SearchLove London | David Mihm, 'Bulletproofing Your Local Search Presence in 2015'

Bulletproofing Your Local Search Presence for 2015+
David Mihm
@davidmihm
davidm@moz.com
David Mihm davidm@moz.com / @davidmihm 27 October 2014
@davidmihm © SEOmoz, Inc. 2014

Making Your Mark in Google’s Local World
What I’ll Be Talking About
1 What local search means to Google
Key local developments at Google
2
2a
3
4 Recap
A closer look at Pigeon
Long-haul local tactics

1. What does local search
mean to Google?

Mobile.
frequency + engagement + purchase intent =
50% 25% 75%

$ $ $
Image: Joi Ito, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg

SEOs’ vision of local search

Google’s vision of local search

“ $ ?” “ ?”

The foundation for all of this is
ALREADY HERE.

Knowledge Graph

August 2013

Somewhat recent

http://blumenthals.com/blog/2007/12/22/local-authoritative-onebox-im-feeling-lucky-or-not/ December 2007 (!)

http://searchengineland.com/google-glass-diary-part-4-local-search-navigation-160785 Evolution of the Auth. OneBox

Sentiment

October 2009

Hat tip: Michael Cottam
October 2010

May 2013

June 2014 (?)

Transaction

July 2011

June 2012
http://searchengineland.com/google-tests-new-car-leads-product-126070

October 2013
http://searchengineland.com/google-tests-new-car-leads-product-126070

Closing the Loop

June 2009

June 2010 Patent Filed

How do you provide “number of website hits”
in a world where no one visits your website?

How do you provide “ranking reports” in a world:
- without search results?
- where everyone has different results?

Local SEOs need to adapt and evolve.

How do you adapt to this world?
Adjust your mindset to pre-website conversion
Help Google create knowledge cards for your business(es)
Optimize your knowledge cards for CTR and conversion
(Diversify your marketing so you’re NOT reliant on Google)

2. Key local developments at Google

SEOs Google
Google+ Failed!
Google My Business Released!
Pigeon!
Google+ Served Its Purpose.
Backend Is Unified.
Hummingbird.

Unified login
Personalized results
Cross-device tracking
Spam prevention

2012 2014
- Realtime updates now possible.
- Unified Mapmaker backend; many more
countries
- Static listing IDs
- No more custom categories

2a. A closer look / sneak peek at Pigeon

Google told us that the new local
search algorithm ties deeper into their
web search capabilities, including the
hundreds of ranking signals they use in
web search along with search features
such as Knowledge Graph, spelling
correction, synonyms and more.
In addition, Google said that this new
algorithm improves their distance and
location ranking parameters.
TL;DR
Web ranking
signals
Knowledge Graph
Distance : location
http://searchengineland.com/google-makes-significant-changes-local-search-ranking-algorithm-197778

Mozcast data

What
Mozcast
Says

2014 LSRF
Factors INCREASING
in importance
since Pigeon
*Note: across both
pack and localized
organic results.

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Branded and Geo-Modified Terms
Terms that GAINED Packs/Carousels
Terms that GAINED Local AOBs
Terms that SWITCHED from Local AOBs to Packs/Carousels
Terms that SWITCHED from Packs/Carousels to Local AOBs
Terms whose Packs CHANGED numbers
Terms that LOST Local AOBs
Terms that LOST Packs/Carousels

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Branded and Geo-Modified Terms
(Knowledge Graph adjustments)
TLDR;
Fairly even breakdown of gains and
losses on these terms.

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Geo-Modified Terms
 Many of these are
real estate related

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Geo-Modified Terms
 Lots of gains among branded
terms

Distance : Location

“Convenience Store”
Tighter radius to location of search
for generic phrases.

“Convenience Store Portland”
Wider radius to location of search
for geomodified phrases.

Photo credit: P. Slawinski
http://pslawinski.smugmug.com/

1.Search results in search results
2.Well-optimized regional-vertical directories
3.Less blending
http://moz.com/blog/local-hummingbird-results

“Brands are how you sort out the
cesspool of the Internet.”
--Eric Schmidt, Oct. 2008

“This is what you’re
left with when you try
to do that in Local.”
--David Mihm, Oct. 2014
"Père-Lachaise - Divison 90 - Lahovary 09" by Antonin Mercié. Wikimedia Commons.
{ pigeon poo }

Why does this…
http://searchengineland.com/expedia-becomes-new-york-city-hotel-googles-pigeon-local-update-198339

…and this…
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2014/07/31/google-pigeon-poo/

…and this…

…and this…
Chris Silver Smith
http://searchengineland.com/optimizing-business-internet-yellow-pages-directories-202414

Chris Silver Smith
http://searchengineland.com/optimizing-business-internet-yellow-pages-directories-202414
…and this…

…and this…
(From my
December 2013
post)

…happen?
BRAND preference.
Web signals, i.e. links, have NEVER been good at
identifying worthy local businesses.
Directories’ internal links are more powerful than all
but a handful of inbound links to local businesses.

