SEO Tutorial - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips for Inbound Marketing and Google Local
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Today is a great day to spend an hour creating a listing for your business at Google's Local Business Center. Your Google business listing is an effective (and currently free) Off-Page SEO tactic for customers to find you and your business from home, work, or on-the-go from the next generation of mobile devices where the web meets the phone.
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By John R. Dionisio
Research Director - JM Internet Group.
Posted: January 15, 2010
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Contents:
Your Google Local Listing: Effective SEO Approach To Get Above The Fold
A Google local business listing is an excellent example of inbound marketing -- customers coming to you -- and the forthcoming shift towards location specific advertising -- getting found by customers near your business now.
Trend: Google places content from search category "Maps" in prominent position for competitive keyword search results.
Impact: Your Google local listing in the "Maps" search category can propel your business onto page 1.
The magic formula for organic search has been old domain + new relevant content e.g. Amazon.com, Wikipedia. Organic search results in Google have featured by default 10 listings per page and on 4 listings above the fold (search results visible without scrolling).
Organic search results from the "Web" search category, the default search category on Google.com, are increasingly yielding search results from other categories within Google's realm of control and/or reach: namely, images, videos, blogs, news, and local search results. I'm currently located in San Francisco, CA. Here's what my search for "art store" yielded:
Dick Blick has been a dominant SEO performer for "art store" and "art supply" for many years. Dick Blick would routinely occupy more than 1 search result above the fold.
The world has changed. Google is placing a San Francisco-based art store in the coveted top spot and inserting a Google "Maps" category sub-search "Local business results for art store near San Francisco, CA" above the fold with a #4 rank for my organic search.
SEO Tips For Google Local
1. Simplify Access to Google's Tools With Gmail. I recommend creating a unique Gmail account for access to all of Google's tools -- Google Local Business Center, Google Webmaster Tools, and Google Analytics -- to help you manage and monitor your SEO performance. Using a gmail account is also an effective way to transfer SEO responsibility to someone else on a temporary basis without using a login from your company's domain.
2. "Company/Organization" = Listing Title. Follow SEO best practices for title elements: Make each title unique and relevant, use as few words as possible, don't over-stuff the title with keywords.
3. "Add More Phone Numbers" can be used for your 800 phone number, the company's main corporate line, or a direct line to the location if you prefer to direct calls to a central phone number as your primary.
4. "Email address" is a way to have incoming email directed to a primary, non-user specific email address i.e. info@yourcompany.com.
5. "Description" is a 200-character elevator pitch for your business. All 200 characters are displayed on the listing page. Use 2 sentences. The first sentence is unique to the location e.g. "Located behind...." and the second sentence is your value proposition.
6. The "Category" part of your listing will be one of the top three ways customers find you.
1. Always select at least 1 "Category" from Google's albeit limited list of "Categories." Type in keywords to find the "category" most relevant to your business.
2. Create a custom category. Just start typing and you will create a custom category.
3. The first 50 characters of category names will be displayed on your listing.
4. Google default categories are displayed before custom categories.
7. The "Details" part of your listing is selected by Google and may contain information you provide and/or Google selects
1. Information you provide collected by Google: email address or payment options.
2. Information selected by Google from other sites: frommers.com
3. Information you create in the "Other:" Category. Great opportunity to identify unique products, unique services, or customers you serve.
8. Pinpoint your location; Verify the Street View image in your listing
1. Google will automatically select a "pinpoint" for your business based on the address information you provide.
2. You can use the Google Map displayed to adjust your pinpoint on the map by clicking on the link below the map "Fix incorrect marker location"
3. Select either the "satellite" image or "hybrid" of the satellite image and the map to drag the pinpoint to the exact location of your business.
4. Google's Street View is a standard part of your listing and determined by the pinpoint marker; make sure your pinpoint presents the Street View of your business you desire.
5. The pinpoint also determines the endpoint for "driving directions" generated by customers. "Driving directions" has consistently been one of the top 3 "actions" taken by a customer after they view a Google listing.
Google Local & SEO - ConclusionInternet outbound marketing in the form of emails or ads from your business to your customers is necessary but not sufficient. Inbound marketing strategies must be executed to help customers find you and your business. Location specific search engine optimization -- dominating search results for customers located near your business now -- is an essential element of your inbound marketing strategy. Start your Google Local listing today to position your business for the future because the future is now.
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