Many companies have realized the importance of local SEO, but local SEO is different from traditional SEO and needs to involve a deeper level, so many aspects are easily overlooked. This article will analyze five aspects of local SEO that are easily overlooked.
Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO)It can be tricky, not only do you have to perform consistent SEO optimization, but you also have to master higher levels of SEO. Most tech-savvy local business owners have some idea of ??how to do local SEO, but get confused when it gets to the deeper levels.
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For example, most people believe that to achieve successful local SEO, you have to create directory listings. From a certain point of view, this is indeed true. But first, you have to make sure everything else is in order, directory listings are not the most important thing for local SEO.
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Then, you have to make sure you are listed in the correct local directory. Plus, you need to know how and where to find exclusive directories for specific regions. And, make sure you're optimizing not just for the general location of your business, but for hyperlocal communities in specific geographic areas.
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Like I said, things might confuse you.
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In order to solve this problem, I will explain five areas of local SEO that are easily overlooked. If you want more local search traffic, you need to optimize the following five areas, and your local SEO will benefit greatly.
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1. Accuracy and Consistency of Online Catalogs
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The most important component of local SEO is the holy trinity of information known as NAP information. NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. Some people call it NAP+W, which means adding a website. Any local SEO person knows this well.
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However, it is the accuracy and consistency of this piece of information that can cause confusion.
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A survey of contacts reveals a depressing trend for SMEs. 85% of small businesses say it's important to discover their business on local search apps and local directories, yet only half of those businesses ever update their online directories! 50% of these businesses knew their catalog was incorrect, but 70% said they didn't have time to update it.
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This is bad news. The number one negative factor affecting rankings is the wrong business address detected in the directory. The third negative factor is mismatched NAP information. This inaccuracy can ruin your local SEO.
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Clearly, small and local businesses face serious challenges when using local directories. Approach this problem in two ways - accuracy and consistency, and why they are so important.
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1. The accuracy of NAP
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Local search engines use NAP as an accuracy gauge for detecting the existence of a business. In order for a local search engine or directory to detect that your local business actually exists, every piece of data must be accurate.
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For example, if your business name is "Jiexin Network Marketing Agency", but you enter "Jiexin Network", then the directory will determine that your business is not accurate.
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If it is a problem of creating a directory, it may be a confusion for many companies. How many "cupcake" boutiques are there in New York City? Or how many "Financial Services" institutions are there in Manhattan? In order for a business to be legitimate, all three pieces of information must be available - name, address and phone - and they all correspond to local realities.
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2. Consistency of NAP
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Another thing to keep in mind is consistency. NAP must be consistent across all local directories, citations and listings.
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Moz put it this way:
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Consistent NAP information contributes to more citations and improvedsearch engine rankingare all critical.
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The information on Yelp must be consistent with the information on Google+, with Foursquare (location information service website), with the local small business association and so on.
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This is probably the most challenging trait for a company looking to achieve a high local ranking. why? Because business information changes rapidly. One day, you may decide to change your business name, or your 800 number, or you may move elsewhere.
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How to prevent local SEO rankings from being affected by lack of consistency?
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It's not easy. To make sure every local citation is consistent, you can hire someone to track every citation and make changes, or you can do it yourself.
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All local SEO starts here - with a distinct NAP. But it will always change, such as accuracy and consistency are not obvious, you can ask yourself the following questions:
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Has my company changed its name? (Name)
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Has my business changed addresses? (Address)
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Has my business changed phone numbers? (Phone)
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If your answer is yes, you may want to do a local SEO citation correction. Track every one of your local citations to make sure they are accurate and consistent.
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2. Other valuable information in the directory listing
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It's easy to get listed in local directories, but it's not so easy to exploit them to their fullest potential.
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Creating local listings can be time-consuming and tedious, but that's exactly what local businesses have to do. We tend to overlook some features of local SEO. These directories should be filled with as much information as possible.
