Many people are under the impression that local search and the organic search are one in the same. Not so, says Moz’ David Mihm, co-creator of Get-Listed.org. Get-Listed.org was recently acquired by Moz – where David now resides as Director of Local Search.
In a recent podcast interview with Duct Tape Marketing’s John Jantsch, Mihn explained how the local SEO varies from “traditional” SEO – and how local businesses can capitalize on Google’s local algorithm for higher visibility and more customers. Keep in mind that over half of your potential customers are carrying a smartphone. Being able to be found quickly by search engines is critical.
Red Pushpins vs. Blue Links
When you see red pushpins after typing in a search that has local intent, such as “Crow’s Nest Restaurant”, you know that you’re seeing local search results. But something else worth noting is the fact that even when you don’t see red pushpins, Google is still focused in on the location where your search is taking place.
In other words, if you’re in Austin and enter “BBQ” in the search toolbar, Google will pull up results within the vicinity of Austin…even if you do not include Austin in your search. This is due to the fact that Google ranks websites, as well as locations.
According to Mihn, within those 10 blue links that you see, there are many points of localization that happen and because of this Google is generally able to bring up and display small business websites – as well as those national companies that have done a nice job of structuring their websites.
Good News for Local Businesses
For those of you that thought that Google was just out to rank the website with the most marketing capital behind it, think again. Google’s algorithm has been designed to show the most local pages that they can when a keyword has local intent. The algorithm has increased in sophistication, meaning that a person doing a search on a local level has a different intent.
Compare this to 2008 or 2009 when Google would default to a city’s center / near downtown. Since the Pigeon update, Google has been displaying businesses that are closer to actual locations because they now know where a search is being conducted.
Are you a Local Business Trying to Rank Higher? Here are Five things you can do right away to start ranking higher…
1.) Create Content Consistently — Google has gotten better at trying to detect the quality of a website. What information is this website providing to our searchers? Is it useful? Is it fresh? Is it original? Make sure there’s a place on your site where you can add content on a regular basis.
2.) Participate in your Community – If you’re a local business, chances are you’re doing things in the community. Show that by talking about it in your blog posts, as well as sharing who your affiliations are with an outbound link to non-profits, etc.
3.) Keywords are of Lesser Importance – Don’t focus on search engines, focus on people. Write for people, and don’t concern yourself so much with whether a post is optimized for search engines.
4.) Claim Your Biz at Google.com/MyBusiness – Tell Google where you are, where you’re located, and that you’re an owner of that business.
5.) Sign up on Moz Local – (link)
Write for Humans, Not for Search Engines
The fact that there are ranking factors to pay attention to will never go away, but writing for humans and not search engines continues to be of utmost importance. If you’re writing like a robot in an effort to gain rankings, Google will be able to detect this.
Google has been saying for a number of years – and it’s a good mindset to have since Google is now rewarding sites that are doing just that. And it doesn’t just apply to your content.
Higher Visibility in Your Community = Higher Visibility Online
Google’s algorithm has grown in sophistication over the years, and how it has ways of telling how involved your business is in the local community.
Google can tell if you’re a business that’s involved in your local community by looking at links received from non-profits and other community members. Share your wealth of experience by improving your local community. When you increase your visibility outside of your brick and mortar or online business by doing this, you will also grow in your online presence because Google can tell…businesses that are involved in their local communities and are getting links from non-profits, etc., from community, are starting to rank higher.
Local Lead Generation
There are very specific things that you can do to bring in the right local leads to your business. In addition to the online elements, there are a lot of offline marketing tactics that can be used (direct mail, networking, etc.). Use offline tools to drive customers into your store or to your website.
There is a common tendency to jump on one tactic, but it should be part of an overall strategy. This means that there are certain things that should be done on a consistent basis – like writing.
Don’t be intimidated – start small. What are the 10 most common things that customers ask you on a daily basis? Those should be your first 10 blog post topics.
Ask for Google+ and Facebook reviews from customers. Make sure that your name address and (NAP).
And of course, make sure your website is mobile-friendly!
So many people, locally, are looking for local search results.
Reviews are important. When a customer has a good review, work with them to ask them for a review on Google+ or Facebook and that will help to boost your traffic in a mobile environment.
Go out and get 5,10, 50 positive reviews. As a negative review will happen. Law of averages and a matter of being in business for a long time.
Can’t you just buy traffic? Pay per click / Google AdWords?
If you have a good landing page and a good understanding of how it works. You need a great landing page and call to action. You have to dedicate some time to telling where your traffic is coming from and how much it costs to get traffic.
It’s important to understand what you have with your current customer base. We encourage all of our clients to work with current customer base and turn into referral partners.
What ultimately is the role of social media in local lead generation?
Do no harm. For a local biz that is pressed for time,
1.) Post regularly
2.) Have conversations with customers
Dive into the conversations that ppl are having about your biz.
