58. Smart Resources
1. USPS – Look up a Zip Code
2. Moz Local – Check Listing Tool
3. Greg Gifford’s “Local SEO Musts” on YouTube
4. Local Search Ranking Factors Survey by Darren Shaw
59. Art Credits
1. Scampi - Wellington, New Zealand
2. Unknown
3. Stinkfish - London, England
4. Unknown
5. Wild Drawing - Athens, Greece
6. Oscar Niemeyer - Sao Paulo, Brazil
7. Hey Apathy – Toronto, Canada
8. Unknown
9. Näutil - Siouville-Hague, France
10. Skurktur - Norway
11. Ernest Zacharevic - Penan-Malaysia
12. Unknown
13. Klister Peter - Stockholm, Sweden
14. Ernest Zacharevic - Penan-Malaysia
I love local. I also loved this picture of myself, until I saw it THIS BIG.
I’ll tell you why I love it though. If you speak Spanish, you’ll notice that this photo implies that I’m both crazy and lovable. We love loca Lindsay. I can live with that.
I’ve been doing digital marketing, and SEO in particular, for more than 15 years now. That’s a long time. In 2001, when my career began, you had to be a little crazy to believe that people WOULD in fact buy things, with their credit card, on the internet.
You had to be a little crazy to go all-in on an unproven niche with no roadmap.
It’s great to be in a Microsoft building again. The last time, for me, was when I worked on-site at the Redmond campus. I managed the Moz consulting team at the time, back when Moz provided that service. It was 2009. Microsoft was about to launch Bing and they brought me in to help ensure that Bing showed up in Google for the query “search engine”. That project remains one of my favorite work stories.
There are some brilliant minds solving complex problems within these Microsoft walls. It’s great to be back.
I’m really excited to be here. I would never pass up an opportunity to visit Manhattan in May. But aside from that, it’s an honor to share the stage with such a fine group of Digital Marketers and talented presenters.
I’m not the strongest presenter you’ll see on stage today, but it’s something I’m working on. I’m here, I think, because I know a thing or two and I love to teach and share. The search community was built on the sharing of learnings and ideas between complete strangers, often online. It is in that spirit that I occasionally put on real clothes and leave the comfort of my home office to share what I know.
Some of you might be wondering what you’re doing in this session. You might be thinking about an early exit for lunch. Perhaps you represent a business that doesn’t have local storefronts.
Don’t leave. This talk is for you. Local SEO is so much more powerful than you’ve been giving it credit for. It isn’t just about generating brick and mortar storefront foot traffic.
Local SEO Applies to You. Yes. You.
Over the next 25 minutes, I’m going to renew your appreciation for local search and get you thinking forward. I’ll share some unconventional ways that Local SEO helps non-localized businesses and digital marketing tactics. Lastly, I’ll share a few secrets from the trenches to help you avoid costly mistakes.
Are you ready? Let’s go then!
Because you’re here at The Inbounder Digital Marketing Conference, I’m going to assume that most of you have an appreciation for local search and the growth of mobile. For those that still need some convincing, allow me to show you two graphs.
Key Point #2
Local SEO is important for all of us. Don’t miss the boat.
or
Local SEO is important to you.
Local SEO isn’t just for small businesses. Cases where Local SEO is valuable to others.
By Stinkfish in London, England. Photos by Peter McGowan.
By Stinkfish in London, England. Photos by Peter McGowan.
I have an example for you. Prada is an luxury designer brand. They have a few dozen retail storefronts around the USA, mostly in major cities. But it isn’t their flagship stores that bring in the sales. It’s the retail partners, both online and offline. Think Neiman Marcus for handbags and shoes. Think Sunglass Hut for eyewear.
What did we just see?
Local SERPs for a brand, carried by a retailer.
How did they do it?
Citations.Social.
At the RETAILER level.
Melting Pot example program.
In Athens, Greece. By Wild Drawing
In Athens, Greece. By Wild Drawing
What I mean when I say Reputation Management.
Kevin A Moore Example
In Athens, Greece. By Wild Drawing
Secret trick. Boosting the presence of others with the same name. Local SEO or otherwise. Local SEO is cheap. Give that accordian instructor in California a boost, the accountant in Colorado? Why not?
Why does it work?
Helps with rep man in various locations around the country. Also, the citation sources themselves are often rank-worthy.
http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/images/draw-graffiti-Toronto-Skyline.jpg
Billboard vs. small office?
http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/images/draw-graffiti-Toronto-Skyline.jpg
Billboard vs. small office?
http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/images/draw-graffiti-Toronto-Skyline.jpg
Billboard vs. small office?
Recap of the scenarios shown. Explanation that there is often a local seo tactic to be yielded as a tool to reach goals. Think creatively.
By Näutil - In Siouville-Hague, France.
By Näutil - In Siouville-Hague, France.
I know you’re excited. But hold on a minute.
By Skurktur in Norway. Thanks to Martine Bjørnstad for the photo!
I know you’re excited. But hold on a minute.
By Skurktur in Norway. Thanks to Martine Bjørnstad for the photo!
Ahh. Great. We’ve arrived at step-by-step lane. Let’s go through it together.
Street-Art-by-Ernest-Zacharevic-in-Penang-Malaysia-3462
I’ve given you five solid examples of unconventional local SEO uses.
Reputation Management
http://www.heyapathy-comics-art.com/images/draw-graffiti-Toronto-Skyline.jpg
Billboard vs. small office?
TMP Example. NAP.
Let me tell you a story.
I-see-humans-but-no-humanity-No-information-on-this-viral-photo-of-street-art. By Klister-Peter - In Stockholm, Sweden
We need to remember who we’re optimizing for. We communicate to the machines. Human -> machine -> Human.
I-see-humans-but-no-humanity-No-information-on-this-viral-photo-of-street-art. By Klister-Peter - In Stockholm, Sweden
We’ve made it this far in my deck without bullet points.
I’m a deeply flawed human, as are all of us. So forgive me for what I’m about to do…..
NAP Issues
Do:
Double check everything
Use USPS standards
Insist on accuracy
Don’t:Take the client’s word for it
Get fancy
Stretch the truth
KW Research
Do:
Speak to the client
Double check everything
Don’t
Rely on tools exclusively
Trust previous decisions
Don’t go screaming off on your moped to export address lists to bulk submit to the local data aggregators.
Street-Art-by-Ernest-Zacharevic-in-Penang-Malaysia-1 Photo by Simstravel.
Don’t go screaming off on your moped to export address lists to bulk submit to the local data aggregators.
Street-Art-by-Ernest-Zacharevic-in-Penang-Malaysia-1 Photo by Simstravel.