Darren Shaw - How to Prioritize Your Local Search Work

Local search can add a mountain of additional tasks on top of your existing workload. How do you fit in these extra tasks when you’re already overwhelmed with everything else on your to do list? Darren will walk you through his detailed Local Ranking Blueprint, and show you which local search tasks are the most important, how long they will take, and which tasks can be pushed lower on your priority list.

Transcript

1. How To Prioritize Your Local Search Work DARREN SHAW
2. Darren Shaw Founder at Whitespark darren@whitespark.ca @EdmontonSEO
3. Can you do local SEO in only 3 hours?
4. Sure, you can do *some* work
5. Organic SEO • Keyword research • Website • Content • Links • Social • Reporting Local SEO • Keyword research • Website • Content • Links • Social • Reporting • Google+ Local Listing • Citation building • Citation audit/cleanup • Review acquisition
6. Organic SEO • Keyword research • Website • Content • Links • Social • Reporting Local SEO • Keyword research • Website • Content • Links • Social • Reporting • Google+ Local Listing • Citation building • Citation audit/cleanup • Review acquisition Additional Work
10. Why Reviews?
20. VS Listings with reviews provide a better user experience
21. Google loves a good user experience
24. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews Get 5 reviews, get the stars Nice
25. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews Get 5 reviews, get the stars Nice
26. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews Get 5 reviews, get the stars Nice
27. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews Get 5 reviews, get the stars Nice
28. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator/
29. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator/
30. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator/
31. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://www.whitespark.ca/review-handout-generator/
32. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://getfivestars.com/
33. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://getfivestars.com/
34. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews http://getfivestars.com/
35. Get at least 5 Google+ Local Reviews
36. Get keywords in reviews
37. Increase awareness of Yelp
38. Increase awareness of Yelp To rank in Yelp 1) Get reviews 2) Get keywords in yelp reviews
39. Increase awareness of Yelp
40. Increase awareness of Yelp
41. Increase awareness of Yelp
42. Increase awareness of Yelp Awareness, NOT solicitation
43. Increase awareness of Yelp Awareness, NOT solicitation
44. Increase awareness of Yelp
45. Increase awareness of Yelp
46. Increase awareness of Yelp
47. Increase awareness of Yelp
48. Increase awareness of Yelp
49. Increase awareness of Yelp If only there was a way to find to find friends on Yelp
50. Increase awareness of Yelp Thanks Yelp!
51. Increase awareness of Yelp Thanks Yelp!
52. Increase awareness of Yelp On your website
53. Increase awareness of Yelp In your email
54. Increase awareness of Yelp On your door
55. Increase awareness of Yelp In your business Download this printable sign I made! (I’m so proud) bit.ly/1lsv4m9
56. Diversify Review Sites GetFiveStars makes this easy
57. Reviews
58. Reviews Highest value
59. Reviews Highest value Lowest effort
60. Reviews Highest value Lowest effort 2 minutes
61. Reviews Highest value Lowest effort 2 minutes 15 minutes
62. Reviews Highest value Lowest effort 2 minutes 15 minutes 15 minutes
64. Optimize the location landing page(s) Single location: link to homepage
65. Multi-location: link to a dedicated location page Optimize the location landing page(s)
66. Include city and primary keyword in the URL Optimize the location landing page(s)
67. Title tag 1) Include primary keyword. 2) Include city & state abbreviation 3) Include same business name as on Google listing Optimize the location landing page(s)
68. Add a couple of good paragraphs of "about us"/"this location" content. Optimize the location landing page(s)
69. Include name, address, and phone in schema.org Optimize the location landing page(s)
70. Embed a Google map, the right way Optimize the location landing page(s)
71. Embed a Google map, the right way Optimize the location landing page(s)
72. Embed a Google map, the right way Optimize the location landing page(s)
73. Write high-quality long form content on the services pages No. Just no.
74. Write high-quality long form content on the services pages OMG YES. 4500 words on DUI Law in Alberta pringlelaw.ca/practices/1-impaired-driving
75. Write high-quality long form content on the services pages It’s working out quite well for them #1 Organic #1 Local
76. Fix any technical problems Not enough time to cover it, but LMGTFY
78. Clean up duplicate listings
79. Clean up duplicate listings
80. Clean up duplicate listings
81. Clean up duplicate listings
82. Clean up duplicate listings
83. Clean up duplicate listings
84. Clean up duplicate listings
85. Clean up duplicate listings
86. Clean up duplicate listings
87. Clean up duplicate listings
88. Clean up duplicate listings
89. Clean up duplicate listings
90. Pick good categories
91. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam
92. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name
93. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name X
94. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. X
95. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. X City in description can cause a ranking drop
96. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name City in description can cause a ranking drop Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. X X
97. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name City in description can cause a ranking drop Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. Don’t add any keywords from your categories to the description X X
98. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name City in description can cause a ranking drop Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. Don’t add any keywords from your categories to the description X X X
99. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name City in description can cause a ranking drop Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. Don’t add any keywords from your categories to the description X X X Don’t include any of these words: bit.ly/1fPnlx3
100. Don’t violate guidelines & don’t keyword spam Only use your official DBA name City in description can cause a ranking drop Don’t use a PO Box, UPS, or any kind of fake address. Don’t add any keywords from your categories to the description It’s ok to add a link or two to the description, but don’t do any exact match anchors X X X Don’t include any of these words: bit.ly/1fPnlx3
102. Get 1 accurate & complete listing on the major data aggregators You really must be listed on all 4 of these
103. http://moz.com/learn/local/local-search-data-us Used with permission from David Mihm Get 1 accurate & complete listing on the major data aggregators
104. Go to http://www.expressupdate.com to find and remove incorrect listings. Clean up duplicates on the major data aggregators
105. Go to http://www.neustarlocaleze.biz to find and remove incorrect listings. Clean up duplicates on the major data aggregators
106. Go to https://mybusinesslistingmanager.myacxiom.com to find and remove incorrect listings. Clean up duplicates on the major data aggregators
107. Go to http://factual.com/data/t/places to find and remove incorrect listings. Clean up duplicates on the major data aggregators
108. To update or remove: factual.com/contact Clean up duplicates on the major data aggregators
109. Get 1 accurate & complete listing on the second tier citation sites
110. On each of these sites, use the internal search function to find and remove incorrect listings. Clean up duplicates on the second tier citation sites
111. Get some quality unstructured citations Feature local artists at the business
112. Get some quality unstructured citations Host events at the business
113. Get some quality unstructured citations Offer student discounts
114. Get some quality unstructured citations http://www.localstampede.com/citation-building-strategies-list/ Tons of great ideas here:
115. Get a handful of city-specific and industry specific citations
116. Get 1 accurate and complete listing on the remaining top 50 citation sites
117. Clean up duplicates on the remaining top 50 citation sites
118. Get 1 accurate and complete listing, and remove duplicates on the remaining top 50 citation sites https://www.whitespark.ca/citation-audit-and-cleanup-service
120. [0047] When the document falls within the broad area (block 460--YES), then a location prominence score associated with the document may be determined (block 470). The location prominence score may be based on a set of factors that are unrelated to the geographical area over which the user is searching. In one implementation, the set of factors may include one or more of the following factors: (1) a score associated with an authoritative document; (2) the total number of documents referring to a business associated with the document; (3) the highest score of documents referring to the business; (4) the number of documents with reviews of the business; and (5) the number of information documents that mention the business. In other implementations, the set of factors may include additional or different factors. Get at least 1 super link
121. Get at least 1 super link SS Scholarship SS Sponsorship
122. Get at least 1 super link Their home page
123. Get at least 1 super link Their home page
124. Get at least 1 super link Their scholarship page
125. Get at least 1 super link Their scholarship page
126. Get at least 1 super link Sponsorships 1. Boston inurl:sponsors 2. site:.edu boston supporters 3. site:.edu boston sponsors 4. site:.org boston supporters 5. site:.org boston sponsors 6. site:.k12.ca.us supporters 7. site:.k12.ca.us sponsors
127. Get a handful of local links http://www.localstampede.com/citation-building-strategies-list/ X
128. Clean up any spammy links
129. Get the typical basic links from citations, social profiles, etc
131. Download it here: bit.ly/1kmlOTk
132. What should you work on with 40 hours?
133. You can do it all (excluding serious technical issues and link cleanup)
134. What should you work on with 20 hours?
135. Reviews: 32 minutes Website: 4 hours - optimize the landing page - enhance content on a handful of services pages Google+ Local Listing: 30 minutes Citations: 7 hours - data aggregators - 2nd tier - city-specific and industry-specific - prospect for and get 2 local sponsorship citation & link Links: 8 hours - get scholarship page up and do some outreach
136. What should you work on with 10 hours?
137. Reviews: 32 minutes Website: 4 hours - optimize the landing page - enhance content on a handful of services pages Google+ Local Listing: 30 minutes Citations: 5 hours - data aggregators - 2nd tier - prospect for and get 1 local sponsorship citation & link
138. And what if you only have 3 hours?
139. Reviews: 32 minutes Website: 1 hour - optimize the landing page Google+ Local Listing: 30 minutes Citations: 1 hour - data aggregators
140. Thanks. Any questions? DARREN SHAW darren@whitespark.ca @EdmontonSEO