1. July 10th 2013
‘The State of Local Search’

2. House keeping…
Webinar is being recorded
Post questions in question module
Slidedeck uploaded to slideshare.net
Follow up email with all details
Presentation then Q&A

3. About ‘InsideLocal’
BrightLocal & Local Search Forum
Bi-weekly webinar series
Hot issues, trends & opportunities
Great content, excellent speakers
Advanced, Informative & actionable
More webinars & dates at the end

4. Speakers
Mike
Blumenthal
Blumenthals.com
Andrew
Shotland
Localseoguide.com
Phil
Rozek
Localvisibilitysystem.
com

5. Presenters
Myles
Anderson
BrightLocal.com
Linda
Buquet
Localsearchforum.com

6. ‘The State of Local Search’
Agenda:
Google Places for Business Dashboard,
'Carousel' & algorithm updates
Google+ Business updates, tips &insights
Apple Maps Update & optimization tips

7. Google Places
updates
Mike Blumenthal
Blumenthals.com/blog
mike@blumenthals.com
Twitter: @mblumenthal

8. It’s Not Your Mother’s Yellow Pages

10. iCrossing

11. Real Support

12. New Dashboard
Started in US – Single Language Countries
Phased Replacement of existing dashboard
Rolling out over the next few months

13. New Dashboard

14. New Dashboard

15. New Dashboard

16. Old Dashboard MapMakerNew Dashboard Google Plus
Third Party
DataMain Index
Canonical Local
Listing Data
New Architecture
Knowledge Graph

17. Google Places
Navigation
Latitude
Listings display across
different array of
devices

18. Listings display across
different array of
platforms

20. Changes in Local
New Maps, No Places

24. Local Carousel
Shows 9-20 Listings Depending on Screen
Very Little Room Above the Fold
Most Links Lead to Google Properties
Ranking is the same as before

25. Local Carousel
Use Great Photos
Consider an Ad on your Brand
Reviews Take on Increasing Importance

27. It’s Not Your Mother’s Yellow Pages
Mike Blumenthal,
blumenthals.com/blog
mike@blumenthals.com
Twitter: @mblumenthal

28. Google+
updates, insights & tips
Phil Rozek
LocalVisibilitySystem.com

29. What You Need to Know
About Those Pages That
Google can’t Just Pick a
Name for….

30. 7 Sections:
1. Quick history
2. Getting the names straight
3. The one thing you must know
4. Should you “upgrade”?
5. Upgrading in different situations
6. Common mistakes to avoid
7. What if there are problems?

31. Quick history
Before May 30, 2012:
Google’s business listings were simple.
All you had to know was your local listing
was called a Google Places page.

32. Quick history
On May 30, 2012:
Google rocked the boat:
1. Google Places became “Google+ Local”
2. Gave some businesses the option of
combining their Google+ Local page with a
“Google+ for Business” page.

33. Getting the names straight
4 types of pages to (try to!) remember:
1.“Google+ Local” page
2.“Google+ for Business” page
3.“Upgraded” Google+ Local page
4.“Personal” Google+ page

34. Getting the names straight
1. “Google+ Local” page
= new name for a Google Places page

35. Getting the names straight

36. Getting the names straight
2. “Google+ for Business” page
= a page for any type of business (not
necessarily a “local” business)

37. Getting the names straight

38. Getting the names straight
3. “Upgraded” Google+ Local page
= what you get when you combine
the first two. It’s fully “social”

39. Getting the names straight

40. Getting the names straight
4. “Personal” Google+ page
= same idea as a personal Facebook page

41. Getting the names straight
Relationship between Google+ Local (#1)
and “Google+ for Business” (#2):
You can have one without the other, or you
can choose to “merge” them (if your
business is eligible).

42. Getting the names straight
Relationship between “personal” Google+
(#4) and all the other 3 types of pages
None, necessarily. They only cross paths
if you’ve implemented authorship
markup.

43. The one thing you must know
The ranking benefits of “upgraded”
pages are at most indirect.
The only real difference between a
page that has been upgraded and one
that hasn’t been upgraded: the “social”
bells and whistles.

44. The one thing you must know
We don’t know whether “upgraded” pages have
any direct rankings benefits. They probably
only help indirectly.
The only real difference between a page that
has been upgraded and one that hasn’t been
upgraded: the “social” bells and whistles.
Quick rundown of social features of G+:

45. The one thing you must know
Social feature 1: Posts
Google digs content.

46. The one thing you must know
Social feature 2: Circles
You can add customers (and
businesses) to your circles, and they
can add you back.

47. The one thing you must know
Social feature 3: +1s
Customers and others can “+1” your
business. This is like a Facebook “like.”

48. The one thing you must know
Social feature 4: B2B reviews

49. The one thing you must know
The other main benefits:
The Google+ dashboard is much
nicer than the old Places dashboard.
Photo & video uploads are instant.

50. The one thing you must know
Because the main reason to upgrade is to
get the social features, your decision is:
Do you see yourself spending any time
engaging with customers - and do you see
them engaging back?
If not, don’t bother upgrading.

