Mary Bowling - Maps and Metros - Solving Data Consistency Issues - SMX Advanced 2013

Data Management
for
Local Search
Mary Bowling
Blog: www.MaryBowling.com
Small Biz Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com
Twitter @MaryBowling IgnitorDigital.com + MaryBBowling@gmail.com

Optimized!
LocalU.org
About Me
www.IgnitorDigital.com
MaryBowling.com

NAP Consistency Matters
#3 Off-Site Local Search Ranking Factor!
http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml
“Citations will always be a major factor
and can help or seriously hurt a listing if
the data is incorrect across the
ecosystem.” Mike Ramsey
“Your Places page may be naked. Your
website may beg for a mercy killing. You
may not have a single customer review.
But you still may rank OK…if your NAP is
accurate and consistent everywhere it
appears on the web. This is do-or-die.”
Phil Rosek
“…I've hardly had a case where the
NAP of the business was perfect across
the board." Nyagoslav Zhekov

Why?
Google knows it needs to show accurate
business information or people won’t use its
local search results
Google uses the local phone number as the
unique identifier for a business
Not always the way it works in real life for real businesses,
but…

Why Doesn’t Everyone Do It?
Don’t understand/believe the positive impact
Mini Case Study: For 8 fat head
terms, went from 0 Local Pack listings to 6
in 90 days just by scrubbing data
Tracked 8 terms in very competitive niche and location
 Did not rank in top 50 organically for any of them
 Did not appear in Local Pack for any of them
 Best Places ranking #17
After 90 days of proactive data cleansing (no organic
work)
 Ranked in Local Pack for 6 of the 8 terms
 Ranked 7 and 8 in Google Places for the other 2
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0

Be the One That Does It!
It’s a tough, tough job.
Some of the battles you have to fight:
Don’t understand the process
Can’t just add new, correct listings –update/delete old ones
Time consuming and frustrating
 Usually you don’t have logins to modify listings
 Most require creating and verifying a new account
 What you need to do is different at nearly every site
 Takes attention to detail, patience and persistence
Clients/Bosses don’t want to pay for the time it takes
 People think it’s easy, so they give job to lowest paid workers
When you think you’re done, you’re not –check & recheck

Data Scrubbing Process
 Quick check the extent of data inconsistency*
 Determine your strategy*
Check/update NAP info on ALL websites for that client
 Gather the information you need
 Discover inconsistent data and prioritize updates
 Report duplicates and problems at Google ASAP
 Correct/submit/report problems at data providers
 Correct/submit/report problems at Tier 2 directories
 Correct/submit/report problems at add’l trusted places
 Wait 45-90 days
 Recheck and repeat
One Way to Do It
*TIP: You need this info before pricing job

Quick Audit
Quick Check for Data
Inconsistency
Using NAP info on business website:
 GetListed.org Tool
 Yext.com Tool
 Google Places Tool (log in to G)
www.google.com/local/add/g?hl=e
nUS&gl=US#phonelookup
If you have many locations:
Spot check 6-8 in large cities
Ask client where problems are
Ask client which locations are most
important

Determine Your Strategy
Claim a Listing = You Have to Keep It Updated
 How many locations involved?
 How much inconsistency discovered?
 Time, manpower, budget to do manual updates ?
 Budget for submissions?
 Time by which you NEED to see some results?
 Time to wait for new data to flow through the ecosystem?
 Is the company planning a move?
 Have logins to most of the places where listed?
Will you bite off in chunks or do it all at once?
Tip: All of the above helps determine cost and time frame.
You can do it fast or you can do it cheap, but not both.

Get the Info You Need, First
Gather info for each location before starting
 Business name
 Business street address
 Business mailing address
 Business local phone number w/area code
 Days and hours of operation, methods of payment
 List of main services offered
 List of main products and brands offered
 Pertinent certifications, education, memberships, licenses, etc
 Where customers will park ( ex: free adjacent lot, parking garage 1 block)
 ZipCodes of areas served and/or radius of area served
 Images (must live on Unique URLs on website)
 Logo (square and small 100x100)
 Storefront (with sign if possible)
 Staff (headshots and in action performing services)
 Main products
 Show people what’s of interest in your niche (wedding cakes, menu
items, hotel lobby, apartment swimming pool, etc.)

Discover Inconsistent NAP
Ask!
 Business name
 Business street address
 Business mailing address
 Business local phone number w/area code
 Have you changed phone numbers? (Old numbers?)
 Do/have you use more than 1 phone number. (All numbers?)
 Have you moved? (All old addresses?)
 Have you used call tracking numbers? (All numbers?)
 Have you used local phone numbers for areas you serve, but where you don’t
have an office, shop or store? (All numbers?)
 What are the URLs for all of your websites?
 Have you done internet advertising through a phone/yellow pages company?
 Have you used more than one business name, including variations? (Names?)
 What does the sign outside your business say on it?
 What name, address , phone number are listed in your local phone book?
 Have you ever used a PO Box, UPS Store, virtual office or employee or friend’s
address for your business? (All addresses?)

Look!
 Check NAP on all websites – correct? in text form?
(preferably in local business schema)
Confusing or conflicting info? Correct it now!
 Check address at USPS database
https://tools.usps.com/go/ZipLookupAction!input.action

Use Google
Google Places – search all numbers used
www.google.com/local/add/g?hl=enUS&gl=US#phonelookup
Google Maps search – look for Google’s suggestions
Google organic search for name address/phone

Report Problems at Google ASAP
Use Google Support Options
 Report/Edit using Mapmaker
 Directly from listing
 Find answers
http://support.google.com/places/bin/ans
wer.py?hl=en&answer=176504
 Report using trouble shooter
http://productforums.google.com/forum/
#!forum/business
 Get a call back-talk to support!
 login to Google account
https://support.google.com/business/cont
act/business_c2c
Google Support has IMPROVED!

