Local SEO 101An Introductory Guide to Local Search Engine

Optimization

Who is this guy?

Kaled Fattah | Online Marketing Specialist

@kalfatt

Local Search Expert Focused on Search Engine Optimization Participates in the development of client strategy

and implementation for Search, Social Media, Conversion Optimization, and Content Marketing

Fathom Ping Pong Doubles Champion

Local Search Engine Optimization is the practice of improving the quantity and quality of traffic from searches with geographic intent.

How is Local SEO different from Normal SEO?Local SEO targets users on a local level rather than nationally, subsequently rankings in geographic areas, online local business listings, and local focused content are essential.What types of businesses need Local SEO?Any business with local customers. If a business has a physical location, or local phone number, you should be doing local SEO.

What is Local SEO?

Why Local SEO is So Important

There are well over 10 billion unique searches done eachmonth, and that’s just in the United States! Of those searches,

• 20% of Desktop queries have local intent

• 50% of Mobile queries have local intent

There are OVER TWO BILLION unique Local searches per month on Google from Desktop computers in the U.S. Google and Yahoo, and Bing have made dramatic shifts in how they return results, and all the trends point to Local.

Additionally, mobile search is exploding. Approximately one in five searches is performed from a mobile device, and mobile searches primarily pull their results from Local Search Engines. All of this is to say, the potential to attract new customers via Local Search is tremendous.

Anatomy of Search Engine Results

For local searches, Google tendsto return results that include ablend of both website and local information, mostly from Google+Local pages.

Since the Spring of 2012, Googlehas significantly increased thepercentage of "Blended“ resultsfor local searches meaning it'sImportant to claim & optimizeGoogle +Local profiles, and localbusiness listings.

Local Search Results

In addition to basic business information (business name, address, and phone number, local search results display links to Google+ pages, reviews, directions, business images, and other Google products such as street view.

Top Local Search Ranking Factors

1. Physical Address in City of Search (Approximate to Centroid )

2. Proper Business Category Associations in Business Listings

3. Accurate & Complete Business Citations 4. Domain Authority of Website5. Reviews – Velocity, Quantity, Keywords in Reviews.

Claim Your Local Business Listings

Claiming your listings gives you control over how the search engines index you and prevents spammers from hijacking them. This can also improve your search engine rankings and bring you more traffic.

How to Check Your Local Listings

See how your business is listed on Google, Bing, and other major local search engines. Getlsited.org and Yext.com provide free,• Listing Snap Shots• Listing Completion Reports• Listing Accuracy Reports

Submitting Local Business Listings

• Categories – select relevant categories accurate to your business. • Consistent Business Information – use the exact name, address, and phone number for all profiles. Include hours, payments accepted, and other relevant details. • Local Phone Number – if possible use a local phone number, some local

directories reject listings without local phone numbers.• Optimized Business Descriptions – optimize description for location and

product/service keywords.• Products/Services – list all relevant products and or services• Service areas – if applicable specify service areas, this is feature is available

in Google+ Local that can help make your listing more relevant to specific search areas.

• Logo, Photos, Videos• Coupons & Special Offers

Google+ Local

Claiming Google+ Local is an imperative. As mentioned earlier this listing is what appears in local search results on Google. Google+ Local Listings ranking factors Include:

• Proper Category Associations• Local Area Code on Place Page• Product / Service and Location Keywords in Business Title• Association of Photos with Page• Product / Service and Location Keyword in Place Page Description• Product / Service Keywords in Place Page Custom Attributes• Number of Actions Taken by Searchers on a Place Page • Association of Videos with Place Page• Inclusion of Offer on Place Page

Top Citation Sources

The Best Local Citations by City and CategoryGetlisted.org provides recommendations for where toget your business listed on local websites and directories, and onwebsites in your industry.

Universal Business ListingsUBL.org distributes your enhanced listing to the key underlying databases that provide anchor data to major search platforms.

Other services:

Quick Local Listings Submission

Online Reviews

52% of users said that positive online reviews

make them more likely to use a local business

How Do I Get More People to Review My Business? Advertise and link to your profiles on the major search engines on your own

website. Create a “How to Leave a Review” Page on your site with detailed

instructions for visitors Include a link to a site where recipients can leave a review in the signature

of all email communications. If your customer has an obvious email address, such as @Gmail.com or

@Yahoo.com, simply ask them to review your business using that particular search engine.

Do not manipulate reviews!

Onsite Local SEO

Just as important as offsite efforts in Local SEO is an

optimized website.

Titles, Meta Descriptions, and Headers –

optimized for location and product/service keywords Local content – targeted for location and product/service keywords Schema code – markup code allows search engines to easily identify and categorize

content, schema code should be used for business information including address, phone numbers and can be used for such things as reviews and recipes. your full business contact information in rich snippet format on the site.

HTML Onsite NAP matching +Local page NAP. It’s more important than ever that Google be able to associate your +Local page with your website.

KML File on Domain Name – KML files help validate accurate business contact information.

The Ultimate Local Landing Page

“The Ultimate Local Landing Page” is a resource guide I created for optimizing onsite location page(s).

Consider all the local related content you can include on a location page to enhance yourvisitors experience and to optimize forsearch engines.

Local SEO Resources

• David Mihm for SEO Moz: http://www.seomoz.org/users/profile/439609

• Local Search Ranking Factors: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

• Mike Blumenthal’s Blog: http://blumenthals.com/blog/ • Search Engine Land’s Local SEO Column:

http://searchengineland.com/library/local-search/ • Andrew Shotland's Blog: http://www.localseoguide.com/ • Nifty Marketing Local Search Blog:

http://niftymarketing.com/