Yext & Local SEO. Yext is doing local differently. I don’t normally write reviews of commercial products but when they offered me two free listings I decided to explore the value of the service for local SEOs. In local citation building we have come to expect that it might take 8, 16 or even 20 weeks for a citation to make its way into the search engines. The local ecosystem, a complicated web of relationships and feeds, is to some extent a technology mired in the last millennium. Much of the delay in a citation winding its way through the system has been due to the time it takes the data collectors and aggregators to create their own data builds and move the list to the next point in the local chain.
UBL for example might send data to Infogroup only once every 4 weeks. Infogroup could take as long as 4 to 8 weeks to process and verify a listing. Yext has taken a different path to data distribution. Here is a some of my findings. Time to live: Late on January 13th I created two Yext accounts. Listing views: 17 Questions with Darren Shaw – Creator of the Local Citation Finder. Recently I had the pleasure of grilling Darren Shaw of Whitespark.ca about his “Local Citation Finder” – the ultra-handy local-search optimization tool he created. If you’ve spent more than a few minutes grappling with local SEO, you’ve probably heard of the Local Citation Finder – and there’s a good chance you use it, too. It’s one of my very favorite tools for building up my clients’ local search rankings. I’ve used the LCF since it came out in 2010. Since then, I’ve had some questions I’ve been itching to ask – mostly about how to use the LCF to glean every last bit of local-search visibility for my clients.
For that there’s no substitute for “insider tips.” Plus, the LCF is a really popular tool, so I also wanted to learn more about some of the secrets behind its success. I went straight to the horse’s mouth, and Darren was kind enough to answer my questions In case you didn’t know, Darren is kind of a big deal. Phil: Let’s say I need to build 50 citations for my business. Darren: Hmm. Catching Up with your Local Competitors & Automating Citation Discovery. Catching Up with your Local Competitors & Automating Citation Discovery I am a link builder at heart; it’s what I love to do. On the reverse side, I find citation building to be one of the most boring tasks in the industry. Link building is strategic and tactical – citation building is well… not. Which is why this strategy was created – to take some of the monotony out of citation building. Quick Intro: Citations consist of a NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) and they are a key component in local search ranking factors.
Here’s how to quickly catch up to your competitors and automate finding their new local citations from here on out First, figure out all the keywords you want to rank for that are triggering local search: I am going to do use one of the coolest restaurants in the world for my example: Alinea. Chicken Liver, Bacon, Caramelized Onion, Vin Santo via Yelp user Manda Amanda Bear B. Next, set your Google search results to 100. This is your new go to list of citations to build. 30 Local SEO Citation Sources for the United States. Best Sources for Local Citations by Category (U.S.) | GetListed.org. Citation Consistency: The Key to Local Search Rankings. It’s not all that uncommon to encounter varying degrees of local search cleanup as part of any campaign. Odds are a business’ name, address and phone number (NAP) has changed for any number of reasons since its establishment. We’ll admit it, we’ve recently moved offices and are still doing our own citation cleanup.
While many look at this as a tedious chore, let’s not forget the importance of up-to-date citations. As the local search experts have confirmed, even slight disparities in the ole’ NAP can have a detremental effect on the entirity of SEO efforts. Even with the ever-changing landscape of SEO, one thing is certain: Local citations aren’t going away anytime soon and continue to play a pivotal role in your business’ SERP. Search Operators Finding those elusive faulty citations is the first part of this process. Be sure to test out different combinations, as there will be varying degrees of inconsistencies with these variables. Free Local Citation Tools Premium Local Citation Tools. Local Citation Building Study Part 1: Niche-Relevant Citation Sources. As part of our citation building service, I research local citations and their influence on the organic local search rankings daily.
That is why I decided to publish a series of articles related to the topic of citation building for local SEO. The current one is related to one of the most important factors in measuring the value of different citations (according to Google’s “Generating Structured Information” patent) – relevance of the source. And there is undoubtedly no better way to measure relevance in Google’s search results than checking the search results themselves. Similar studies have previously been done – first by Andrew Shotland, and then by Ash Nallawalla, both in 2009. Methodology and Specifics The research is a small scale study that in no way pleads completeness. . - attorney - restaurant - doctor - hotel - auto repair - florist - car dealer - dentist - plumber - painter I also chose 15 cities in the United States. Results Attorney Restaurant Doctor Hotel Auto Repair Florist.
Citations: Your local search secret weapon. For small businesses, local search is sometimes the only hope for making it to the first page of search results. Even then, things can still get very competitive. You may have heard the recent fuss over “Local Paid Inclusion.” If only getting top local rankings were that easy. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, since it keeps SEOs working), local SEO takes serious effort and isn’t as easy as signing up for a paid program. But there’s one aspect of your local search strategy that can improve your results: citations. Let’s keep things simple by assuming that we’re talking only about Google searches here. In blended results (local combined with organic), the signals seem to be weighted toward your website, so factors like page authority and quality content are more important.