51. Should you “upgrade”?
The only case in which it’s a no-brainer:
If you’re a one-location business, and if most or
all of your customers come to your location, and
if you’re willing to spend at least little time using
the social features of Google+.
Otherwise, you probably shouldn’t upgrade your
page. More detail:

52. Should you “upgrade”?
Scenario 1: “Service-area” business
If you travel to customers rather than the other
way around, you shouldn’t upgrade.

53. Should you “upgrade”?
Scenario 2: Multiple locations
Only if you’re willing to upgrade just one location.
Google won’t let you do more than one location
in the same account.
(Technically, you could create separate accounts
for each location, but they’re probably all in the
same account.)

54. Should you “upgrade”?
Scenario 3: Data issues
If there’s inaccurate info on your Google
page, hold off on upgrading until fixed.

55. Should you “upgrade”?
Scenario 4: Not interested in engaging with
customers
As I mentioned, no point in upgrading if you
don’t think you’ll use the social features.
Simply having them won’t help.

56. Upgrading in different situations
Situation 1: You’ve got one
location and one Google Places
page…

57. Upgrading in different situations
Sign into Google account you created your Google
Places page in.
Go to plus.google.com. Create page for “Local
Business.”
Follow Google’s prompts for merging the two.
Wait until Google sends you a postcard in the mail with
a PIN on it. Only once you sign into Google+ and enter
that PIN will you have an “upgraded” page.

58. Upgrading in different situations
Situation 2: You’ve got multiple locations,
and multiple Google Places pages…

59. Upgrading in different situations
Pick ONE location you’d like to upgrade.
Sign into Google account you created that Google
Places page in.
Go to plus.google.com. Create “Local Business” page
for location you’re upgrading.
Follow Google’s prompts for merging. Go through
PIN-verification process.

60. Upgrading in different situations
Situation 3: You’re hanging your shingle
on local Google for the 1st time…

61. Upgrading in different situations
Go to google.com/placesforbusiness and create a
Places page. Verify by postcard. Takes 1-2 weeks.
(At this point, you’ll have a Google+ Local page, but not
the upgraded kind. Granted, you’ll probably have the
sleek new “dashboard,” but that’s different.)
If you want to upgrade, do the same process I
described: create a Plus page in the same account,
request the merge, and verify by PIN.

62. Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Not making absolutely
certain you’re creating your Google+
page in the same Google account that
your Places page is in.
You won’t be able to merge the two.

63. Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 2: Not creating a Google+ page
of the “Local Business” variety
You won’t be able to merge.

64. Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 3: Trying to upgrade if you’re a
service-area business.
You’ll be able to merge the two pages, but
you’ll probably be penalized because you
won’t be able to hide the address on your
Google+ for Business page.

65. What if there are problems?
If you do the stuff I mentioned, you’ll likely
be able to “upgrade” without incident.
But it’s Google, and that means anything
can happen.
Fortunately for us, these days Google is OK
at helping you sort out “issues.”

66. What if there are problems?
Use the “Google Places Troubleshooter”

67. What if there are problems?
They’ll ask lots of diagnostic questions.
You’ll want to have the links to your Google
listing(s) on-hand.
Here’s the part of the link they’ll want:

68. What if there are problems?
You might also be given the option of
getting on the phone (!) with a rep.
Don’t shy away from picking up the
phone.

69. That’s it!
Phil Rozek
localvisibilitysystem.com

70. Optimization for
Apple Maps
Andrew Shotland
localSEOguide.com

71. Think Apple Maps Suck?

72. 1,000,000,000 iOS Devices by 2015
http://www.asymco.com/2012/09/17/projecting-ios-devices-through-itunes-account-growth/

73. Top 5 Client OS
9/12
1. Windows
2. iOS
3. Macintosh
4. Android
5. iOS6
Source: Google Analytics, Average for 50MM Visits, Sep 2012 v. Feb 2013 v. July 2013
2/13
1. Windows
2. Macintosh
3. iOS
4. iOS6
5. Android
iOS6 Devices = 82% of all iOS visits
7/13
1. Windows
2. iOS
3. iOS6
4. Android
5. Macintosh

74. Default Map for Every iOS Location App

75. 35% of iPhone Users Use It?
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/03/05/driving-directions-survey-a-fragmented-but-important-market/

76. Apple Maps US Data
Core business listings
Reviews

77. Sushi for Lunch?

78. Reviews

79. Tips  Yelp Mobile

80. Pics

81. No Pics

82. Bad Pics

83. Business Lost?

84. Report a Problem

85. Report a Problem

86. Update Data

87. Move Pin

88. Check Your Data!
http://webapp.localeze.com/directory/search.aspx
http://www.mybusinesslistingmanager.com/
http://factual.com/contact

89. http://applemapsmarketing.com/2012/10/how-to-add-your-business-listing-to-apple-maps/

90. Upcoming webinars & dates
July 31st – Optimizing the perfect local business
website
– Mike Ramsey + Chris Silver-Smith
August 14th – Great sales strategies for local agencies
– Laura Betterley & David Sprague
September 10th – Enhanced citation optimization
– David Moceri, Myles Anderson, ????

91. www.localsearchforum.com/tbc….
www.brightlocal.com/insidelocal

92. That’s all folks!