apply to Bing Places also. In the article below, you will see references to GBP ranking factors for that reason. What is a Bing Listing?Bing gives users the ability to discover local businesses on Bing.com and Bing Maps. These listings are called Bing Places for Business. BrightLocal also has a detailed overview of Bing listings if you’d like to dive deeper into that topic. But for simplicity purposes, in this guide I will assume you already know what Bing Places is. Why Should You Care About Bing Places?As of today, Bing is still the number two search engine in many parts of the world. So it would be foolish to ignore Bing. Also, in my personal experience, Bing users are typically more engaged than Google users and spend more time on websites once they land on them. Also, with the release of new AI technology, Bing might capture more of the market in the future. Bing Listing Features To OptimizeThis article is going to focus on what features in a Bing Places listing you should focus your efforts on and why. I’m assuming you already have your Bing Places listing set up. If not, I recommend you read BrightLocal’s guide on how to add or claim your Bing Places listing if you don’t know how to yet. So let’s get into it! Business NameWhen it comes to business listings, making sure you use the correct business name is important. Similar to Google Business Profiles, adding keywords to the business name can affect Bing Places rankings. How It Affects Local SEOSterling Sky performed a simple case study to test this out and these were the results:
How to OptimizeSo my recommendation would be to use the full business name on your Bing listing, especially if it contains important keywords. Just to clarify, I’m not recommending that people keyword stuff the business name on their Bing Places listings. Some businesses already have keyword-friendly business names. They should be aware that including the full business name in a Bing Places listing is a good idea, instead of using the abbreviated name. Business Address & PhoneThis should be obvious, but it’s super important that users can see where the business is located and how they can contact the business. How It Affects Local SEOThe business address is critical to ranking a Bing Listing. It’s one of the main sources of data used by Bing. They care about where the business is in relation to the user searching for the business. I’d assume that listings without a phone number would seem sketchy to Bing and it may not be shown as often as a listing that does contain a phone number. How to OptimizeThe business address should represent the real physical location of the business so that users can visit the location. If you are a service-area business and don’t serve customers at that location, you can simply hide the business address from the public. But Bing will still see it on the backend. For the phone number, I recommend using a call tracking number in your Bing listings. That way, you can track all phone calls made from the Bing listing and use it to make informed decisions about your local SEO strategy. As long as you list the call tracking number as the primary phone number and the real business number as the secondary phone number, you should not have any issues here as it does not cause any issues on Google listings. Map PinLocation signals are important for Bing Places. The map pin is a marker that shows where the business is on the map. How It Affects Local SEOThe proximity of the business address compared to the searcher’s location matters. Most likely Bing is looking at the business address, but if the map pin is in the wrong location it’s possible that it could theoretically affect rankings somehow. Just to make sure, I’d recommend confirming the map pin location on Bing Places listings. In addition, users don’t want to get lost when trying to find a business. For these reasons, it’s a good idea to confirm the map pin on the Bing Listing is 100% spot-on and accurate. How to OptimizeOnce you are logged in to Bing Places, click “edit” on your listing. You will see an area that says “Move Map Pin”. You can zoom in and drag the map pin around by clicking on it. Once you have moved the map pin directly onto the business location, click “Done”. Service AreasBing Places allows you to select cities or counties that you travel to in order to service customers or clients. How It Affects Local SEOThere was some confusion as to whether or not service areas affect GBP rankings. So the question is, does Bing Local use the service area data for rankings? Let’s err on the side of caution and say possibly. Even if it does not, it could affect conversion rates because it will show up on your listing for all to see. How to OptimizeIn Bing Places, edit the listing and go to “Additional Business Details”. There you can specify whether “you deliver goods and services to your customers at their location.” Then enter the cities and / or counties that are being serviced. Website AddressBy adding the website address to Bing listings, it gives users a way to learn more about the business and ultimately convert into a customer or client. Plus the website has much more information than the Bing listing has. How It Affects Local SEOOther search engines look at the reputation and / or authority of the website address that you add to your listings. We know that the website address impacts GBP rankings so most likely it will also affect Bing listings in the same way. And don’t forget that there are other aspects of local SEO website content that can affect listings such as:
Our comprehensive guide to all the local SEO ranking factors you need to know. How to OptimizeMake sure to add a link to your website in the “Website” field on the Bing Places listing. I recommend adding UTM codes to the website address as well. That way you can actually track visits to the website from the Bing listing as well as the source of website conversions. Business CategoriesBusiness categories allow you to instruct Bing on what keywords you’d like the Bing Place listing to rank for. On Google, these affect rankings a lot. How It Affects Local SEOBusiness categories will affect rankings so it’s important to add the correct categories. In the image below, you can see how the main category shows on the listings. Users may use these when deciding whether or not to click on a listing to learn more. How to OptimizeWhen adding “Categories” to Bing listings, make sure to choose categories that are actually related to the business. It’s ok to cast a wide net by choosing somewhat related categories, but it’s not a good idea to cast an off-topic, random net. For example, a veterinarian could use these categories depending on what services they offer:
But they would not use these:
Business HoursThe “Business Hours” feature allows you to add the hours that the business is open and available to the public. You can also specify “Special Hours” for special events or holidays. For example, if you are closing early to host an event, the “Special Hours” field would come in handy. How It Affects Local SEOIf users don’t know that a business is open for certain, will they think it’s closed? Will they come by the business location? Will they call? Possibly not. By not listing business hours, companies could be losing business or disappointing drop-ins.
