Inside local - state of local search

July 10th 2013
‘The State of Local Search’

House keeping…
Webinar is being recorded
Post questions in question module
Slidedeck uploaded to slideshare.net
Follow up email with all details
Presentation then Q&A

About ‘InsideLocal’
BrightLocal & Local Search Forum
Bi-weekly webinar series
Hot issues, trends & opportunities
Great content, excellent speakers
Advanced, Informative & actionable
More webinars & dates at the end

Speakers
Mike
Blumenthal
Blumenthals.com
Andrew
Shotland
Localseoguide.com
Phil
Rozek
Localvisibilitysystem.
com

Presenters
Myles
Anderson
BrightLocal.com
Linda
Buquet
Localsearchforum.com

‘The State of Local Search’
Agenda:
Google Places for Business Dashboard,
'Carousel' & algorithm updates
Google+ Business updates, tips &insights
Apple Maps Update & optimization tips

Google Places
updates
Mike Blumenthal
Blumenthals.com/blog
mike@blumenthals.com
Twitter: @mblumenthal

It’s Not Your Mother’s Yellow Pages

Inside local - state of local search

New Dashboard
Started in US – Single Language Countries
Phased Replacement of existing dashboard
Rolling out over the next few months

Old Dashboard MapMakerNew Dashboard Google Plus
Third Party
DataMain Index
Canonical Local
Listing Data
New Architecture
Knowledge Graph

Google Places
Navigation
Latitude
Listings display across
different array of
devices

Listings display across
different array of
platforms

Changes in Local
New Maps, No Places

Local Carousel
Shows 9-20 Listings Depending on Screen
Very Little Room Above the Fold
Most Links Lead to Google Properties
Ranking is the same as before

Local Carousel
Use Great Photos
Consider an Ad on your Brand
Reviews Take on Increasing Importance

It’s Not Your Mother’s Yellow Pages
Mike Blumenthal,
blumenthals.com/blog
mike@blumenthals.com
Twitter: @mblumenthal

Google+
updates, insights & tips
Phil Rozek
LocalVisibilitySystem.com

What You Need to Know
About Those Pages That
Google can’t Just Pick a
Name for….

7 Sections:
1. Quick history
2. Getting the names straight
3. The one thing you must know
4. Should you “upgrade”?
5. Upgrading in different situations
6. Common mistakes to avoid
7. What if there are problems?

Quick history
Before May 30, 2012:
Google’s business listings were simple.
All you had to know was your local listing
was called a Google Places page.

Quick history
On May 30, 2012:
Google rocked the boat:
1. Google Places became “Google+ Local”
2. Gave some businesses the option of
combining their Google+ Local page with a
“Google+ for Business” page.

Getting the names straight
4 types of pages to (try to!) remember:
1.“Google+ Local” page
2.“Google+ for Business” page
3.“Upgraded” Google+ Local page
4.“Personal” Google+ page

1. “Google+ Local” page
= new name for a Google Places page

2. “Google+ for Business” page
= a page for any type of business (not
necessarily a “local” business)

3. “Upgraded” Google+ Local page
= what you get when you combine
the first two. It’s fully “social”

4. “Personal” Google+ page
= same idea as a personal Facebook page

Relationship between Google+ Local (#1)
and “Google+ for Business” (#2):
You can have one without the other, or you
can choose to “merge” them (if your
business is eligible).

Relationship between “personal” Google+
(#4) and all the other 3 types of pages
None, necessarily. They only cross paths
if you’ve implemented authorship
markup.

The one thing you must know
The ranking benefits of “upgraded”
pages are at most indirect.
The only real difference between a
page that has been upgraded and one
that hasn’t been upgraded: the “social”
bells and whistles.

We don’t know whether “upgraded” pages have
any direct rankings benefits. They probably
only help indirectly.
The only real difference between a page that
has been upgraded and one that hasn’t been
upgraded: the “social” bells and whistles.
Quick rundown of social features of G+:

Social feature 1: Posts
Google digs content.

Social feature 2: Circles
You can add customers (and
businesses) to your circles, and they
can add you back.

Social feature 3: +1s
Customers and others can “+1” your
business. This is like a Facebook “like.”

Social feature 4: B2B reviews

The other main benefits:
The Google+ dashboard is much
nicer than the old Places dashboard.
Photo & video uploads are instant.

Because the main reason to upgrade is to
get the social features, your decision is:
Do you see yourself spending any time
engaging with customers - and do you see
them engaging back?
If not, don’t bother upgrading.

Should you “upgrade”?
The only case in which it’s a no-brainer:
If you’re a one-location business, and if most or
all of your customers come to your location, and
if you’re willing to spend at least little time using
the social features of Google+.
Otherwise, you probably shouldn’t upgrade your
page. More detail:

Scenario 1: “Service-area” business
If you travel to customers rather than the other
way around, you shouldn’t upgrade.

Scenario 2: Multiple locations
Only if you’re willing to upgrade just one location.
Google won’t let you do more than one location
in the same account.
(Technically, you could create separate accounts
for each location, but they’re probably all in the
same account.)

Scenario 3: Data issues
If there’s inaccurate info on your Google
page, hold off on upgrading until fixed.

Scenario 4: Not interested in engaging with
customers
As I mentioned, no point in upgrading if you
don’t think you’ll use the social features.
Simply having them won’t help.

Upgrading in different situations
Situation 1: You’ve got one
location and one Google Places
page…

Sign into Google account you created your Google
Places page in.
Go to plus.google.com. Create page for “Local
Business.”
Follow Google’s prompts for merging the two.
Wait until Google sends you a postcard in the mail with
a PIN on it. Only once you sign into Google+ and enter
that PIN will you have an “upgraded” page.

Situation 2: You’ve got multiple locations,
and multiple Google Places pages…

Pick ONE location you’d like to upgrade.
Sign into Google account you created that Google
Places page in.
Go to plus.google.com. Create “Local Business” page
for location you’re upgrading.
Follow Google’s prompts for merging. Go through
PIN-verification process.

Situation 3: You’re hanging your shingle
on local Google for the 1st time…

Go to google.com/placesforbusiness and create a
Places page. Verify by postcard. Takes 1-2 weeks.
(At this point, you’ll have a Google+ Local page, but not
the upgraded kind. Granted, you’ll probably have the
sleek new “dashboard,” but that’s different.)
If you want to upgrade, do the same process I
described: create a Plus page in the same account,
request the merge, and verify by PIN.

Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Not making absolutely
certain you’re creating your Google+
page in the same Google account that
your Places page is in.
You won’t be able to merge the two.

Mistake 2: Not creating a Google+ page
of the “Local Business” variety
You won’t be able to merge.

Mistake 3: Trying to upgrade if you’re a
service-area business.
You’ll be able to merge the two pages, but
you’ll probably be penalized because you
won’t be able to hide the address on your
Google+ for Business page.

What if there are problems?
If you do the stuff I mentioned, you’ll likely
be able to “upgrade” without incident.
But it’s Google, and that means anything
can happen.
Fortunately for us, these days Google is OK
at helping you sort out “issues.”

Use the “Google Places Troubleshooter”

They’ll ask lots of diagnostic questions.
You’ll want to have the links to your Google
listing(s) on-hand.
Here’s the part of the link they’ll want:

You might also be given the option of
getting on the phone (!) with a rep.
Don’t shy away from picking up the
phone.

That’s it!
Phil Rozek
localvisibilitysystem.com

Optimization for
Apple Maps
Andrew Shotland
localSEOguide.com

1,000,000,000 iOS Devices by 2015
http://www.asymco.com/2012/09/17/projecting-ios-devices-through-itunes-account-growth/

Top 5 Client OS
9/12
1. Windows
2. iOS
3. Macintosh
4. Android
5. iOS6
Source: Google Analytics, Average for 50MM Visits, Sep 2012 v. Feb 2013 v. July 2013
2/13
1. Windows
2. Macintosh
3. iOS
4. iOS6
5. Android
iOS6 Devices = 82% of all iOS visits
7/13
1. Windows
2. iOS
3. iOS6
4. Android
5. Macintosh

Default Map for Every iOS Location App

35% of iPhone Users Use It?
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/03/05/driving-directions-survey-a-fragmented-but-important-market/

Apple Maps US Data
Core business listings
Reviews

Check Your Data!
http://webapp.localeze.com/directory/search.aspx
http://www.mybusinesslistingmanager.com/
http://factual.com/contact

http://applemapsmarketing.com/2012/10/how-to-add-your-business-listing-to-apple-maps/

Upcoming webinars & dates
July 31st – Optimizing the perfect local business
website
– Mike Ramsey + Chris Silver-Smith
August 14th – Great sales strategies for local agencies
– Laura Betterley & David Sprague
September 10th – Enhanced citation optimization
– David Moceri, Myles Anderson, ????

www.localsearchforum.com/tbc….
www.brightlocal.com/insidelocal

Inside local - state of local search

More Related Content

What's hot (20)

Similar to Inside local - state of local search (20)

More from Myles Anderson (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Inside local - state of local search

Editor's Notes