helps in search engines

1. Soar With Local Search Engine Optimization
Make-It-Fly: Entrepreneurs
Embracing Change Fall 2009
Conference
presented by seOverflow

2. Who Is seOverflow?
• seOverflow is a search engine optimization
and pay per click marketing company in
Denver, CO.
• We specialize in offering solutions that enable
web design companies, marketing
consultants, and other solution providers to
offer customized, innovative SEO services to
their clients.
• We are a Google Adwords Qualified
Company, Yahoo Search Marketing
Ambassadors, and SEMPO members.

3. We’ll Talk About…
• What is Local Search/Local SEO
• Why Local SEO is important
• Challenges for Local Businesses
Later… Tactics For Local Search Optimization
• On-Page Optimization
• Off-Page Optimization
– Reviews
– Citations
– Links
• Local SEO For $100 or less!

4. Local Search Is…
• Local Search is any search
made with the goal of finding
something in a specific
geographic area.
• This is known as searching
withlocal intent.

5. How Is Local Intent Determined?
• The searcher uses geographic
modifiers.
• The searcher has personalization
settings on.
• The Search Engine interprets local
intent from the search phrase.

6. Why Local SEO Is Important
• 73% of activity online is in one way or another
“related to local content”
• For every one dollar U.S. consumers spend online,
another five or six are going to offline purchases that
are influenced by online research
• 97% of Internet users in the U.S. gather shopping
information online, and of those consumers 51%
explicitly characterize their behavior as “Shop
Online, Purchase Offline”
• 70% of online searchers will use local search to find
offline businesses.

7. Why Local Search Is Important

8. Why Local Search Is Important

9. Where does Google’s Local data come from?
1.The Google Local Business Center (LBC)
2.Third-Party Data Providers
3.Web Crawling

10. Where Are Your Customers?
•
•
•
•
•
Neighborhood?
City?
Nearby cities?
Region?
State?

11. Where Are Your Customers?
• The broader your geographical
reach, the more time and money you
need to be successful.
• Generally, the narrower your reach,
the easier it will be to compete online.
• Why? There is usually less
competition and it is usually less
savvy about internet marketing.

12. Local Business Challenges
Local Directories
Niche Search
Engines
Industry
Directories
Internet Yellow
Pages
Secondary Local
Search Engines
Local/Social Sites
Major
Local Search Engines
Local 10 pack - Google
Local 3 Pack – Yahoo!
Universal Search

13. Local Directories

14. Niche Search Engines

15. Internet Yellow Pages

16. Local/Social Sites

17. On Page Optimization for Local
Making Your Website Work in
Local Search
presented by seOverflow

18. On Page Optimization
• Build relevance and trust in your
location+keywords.
• Do all the “usual” things when
optimizing site - title, description,
h tags, content, good internal
linking, etc – but with a
geographic slant.

19. Where Are You?
• Place your full street address and local
phone number on all pages of your
website.
• Optimize your Contact or About page
for your business name and location.
• Use the hcardmicroformat to make
your location unmistakable to the
Search Engines.

20. TIP: Give Your Biz a Tagline
• If your business name doesn’t make it
very clear where you are and what you
do, then use a tagline to communicate
that information to both humans and
Search Engine spiders.

21. TIP: For Multiple Locations:
• Create a separate page for each location
• Use local info on each of these pages
• Link internally to location pages, using
the location names in link text
• Use other terms on the page that will
help the Search Engines understand
where you are: street intersections,
highway exits, what’s nearby, nicknames
for neighborhoods, etc.

22. Off Site Optimization For Local
What Else Helps Your
Business Rank?
presented by seOverflow

23. Create Local Business Listings
Create free profiles on:
• Google Maps www.google.com/local/add
• Yahoo Local http://listings.local.yahoo.com/
• Bing Local https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx
If you never do anything else, do
this!

24. A Google Maps Listing

25. Google Maps Dashboard

26. Standardization Builds Trust
• Use the same name, address and phone
number everywhere online and offline.
• Go to the sources of business data and
standardize there.
• Use a local database directory - check out
UniversalBusinessListing.org and
GetListed.org

27. Optimize Your Biz Listings
• Use your main keyword phrase and
complementary terms in your profile
descriptions
• Grab the long tail by including:
Your products and services
The brands you carry
The locations you serve
Anything else important in your niche

28. Optimize Your Biz Listings
• Choose – or create – the right
categories
• Give your listing attributes

29. Create Citations
Citations, aka web
references, are
web pages that cite
or mention your
business or web
site.
They do not have to
contain a link!

30. Keep Creating Citations!
• Citations are important in building
Google’s trust in the information it has
about you.
• Citations can drive targeted traffic to
your business.
• Citations are easier to get than links –
many are free.

31. The Impact of Reviews
“Online reviews are second only to personal advice from a friend as the
driver of purchase decisions; user reviews are more influential
than third-party reviews. ("Web users and web community," Rubicon
Consulting, Inc. October 2008)”
“81% of online holiday shoppers read online customer reviews
(Nielson Online, December 2008)”
“86% of consumers read online business reviews before making
purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews.
(Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)”
“The Trust in Advertising survey of 26,000+ found that Consumer
Recommendations are the most credible form of advertising.
("Social Media Marketing: The Right Strategy for Tough Economic
Times" Awareness, 2008)”
Statistics from BazaarVoice.com See more at http://www.bazaarvoice.com/industryStats.html

32. Reviews Influence Rankings
• Ratings and reviews enter into the
algorithm on some sites-like Yahoo!Local
• The more reviews, the better.
• Highly rated items can rise to the top on
some sites and poorly rated ones are
rarely seen.
• Users can sort their results by ratings on
some sites, creating their own
personalized rankings.

33. TIP: Ask for Reviews
ONLY FROM HAPPY CUSTOMERS!
• Have a plan in place.
• Use surveys and follow-up emails.
• “Bribe” people to submit reviews.
• Send reviewers to a variety of web sites.
• If a customer has a Gmail address ask
them to leave review on Google. Same for
Yahoo.

34. Tip: Get Local Links
• The right incoming links can help with
location trust.
• Look for links from local authority sites.
• Look for links from sites that rank for what
you want to rank for.
• Use existing relationships to get local
links.

35. Local Search For $30 or Less
• Optimize site with geographic slant
• Include business name and contact information in HTML
(hCardmicroformat) on own website
• Claim Listing at Google Maps w/Business URL
• Claim Listing at Yahoo Local w/Business URL
• Claim Listing at BOTW Local
• Claim Listing at Live Search
• Submit to Universal Business Listing - $30
• Submit to Localeze
• Submit to infoUSA
• Claim additional portal listings
• Link to additional portal listings from own website
ALMOST ALL OF THIS IS FREE AND AVAILABLE TODAY!!!

36. Sources
• http://www.slideshare.net/heinivanberg
en/smx-london-2008-local-searchblended-results-presentation
• David Mihm – “Local Search on a
Dime” SES San Jose 2009

37. Quick Plug: seOverview
• 40+ Page custom SEO audit
–
–
–
–
Identify SEO Opportunities
Avoid SEO Pitfalls
Learn How to Make Your Site More Powerful
Analyze Your Competition
• http://www.seOverflow.com/seoverviewLocal
• COUPON CODE (use at checkout)
– $200 off until 9/15 (MIF200)
– $100 off until 9/30 (MIF100)