How to OptimizeLog in to Bing Places and click “edit’, then go to “Enter Working Hours”. You can choose certain hours or open 24/7. I do not recommend choosing 24/7 unless you are actually open 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Otherwise, people may show up to the business and be very disappointed. ReviewsGathering reviews is a requirement if you want a Bing listing to attract users. Otherwise, you may be turning them away and not even know it. Most users these days rely heavily on reviews when making a decision about whether or not to use a business. How It Affects Local SEOIf you see a business that only has one review and its rating is five stars, do you trust it? Would you trust it more if there were 100 five-star reviews? That’s why reviews are important for local SEO. Make sure to collect as many reviews as possible so that users know they can trust the overall rating on Bing Places. How to OptimizeI recommend brainstorming ways to encourage or influence users to leave reviews on Bing Places. Although many people are not sure how to ask for reviews, I still think asking via email or text message is a great way to do this. Obviously, you don’t want to be pushy or break any guidelines so tread lightly. Don’t forget that Bing pulls in reviews from other sources into Bing Places listings. Make sure to also gather reviews on the other sites that feed reviews to Bing Places such as:
ImagesAdding images to Bing Places listings is a must! They help users see who you are, what you do, and they encourage them to convert (contact the business or buy something from the business). How It Affects Local SEOAs I mentioned above, images are a very powerful conversion tool. We all know the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” On Bing’s Guidelines for Photos, they mention this:
How to OptimizeBing loves images and they allow you to add up to 100 on each Bing Places listing. Simply, log in to Bing Places, click “edit” and then go to “Add Photos of Your Business”. I recommend adding the following images to Bing Places listings:
Also from Bing:
Advanced InformationOn Bing Places, there are two settings under “Advanced Information” that I think should be addressed: “Amenities” and “Social Profiles”. How It Affects Local SEOSocial Profiles and Amenities can show up on Bing listings. The Amenities encourage users to convert while the Social Profiles allow users to learn more about the business and possibly connect. How to OptimizeWhen editing the Bing listing, click on “Advanced Information”. It’s easy to add your amenities and social profile links here. OffersBing Places allows businesses to list promotions and deals. How It Affects Local SEOBing Places Offers will show up on your Bing Places listing when users are viewing it. Offering deals and discounts is a very effective way to get new customers and returning customers. Who doesn’t like to save money? Especially at places you love to frequent. How to OptimizeWhen you’re editing a Bing listing, next to “Offers” click on “Add Deal or Discount”. There you can choose the “Discount” or “Free” options. There are several settings to go through, but at the end, you can choose the start and end dates also. If you want to explore this more, there’s a nice guide on Bing Places Offers available. Sync With Google Business ProfileYou can sync a Google listing with a Bing Places listing. How It Affects Local SEOReferencing Sterling Sky’s study again, they mentioned that they “saw website traffic and conversions increase almost immediately” after making some Bing Places optimizations. One of the changes was that they ”fully optimized [the Bing listings] to match the GBP listings. We added UTM tags to the website URLs to track all the traffic in Google Analytics.” By fully optimizing the Bing listing and having the data match the Google listing, one can see improvements in local traffic and conversions. How to OptimizeThis goes without saying, but you must already have set up, verified and optimized your Google listing for this to work properly. When you are logged into Bing Places, you will see something that says “Sync With Google My Business” and follow the prompts. The steps are fairly easy but here’s a tutorial on how to sync Bing and Google listings if you’re interested. And Bing Support shared the following details about how it works:
Recommended Actions for Bing ListingsIn summary, I recommend taking the following actions to optimize Bing Places listings:
Once you’ve taken these steps, you should be in a good position to own your local presence on Bing. Any optimization work you’ve implemented on a Google Business Profile can be replicated on Bing Places. Bing is not a platform to completely ignore, especially with recent advances in their AI generative search. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/CxjHv09 Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Google Business Profile (GBP) is all about one thing: LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Business owners who care about ranking well in Google Maps know that the location of their business is a major ranking factor and thus, many people are looking for the best lease space in the center of their city to get an office. Prime real estate is hard to come by and often this means leasing an office space in a building with dozens of other businesses. It’s not just offices either, all sorts of businesses often run from one location. Think spas inside a hotel, for instance. When you have multiple businesses located at one address, things can get messy on Google Maps very quickly. There are many important things to know about managing your Google Business Profile(s) when you have multiple businesses at one location. The golden question, then, is “how do I do it?”. And, as we always say in SEO, “it depends.” So, I’m going to talk you through a few scenarios that will help you understand how Google treats businesses located at the same address. And, how you can best manage your local business listing if it’s located at the same address with other businesses. Many Different Businesses – One AddressGenerally there are no issues in having your Google Business Profile (GBP) verified to an office building with multiple businesses in it. If none of the businesses near you are in your industry, or in direct competition for any of your services, you should have no issues showing on Maps. Where things get tricky is if there is a business in your industry located a bit too close to your physical address, i.e. in the same building, or in an adjacent building. In this case, you could run into issues with Google’s local filter and your listing will not rank as well as it could. All About the Local FilterWe all know the primary category is one of the most important ranking factors on GBP listings and picking the right one is extremely important. Wait, what’s the local filter? What many people don’t know is that if two businesses are physically located at the same address, and they have the same category, they are going to be impacted by Google’s local filter. Before you ask, no, adding a suite number does not consider it a separate address according to Google. Essentially, the local filter is kind of like the organic filter in the sense that it filters things it considers to be similar or duplicates. The local filter will filter out listings based on:
