These slides were presented at the Semrush webinar "Local SEO: Which Google My Business Tactics and Tools Drive Customers?". Video replay and transcript are available at https://www.semrush.com/webinars/local-seo-which-google-my-business-tactics-and-tools-drive-customers/

1. @GatherUp | GatherUp.com
Season(ing) a Tiny Diner
What We Can Learn from a Google only
approach to marketing
gatherup.com/blog/what-we-learned-from-a-google-only-marketing-approach/

2. Case Study: Most KPIs Directly from the KP
94.1%
Website
Location of KPI Action- Q4 2019
KPIs
• Calls
• Driving
Directions
• Form Fill
• Message
88.2%
8.1%
2.0%
1.8%

3. Google: Ever More Transactional & Visual
streetfightmag.com/2019/09/16/google-accelerating-its-path-to-the-transaction-layer-of-the-internet

4. I’m a sucker for
gravy on fries &
being called “Hon.”
• Meet Tam
• Tiny 9 table restaurant with home
cooking
• Opened May 2018
• South of Olean, NY a town of
13,000 with 80 or so restaurants

5. Challenges…
to put it mildly
• Facebook Only Presence
• No Google Listing
• No Website
• No Budget
• Away from the main restaurant district
• 3rd Restaurant at Location in 4 years

6. NAP Confusion on Steroids

7. Benefits of a Google-Only Attempt
 No existing digital footprint
 Google-only would be inexpensive
 Google offered a number of tools
 Ability to test which influenced visibility
 Slow implementation so data correlations would take
on more value

8. Questions?
1- Does Google or an Active Facebook Deliver
More Conversions?
2- Can a Google My Business Website rank?
3- What impact would Google only tools have
on rank?
(Posts, Website, Menus, Reviews)

9. Questions?
4- Could she rank without a citation campaign?
5- Would NAP confusion “screw the pooch”?
6- Could a Google only marketing strategy
provide on-going lift & benefit?

10. Rules &
Guidelines
• Initial focus on Facebook & Google only
• No Ad spend or Boost on Facebook or Google
• Only tactics that COULD be business initiated
• Train owner to do as much as possible
• Would take me less than 1 hour a month if I
had to do

11. Cautions:
• This is a correlation case study
• It is anecdotal (test yourself)
• Only analytics provided by GMB &
Facebook

12. Goals:
• Rank for 12 Breakfast related terms
• Rank for 12 Lunch related terms
• Increase Low Funnel KPIs
• Phone calls, driving directions, messages

13. 16 Months of Effort
Timing of The-Do’s
• The Basics
• GMB Website
• Posts • Reviews • NAP
CleanUp
May ‘18 Sep ‘19
• Title Tags • Link(s)
• Menus

14. # SpringIntoAction2018
The Basics (GMB, Website, Posts)

15. Strength
GMB Websites Strengths & Weakness
Weakness
• Easy to Create – 15 min.
• Easy to Maintain/Update
• Add Posts
• Maintain GMB
• Mobile Ready w/ Good CTAs
• Very Fast
• HTTPS by default
• Single Page
• (No Control over Title Tags)
• No Control over Meta Description
• No Internal Linking
• Lame Analytics

16. Strength
GMB Websites Strengths & Weakness
Weakness
• Free/Easy to Create – 15 min.
• Easy to Maintain/Update
• Add Posts
• Maintain GMB
• Mobile Ready w/ Good CTAs
• Very Fast
• HTTPS by default
• Single Page
• (No Control over Title Tags)
• No Control over Meta Description
• No Internal Linking
• Lame Analytics

17. Done
May-Early June 2018
• Created Listing on Google
• Verified Listing on Google
• Created Website
• Trained on Posts
• Access to FB Page
• Uploaded Photos
Time Spent
• Me: 2 hours
• Her: FB Posts

18. #SummerSuccess2018
GMB Posts & FB Posts

19. Number of Google
vs. Facebook Posts

20. Website
Ranks!

21. Google vs.
Facebook KPI’s
• Clicks to Call
• Driving Directions
• Messaging
2.9X

22. • Google Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Uploaded Photos
• Me: 1/4 hr. per month on metrics
• Her: FB Posts
• Her: Google Posts
Done
June 21 - Sept 23 2018
Time Spent

23. #FallFail #FallFun2018
GMB Menus & Title Tags

24. Menu

25. #FallFail

26. #LateFallFun

27. #LateFallFun
<title>The Spot 2 Be Restaurant - Best All Day Breakfast
& Lunch Restaurant-The place to eat in Olean NY </title>

28. #LateFallFun

29. Google vs. Facebook KPI’s
Case
Closed
19X

30. • Google Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Google Menu
• Update Title Tags
• Her: Google
• Her: FB Posts
• Me: 2 hrs. on menu (Aargh!)
• Title Tags – 1 hr.
Done
Sept 23 – Dec 21 2018
Time Spent

31. #WinterWins2019
Reviews

32. Reviews
Why TextBack?

33. Reviews
Fall 2018

34. Reviews
Fall 2018
vs.
Winter 2019
9X

35. #WinterWins

36. • Google Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Set Up GatherUp Text Back
• Ask for Reviews
• Her: Google
• Her: FB Posts
• Me: 2 hrs.
• Her: Review Ask On-going
Done
Dec 22 – March 21 2019
Time Spent

37. #SpringForward2019
Link(s)

38. Link(s)
2 Domains:
GatherUp
Blumenthals.com/blog

39. #SpringForward

40. • Google Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Ask for Reviews
• Get Links on 2 Domains
• Her: Google
• Her: FB Posts
• Her: On-going mention
• Link Building?
Done
March 21- June 21 2019
Time Spent

41. #SummerSweep2019
Time for a NAP CleanUp & Citation Test

42. Time for a NAP CleanUp & Citation Building

43. #SummerSweep

44. • Google Posts
• Facebook Posts
• Ask for Reviews
• NAP CleanUp
• Citation Building
• Her: Google
• Her: FB Posts
• Her: On-going mention
• Me: $299 One time fee
Done
June 21- September 21 2019
Time Spent

45. #FallFinale

46. 1. Does Google or an Active Facebook Deliver More Conversions? Duh
2. Can a Google My Business Website rank? Yes
3. What impact would Google only tools have on rank?
(Posts, Website, Menus, Reviews)
4. Could she rank without a citation campaign? Yes
5. Would NAP confusion “screw the pooch”? No
6. Could a Google only marketing strategy provide on-going lift & benefit?
Answers

47. Key Takeaways
 Citations/NAP are not what they used to be
 Not Every GMB service leads to a rank increase
 Reviews sell
 Links & Mentions are powerful

48. #SeasonFinale

49. #SeasonFinale
GMB
Menus Tags
Reviews
Links
NAP

50. Google vs.
Facebook KPI’s
• Clicks to Call
• Driving Directions
• Messaging
9X

51. A final word from
Tam
“My sales have definitely
increased.
They've almost doubled
compared to last year”.

52. Google-Only as a Business Model
 Deep-Six expensive Citation Subscriptions
 Offer a Google Only Entry Level Service
 Prove its worth
 Reviews as a Service
 Add Value beyond the ask
 A few Targeted Links & PR
 Upsell to a Real Website

53. An aside on SMBs:
It is an existential moment