Make Your Mark in Google's Local World

David Mihm
@davidmihm
Making Your Mark in Google’s Local World
davidm@moz.com
David Mihm davidm@moz.com / @davidmihm October 15 2014
@davidmihm © SEOmoz, Inc. 2014

Making Your Mark in Google’s Local World
What I’ll Be Talking About
1 What local search means to Google
Key local developments at Google
2
2a
3
4 Recap
A closer look at Pigeon
Where to focus your local visibility efforts

1. What does local search
mean to Google?

For starters,
a third of its business.

20%
50%
Local on Desktop Local on Mobile
Percentages from Google and Bing

Local searchers are
among its most-engaged…

@davidmihm Source: Google / http://services.google.com/fh/files/misc/omp-2013-us-en.pdf © SEOmoz, Inc. 2014

…and most purchase-driven.

@davidmihm Source: 15 Miles / Neustar Localeze / Comscore Local Search Usage Study, April 2014 © SEOmoz, Inc. 2014

Source: Deloitte Digital
http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/RetailDistribution/us_retail_Mobile-Influence-Factor_062712.pdf

Frequency + engagement + purchase intent =

$ $ $
Image: Joi Ito, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Schmidt-Brin-Page-20080520.jpg

Companies’ / SEOs’ vision of local search

Google’s vision of local search

“ $ ?” “ ?”

Google has
ALREADY MADE
most of this world.

Knowledge Graph

August 2013

Somewhat recent

http://blumenthals.com/blog/2007/12/22/local-authoritative-onebox-im-feeling-lucky-or-not/ December 2007 (!)

http://searchengineland.com/google-glass-diary-part-4-local-search-navigation-160785 Evolution of the Auth. OneBox

Google Local
One Box
Mobile Maps
Google
Directories
Google Car
Google SMS
Google TV
Google Maps
Slide Courtesy: Mike Blumenthal

Mobile Maps
Google
Directories
Google Car
Google SMS
Google TV
Google Maps
Slide Courtesy: Mike Blumenthal

Sentiment

October 2009

Hat tip: Michael Cottam
October 2010

May 2013

June 2014 (?)

Transaction

July 2011

June 2012
http://searchengineland.com/google-tests-new-car-leads-product-126070

October 2013
http://searchengineland.com/google-tests-new-car-leads-product-126070

Closing the Loop

June 2009

June 2010 Patent Filed

June 2011

Most of this has been around for over a year!

How do you provide “number of website hits”
in a world where no one visits your website?

How do you provide “ranking reports” in a world:
- without search results?
- where everyone has different results?

SEOs need to adapt and evolve.

How do you adapt to this world?
1) Adjust your mindset to pre-website conversion
2) Tactics (coming in a few slides)
3) Diversify your marketing so you’re NOT reliant on Google

2. Key recent developments

Companies / SEOs Google
Google+ Failed!
Google My Business Released!
Pigeon!
Google+ Served Its Purpose.
Backend Is Unified.
Hummingbird.

Unified login Cross-device tracking Spam prevention

- Static listing IDs
- Unified mapmaker backend
- More realtime updates
- No more custom categories

Photo credit: P. Slawinski
http://pslawinski.smugmug.com/

2a. A closer look at Pigeon

Google told us that the new local
search algorithm ties deeper into their
web search capabilities, including the
hundreds of ranking signals they use in
web search along with search features
such as Knowledge Graph, spelling
correction, synonyms and more.
In addition, Google said that this new
algorithm improves their distance and
location ranking parameters.
TL;DR
Web ranking
signals
Knowledge Graph
Distance : location
http://searchengineland.com/google-makes-significant-changes-local-search-ranking-algorithm-197778

Anecdotal data

Hello, .png file!

Hello, “This domain may be for sale!”

Hello, lapsed and hijacked domain!

Knowledge Graph:
Mozcast data

What
Mozcast
Says

Mozcast: Change in Pack Frequency by Listing # 7/23 – 7/29

What Mozcast Says 2
Mozcast: Change in Pack Frequency by Listing # 7/23 – 7/29
23% drop in total # of results showing packs
(Carousel and OneBox #’s relatively unaffected)

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Branded and Geo-Modified Terms
Terms that GAINED Packs/Carousels
Terms that GAINED Local AOBs
Terms that SWITCHED from Local AOBs to Packs/Carousels
Terms that SWITCHED from Packs/Carousels to Local AOBs
Terms whose Packs CHANGED numbers
Terms that LOST Local AOBs
Terms that LOST Packs/Carousels

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Branded and Geo-Modified Terms
(Knowledge Graph adjustments)
TLDR;
Fairly even breakdown of gains and
losses on these terms.

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Geo-Modified Terms
 Many of these are
real estate related

Mozcast: 7/23/14 vs 9/11/14
Breakdown of Changes Among Geo-Modified Terms
 Lots of gains among branded
terms

Distance : Location

“Convenience Store”
Tighter radius to location of search
for generic phrases.

“Convenience Store Portland”
Wider radius to location of search
for geomodified phrases.