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Research shows that when consumers search for a local business, they typically want to see the following:
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Address, telephone number, nearby location, business name, website, price, basic product or service, ranking or evaluation, business nature, payment method, certificate, brand or trademark, other business information, other product information.
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That's why it's so important to fill out these directories completely. Every piece of information is a boost to your local SEO. The more complete the information in the online directory, the better service you can provide to your customers. They need a lot of information.
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3. Build comprehensive social media accounts
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Even without a website, local businesses can thrive with local SEO. Local SEO has evolved to dominate so many searches that a traditional website is no longer necessary for local SEO success.
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In the 2013 Local Search Ranking Factors surveyed by Moz, they pegged the importance of locally optimized sites at 18.8%, which they called “page signals.” All other parts of the pie are independent of the website (but I think without a website, the "link signal" would have to lead to a local page or local directory). In other words, apart from that 18.8%, everything else comes from social media.
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Was the website helpful? Of course, I highly recommend it. However, with local SEO, it's the local factor that matters most.
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What many businesses overlook: Your customers use your local or social media pages as their actual website.
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Many customers choose to check your Facebook, UrbanSpoon, Yelp instead of visiting your website. At least with Urbanspoon, they can see a one-star ranking or review.
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Find out everything you need to know with a simple query:
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Where does this information come from? It's not from the website as there is no full website. All they have is a meaningful list of items in a locally optimized social media account.
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With the recent launch of the new Google My Business business platform, local search experts are emphasizing more than ever the importance of completing their information completely. Greg Gifford writes in Search Engine Land: "The Google My Business update is the biggest business update Google has ever released for local businesses." And now, you need to make sure your business is on top of the mammoth local SEO tool As dominant a position as possible.
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4. Request evaluation
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One of the nice things about local search is that it's basically in your hands.
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You can create local directories, optimize your Google My Business page, improve your Facebook account, and do whatever it takes to improve your local search rankings.
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There's one thing you don't have full control over: evaluation. You can't force users to post a review on Foursquare or Yelp, or give you a five-star review on Google+, but you can encourage them to do so.
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There are many ways to incentivize users to leave reviews. In exchange, you can offer them free drinks, discounts, gadgets, and more. Remind them to leave you a review, such as by posting a sign on the counter or on the door. Print QR codes on tables or menus that they can scan and comment on; let service staff request reviews at checkout; set up kiosks in the lobby so they can leave messages, and more. Sometimes, all people need is a little push.
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Reviews are critical to local search optimization and worth the extra effort to get them (in a noble way, of course). why? Because it's local SEO.
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Google has always provided companies with high ratings as local search results.
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In the query above, the top two "restaurants in san francisco" both have the highest ratings. Note that they don't have the most reviews, just the highest.
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5. Deep Dive into Hyperlocal SEO
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This problem is still in its infancy. Google has said it is using or testing a Neighborhood Algorithm.
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Local communities are difficult to integrate into search engine algorithms. They lack boundaries and well-defined names. Therefore, they are nicknamed "informal spaces" applied to specific areas. Locals may find certain areas different from what is shown on official official maps, and if so, local SEO rankings can be elusive.
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This is where the power of the website comes into play, and by optimizing your business website with community terms, you can skyrocket in local searches for neighborhood spaces, as well as rank in areas chosen by official algorithms.
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From a strictly local optimization standpoint, here's what you can do to counter neighborhood algorithms and optimize your business.
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Andrew Shotland gives us the following steps in his article on Search Engine Land:
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Add the community name as a descriptor after the business name on the Google My Business page (such as Cabo Grill East Side).
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Add the community name to the description on the Google My Business page.
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Add the community name (if any) to your website text.
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Add the community name to your website title tag.
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Make sure Google is locating your neighborhood correctly, if not, log into Google Maps to make an update.
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Add your community to all local citations.
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As hyperlocal search develops, it will become increasingly important to have the greatest impact in the smallest geographic area.
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in conclusion
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From a local SEO perspective, all the traditional SEO techniques just don't work anymore. Local businesses depend on local SEO.