Google will choose the listing with the highest ranking authority for that particular keyword to rank and then omit any other listings at that address from ranking. For example, there are two attorneys at one address. One of the attorneys ranks for “personal injury attorney Palmdale,” but the other attorney ranks for “auto accident attorney Palmdale.” However, both will not rank for the same keyword at the same time. For each search, Google will choose one listing to rank and then the other listing(s) will typically not rank at all. Listings can be filtered for one keyword without being filtered for others and vice versa. In a similar way to organic search, the local filter picks the “best” listing and filters out other listings that are too similar. What To Do If You’re Being Affected by The Local FilterTo get unfiltered, you need to increase your relevance to that particular keyword. This can be done in many ways, including:
If none of the above works well enough and it’s feasible, moving your office location is the best way to get unfiltered. Here is an example of geo-grid rankings results for a listing that was being filtered versus rankings after becoming unfiltered. Moving Your Address? Make Sure You Avoid the Filter If you are looking to move your office to help local map rankings, I implore you to take a look at the current businesses in your potential new office building. You want to make sure that no competitor in your industry, especially if they are using the same primary category in their GBP, is in the same building or an adjacent building. This way you can avoid the local filter and give your listing the best chance for maximum search visibility. Be Careful With Practitioner ListingsOne industry that I’ve noticed has a ton of issues with the local filter is real estate. It seems every realtor in the industry has a practitioner listing, which is totally allowed per Google Business Profile guidelines. The problem is they are usually all verified to the same address, typically the brokerage where they work. I almost always recommend that these realtors create the practitioner listings at their home address and then hide the address. Likewise with those already established on Maps, I’d advise them to “move” to their home address and away from all the other practitioners. This is because if you create a bunch of realtor practitioner listings at the same address, they’re all going to dilute the authority of each other and none of them are going to rank very far away. The same is true with lawyers, financial advisors, insurance agents, and other professionals that are allowed to create practitioner listings per Google’s guidelines. Quality is more important than quantity in most cases, especially when you have two business listings that are located too close to each other—they’re not serving you any better than one listing could. Are Two GBP Listings Better Than One? Not Always.Still, I’ve run into the scenario a few times where a business owner has two separate businesses located at the same address, or multiple practitioners verified to the same address. In some cases this would be a viable strategy if the businesses are in two separate industries and their services do not overlap at all. It’s also very important to make sure that, if you have two listings that are using the same address, they have legally distinct names and business proof showing that they are legally distinct businesses. You also need to have different phone numbers and, if possible, different websites to distinguish the two businesses to help safeguard any potential action Google can take to merge the business listings. Word of warning If Google thinks two listings are too similar, even if they have different categories, Google can mark one as duplicate and merge the listings without warning. This merge cannot be undone by Google support, so taking action to prevent it is crucial. If it does happen though, don’t panic, it’s not always a bad thing to be merged! The Magic of Merging GBPs!Take, for example, this client we worked with that does HVAC and plumbing. When they came to us, they had a listing with “HVAC” as the main category and then another listing with “plumber” as the main category. They were hoping to rank for HVAC terms with the HVAC listing and to rank for plumbing terms with the plumber listing. However, right as they signed on with us Google merged the two listings without warning because they had the same address and similar names. Surprisingly, we found that after the merge the HVAC listing was now ranking slightly better for plumbing keywords than the plumbing listing had been—albeit they weren’t ranking well before, it was a win! So even though they weren’t able to use “plumbing” as their main category, due to the authority of the HVAC listing, they were now doing better for plumbing and HVAC terms with one listing than they were with two, because their rankings for “furnace repair” and other HVAC terms increased quite a bit post-merge! Take Time to Plan for a New GBP. More Is Not Always Better!Managing a business listing on Google Business Profile can require significant time and effort to get it to rank well and perform. It is crucial to plan and conduct research when expanding to new locations or optimizing your current ones to ensure that you are not—and will not—be negatively impacted by the local filter. If you don’t, your carefully optimized listing(s) can be missing from results for key searches. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/kpoc3gW Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Your Tripadvisor listing is a key player in your local SEO strategy, functioning as both a structured citation and a powerful, long-respected source of reviews. With research showing that 98% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, Tripadvisor offers a wealth of information about businesses in the travel and hospitality industries for both current and prospective customers. So, whether you’re a restaurant, hotel, attraction, or bar, if you operate in the travel and hospitality industry, it’s important to make sure your business has a presence on Tripadvisor, and that you’re in control of it. We’ve broken down how exactly to do that. How to Claim an Existing ListingStep 1. Log on and locate your business’s page
Step 2. Claim your listing
Step 3. Confirm your details
Step 4. Get verified
NOTE: The contact option will allow you to fill in a form, and then the site’s representative will get back to you.