3. Long-haul Local Tactics
Photo credit: P. Slawinski
http://pslawinski.smugmug.com/

(Core ranking factors have not changed THAT much.)
One that has:
Clickthrough rate / behavior

Long-Haul Local Tactics
Help Google generate knowledge cards for your business(es)
Site Architecture
Structured Data
Get Reviews
Photos and Snippets
Barnacle onto Brands

Site Architecture
• Crawlable, traditional directories
Home
Stores
• Unique page for each location
Help Google generate knowledge cards
• Title: “Brand – Keyword(s) in City, ST”
• Full “NAP” for each location in Schema
• Rich content
• Optimize for conversions
Domino’s Pizza – Delivery, … Chicago, IL
Welcome to Domino’s Chicago Northside!
Get Driving
Directions
PLACE AN ORDER
Domino’s Pizza – Chicago, IL
Domino’s Pizza
1415 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 871-3030
(From the Manager)
Get Driving
Directions
Domino’s Pizza
Chicago, PLACE IL AN 60613
ORDER
(773) 871-3030
Open Daily
1030 am – 130 am
Domino’s Pizza
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 871-3030
Welcome to Domino’s Chicago Northside!
Open Daily
1030 am – 130 am
(From the Manager)
Get Driving
Directions
PLACE AN ORDER

Structured Data
Google My Business
https://www.google.com/local/manage/

Google My Business
is only part of the
equation.
Source: Google Patent Application 60658214
“Generating Structured Information”
Structured Data

What this:
really looks like…

Interesting Post-Pigeon Data Point

Get Reviews. Why?
• 79% of people trust reviews as
much as personal recommendations
• Visual impact on clickthrough rate
• Snippets and relevance
• (Also, rankings!)
Source: http://searchengineland.com/2013-study-79-of-consumers-trust-online-reviews-as-much-as-personal-recommendations-164565
Source: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

Get Reviews. Where?

(Another) Interesting Post-Pigeon Data Point

Photos
http://glassalmanac.com/zip-code-glass-experience/1143/
http://www.localseoguide.com/new-google-mobile-local-results/

Barnacle onto Brands
h/t Will Scott and Justin Sanger for the term “Barnacle” in Local

4. Recap

GMB SIGNALS
CITATIONS
CENTROID SEARCHER
BEHAVIORAL
LINKS
ON-PAGE REVIEWS
Algorithmic
Evolution
2008 – 10 Pack Introduction
2012 – Stability Post-Venice
2014 – Pigeon

Algorithmic
Evolution
2008 – 10 Pack Introduction
2012 – Stability Post-Venice
2014 – Pigeon
GMB SIGNALS
CITATIONS
CENTROID SEARCHER
BEHAVIORAL
LINKS
ON-PAGE REVIEWS
2015+ – My Prediction

Recap
Google is thinking way beyond your website.
Rankings and on-site conversions are now just
directional indicators of success.
Need a a broader overall business impact assessment
than web analytics provides.

Recap
Proximity is shifting dramatically towards searcher.
Content, authority can pull-in geomodifying searchers
where the radius is wider.

Recap
Brand signals are on the rise.
This rewards
1. Directories
(Consider barnacling for success)
2. National brands with strong Local SEO
3. Branded anchor text
4. Branded searches
5. Clickthrough rate

Recap
Reviews continue to grow in importance.
Google seems to be using review content to assess
categorical relevance.

Pigeon is coming.
Take screenshots of your top keywords NOW to assess
before-and-after.
When it hits…study—don’t complain about—the crazy
Authoritative OneBoxes.
These are valuable learning opportunities
(Jack Regan, Leucadia);
the algorithm will mature eventually.

Order of Operations
Prioritize
Conversion
Photos
(Barnacle)
Optimize Your
Review Process
Research top
industry sites
Integrate into CRM
Manage
Location Data
Google My
Business
Major
aggregators
Important
directories
Optimize Store
Locator
Crawlable structure
One location,
one page
Title Tags
NAP in Schema.org
Optimize for
converstions

Thank you!
davidm@moz.com
moz.com/local
Ongoing Resources
Moz.com/blog

SearchLove London | David Mihm, 'Bulletproofing Your Local Search Presence in 2015'

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SearchLove London | David Mihm, 'Bulletproofing Your Local Search Presence in 2015'