1.Search results in search results
2.Well-optimized regional-vertical directories
3.Less blending
http://moz.com/blog/local-hummingbird-results

“Brands are how you sort out the
cesspool of the Internet.”
--Eric Schmidt, Oct. 2008

“This is what you’re
left with when you try
to do that in Local.”
--David Mihm, Oct. 2014
"Père-Lachaise - Divison 90 - Lahovary 09" by Antonin Mercié. Wikimedia Commons.
{ pigeon poo }

Why does this…
http://searchengineland.com/expedia-becomes-new-york-city-hotel-googles-pigeon-local-update-198339

…and this…
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2014/07/31/google-pigeon-poo/

…and this…

…and this…
Chris Silver Smith
http://searchengineland.com/optimizing-business-internet-yellow-pages-directories-202414

Chris Silver Smith
http://searchengineland.com/optimizing-business-internet-yellow-pages-directories-202414
…and this…

…and this…
(From my
December 2013
post)

…happen?
BRAND preference.
Web signals, i.e. links, have NEVER been good at
identifying worthy local businesses.
Directories’ internal links are more powerful than all
but a handful of inbound links to local businesses.

How do you adapt to this world?
Photo credit: P. Slawinski
http://pslawinski.smugmug.com/

3. Where to focus your local
visibility resources, at scale

Where to focus your resources
Act like a brand:
Site architecture
Structured data
Barnacle onto brands
Get reviews

Act Like a Brand: Make It Easy for Google
Store Locator,
Site Architecture
LOCATION
Google Places
For Business, Others
WEBSITE
Inbound Links,
Google Plus
Authorship, Publisher
BRAND

Store Locator,
Site Architecture
LOCATION
Google Places
WEBSITE
Inbound
Links
Google Plus For Business, Others
Authorship, Publisher
BRAND

WEBSITE LOCATION
Store Locator Best Practices
• Crawlable, traditional directories
Home
Stores
• Unique page for each location
• Title: “Brand – Keyword(s) in City, ST”
• Full “NAP” for each location in HTML
• Rich content
• Optimize for conversions
Domino’s Pizza – Delivery, … Chicago, IL
Welcome to Domino’s Chicago Northside!
Get Driving
Directions
PLACE AN ORDER
Domino’s Pizza – Chicago, IL
Domino’s Pizza
1415 W Irving Park Rd
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 871-3030
(From the Manager)
Get Driving
Directions
Domino’s Pizza
Chicago, PLACE IL AN 60613
ORDER
(773) 871-3030
Open Daily
1030 am – 130 am
Domino’s Pizza
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 871-3030
Welcome to Domino’s Chicago Northside!
Open Daily
1030 am – 130 am
(From the Manager)
Get Driving
Directions
PLACE AN ORDER

WEBSITE LOCATION
NO YES

WEBSITE BRAND
Publisher: Links entire website with a
Google+ business page.
Authorship: Links individual posts & articles with an
individual’s Google+ profile.
Slide courtesy of Mike Blumenthal: blumenthals.com/blog

WEBSITE BRAND
• Links are still a very important piece of the algorithm
• Hard to scale; should come naturally from community
involvement
• Branded anchor text on the rise as a ranking factor

BRAND LOCATION
Google My Business
https://www.google.com/local/manage/

BRAND LOCATION
Google My Business
is only part of the
equation.
Source: Google Patent Application 60658214
“Generating Structured Information”

What this:
really looks like…

Between 20-40% of this is
You can mwanroagneg .listings on
each site individually.
Vendors make it easier.

Interesting Post-Pigeon Data Point

Consider “Barnacling”
h/t Will Scott and Justin Sanger for the term “Barnacle” in Local

Get Reviews. Why?
• 70+% of people trust online reviews
• In fact, 79% of people trust reviews as
much as personal recommendations
• (Also, rankings!)
Source: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2012/nielsen-global-consumers-trust-in-earned-advertising-grows.html
Source: http://searchengineland.com/2013-study-79-of-consumers-trust-online-reviews-as-much-as-personal-recommendations-164565
Source: http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors

Which sites?

(Another) Interesting Post-Pigeon Data Point

Recap
Google is thinking way beyond your website.
Rankings and on-site conversions are now just
directional indicators of success.
Need a a broader overall business impact assessment
than web analytics provides.

Recap
Proximity is shifting dramatically towards searcher.
Content, authority can pull-in geomodifying searchers
where the radius is wider.

Recap
Brand signals are on the rise.
This rewards
1. Directories
(Consider barnacling for success)
2. National brands with strong Local SEO
3. Branded anchor text
4. Branded searches
5. Clickthrough rate

Recap
Reviews continue to grow in importance.
Google seems to be using review content to assess
categorical relevance.

Recap
Study—don’t complain about—the crazy Authoritative
OneBoxes.
These are valuable learning opportunities
(Jack Regan, Leucadia);
the algorithm will mature.

GMB SIGNALS
CITATIONS
CENTROID SEARCHER
BEHAVIORAL
LINKS
ON-PAGE REVIEWS
Algorithmic
Evolution
2008 – 10 Pack Introduction
2012 – Stability Post-Venice
2014 – Pigeon

Algorithmic
Evolution
2008 – 10 Pack Introduction
2012 – Stability Post-Venice
2014 – Pigeon
GMB SIGNALS
CITATIONS
CENTROID SEARCHER
BEHAVIORAL
LINKS
ON-PAGE REVIEWS
2015+ – My Prediction

Order of Operations
Rich
Content
Customer-generated
Input from managers
Data-driven graphics
and content that scale
Streamline
Review Process
Research top
industry sites
- prominent
- accept Facebook
logins
Integrate into CRM
Manage
Location Data
Google My
Business
Major
aggregators
Important
directories
Optimize Store
Locator
Crawlable structure
One location,
one page
Title Tags
NAP in HTML
(schema.org)
Optimize for
converstions

(Aside: 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors)

Thank you!
davidm@moz.com
moz.com/local
Ongoing Resources
Moz.com/blog

Make Your Mark in Google's Local World

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