NOTE: This phone number should be for your business – not your personal phone number.
How to Add a New PageStep 1. Create your listing
Step 2. Add the details of your business
NOTE: Have a closer look at Tripadvisor’s listing guidelines that outline what type of venue qualifies for a listing and which businesses can’t be listed.
NOTE: This section will display different information/options depending on the type of venue you are adding. Step 3. Confirm you are the business’s representative
Step 4. Review your information
Step 5. Claim your listing
Managing Your Tripadvisor ListingAnd just like that, you’re active on Tripadvisor and can start growing those reviews and making sure your information stays up-to-date and relevant. Get stuck? No worries; for help, you can always visit the Tripadvisor Help Center for everything you need to know about managing your listing. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/a4nzHg5 Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Search engine optimization (SEO) typically encompasses international — or at least a nationwide — search. Of course, you can tailor your keyword research to a specific region. To narrow it even further, however, you can practice localized SEO. Local SEO includes a combination of regular SEO techniques and location-specific tactics. These tactics include localized keyword optimization, reputation management, setting up a Google Business Profile, and building local links. Businesses may benefit from local SEO in a variety of ways from targeted conversions to enhanced trust from consumers. Although all local businesses could benefit, one approach to local SEO doesn’t work for all industries. Business-specific Considerations for Local SEOMany local SEO guides provide a one-size-fits-all solution. However, there are considerations you must make depending on your business type and unique needs. Brick-and-mortar vs. Service AreaSEO will look a bit different depending on your business model. If you have one physical location, this can be a bit more straightforward. Your business address will show up in search results, and you can tailor your strategy to your specific location. Utilize keywords that include the city name or even the street to hone in on customers searching for products or services in that specific area. Then, they can find your brick-and-mortar store with ease. If your business doesn’t have one physical location and, instead, focuses on a particular service area, you may have to adjust a bit. The keywords won’t be as specific, but you can still use geography keywords. Identify your exact service area, including the counties or region name, and include those keywords in your strategy. Rural vs. Urban vs. Multi-locationThe type of location in which you serve also impacts your local SEO strategy. For example, a rural location likely won’t have as many competitors as an urban location. If your business has multiple locations in several types of areas, you will also have to adjust your strategy. Use keywords from each of those locations, and optimize your website to cater to each. You can even have separate pages for each location that will lead searchers to the exact business location they’re closest to. Even if you don’t serve just one location, localized SEO can benefit your business. There are ways to tap into local SEO to compete in a global market. Technological advances have allowed global businesses that rank high in local search results to rank higher in global search results as well. Working on local search engine presence across all of your locations will help your business’s visibility in search engines, overall. Service-based vs. Product-basedSimilar to location-based considerations, you’ll also have to take into account the way you serve consumers. Products and services will not only use different keywords, they will use different calls to action and show up differently in search results. For most industries, you can create separate pages for your varying products or services. Then, you can optimize each with content tailored to that product or service. Product marketing and service marketing differ slightly, inherently. This extends to SEO. For example, if you primarily provide services in your area, you will want to focus more attention on local reviews. Monitor Google reviews that pop up beside your business on a search engine results page (SERP) and respond to as many as possible. Industry-specific TerminologyDifferent industries will also use different terminology and jargon. Keeping abreast of the evolving word usage in your specific industry will help you boost your SEO. Do keyword research for these terms and determine which terms are getting the most search volume each month. It’s possible for Google and other search engines to amalgamate similar search terms, but staying aware of terminology can only help your SEO efforts. Google Business Profile DifferencesDifferent products and services show up differently on Google Business Profiles, as well. Previously called Google My Business, these profiles are something that you set up on Google for your business in order to increase visibility and the chances that your business will rank in SERPs. The way you set this profile up will vary depending on the type of business you run or are marketing for. GBP is different for hotels, for instance For example, Google Business Profiles for hotels allow you to integrate booking mechanisms. This lets potential customers searching for local hotel rooms book or see availability right from the SERP.