Tips for Google
New Places Database Much More Stable
 No longer completely rebuilt from scratch every 6 weeks
 Info updates MUCH more quickly via Mapmaker
interface
 Listing verification occurs through Places, review and
approval occur via Mapmaker.
 After verification, you still need to go through review
and wait for approval before info goes live
Merges should NOT reoccur after being fixed
For more info on resolving problems at Google Places:
http://ignitordigital.com/solving-common-problems-with-your-google-
places-listing/

Tips for Google
Make Things Easier/Better
 Consolidate all listings for a single business in 1
Google account for that business only
 Use account with a domain-associated email address
 Use a bulk upload for 10 + locations (easier
verification)
 New business or business unverified at Google Places,
submitting via data providers before claiming could
ease verification (requires more time)*
 Not sure what to do at Google+? Don’t do anything, yet
http://productforums.google.com/forum/#!category-
topic/business/I0Royu8V9x8
*TIP: Legit biz in a real place? Don’t worry about verification!

Tips for Google
Google Map PINs are Critical!
Check Map Pin Location(s)
Type full street address into Maps
Zoom in on Street View
Make sure it’s in the right place
Correct, as needed
TIP: You can rarely do this accurately w/o client involvement.
TIP: Check Google’s driving directions for accuracy, too.

Use tools!
 GetListed.org – enter business
name(s) and ZipCode(s)
 Yext.com – enter business
name(s) and phone(s)
 Whitespark Citation Finder Tool
enter name(s) and phone(s)
www.whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder/
Tip: None are 100% - double check

Check & Modify or Submit at Data Providers
Most have more than one method to check for existing listings
– use all of them for best results
 InfoGroup http://expressupdateusa.com/
Localeze http://webapp.localeze.com/directory/search.aspx
 Acxiom http://mybusinesslistingmanager.com/
 Universal Business Listing http://search.ubl.org/

Data Provider Tips
Localeze
Support slow
More listings in account, harder to manage
Can’t always tell if modification incurs a charge or not
Defaults listings to auto-renew – change to do not renew
If they lapse, they are still in account and can be renewed
UBL
Slow support
Data probably not as trusted, but widely distributed
Data feeds to Acxiom and InfoGroup
InfoGroup and Acxiom
Use these to check for bad/duplicate listings
Modify/delete, as needed
If data doesn’t match, phone verification is done
Infogroup – they call biz
Acxiom – biz calls them
TIP: Each requires different formatting & info for bulk uploads

Local Search Data Distribution
From David Mihm :
http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/local-seo/local-search-ecosytem-fall-2012/

Local Search Data Distribution
From David Mihm :
http://www.davidmihm.com/blog/local-seo/apple-maps-ecosystem/

Process
Scrub Your Data Clean – Phase 1
Find & Correct Data: Company Website(s), Google Places and
Major Data Providers
 Check and correct any confusion on company website(s)
Use schema coding for NAP
Discover old/bad/duplicate Google Places listings
Use Google
 Report Google duplicates, near duplicates, listings w/bad info
Use Report a problem (takes you into Mapmaker)
Use other Google support options
 Discover and update/modify bad listings at data providers
 Use data providers’ tools
 Modify/delete bad listings at data providers
 If no listing, add it

Process
Update or Submit Listings at Tier 2 Local Directories
Trusted industry Directories
 Vary by industry – start here:
https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-category.html
Trusted Local Directories
 Vary by location – start here:
https://getlisted.org/static/resources/local-citations-by-city.html
 Local phone provider – print and online directories
Historic providers of business data & still matter
Google tends to trust local landline numbers and info
associated with them
Bing Business Portal
Yahoo Local

Process
Prioritize Updating and Submissions at Other Directories
Using Whitespark Tool
Experience will help you to spot the good outliers , scraper
sites and junk sites
The more work you do in a niche or location, the easier this gets
 Don’t bother updating listings on low quality sites
SEOmoz domain authority provided by Whitespark Tool
 Eyeball the site – you can tell its quality

How Long Do Updates Take?
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2012/09/26/infographic-citations-time-to-live/
From Mike Blumenthal & David Mihm

Measuring Success
Baseline and Compare
 Organic rankings
 Rankings in Local Packs and Maps
 Number of inconsistent listings at trusted sites
 Amount of website traffic in general
 Amount of traffic from Google Maps
 For multiple locations, amount of website traffic to
location-specific landing pages
Number of referrals from sites important in your niche
TIP: Can happen more quickly, but give yourself 3-6 months.
TIP: Advise business on how to keep all data consistent going
forward so they don’t have to do this again.

Materials Available
View presentations and get checklists here:
http://ignitordigital.com/smxlocalsearch/
http://ignitordigital.com/solving-common-
problems-with-your-google-places-listing/

Thanks!
Mary Bowling
Blog: www.MaryBowling.com
SMB Marketing: www.IgnitorDigital.com
Get the Slides: IgnitorDigital.com/SMXLocalSearch
Class information:
http://www.marybowling.com/local-search-
optimization/local-search-classes-at-planet-ocean/

Mary Bowling - Maps and Metros - Solving Data Consistency Issues - SMX Advanced 2013

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Mary Bowling - Maps and Metros - Solving Data Consistency Issues - SMX Advanced 2013

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