In conjunction with New Orleans Tech Week 2016, Paula Keller presents "How To Boost Your Local Search Rankings". Ranging from on-site local optimizations to off-site local listing and review strategies, these ideas are great ways to improve your business's visibility to potential customers.

1. Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016
HOW TO BOOST
YOUR LOCAL
SEARCH RANKINGS Paula Keller French
Director of Account
Management
Workshop by

2. Search Influence
90 full and part-time employees
120 contract writers
Google AdWords & Analytics
Certified Staff
Google Certified Partner
ABOUT
SEARCH INFLUENCE
Reputation
2011 Inc. 500 honoree
SEL Columnists, SMX, LocalU, Pubcon,
mozcon, Searchfest and more
Two decades in online media
Best Places to Work, 2014 & 2016

3. WHAT KIND OF
BUSINESSES NEED
LOCAL SEO?

4. ANY BUSINESS THAT GETS SOME,
OR ALL, OF ITS CLIENTS LOCALLY

5. Businesses that sell services or
products to customers at their
location
B2C: BRICK AND MORTAR

6. Businesses that sell services
or products to other businesses
B2B

7. Businesses that sell services
within a particular area
SERVICE AREA BUSINESSES

8. GOOGLE
MATTERS
MOST

9. SEO SEARCH RANKINGS MATTER

10. THE BENEFITS OF LOCAL SEO

11. Local
Search
Results
Organic
Search
Results
Paid
Search
Results
UNDERSTANDING THE SEARCH RESULTS
“Natural”
“Maps”
or
“Snack
Pack”
Google
AdWords
or “PPC”
=
=
=

12. Local
Search
Results
Organic
Search
Results
Paid
Search
Results
UNDERSTAND
YOUR SEARCH
RESULTS

13. Google’s Local Maps Pack
Slims Down
FROM 7 TO 3

14. Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016
WHAT’S CHANGED?

15. Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016
WHAT’S CHANGED?
· Full address is no longer displayed
· No more links to the business’ Google+ page
· Business hours are now easily seen
BEFORE
AFTER

16. Confidential, Property of Search Influence, LLC © 2016
STAY COMPETITIVE IN THE NEW 3 PACK
· Feed Google info about your business via Google My Business
· Input ALL the info you can
· Optimize your website’s on-page content for local search
· Optimize your website’s off-site signals for local search
· Earn local reviews on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.
· Earn links through offline marketing

17. UNDERSTANDING
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

18. · Google My Business 101
· Page Type Differentiation
· Best Practices & Guidelines
· Claiming and Verifying Google My Business Pages
· Requesting Admin Access
GMB 101: A CRASH COURSE

19. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS

20. DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN PAGE TYPES
WITH THE NEW GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Local (Storefront/Service Area)
vs.
Brand
vs.
Personal

21. LOCAL GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE

22. · If verified, has a “checkmark” on main business page
· ALWAYS has an address on the About page
· NEVER displays an email address
· Has a corresponding Maps listing
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LOCAL PAGE

23. If a Service Area Business does not serve its customers at its
physical location, its address will not appear in Google Maps.

24. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS BRAND PAGE

25. GOOGLE MY BUSINESS BRAND PAGE
· Will never have a
checkmark next to name
· May have an address
· May have an email
address
· Does not integrate with
Google Maps

26. PERSONAL GOOGLE PLUS PAGE

27. · Differences in the About section
· Personal terminology: Education,
Employment, Home, Lives in,
Gender, etc.
· No Verified checkmark on main
page
· You cannot “claim” a personal
page
· Does not have any integration
with Google Maps
PERSONAL GOOGLE PLUS PAGES

28. CLAIMING YOUR
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
PAGE

32. WHAT IF MY
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
PAGE IS VERIFIED?

35. CLAIM & UPDATE
LOCAL LISTINGS

36. IMPORTANT LOCAL LISTING
SOURCES
INDIVIDUAL SITES
· Bing
· Yelp
· Facebook
· Apple Maps
· Foursquare
· YP
· Superpages
DATA DISTRIBUTORS
· Acxiom
· Factual
· Localeze
INDUSTRY SPECIFIC

37. ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT NAP + W
Name
Address
Phone #
Website

38. HOW TO GAIN MORE
LOCAL REVIEWS

39. Source:
https://www.brightlocal.com/2014/08/14/5-visual-stats-power-of-online-reviews/
WHY DO REVIEWS MATTER?

40. · Unique content is being added to the site regularly
SEO BENEFITS
· Online reviews on sites like Google+ and Yelp help
with local rankings
· Eye-catching Rich Snippets in SERPs

41. WHAT TO DO
· Provide a section to leave reviews on your site
· Request reviews from your customers!
· Email marketing (newsletters, offers,
post-purchase, post-visit, and confirmations)
· In office signage
· Business cards with URLs
· Publish fake reviews under a false profile
· Duplicate of review content
· Reward customers for leaving a review
WHAT NOT TO DO

42. WEBSITE
OPTIMIZATION
TACTICS FOR LOCAL

43. ON SITE CONTENT
PAGE TITLES
PAGE HEADINGS
(H1)
META DESCRIPTIONS
FRIENDLY URL

44. ON SITE CONTENT
ON-PAGE CONTENT
SUBHEADINGS
SUBHEADINGS

45. LOCATION OPTIMIZATIONS

46. TAKEAWAYS
● Any business that gets, some or all of its
clients locally need Local SEO
● Update local listings - Consistency is key!
● Claim your Google My Business page
● Gain more local reviews
● Optimize your website for locally specific content
+ NAP reinforcement

47. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
- PAULA KELLER FRENCH
Search Influence
935 Gravier St STE 1300
New Orleans LA 70112
(504) 208-3900 ext 299
www.searchinfluence.com