Make sure you investigate the Google Business Profile possibilities for your specific industry to get the most out of your listing and improve your SEO results. Your target audience should be able to easily interact with your business once it pops up on their SERP. The Importance of Audience for Local SEOEach industry will likely have slightly different target audience demographics, even if they’re local to the same area. Understanding your customers and their search intent is crucial to SEO at any level. Particularly in local SEO, you should understand how people in your area search for similar products and services. Do keyword research and several test searches to determine how your ideal customer would search for your business’s offerings. Then, optimize your pages to include those keywords and capabilities, such as appointment scheduling or room booking. Best Practices for Industry-specific Local SEOWhile each industry will have slight differences, you can still keep up with local SEO best practices. Here are some tips to remember when crafting your local SEO strategy for your specific industry:
Above all, try to put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer. This is the cornerstone of any marketing and is key in local SEO. In local SEO you need to determine how these consumers search locally for products and services. To get a solid grip on the best practices for local SEO, here are some case studies from various industries to illustrate. Examples of Successful Strategies in Different IndustriesBelow, we’ve taken a look at a few case studies to help give you an idea of what could work for your business: LawIn the law industry, it’s essential to rank locally for your service-related keywords. A personal injury attorney in Wyoming went from ranking 21st to 1st in the SERP through onsite optimization, technical fixes, link building, local citations, and new content. Here are some takeaways:
Source: On The Map In an industry like this, focusing on Google’s EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) is essential. When you’re creating content you need to really ensure that you’re using your industry expertise to build credibility. Read more: Local SEO for Lawyers BarbershopIt might seem very niche-specific, but a barbershop’s case study demonstrates what local SEO can do for a small brick-and-mortar business that sells both services and products. Over the course of eight years, the barbershop hit number one in the SERP for 500 keywords and was able to open a new storefront as a result. This came about first through onsite optimization and then through link building and Google Business Profile. Some takeaways:
DentistIn the dental industry and other medical service industries, educational and authoritative information is the gateway for site visitors. Furthermore, mid-funnel content should help your local audience differentiate you from competitors, providing a clear path to conversion. Here are some key takeaways from a dentist SEO case study that increased page-one rankings by 267% and organic conversions by 4%:
Subtle Differences by IndustryIn all of the above case studies, the technical SEO aspects of websites play a huge role. However, each niche has a different approach.
Implementing Best Practices While Keeping It DifferentLocal SEO best practices seem to overlap quite a bit. That’s because they do, but you are able to differentiate yourself depending on your industry and your unique offerings as a business. The content and pages you create should satisfy the specific needs of your ideal local customer. Market research on location and industry competitors will help you formulate your strategy. However, you can remain a cut above the rest by highlighting your differences. Check off key SEO tasks and then see how you can stick out from the rest of the pack. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/8SJpFaw Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Oh boy, here we go. Google I/O is one of Google’s big opportunities to make announcements. And, while it is often used to announce upgrades to tech (like the new Pixel phone), this year had some bigger announcements that will undoubtedly affect search and local business discovery. Unsurprisingly, these announcements centered around AI. Yup, it’s the bots again. It’s worth noting, though, that there were a couple of other things announced that weren’t specifically AI, but could be important to local marketers across the planet (starting in the USA, as is often the case). In this piece, we’ll cover everything you need to have on your radar. The Key Takeaways from Google I/O – May 2023
There’s a New Google Generative Search ExperienceUndoubtedly the biggest change for businesses and marketers is the integration of generative AI into the search experience. It’s powered by PaLM2, the Large Language Model underpinning Google’s AI efforts. While they’d been toying with Google Bard’s generative qualities, they were also developing this search experience. Previously: Google Announced Bard Crucially, it’s a generative AI that’s been specifically designed for search. It’s not just “Google Bard but in the SERPs”. Bard was designed as a showcase of logic learning machine (LLM) technology. What was announced yesterday is an entirely new approach to search. This new integration has been called Search Generative Experience, or SGE (yup, that’s another acronym you’ll need to learn; I’m sorry). It’s their direct rival to BingGPT, and it’s going to shake up how people can use search. Or at least, that’s what Google is saying. The goal appears to be to allow people to make granular searches, right off the bat, which could change the traditional search journey. A couple of key examples of what this means were highlighted in the talk. Google AI Search for E-Commerce and BeyondThe first was a more traditional e-commerce search, for dresses. It showed that, rather than doing a series of broad searches to answer a complex question, you could just do all of it at once. It then showed a slightly more local example, which we’ll come to shortly. Basically, rather than searching for each of these individually… e.g.
