In the last few years, the growth in mobile penetration and therefore mobile searches has resulted in a boost in local search volumes. Users are looking for immediate results while on the go and want to find the answer right away - it cannot wait; whether it’s a nearby restaurant to have lunch or a bike repair shop to fix their bike. Businesses who just show up when these searches happen have a pretty high chance to gain these searchers as customers.
Major local search tactics are not that hard to apply but there is a lot of detailed work behind it which I want to point out in the following steps.
2. Halide aka Holly
● 14 Years Experience in SEM & SEO
● Co-Founder Kubix.Digital
● Empowerment Officer Women.Digital
● https://twitter.com/HalideEbcinoglu
3. What Exactly is a Localized
Query?
Rent a bike in Karlsruhe
Wine shop Karlsruhe
Cafes nearby
Edeka
Old slaughterhouse
Souvenir shop
Wine shop
Karlsruhe
16:15 o’clock
Cafes nearby
14:30 o’clock
Old
slaughterhouse
11:05 o’clock
8. ... In fact, the Local Finder
provides all the information you
need
● Directions
● Website
● Address
● Opening hours
● Phone number
● Photos
● Reviews
● Questions & Answers
● Website content
● And more ...
9. Local search results can
appear on different devices
and apps
● Google Mobile
● Google Assistant
● Google Maps
12. More statistics!
➔ 86% of users search on Google
Maps to find the location of a
company
➔ 76% of local searches result in
a phone call
➔ 78% of local mobile searches
leads to an offline purchase
Source: www.thinkwithgoogle.com
15. Proximity to the
searcher as a
ranking factor !
The good thing: With proximity
as a ranking factor, every
company is guaranteed to be
listed at some point
16.
17. GMB entry as a
ranking factor !
In the last 2 years, Google has
made many profound changes,
which reinforces the
importance of GMB for Local
Search.
18. Your GMB profile is your
new homepage -
In any case: provide only
correct and current
information.
No spam, quality counts !
For spam report here:
https://support.google.com/business/contact/busin
ess_redressal_form
19. Name Address Phone:
Data consistency is
exceptional in local
optimization:
NAP should be consistent
everywhere
● Hamburger Straße - Incorrect spelling
● Hamburgerstraße - Incorrect spelling
● Hamburger Str. - Google’s preferred spelling
20. Make sure that the
company name is spelled
correctly
(keyword stuffing doesn’t
do much good)
21. Important:
Phone number must be
standard and
machine-readable
DIN Norm
030 12345-67
+49 30 12345-67
ITU Norm
(030) 12345 67
+49 30 1234567
+49 (0)30 12345-67 !!!
22. What if...
You have a home office?
Or have multiple addresses?
Or have a mobile business, eg.
food carts?
Or have no address at all?
● For home office indicate your home address
● With multiple addresses you can specify all or
only the main address as separate GMB
● If you are mobile or have no address, you can
not open a GMB account!
23. GMB website links can not
only bring relevant traffic,
but also important online
conversions!
24. Important:
Track your GMB website
traffic in analytics with
UTM parameters
?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_ca
mpaign=gmb
25. New:
Direct messages via GMB
now possible.
But beware: new
messages should be
regularly checked and
answered.
26. Select a category:
Are you a photographer or
a marketing agency?
When you type in the
category, Google adds the
most relevant options to
the field
27. Tip:
If you don't know exactly
what the GMB category is
called, have a look at the
competition !
28. Visually spice up GMB
with photos:
Photos should be
relevant, but also diverse
29. GMB as social media
marketing?
GMB posts can...
● improve your ranking
● bring additional traffic to your
website
● help you stand out from the
competition
33. Reviews are among the
most important ranking
factors:
● High customer satisfaction
● KWs in reviews are important
● Answer all reviews carefully
● Answer all reviews; negative
reviews that have not been
answered are rated twice as bad.
34. 56% of local websites have
no GMB entry yet
Source: https://www.brandmuscle.com/download-2018-state-local-marketing-report
36. A good keyword research
is half the battle !
It depends on the 'SiLs'...
37. By creating local landing
pages, you can optimize
for any local search
● website.com/local-1
● website.com/local-2
● website.com/local-3
● ...
38. Title Tag & Meta
Descriptions are still very
important, so optimize
them as locally as
possible
39. To be locally visible, you
need more than just good
content
● Local info
● NAP
● Google Map
● Opening hours
● Photos
● Testimonials & reviews
● Local offers, events, etc.
● Contact person
● ...
44. Off-Page ranking
factors !
How can I increase my local
awareness?
Link signals and citations are
still very important!
45. Local mentions are
important! But must be
indicated correctly.
● Maps, eg. Apple Maps
● Business directory (the local
phonebook, Yellow Pages…)
● Social media (FB, Yelp…)
● Local directories
47. Tip:
Or search for potential
citations:
● Karlsruhe intitle: “Yellow Pages”
● Use Whitespark Citations Finder
48. Citations as backlinks are of
course even better,
however:
The more relevant, the
better!
49. Link building is not easy!
Generating good content
and being locally active
makes it easier.
● Organize local meetups
● Sponsor local events
● Participate in local charities
● Write for local blogs
● Sponsoring local clubs
● etc.
50. Key Takeaways
1. Relevance
2. Proximity
3. Prominence
“Without local SEO, we are doomed to fail.
Without SEO for mobile we are almost
dead !”
52. About Kubix Digital
References:
Deichmann, KIA,
METRO, Mavi,
Sandvik Coromant,
Muzzy BBC
We are an
International SEM
& SEM Agency
We work
boutique and
customer-
oriented