Let’s talk citations Citations are essentially mentions of your business name, address and phone (NAP) in directories, blogs, etc. around the Web. Measuring the effect of citations Where to get started Tracking success. Local Links For Local People - Top 50 Citations Every SMB Should Have | MilkMen blog. And then some Not all citations are equal.
When it comes to citations the local algorithm is factoring quality and quantity. The purpose of the algorithm calculating or weighing citations is to measure which businesses are more credible and/or trustworthy. Name, address, and phone (NAP) need to be listed uniformly across all mediums. Mismatching information can cause trust issues and can negatively effect your search rankings for terms that generate local results. I will cover this in detail in The 10 Commandments of Local Search. I like to do an inventory to find out where the business is already listed and to get a baseline at the beginning of a LSO project. In your Google browser type “business name” + “business city” + “business phone” and select “search” You can see below that Redfearn Dental has 9,050 citations or mentions about the business in various sites around the web.
The first LSO step for all small businesses is to acquire the right citations. Drum roll please…… Where to Get Local Citations to Improve Rankings. According to the 2011 Local Search Ranking Factors survey put out by David Mihm, getting local citations was the most recommended off-site activity for small business owners looking to increase their SEO efforts. If you’re not actively trying to increase your number of local citations, you may fall behind a competitor who is.
First off – what’s a citation? A local citation is any appearance of your business name alongside its address or phone number. These citations serve as clues to the search engines to help them understand who you are (are you the same James Crest Florist they already know exists on 123 Main St. or a new one?) , where you’re located, and which queries and neighborhoods you’re relevant for.
We’ve long known that the engines were using these all-important indicators for ranking, and David’s survey shows that it’s time to take them even more seriously. And that means scooping up citations on as many trusted sites as you can. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Google Maps Optimization - Google Places SEO. Claiming and filling out your Google Maps Listing is the easy part, but it’s usually not enough when trying to rank within the ultra-competitive Google Maps 7-Box.
The last place you want your local business to be listed in is the “More results near…such, such city” which might as well say “More results near invisible city”. Even if you do manage to get a decent ranking within the 7-Box by only claiming and filling out your listing, don’t hold your breath because soon your local competitors are going to realize that is a prized position to have and will compete aggressively for that slot. They may even hire a local search marketing company like ours to do it for them – then you’d better watch out! You have to understand that Google does here is very smart. With a similar idea to link building, everything Google does is kinda like a big social popularity contest. Google is always responsible to their users and so they want to serve up the most relevant results to them. Citations Reviews. 9 Secrets for Easier and Faster Local Citation Gathering. You already know citation-gathering is crucial to your local ranking in Google Places, and you know at least the basics of how to get citations for your business.
That’s not the problem. The problem is that getting dozens of citations is about as enjoyable as getting a colonoscopy. You want it to be over with as quickly as possible, so that you can get back to running your business and enjoying life. Here are some secrets for polishing off citations more quickly and easily: 1. The spreadsheet won’t take long to create, but it will save you from a world of pain if you have to log in and change your business info on these sites, change your passwords, or forget your passwords. Obviously, you can organize the info in the spreadsheet however you’d like. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Mybusinesslistingmanager.com (Acxiom) company.angieslist.com (AngiesList.com) citysearch.com/profile/add_business (CitySearch) expressupdateusa.com (InfoUSA) listings.mapquest.com (MapQuest) business.yellowbook360.com (YellowBook) 7.
Local SEO with Mike Ramsey ━ SEM Synergy ExtrasBruce Clay Blog. Last Thursday we posted a new episode of our SEM Synergy podcast, this one from SMX East in New York City. While I wasn’t able to post about it here on that day (I was knee deep in the final day of liveblogging), the show was mad groovy for several reasons and definitely warrants a recap. Voilà. Mad groovy podcast, reason 1: Video interviews to come!
Back in August of last year, we tried our hand at video interviews. You can see our small archive of Internet marketing video interviews over on our YouTube channel. Some big names, including Ben Huh of the Cheezburger Network and in-house SEO evangelist Jessica Bowman, helped me blaze the trail into the video realm, but our video interviews gradually fizzled out. Now we’re looking to video interviews with renewed vigor, and at SMX East last week we had our first chance to capture people on screen. Mad groovy podcast, reason 2: There are two ━ count them: TWO ━ expert interviews on last week’s show.
Creative ways to encourage reviews online: