Intermediate SEO Knowledge

Local SEO is any action you take on or off a client’s website in an effort to improve their local organic search rankings.  According to Google, 46% of searches have local intent. The best way a client can capitalize on local searches is by increasing their visibility on what’s known as the ‘local pack’ or ‘3-pack’. This is the block of business listings that appears on the SERPs when someone searches for a local business or service. Below is an example of the three pack for the seach query ‘plumbers near me’:

As you can see, a company that shows up in the local pack will have a distinct advantage over companies that don’t. Everything that is displayed in the local pack comes from the business’s local Google My Business. This is why focusing on local SEO and making sure the client’s Google My Business is set up correctly is important.

So, what are the most important factors in Local search results? That depends on whether you are talking about the local pack or local organic results. According to Moz’s 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors, the most important factors for the local pack are Google My Business signals.  Below are the top ten factors for both the local pack and for organic results:

 

As you can see, getting Google My Business set up correctly is very important to improving the local pack results. Which, as stated above, is one of the best ways to get local clicks. As far as the top ten factors for local organic results, they are mostly typical organic SEO factors that you would want to implement for any SEO efforts. However, there are still many ways to improve the local pack and the local organic results. The rest of this training will go over these best practices.

As we saw above, Google My Business is incredibly important for a local business that wants to maximize local search visibility. That’s because, according to the 2018 moz local report, 5 out of the top 10 most important factors for showing in the local pack have to do with Google My Business. So, do you want to learn the best practices for Google My Business to maximize the likelihood that your client’s site will show up in the  local pack? You’d better 😉

Proper GMB Category Associations

GMB allows the verified user to choose their primary and secondary categories from a list. This list includes categories such as Abbey, Diesel Fuel Supplier, Yamaha Motorcycle Dealer, and nearly 4000 others. When choosing a category for a client there are a few things to keep in mind:

• You can have up to ten categories for a business, but only one of those can be the primary category. The primary category is given the most importance by Google’s algorithm.
• When choosing a category be a specific as possible. Instead of choosing Restaurant, choose Egptian Restaurant. Instead of choosing Clothing Store, choose Men’s Clothing Store. You get the point. Be specific.
• Add the least number of Google My Business categories as possible to describe your core business. The more categories you have, the weaker each individual category gets in a potential customer’s search for businesses that do what you do.
• Describe your business… not your services or amenities. For example, if you are adding a restaurant to GMB and that restaurant has a bar, you shouldn’t add Bar as a category because that’s not what the business is. That is an amenity. There is a caveat to this however. In Google’s own words, “… if your business is a health club that includes a cafe, don’t add the category “Cafe”. Instead, the operator of the cafe should create their own listing with “Cafe” as their primary category.”

Another local pack ranking factor is how well the client’s primary category matches a broader category of the search. For example the client’s primary category is restaurant and the search category is pizza. Google understands that when someone searches for pizza they are looking for a restaurant much of the time, so the client’s result is more likely to show.

In summation, when choosing categories be specific, add only the most important categories, and describe your business not your amenities. Here is a bit more on choosing a business category.

GMB Business Name/Title

Honestly, I am not sure what is being described as the “title” in the moz report, but I will quickly discuss best practices for the business name. Google wants business owners to enter their actual business name and nothing else. Don’t use taglines, location information, or mention products/services in the business name unless it’s actually a part of the name. Google see’s this as spammy and your listing could get penalized. Some SEO practitioners say that adding keywords into  your business name will help rank you better, but it’s not wise and could hurt your client. Instead, include the keywords in the business description.

Completeness of GMB Listing

Obviously, it is beneficial to have a complete Google My Business listing. Following are other elements we have yet discussed that should be optimized:

NAP (and service area/hours) – NAP stands for name, address, phone. It is very important that a client’s NAP is consistent across the web. That means that their website has the same address, name, and phone number as GMB and other business citations. The Hoth provides a local package that will audit citations and build local business citations. You can use this service to make sure that the NAP is consistent across the web. Also make sure to set up accurate hours, and, if the client operates a business that travels around a service area, make sure to set up a service area rather than an business location.

Short Name – This is a short custom name that is designed to make it easier for local search users to find your business. Google requires it be something either associated with your business name or the name that customers commonly use to refer to you. For instance, Sebo Marketing’s short name could be “sebo”. You can share a short name and people could go to your business profile by entering “g.page/[shortname]”. You can also include a location in the short name to make it more distinct. Sebo’s short name could then be “seboprovo”.  The short name is located in the info section of GMB:
As a final note, the short name can be up to 32 characters long, and you can change it a maximum of three times per year.  It is also useful in directing customers to leave reviews, so don’t skip this step.

