State of Search 2017 Presentation. Session Description: One of the most common questions Joy gets asked on a regular basis is "Why does this guy rank in the 3-pack and I don't". Finding the answer to that can often be very detailed & complicated but is crucial if you want ranking success. Focusing on the wrong thing can waste a lot of time & money and leave you really frustrated. In this session, Joy will show you several ranking puzzles she analyzed in the last 6 months and show you how she was able to solve them based on gathering information about the competitors ranking in the local results.

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How to Create a KILLER Local SEO Strategy
by Spying on Your Competitors
PRESENTED BY: JOY HAWKINS

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Position 5
Position 1
Position 1
Position 2
Position 25
Position 18
Position 31
Position 17
Yesterday Today

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From 1st to 31st
OVERNIGHT

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Tip #1
Ranking trackers are not enough. You
need screenshots.

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BEFORE AFTER

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1 Change on 1 Listing
Caused the entire list
order to change.

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Tip #2
Be VERY careful when authorizing
3rd parties to make changes to your
Google My Business listing!

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Air Conditioning Repair Service
(changed to)
Air Conditioning Contractor

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Tip #3
You need to know which categories your
competitors are using.

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● Choosing the right GMB categories
was the #3 ranking factor in Moz’s
Local Search Ranking Factors in 2017
● I voted it as #2

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There are currently 3921 GMB Categories
Some of the new ones that were added:
● Specialist Hospital
● Korean Beef Restaurant
● Drivers License Training School
● Cooking School
In July 2017 there were 3901

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THE DAY AFTER
FIXING THE
CATEGORY
ISSUE

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Things your competitors
do can [hugely] impact
your listing’s ranking!

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Tip #4
If you’ve been filtered from the local
results you need to figure out who
filtered you and how they are
beating you at local SEO ranking
factors.

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When listings are very
close together and are in
the same industry,
Google can pick the
stronger of the 2 and
filter the other.
The Possum Filter

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1. Organic Ranking
2.GMB Categories
3.Content in GMB
Reviews
Top Factors to Look at

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Tip #6
Check who ranks high when searching
from an area far from your office for
additional competitive analysis.

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Why do I rank so great in
NYC but so poor in every
other state?

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● This business dropped from 1-3 to 11-
12 once the searcher’s location was
not in the NYC area.
● The top ranking business out-of-state
didn’t rank anywhere in NYC (he was
filtered)

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Ranked 1st
when
searcher’s
location
was in the
rest of the
USA
Ranked in
the NYC
area
When Enzo Custom ranked 1st, it changed
the order of the rest of the listings.

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The local ranking factors are
different when the searcher’s
location
is NOT local.

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“Auto Insurance
Philadelphia”
Proximity to searcher is the
#1 ranking factor.

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IDENTICAL!
Proximity to
searcher is not
a ranking factor
when the
searcher’s
location isn’t
local.

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Enzo was losing the local fight
against Possum because he
moved a year ago.

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Tip #5
Check competitor listings to see if they
have reviews that don’t belong to them.

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BEFORE AFTER
Reviews are GONE!

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Tip #7
Do a site: search for a competitor site
then click Tools > Any Time and select
“past month” to see new content they
have produced in the last month.

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Use Ahrefs to
find featured
snippet
opportunities
Tip #8

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Total clicks on the page went from 288
to 1747
Total impressions of the page in the
search results went from 2,065 to 22,490

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Tip #9
Regularly check for competitor listings that
violate the guidelines & report them on the
Google My Business forum or directly to
GMB.
Less competition = More visibility.

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➔ 17 removed (ineligible)
➔ 2 are permanently closed
➔1 was keyword stuffing
➔ 8 were legit/eligible
28 Businesses

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National Brands

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● A national security company using cell phone stores in malls
that sold their product. Google removed 1040 listings.
● A national phone company that had tons of listings for their
security service as a separate listing located inside their retail
stores (*note: it didn’t have a department)
● A national security company that was using virtual offices to
get listed in major cities across the US.
National Brands

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Spammy Duplicates
When a business creates several keyword-stuffed listings to rank
multiple times.

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Virtual Offices are not
allowed.
If your business rents a temporary, "virtual" office at a different address from
your primary business, do not create a page for that location unless it is
staffed during your normal business hours.

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Questions?
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