My "live critique" of two businesses at the Worcester Web Marketers meet-up (1/28/14). The goal: give them practical next steps for improving their visibility in the Google+ Local (AKA Google Places) local search results. The two businesses in the "Hotseat": www.AbsoluteCleanOnline.com - Sturbridge, MA www.ArmsbyAbbey.com - Worcester, MA

1. Local SEO Hotseat
Phil Rozek
LocalVisibilitySystem.com
Worcester Web Marketers
January 28, 2014

2. Local SEO Hotseat
What’s “local search”?

3. Local SEO Hotseat
What’s “local search”?

4. Local SEO Hotseat
What’s “local search”?

5. Local SEO Hotseat
What’s “local search”?

6. Local SEO Hotseat
What’s “local search”?
There’s also…
…but let’s focus
on Google

7. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank
in local Google?

8. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
3 basic considerations
Location – where are they?
Relevance – what do they offer?
Prominence – are they any good?
…a little more detail…

9. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Location”
Is your business in the city where Google
thinks someone wants to find a business?

10. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Location” factors
1) The address you use for Google Places
2) “Localness” of your site
3) How many local competitors are there

11. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Relevance”
Does Google think they’re searching for
something in or near that city?
Dentist
Dentist salary
= yes
= no
Restaurant reviews
Restaurant financing
= yes
= no

12. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Relevance” factors
1) Your Google Places categories
2) Your other categories (e.g. on YellowPages)
3) Your entire site
(guts/content, title tags, page names, etc.)
4) Links and reviews

13. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Prominence”
Why should your business outrank others?

14. Local SEO Hotseat
When can businesses rank in local Google?
“Prominence” factors
1) Citations
– e.g listings on Yelp, CitySearch, etc.
2) Reviews – on Google+ and beyond
3) Links – mostly in tougher markets

15. Local SEO Hotseat
4 basic steps

16. Local SEO Hotseat
4 basic steps
What you need to do:
1) Have a Google+ Local (AKA Places) page
2) Work on your other listings
3) Make your site “local”
4) Get reviews and maybe links

17. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1
(Sturbridge)

18. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
“I did very little SEO because very few people look for my type of
business online.
“My primary customer is the facilities or purchasing manager for
an office, school or medical building. They usually look for their
janitorial services via their network."
-Anthony Fors, Owner, Absolute Clean Online

19. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

20. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
He could rank locally for:
cleaning service
commercial cleaning service
house cleaning
carpet cleaning
etc…

21. Local SEO Hotseat
So how’s it going?

22. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Problem: no Google Places page

23. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

24. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

25. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Solution: create a Google Places page (AKA Google+ Local)
google.com/business/placesforbusiness/

26. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Problem: no “citations”

27. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

28. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

29. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

30. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

31. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Solution: create listings on all those sites
…and ideally more (use the Local Citation Finder tool).

32. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Problem: website isn’t “local”

33. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Solution: name / address / phone number on every page
Must match what’s on Google & other listings:

34. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

35. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Problems with homepage:
1) It’s a blog
2) No mention of specific services
3) No mention of service area or location
4) No links to relevant pages

36. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Solutions for homepage:
1) Static page – same few paragraphs, always
2) Use that space to describe services
3) Describe where you are and where you serve
4) Link to “service” pages. Speaking of which…

37. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Other problem: thin site – not much info on services

38. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Problems with homepage:
1) It’s a blog
2) No mention of specific services
3) No mention of service area or location
4) No links to relevant pages

39. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Solution: create a page for each service

40. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)

41. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Final Local Visibility Grade: D
F - Google Places page
F - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)
C - Website
F- Reviews

42. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2
(Worcester)

43. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

44. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

45. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

46. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

47. Local SEO Hotseat

48. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

49. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

50. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

51. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

52. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)

53. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)
So far…
A+ - Google Places page
B - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)
…but what else?

54. Local SEO Hotseat

55. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Strengths of homepage:
1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom

56. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Strengths of homepage:
1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom
2) Name / address / phone in footer

57. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Strengths of homepage:
1) Static page – but with blog posts at bottom
2) Name / address / phone in footer
3) Not spammy and stuffed with keywords

58. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Weaknesses of homepage:
1) Title tag
<title>The Armsby Abbey - 144 North Main Street, Worcester, MA
www.armsbyabbey.com 508.795.1012</title>

59. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Weaknesses of homepage:
1) Title tag
2) Better internal linking

60. Local SEO Hotseat

61. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Other pages’ weaknesses:

62. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Could rank organically for “wine bar”…

63. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Other pages’ weaknesses:

64. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 1: Absolute Clean (Sturbridge, MA)
Could rank organically for “cheese shop”…

65. Local SEO Hotseat
How ‘bout reviews?

66. Local SEO Hotseat
Links?

67. Local SEO Hotseat
Hotseat 2: Armsby Abbey (Worcester)
Final Local Visibility Grade: A / AA+ - Google Places page
B - Citations (i.e. business listings on other sites)
B - Website
A+ - Reviews
A - Links

68. Local SEO Hotseat
A few good tools

69. Local SEO Hotseat
Tools to help with your local SEO:
GetListed.org
Local Citation Finder
Google Places Category Tool
Google+ Review Handout Generator

70. Local SEO Hotseat
Thanks!
Phil Rozek
LocalVisibilitySystem.com