Description – Here you should describe your client’s business as if the reader knows nothing of what the business does. Use the most important terms but don’t keyword stuff. It’s not believed that Google uses the description field as a factor in search rankings, but it can help convert those who see the business listing, so it’s still very important. Don’t focus on promotions, prices, or sales. Don’t use any URLs. You can write a description of up to 750 character, however, only the first 244 will display before the visitor clicks “More”.

Photos – Google has pretty specific guidelines when it comes to adding photos to a client’s GMB. You should add category-specific photos. Photos that spotlight features of the business that a client’s customers would use when making purchasing decisions. Following are types of business-specific photos that Google suggests, minumum number to add, and tips.

• Exterior photos – Add at least three. Capture a photo from each direction a customer might approach the business. Upload photos that show the business at different times a day.
• Interior photos – Add at least three showing what the business interior feels like. Capture photos that truthfully show what it’s like to stand in the business as a customer. Capture the atmosphere of the business.
• Product photos – Add at least three. Showcase items that are the most popular. Try taking evenly lit photos.
• Photos at work – Add at least three. Capture the team providing different types of services to customers. Also capture any speciality services the client delivers.
• Food & drink photos – Add at least three (if it applies of course). Showcase the most popular food.
• Common areas – Add at least one photo of each of the client’s common areas (for example, spa, gym, or breakfast room). Capture the atmosphere of the common area.
• Team photos – Add at least three photos showing the management team and employees. Show something a little less formal to humanize the business. Show the staff to highlight their personalities and give potential clients a feel for what the business is like.

As you can see there are many different types of photos that a client should be adding to their GMB. If you’ve kept count you’ll know that most local businesses should be adding between 10 – 12 photos at minimum. It’s also a best practice to upload at least one new image for each location each month if possible. You should also be adding a logo and a cover photo. The cover photo is the only photo you can actively choose so make sure that it best represents the business. Lastly here are the specs for the photos:

• JPG or PNG
• Between 10 KB and 5 MB
• Recommended resolution – 720 px tall, 720 px wide. Minimum resolution – 250 px tall, 250 px wide.
• The image should be well lite and have no significant alterations or excessive filters.

I know this seems like a lot, but the main takeaway is to take good photos of all aspects of your business and try to represent reality as well as possible.

Reviews – I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but reviews are important. They are very important. They are very important for local businesses and for increasing organic exposure. Did I mention that reviews are important. Not only can reviews help boost the local pack, but we can also place them on the client’s website (in the footer or somewhere similar) and Google may use the reviews in the organic results as well. There are a couple best practices that will help generate reviews.

• First, request reviews from customers through a short URL that’s specific to the client’s business. To find this URL the client needs to have a short name in GMB. If they do, go to GMB, click Home, and copy the short URL in the “Get more reviews” card. Simply share this URL with the client’s customers.
• Second, suggest that the client take an active role in the management of GMB. Specifcally let them know how important it is for them to engage with their customers online. This means replying to the reviews that are left on Google. This can go a long way.

Google may also use information Google finds while crawling the web to generate automatic reviews, so it’s useful for the client to get reviews from any reputable directory or review platform.

Google Posts – Posts are essentially tiny blog posts that can be used to give a short new update, share an offer, publish details of an upcoming event, or showcase a product. Following are some tips to keep in mind when creating GMB posts:

• Stick with 80 – 100 words per post.
• Follow best SEO practices, and make sure to use appropriate keywords. Put the most important messaging towards the front of the post.
• The best image size for the post is 720 x 720 and the image should be centered. Don’t upload an image smaller than 250 x 250.
• You can preview the post before publishing. Use this to make sure the post looks good.
• When possible don’t upload a post image that has text in it. It may be cropped out.
• A post is an opportunity to talk directly to the customer, so make sure the word usage is natural and has a “real-world” conversational tone.
• Make sure the landing page you send visitors to matches the content on the post and meets a visitor’s expectaion.

Learn more about publishing Google Posts.

Google Q&A – GMB has a section dedicated to questions crowdsourced by real people. Potential customers can ask questions and also answer questions already asked. You, or the client, can periodically look at the question section and answer questions. This gives you the ability to control the answer. Don’t try to keyword stuff when answering questions. Simply answer the questions directly. To navigate to the Q&A section, Google the name of the client’s company. In the knowledge graph there will be a section for questions and answers:

You can also utilize this section to create a FAQ’s section. You can ask commonly asked questions and provide the answers. That way potential customers will be able to see commonly asked questions in Google search before coming to the site.

Social Media – In some knowledge panel search results, social media profiles will appear alongside local business information. Google says:

“When people search for your business on Google, they may see links to your business’s social profiles included with your other business information in the knowledge panel in Search. Google gathers business information from a variety of sources and may include it to give customers a more detailed overview of your business. Social profile information is automatically added to listings for eligible businesses.”

The process of getting the social media profiles to show up is semi-automatic. To do everything you can to ensure a client’s social media links appear, Google says to be consistent, verified, and use structured data. Make sure the business name used on your social media profile is the same as that on GMB. Make sure the social media site verification process is complete (if applicable). On the client’s website, you can add structured social profile markup to indicate to the search engine which social media profiles you’d like showcased.

GMB Features Specific to Client’s Industry – There are some features in GMB that are specific to an industry. For example:

• Hotels have different knowledge panels
• You can add a menu to a restaurant
• Many individual businesses can add details on products and services
• If it’s a service-area business (like carpet cleaning), you can hide their address and set a service area instead (as stated above).

It is important to explore GMB and make sure that you are utilizing all the features for which your client’s business qualifies.

Best SEO Practices for Businesses with Multiple Locations

Create a separate landing page for each location 

It’s good to have one domain for all of a client’s locations, but it’s important that each location has it’s own web-page(s). Each location page should have information specific to that location. Such as business name, phone, number, and address. The page can be further optimized by adding customized content specific to that location. This could include testimonials, names, faces, and titles of staff. Updates pertaining to that location could also be placed here. You should also include an embedded Google map for that location.

Create Business Citations for Each Location

As discussed earlier, creating consistent citations can help Google trust a local business. You can utilize the Hoth’s local citation builder for each separate location.

Utilize GMB Correctly

When using GMB for multiple locations you have two options. If the client has 10 or more locations, the easiest method is to use bulk location management. This allows businesses with 10 or more locations to add, verify, and manage their locations all at once. Using bulk management requires a Google account and a location group for the business. Then you can upload a spreadsheet with all of the locations’ information and request bulk verification. Instructions on bulk location management.

The second method is used when a client has 9 or fewer locations. Here you will need to claim, verify, and update each location individually. It’s best if the client uses a company email (like marketing@[company].com) to claim and verify all the locations. Then they would need to add sebo.marketing@gmail.com as a user. After this is done, normal GMB optimization practices should be implemented.

Reviews, Generate Reviews

Reviews are like a reference for a product or service. People see reviews and think that if someone else liked it, they probably will too. I know I’ve mentioned reviews before, but it bears repeating; reviews are incredibly important, and you should do what you can to increase the reviews of a client’s business.  Google reviews are probably the most important for SEO purposes, but other, relevant review sites, are also very useful. Here are some ways you might go about generating reviews:

• Just ask. This is probably my favorite. Simply send an email to existing customers asking if they’d like to write a review. You can also ask after the sign-up/purchase process in a confirmation email.
• Add a review page or widget to the website. Creating a dedicated landing page or embedding a widget on your website is a great way to generate online reviews and showcase customer testimonials. Online review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google make it pretty easy to integrate reviews.
• Include review links in email signatures. If the client has a team that communicates with customers daily, adding review links can be a quick and easy way to generate reviews.
• Create an incentive. Offer a deal or incentive to an existing customer if they write a review.
• Respond to every review. It is important for a client to engage with their customers online. Make sure your client has someone who is responding to reviews, both negative and positive.
• Seek reviews on social media. If the client has a social media presence they may find success in seeking for reviews on their social media accounts. You can have social media links pointing to a review page, or simply ask customers to review a client’s business on the social media platform itself.

There are many other ways to generate reviews. If you want to find more then Google it.

Additional Tips

• Utilize schema and structured markup. Use schema.org structured data markup for your address and hours. This will ensure that Google’s search engine crawlers most accurately represents each locations information.
• Build links to each of the location pages. Don’t let these pages fall to the wayside by ignoring them once they are built. Actively build links to these pages through the Hoth and other creative methods. Some of these methods may include hosting meetups, event sponsorships, and creating valuable local content.
• Don’t forget to track the data. Make sure to set up benchmarks and goals before the pages are live, and once you have built the individual local pages, track them and compare against historical data and the goals you set.