…they’re saying you’ll be able to do all of that in one giant, long-tail search and receive granular answers. i.e. “what’s better for a family with kids under 3 and a dog, bryce canyon or arches national park” Then you can then make it more granular with the click of a button. Whether that’s a ‘ask a follow-up question’ or selecting one of the suggested questions they offer up. As you can see, this is displayed front-and-center at the top of the SERPs. Although for anyone worrying that Google won’t want to take your money anymore, Google has confirmed that ads will still be displayed up there, too. Currently, there’s a waitlist in the US for the SGE that will eventually be rolled out to everyone. Google AI Search and Local Business DiscoveryAs ever with a lot of these announcements, Google used a couple of local search examples to highlight how it can look in those instances. Hospitality is always an example they jump to, as it has such broad appeal, and this time it really highlights how it could affect more local searches when consumers have a strong idea of what they are after. Here’s an example of them asking SGE to ‘compare two lunch spots near me that are good for big groups’ As you can see from what we’ve highlighted on that SERP, it surfaces key information from a business’s Google Business Profile, like reviews and particular dishes, as well as overall cost. Not only that, it’s letting people directly compare a couple of institutions. This is something that the traditional Local Pack did ambiguously. It showed you all that information but it wasn’t saying “Here’s how they compare, side by side”. With the generative aspect of the search, it also lets you dig even deeper. So if you wanted to add a specific business to this comparison, you can do that, as shown in the follow-up question above. And, if you wanted to search by a specific dish, somewhere that was good for groups or, by the looks of it, somewhere that just matches your vibe, you’ll probably be able to do that. Basically, the context is carried over each time you ask a question within this conversation. Google Has Learned, and Added Citations and Links to PublishersOne of the big annoyances (and concerns) that many people had about Google Bard was the lack of citations for their informational source. (For once, we aren’t talking about local citations, either.) For those that weren’t aware, Google Bard didn’t provide sources or links for any of the information it surfaced. The good news is that SGE absolutely does. Not only does it provide sources in the immediate SERP, as highlighted above, but there’s an option to ‘Toggle Deeper’ in the top right of the screen. This should help reassure people that a zero-click apocalypse is slightly further off than people feared. And it highlights that creating content will still be useful, as Google will be highlighting where they got the information, even if it then merges it in the SERP. It does still mean that zero-click searches will likely increase though, and even if you rank first you could still be a long way down the organic page due to all the non-traditional content.
Google Is Being CarefulUnsurprisingly, as the international mood around generative AI is yet to settle, Google is perhaps wary of a backlash, or of people making potentially risky decisions based on an answer generated by its own AI. This means there are certain types of questions that you can’t ask in SGE. Google has discussed responsibility at length in their documentation on SGE (which you can find here). But a quick snapshot of the kinds of things they aren’t allowing currently includes anything they deem as “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) content such as financial and health advice, which they touch on in the previously linked document. At the very least, if they are unsure about the safety or accuracy of something, they will include a disclaimer. Things you currently can’t ask SGE include explicit or dangerous topics, i.e. self-harm (where they’ll surface helplines instead) and medical advice queries, where a disclaimer will be displayed. The SGE Includes Vertical SearchWhile not specific to all local businesses, the inclusion of vertical search is an interesting one for anyone that offers e-commerce capabilities. Essentially, SGE will be able to include Vertical searches like Google Shopping and pull large lists of information that could help users find the right products for them that are available in real-time.
Reminder: SGE and Bard Are Two Different ToolsEssentially, SGE is Google’s attempt at catching up with Microsoft and OpenAI’s BingGPT, in order to offer generative AI within search. Bard, on the other hand, will be a completely separate thing, and be used more for content creation than search, in the same way that ChatGPT, which can do anything from writing scripts (and causing Hollywood writers to, quite rightly, strike) to website code. To summarise, then:
The above isn’t exclusive, but it should help us define their uses a little better, especially as we’re still in the relatively early days of generative AI being a popular thing and things are likely to get a lot more complicated still. If there’s a lot of goodwill behind Google on this, there’s a chance that SGE could nip that sudden increased market share Bing saw for a couple of months in the bud.
Google Maps Got in on the Action“What about Google Maps??” I hear you cry. Well, that got a little love, too. Not quite at the same level, with a lot of these updates being a bit smaller, but there are a few things to be aware of. There’s Now an Integration for Maps in Google BardWhile SGE and Google Bard are different things, people will still undoubtedly use Bard to perform some searches. The good news for local SEOs and businesses is that they’ve announced an integration to display Google Maps within the conversation on Bard. Here’s a screenshot of this captured by the good folks at Search Engine Land (excuse the low res image): As you can see, though, we’re not having quite so much luck over in BrightLocal HQ yet… Ah, well. As the (other) bard once wrote, “To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first.“ Aerial View Offers an Immersive ExperienceWhile this won’t change the game right away, they’re something that some businesses may want to keep an eye on when it comes to their presence on Google Maps. They include:
These updates offer businesses new opportunities to try and stand out from the crowd in Google Maps. Everything Else Announced, From ‘About This Image’ to ‘Perspectives’Okay, deep breath, you’ve already taken in a lot of information, but there’s more to come. These ones may not require you to put so much thought into them at this stage, but are things you should keep an eye on. About This ImageIn its quest for accuracy and fight against misinformation, Google has introduced a new tool to add context to images. It will give you information on the following:
