How Local Listings Work, Aha!Local Univ. Session 2
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Transcript of How Local Listings Work, Aha!Local Univ. Session 2
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Aha!Local University Session Two Local Lis)ngs are the New Yellow Pages
The second in a series of seminars and webinars about how to market your business online to local customers
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Agenda
• What Are Local Lis8ngs? • Why Do They Ma@er? • How Do They Work? > What Can the Local Business Operator Do Herself? > What Should be Done by an Agency? • What Should You Look for in an Agency?
• Preview of Next Session • Final Thoughts
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Lis8ngs Are Everywhere
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Why Do They Ma=er?
• Modern replacement for Yellow Pages • Local business searchers are farther along in the purchase cycle
• 74% of Internet users do local searches (Kelsey Group) • 86% take ac8on on the results (call or visit)
8
67% of searchers 20-‐45 years old reported when they searched online, they believe the top list of companies on Google are the “highest recommended” or “most authorita8ve” businesses to
contact. (SearchOnomics)
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Google is Winning Among Search Engines and Directories
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Jun-‐08 Jun-‐09 Jun-‐10
Yelp
Dexknows
Bing Local
Mapquest
Yellowbook
Superpages.com
AT&T (Yellowpages.com)
Yahoo! Local
Google Maps
9 (15Miles)
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But, Social Media is Coming on Strong • From 2009 to 2010, local search volume grew 13.8% > Search engine searches grew 9% > Non-‐search engine searches grew 22%
10
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Local Search Tool Varies by Searcher Age 18-‐24 25-‐34 35-‐44 45-‐54 55-‐64 65+
Print directory 9% 12% 20% 27% 34% 43%
Local newspaper or magazine 2% 1% 2% 2% 3% 3%
Telephone directory assistance 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2%
Mobile device 3% 7% 3% 2% 1% 0%
General search engine 45% 36% 35% 29% 25% 22%
Internet yellow pages 15% 23% 24% 21% 21% 16%
Local search engine 15% 14% 11% 14% 11% 11%
Social networking site 6% 4% 2% 1% 0% 0%
11 (15Miles)
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The Data Wholesalers
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| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
The Local Search Engines
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The Internet Yellow Pages
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The Social Networking and Review Sites
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The Local Search Portals
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp. (Getlisted.org & David Mihm)
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
What Does All This Mean For Your Business? • Google has largest share, so: > Make sure your business is presented well > Performance (placement) on Google is most important
• But 60% of your market is looking elsewhere, so: > Make sure your data is broadly distributed and accurate
19 January 13, 2011
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
How Do Local Lis8ngs Work?
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
History Of Google Local Lis8ngs
• 2005: Google Local integrated with Google Maps • 2006: OneBox Business Lis8ng Map appears on main search results page
• 2008: Displaying 10 business lis8ngs rather than 3 • 2009: Displaying 7 business lis8ngs (Google 7-‐pack) • 2009: Dashboard for Local Business Center • 2009: Google Place Pages • 2010: Google rolled out integrated Places Results
Google is s8ll changing Maps dynamically as they try to grow their revenue
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It Used To Be So Much Easier
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LOCATION
RELEVANCY AUTHORITY
Current Lis8ng Placement Factors Is your lis8ng showing up on Page 1 of Google for relevant searches?
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Loca8on: Business Loca8on In Rela8on To City Center
• Local lis8ngs are designed to get you to display in the city you are located
• Less important factor in less compe88ve ci8es or markets (luxury car dealer or spice shops)
• Loca8on trumps informa8on on Places page in most cases
• For service businesses (plumbers, contractors, etc), Google has a way to define service areas
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Authority: Cita8ons
• What is a cita8on? • Cita8ons come from various sites – BBB, Yellowpages, Local lis8ng sites, etc
• Importance > Google looks for cita8ons as part of regular web crawl
> More Cita8ons = Higher Rankings > Compe8tors have cita8ons – you should have what they have
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What Are My Cita8ons?
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Authority: Garnering Reviews
• Benefits Of Reviews > 70% of searchers find online reviews important to their decision process > Search engines use reviews to determine credibility of business > Reviews are on many sites – Yahoo, Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor,
Citysearch, Insiderpages, etc. • Drawbacks Of Reviews
> Hard to control > Some types of businesses have a harder 8me genera8ng reviews > Angry customers more likely to leave reviews > It is hard for business owners/employees to ask for reviews
Important: Ask For Reviews!
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Examples Of Review Performance
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Examples Of Review Performance
Boulder Auto Tune Ups
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Relevancy
• Google is in the “search” business • Your lis8ng must be presented in such a way that the
search engine knows that it matches the searcher’s intent
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
What Can I Do Myself?
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Claim Your Google Places Page
• Ensures that your business data (phone, address, business name, URL, etc) is correct
• Gives you control of upda8ng > You can’t update your lis8ng if you don’t claim your page
• Represents your business the right way
Your Google Places Page is your online representa8on of your business.
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Claim Your Google Places Page
• The most important aspect of claiming your lis8ng is to put you in control of your business informa8on
CLICK HERE
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Local Address and Phone
• Have local address – no PO box • Have local phone number – no 800 number • Provide Google with address & phone (you can hide your address from the search results)
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Monitor/Respond To Reviews
• Know what is being said about your business on the web
• Many sites let you respond to reviews lep on their site > Google Maps > Yelp (paying customers) > Citysearch (paying customers) > TripAdvisor
• Use common sense when responding to reviews
Remember: Less is more when responding to reviews
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Monitor/Respond To Reviews
• Monitoring and responding to reviews helps you understand how others see your business and how you can improve!
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Distribute Your Business Informa8on • Distribute your business informa8on beyond Google (40% of
local search market) • The more places your business name, address, and phone
number are listed, the more cita8ons you get on Google • Where to start:
> Yahoo > Bing > Citysearch > Insiderpages > Yelp > Yellowpages (free lis8ng) > Merchant Circle
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Why Do I Need An Agency?
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
What Agencies Offer
• The rules in local search change constantly > Agencies monitor and respond to these changes > Agencies know how to op8mize your data for performance
• Agencies know what works on a Place Page and what does not
• Agencies advise on where the local search traffic is
It is an agency’s job to understand the rules and intricacies of local search
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Agencies Advise on Opportuni8es
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Agencies Advise on Opportuni8es
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Agencies Correct Problems
• Duplicate Lis8ngs > Everyone is supplying everyone with informa8on
• Incorrect data > Phone numbers > Addresses > URLs
• Responding to changes in results > Compe8tors > Algorithm changes
Agencies know who to call to get this stuff fixed
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Agencies Provide Distribu8on
• Agencies have access to large distribu8on networks that individual businesses do not
• The ideal distribu8on network is always changing – make sure you can be found in all the right places
Make sure your distribu8on network is always growing
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
How Do I Select An Agency? • Experience > How many lis8ngs do they manage? > Client references
• Repor8ng • Distribu8on Network
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Wrap-‐Up
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Planned Curriculum
• Local Lis8ngs and Local Search • Local Paid Adver8sements • Social Media • Reviews • Online Coupons • Loca8on-‐Based Social Networking • Mobile
| © 2011 Parallel Path Corp.
Final Thoughts
• Slides will be posted online > Link will be sent to meetup.com group and to Twi@er followers (@parallelpath)
• Please sign in to make sure we have your complete contact info
• Please provide feedback on the meetup.com group site
• Referral gip: Bring another next 8me and get a gip!