From the SMX West Conference in San Jose, California, March 1-3, 2016. SESSION: Local Listings: Putting Your Business On The Virtual Map. PRESENTATION: Putting Your Business on the Virtual Map - Given by Benu Aggarwal, @milestonemktg - Milestone Internet Marketing, President, Founer. #SMX #13C

1. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Putting Your
Business On The
Virtual Map

2. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
• Evolution
of
Local
Search
• Most
Crucial
Factors
• Local
Maps
and
Important
Channels
• Measuring
Success
• Key
Take
Aways
Agenda

3. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Evolution of LocaL Search

4. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Search Results: Past vs. Present
Local
Listing
Organic
Results
Local 3
Pack
Paid Ads
2nd October 2008 8th Feb 2016
Local 3
Pack
Paid Ads

5. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Finding The Differences
Local
Listing
Organic
Results
Local 3
Pack
Paid Ads
No direct website
links in local 3 pack
Local 3
Pack
Paid Ads
Google Hotel
Finder
No organic
results above
the fold
Improved
maps

6. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Maps Results: Past vs. Present
2nd
October
2008
8th
Feb
2016
Enhanced
Profile
More
focus
on
reviews
OTA
Rates
Website
link
&
clickable
phone
link

7. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Most Crucial Factors

8. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal

9. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Physical
location
Categories
on
GMB
No
duplicate
listing
Consistent
url,
name,
address
or
phone
number
(UNAP)
Relevant
and
engaging
content
Reviews
Factor for Ranking Locally

10. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Local Customer and Search Behavior
Customer
Search
1 2 3
Channels Displayed in Search Saturate Critical Channels
Responsive
Site
Maps (Apple,
Nokia, Bing)
Active Presence
and
Engagement on
Social Profiles
Trusted Sites,
Reviews
(UGC)
Mobile Ads
Local Citations
Data
Aggregators
IYPs

11. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
What are Good Citations?
Data
aggregators
IYPs
Local,
Business
Directories
Maps
Local
search
engines

12. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Segmenting Links for Effective SEO
Local
Search
Engine
&
Hyper
Local
Listings
Data
Aggregators
Internet
Yellow
Pages
Business,
Local,
Industry
and
Niche
Maps

13. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Local Maps and Important Channels

14. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Create Google+
page and Claim My
Business Listing
Send Verification
Postcard
Receive PIN,
Verify Listing,
and Initiate
Merge
QA listing;
Optimize
listing per
guidelines
Add Social posts and
keep optimizing
Link Website
by adding
rel=publisher
tag to site
Google My Business:

15. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Google+ and Google My Business
• Google+ and Google My Business are still
connected, but are not closely related
anymore
• Google+ is now primarily a social network
focused on collections
• Google My Business is a tool for business
owners to manage their listing information
on Google
• Both are still important, and neither should
be ignored!

16. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Google+ Posts Still Show Up in SERPs

17. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Incomplete Profiles Lead to Poor Ranking
Source: https://www.gybo.com/ca/santa-clara/business

18. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Relevant
cover
image
&
logo
Verified
local
business
Consistent
UNAP
Correct
primary
category
tagging
Correct
placement
of
the
pin
on
Google
map
User
friendly
page
url
Reviews
Unique
property
description

19. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal

20. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Managing Critical Information - Crawlers and API

21. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Consistent
UNAP
Book
Now
URL
Photo
Gallery
Enhanced
Descrip=on
Correct placement of the pin
on the map

22. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Unclaimed
Business
Missing
Descrip=on
Missing
Book
Now
URL
Incorrect
UNAP

23. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Quality & Enhanced Listing
Website
fold
1 1
2
2
3
3
5
5
A B
C
6
6
7
7
4
4

24. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Measuring Success

25. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Measuring Success On Google My Business

26. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Measuring Success On Bing
Milestone
team
claimed
the
listing

27. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
• Directories
all
feed
from
each
other
• Incorrect
listings
in
one
directory
can
infect
others
• New
duplicates
can
get
created
at
any
time
• The
faster
you
react,
the
less
damage
incorrect/duplicate
listings
do
Ongoing Monitoring Of Profiles
In
just
90
days,
this
existing
client
had
173
actions
performed
by
NAPtune

28. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Measuring Success On Yelp

29. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
• Identify
most
critical
channels
for
your
verticals
• Ensure
maps
have
accurate
information
• Push
consistent
and
rich
content
across
all
channels
• Leverage
APIs
to
clean
duplicates
• Establish
KPI/Measurement
criteria
Key Take Aways

30. #SMX #13A @BenuAggarwal
Thank
You!
See
you
at
the
next
#SMX!
Questions?
www.milestoneinternet.com
blog.milestoneinternet.com
http://twitter.com/milestonemktg
http://www.facebook.com/Milestoneinc