It’s also worth noting that they added a markup for AI-generated images that will appear in the original file when they are created through their platform. PerspectivesThis is something Google actually started testing a little while ago and was live in some places from March. However, it’s only now that they’ve officially announced it. It will highlight long-form written posts, videos, images, and even social media posts to help give people a diverse range of perspectives. It’s been added as part of Google’s desire to offer users better ways to understand a specific topic. The Helpful Content System is Getting an(other) UpdateSince the initial rollout of the Helpful Content Update last year, Google has made some updates. This next one is apparently to help surface content that Google sees as ‘hidden gems’ by focusing on individual contributors’ experience and expertise. This sounds like a boosting of the much-discussed E-E-A-T ranking signals, but it will be nonetheless interesting to see what that actually means. What do you need to do now?Right now, there’s not a lot you can do. For starters, this is all rolling out in the US first. Some of it, like the aerial views and Perspectives, is live and available to play around with. However, for the SGE you’ll need to wait a little longer to truly see it live and in action, regardless of where you are. If you’re in the US you can request to join the waiting list for Google Search Labs, which will give you access to play around with the new SGE before it goes live. Want more news like this direct to your inbox? Sign up to the BrightLocal Digest for a regular dose of local SEO news and insights. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/Rwih5Nl Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Since it began in 1912, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has been one of the go-to resources for determining a business’s performance and trustworthiness. For instance, if you’re looking for a new software provider or a local hairdresser you might check out the BBB profiles of businesses you’re considering for added assurance. Businesses are required to meet and maintain certain qualifications to be accredited by the BBB. However, you can still list your business on their site even before you apply for accreditation. These listings can be done for free, unlike accreditation, which is a paid service. Here’s how. Adding a Brand New ListingDepending on if you’re adding a single business or a multi-location business, you’ll need to approach this process slightly differently. Both are outlined below. How to Add a Single Business ListingStep 1: Search for your business
Step 2: Add your business details
Step 3: Submit and verify your business details
Please be aware that BBB representatives may call the business to verify the information provided before publishing the listing. How to Add a Multi-location Business ListingIf your business operates under a parent location/headquarters with multiple locations instead of individual locations with separate owners, these need to be listed under the same profile. On BBB, all locations will be linked to the main HQ page. The profile will indicate this is a multi-location business with a specific tag. It will offer the option to see all locations linked to the main page via the “Find Locations” function. The “Find Locations” function on the profile will only display the list of all locations you can scroll through. Unfortunately, these can’t be viewed via separate URLs. If you would like to submit multiple locations for the business under the same brand name, you need to set up a listing for the primary location first. Step 1: Set up a listing for the primary location
Step 2: Send details of other locations to BBB representatives
How to Claim an Existing PageTo claim an existing page, you need to have a BBB.org account. To register for an account, you first need to set your location. This is because each US state has its own local BBB office responsible for business profiles operating there. Step 1: Set your location
Step 2: Create an account
Searching For an Existing Business PageStep 1: Search for your business
Step 2: Claim your business
How to Get HelpThe easiest way to resolve any issues with existing profiles on BBB.org is to contact their support team. However, keep in mind that BBB reps will always want to speak with the business owner or an authorized representative. If you contact them from an email that does not match the business website domain, they will ask you to prove your affiliation with the business. This can be done by providing the relevant paperwork or getting the business owner to confirm that you can work on their locations. via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/hto62Km Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ Competitive analysis is an integral part of any marketing campaign because it keeps your business ahead of your competition and allows you to maintain a consistent web presence. For local SEO, the competitive analysis aims at helping your business to get found in Google Maps as well as Google Organic, when search intent is locally driven. It will form part of the initial discovery phase of your local SEO project, but it should be something you keep doing. In this guide, we’re going to help you understand what local competitor analysis is, then cover how you can go about doing it to get ahead of your competition. What is Local SEO Competitor Analysis?Local competitor analysis includes all businesses that rank for your target (local) keywords in maps and organic results (including the local pack). For local SEO, the main goal of a competitor analysis is to identify why your local competitors are ranking high in the local pack, Google Maps, and Google local organic. Then, once you’ve identified who is ranking and how, you can see how to capture those opportunities yourself. Additionally (and simultaneously), any competitive analysis should be used for other important purposes:
How to Determine Your Local CompetitorsIt isn’t as simple as looking out the window at the business down the street, discovering your local competitors can take a little more effort. You shouldn’t assume you already know who your competitors are, as the businesses that compete online could be different to the ones you see on your street. Start with Local Keyword ResearchThe first step to determining your local competitors is knowing your keywords. I did a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to research your local keywords, in case you need a kickstart. Those are search queries people are using to find products or services your business is selling. Here we are going to deal with three search engine results page (SERP) sections:
Once You Know What to Search, Search GoogleYour first step to identifying your local competitors is searching Google using your target keywords. If you reside in your target location, Google will personalize results based on the (precise) location, so you will likely see similar results to what your target customers will. Additionally, you can never be sure what exactly your target audience will see when searching for those keywords:
Still, this is the best first step we can get, so start making a list of businesses you have found in search results with notes:
