For SMBs and brands to get exposure for their businesses online they MUST have a Local SEO and Content Strategy in place. In this presentation at the Local, Search and Social Summit powered by Rocks Digital, Natalie Gould and Rachel Morgan shared the best practices and strategies they use daily to help the clients they serve get more site traffic, content reads and social interaction.

1. Local SEO & Content Best Practices
For Small Businesses
PRESENTED BY:
NATALIE GOULD & RACHEL MORGAN
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

2. ABOUT US
Rachel MorganNatalie Gould
Director of Digital Marketing
● Been with Advice since 2012
● Lead the SEO team and develop SEO
strategies for agency accounts
VP of Content Management
● Been with Advice since 2013
● Manage the content team and develop the
content strategies for agency clients
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

3. Part 1: Local SEO Musts for SMBs
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

4. Why Does Local SEO Matter?
● Local SEO: process of optimizing your
web presence so you can increase your
local visibility
● It matters to us because it matters to
Google. local ranking factors
● less opportunity in the local pack
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

5. #1 Google My Business
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Verify and optimize your Google My Business
page
2. https://support.google.
com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en
● Google considers this as local ranking factor
● How old the page is
● The quantity and quality of reviews
● NAP consistency
● Duplicate pages

6. #1 Google My Business Cont
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Use proper category associations
2. http://blumenthals.com/Google_LBC_Categories

7. #2 Bing Places
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Verify and optimize your Bing Places profile
2. https://www.bingplaces.com/
● You want to be listed in the top search
engines

8. #3 Yahoo Local
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Verify and optimize Yahoo Local page
2. https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN15966.html
● You want to be listed in all the top search
engines

9. Submit Your Business Info to the Top Directories
#3 Infographics#4 Local Directories
Paid
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

10. #5 Data Aggregators
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. A data aggregator is an organization that collects and compiles
data and then syndicates it out to citation sources
2. Infogroup: http://www.expressupdate.com/search
3. Acxiom: www.myacxiom.com
4. Localeze: https://www.neustarlocaleze.biz/directory/index.aspx
5. Factual: www.factual.com

11. #5 Data Aggregators Cont
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

12. #6 Chamber of Commerce
1. Search for your local chamber
2. https://www.uschamber.com/chamber/directory
Cost: $200-$500/year
● Gain a local, high authority link
● Networking/Partnership
● Add the chamber logo to your
site-good co-citation
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

13. #7 BBB
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Become a member of the Better Business
Bureau
2. www.bbb.org
● Local trust signal
● High authority, local link
● Add the BBB logo to your site-good co-
citation

14. #8 Social Media Profiles
1. Claim and optimize your social profiles
2. Become active where your audience is active
● High authority link
● Best opportunity for community building
for your content
● Top networks: Facebook, Twitter, Google+,
Pinterest, LinkedIn
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

15. #9 Niche Citations
1. Find citation sources specific to your industry
and submit to them
2. Use Whitespark to find citation sources
a. http://www.whitespark.ca/
3. Google “[my industry] + citation sources”
4. Google “[my industry] + directory”
● Acquire industry-specific links
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

16. #10 Geo-Specific Citations
1. Find citation sources specific to your location
and submit to them
2. Use Whitespark to find citation sources
a. http://www.whitespark.ca/
3. Google “[my location] + citation sources”
4. Google “[my location] + directory”
● Acquire location-specific links
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

17. #11 Hyper Local Content
1. Build and promote hyperlocal content on your
site related to cities you service
2. Write blog posts about local events related to
your industry, etc.
3. Example: we have a bicycle accident attorney, so
we post content about local cycling events, etc
● Goal is to rank for longtail neighborhood terms,
be seen as a local industry leader and gain local
links
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

18. #12 Quantity of Google+ Reviews
1. Can’t offer incentives for reviews
2. If you get too many all at once, Google may
not accept them
3. Third party reviews are important as well
such as from: Yelp, SuperPages, CitySearch,
TripAdvisor
● Make it easy to leave a review from your site
● Ask your existing customers to post a review
● Make it a business practice to ask for a review
after a positive customer experience
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

19. #13 Ranking Factors that are out of your control
● Proximity of physical location to the point of search
● Physical address in city of search
● Proximity of address to centroid
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

20. Options for Managing Your Local SEO
● Do it yourself
● Pay for a subscription software
● Pay an SEO agency
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

21. Part 2: Content Planning and
Creation for SMBs
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

22. But why is content even important?!
● Fresh content makes your website more
relevant
● Links
● Keyword, traffic and ranking opportunities
● Google likes it
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould

23. Where to get content
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
Cost: $2-$50 per page

24. How to plan content
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
www.RocksDigital.com/EdCal

25. How to come up with content ideas
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
1. Google Trends
2. Google Autosuggest
3. Google Keyword Planner
4. Competitor Research

26. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to come up with content ideas
5. Google Analytics*
● Take a look at the content
that is already performing
well
How to get to this:
Behavior > Site Content > All Pages
*This requires Google Analytics installation on your website. Go here to learn
how: http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/setupchecklist.html

27. 6. Research Top Things in Your Industry or City
“Top 10 Plumbing Tools”
“Top Places to Buy Plumbing Tools in Atlanta”
^^geotargeted
These are some ideas:
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to come up with content ideas

28. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to come up with content ideas
7. Research Popular How-Tos

29. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

30. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

31. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

32. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

33. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

34. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

35. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

36. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

37. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

38. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
How to share the content

39. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
Social media best practices
The 70/20/10 Rule
70%: business and brand-
building
20%: shared from other
sources
10%: self-promoting

40. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
Real Time Responses
• Real-time customer service;
respond to questions, comments,
complaints within an hour
• Never remove negative reviews
(unless it is truly spam). Rather,
address them and take them offline.
Transparency and authenticity are
the names of the game.
Social media best practices

41. @rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
Find Your
Voice
• Make it approachable and conversational, but also authoritative.
• Talk to your social media audience like real people, having a real
conversation
Social media best practices

42. CONCLUSION
Plenty of low-hanging fruit your business can take advantage of for link acquisition and content
development.
WWW.ADVICEINTERACTIVEGROUP.COM
Google My Business
Bing Places Niche & Geolocation
Citations
Local Directories
Yahoo Local
Data Aggregators
BBB
Share content
Come up with content ideas
Create a posting schedule
Find writers
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould
Chamber of Commerce

43. CONTACT US
ngould@adviceinteractive.com
rmorgan@adviceinteractive.com
Yes, this is on SlideShare
@rachelkmorgan @nataliekgould