For organic competitors, to make this step easier, turn off Google’s infinite scroll and use this browser plugin for it to pull plain-text URLs of ranking pages and number search results. Obviously, ignore directory results (like Yelp or Tripadvisor) or note them elsewhere: These are marketing opportunities rather than competitors. I also tend to limit my organic competitors to about 5-10 URLs per keyword. After all, local SEO is mostly about showing up on maps. Organic competitors are not that important. It will be more obvious why we even need them in future steps. Top tip: Try a free location changer to check search results elsewhere If you are an agency doing this research that’s nowhere near the business, you can use a free tool like BrightLocal’s Local Search Results Checker to spoof your location. Another option is you can spoof your client’s location with a plugin like GS Location Changer which is a Google Chrome and Firefox extension. These tools will help you find more localized results based on a street address, so spend some time changing its settings. BrightLocal’s Competitor Analysis ToolsWhether you are using third-party competitor analysis tools or not, searching Google is a useful exercise because it gives you first-hand experience of buying journeys your target customers would have. You’ll get to interact with search results the way your customers are. BrightLocal’s Local SEO tools let you identify your local competitors using Google Business Profile Audit and compare them using a handy dashboard. BrightLocal uses your business location and type to identify the competitors which are showing up in the local pack and/or Google Maps for the search terms and search the location you’ve chosen: It is a nice way to verify your own list you created by searching Google and expanding it by finding more competitors. Not only that but BrightLocal’s Local Search Grid offers incredible ways to perform competitor analysis. Watch: BrightLocal Webinar – Live Google Business Profile Audit with Colan Nielsen Create Your SpreadsheetAssuming you are using at least two data sources, your spreadsheet will include a lot of labels, and you will be scrolling back and forth to find overlapping businesses that were able to rank for multiple queries, and even show up in organic search. To find competitors which are ranking for several keywords, sort your results by the first column. This is where you can calculate the “overlaps”, i.e. domains that show up for many keywords and in many SERP sections. Obviously, this spreadsheet will take some time to build. I suggest starting with 3-5 keywords at most. Once you have gone through the first batch of your competitors, you will be able to run more keywords and expand your list of competitors. Template: Want a headstart? Grab a competitor analysis spreadsheet template. Just ‘make a copy’. Analyzing Your Local CompetitorsCompare Google Business ProfilesGoogle Business Profiles (GBP) include more than many people think. Take some time browsing your competitors’ profiles and note anything extraordinary or worthy of attention:
Look through each profile carefully and note as much as you can. Tools like GBP Audit have much of that noted for you, so you can complete your task much quicker: Analyze on-site landing pagesOn-page signals are known to contribute to local rankings but here I suggest prioritizing pages that also rank in organic search. These are definitely competitors that are doing something right A tool like WebCEO’s SEO content assistant tool is the quickest way to compare your landing page to your competitors’ pages and identify what is missing: Schema analysis is another useful step here. Run your competitors’ pages through the Schema validator and note in your spreadsheet if they are using local schema, and add comments if the schema looks detailed. This is useful for finding any possible correlation between higher rankings and on-page optimization tactics. Note Conversion FunnelsThis is not part of a traditional SEO audit but being able to engage and convert customers is crucial for maintaining consistent organic visibility. Look through each competitor’s landing page noting if there’s any conversion optimization tactic to steal and experiment with:
There may be many more customer engagement methods your competitors are using, and you can never tell whether any of those is effective. But it is important to be aware of all of them, as many of your customers may expect certain customer support options from you based on what they experience on your competitors’ sites. Analyzing your competitors’ technology is important to keep yours innovating as well, so record everything noteworthy to research later. Audit Local CitationsLocal citation analysis is an essential part of any competitive analysis because local citations impact rankings. Google also relies on external citations to identify if a local business is trustworthy and if there are any red flags (e.g. customer review manipulation). You can grab your competitor’s brand name or address and search it in Google to identify their major citation sources (and rankings). You can use tools, like Local Citation Tracker, to make this step easier by grabbing and organizing your and your competitors’ citations for your further review: Review their Backlink ProfilesBacklinks are powerful organic search ranking factors but it is always a good idea to check how your competitors are generating backlinks and what they are doing to build links from local publications, blogs, and communities. Competitive backlink monitoring can help you enhance your own link-building strategy as well as build some local connections which may uncover new business opportunities for you and your brand. SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush can help here. Both tools allow you to filter backlinks by a keyword in a domain or anchor text, so you can quickly find links from local publications: Start Monitoring Your Local Competitor’s RankingsWhile identifying and analyzing your local competitors can be done manually, for monitoring their positions you’ll likely need a standalone dashboard because it will hardly be possible to do manual searches on a regular basis, especially if you target more than one search query and more than a single location. This is where BrighLocal’s local search grid will turn out to be a lifesaver. It gives you a bird’s-eye view of what searchers see in your neighborhood, town, or city and allows you to measure the share of search visibility across the map for your most important keywords: ConclusionCompetitor analysis for local SEO takes a lot of time and effort but it can be incredibly rewarding, especially if you take time to take a thorough look at each of your competitors and record all kinds of aspects that may have moved the needle for them. Local search is not straightforward. In many cases, you’ll find yourself wondering why Google would choose to surface some local businesses over others but a thorough analysis will let you understand more about your market than you ever thought possible. Good luck! via BrightLocal https://ift.tt/yOToMNa Check out more SEO posts onhttps://seouk41.blogspot.com/ |
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