Twitter: @AmplifySEM
LOCAL SEO
Hi! Thanks for checking out my presentation
on Local SEO Ranking Factors. Look for these
bubbles in the presentation for extra info
from the actual presentation.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
WHO IS THIS PERSON?
JESSICA WARD | DIRECTOR OF SEO
• Focused on SEM / SEO since 2006
• Participates in developing client-strategy for SEO, Social, & PPC
• Manages both B2B and B2C clients of varied industries and sizes
• @JessicaWardPDX
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
AMPLIFY INTERACTIVEOverview
Boutique Agency – All We Do is Search
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Pay Per Click (PPC)
• Link Development & Site Marketing
• Social Media Optimization
• Web Analytics
2010 + 2011 AMA MAX AWARD – BEST SINGLE MEDIUM ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
Clients benefit from industry experience and strategic perspective
• Established agency – Started 2003
• Established experts – Ben Lloyd started in 1998
• Experts: Speaker at Search Engine Strategies, SEMpdx & more
• Results: Work wins awards
• Approach: Established, proven strategies, tactics and processes
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
• What is SEO?
• Local SEO Ranking Factors
• Domain Authority
• Business Listings
• Google+ Local
• ONE LINK TO RULE THEM ALL– http://bit.ly/WuOHug
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
WHAT IS SEO?
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
DEFINITION
“Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is
the process of affecting the visibility
of a website or a web page in a
search engine‟s „natural‟ or un-paid
(„organic‟) search results.”
- Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
ORGANIC VS. PAID
Paid Search Results
Organic Search Results
This is something that a lot of non-
search people get confused about.
Paid search results are denoted by
Google with “ads” or “sponsored by.”
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
SO HOW DO YOU RANK #1?
The next slide has the top 5ish Ranking Factors for
Local SEO. There‟s not enough room to have
annotations so I‟m doing it here.
The link at the bottom will bring you to a study by
David Mihm that includes many more ranking
factors for Local SEO. Check it out for additional
ways to rank locally.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
LOCAL SEARCH RANKING FACTORS
1. Physical Address in City of Search
2. Proper Category Associations in Listings
3. Accurate & Consistent Business Citations
4. Domain Authority of Website
5. Google+ Local Reviews
http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
WHO’S AUTHORITY?
What is Authority and what makes a person or a company an authority in a
topic?
The answer: Other people thinking they‟re an authority in the topic!
Domain authority is essentially other people believing your website, your
company is an authority. They do this by mentioning you on the web and
linking to your pages / content.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
SEO: LINKS = AUTHORITY = RANKINGS
21%
21%
15%11%
7%
7%
7%6% 5%
Overall Ranking Algorithm
Page Level Link Metrics
Domain Level Link Authority
Page Level Keyword Usage
Domain Level Keyword Usage
Page Level Social Metrics
Domain Level Brand Metrics
Page Level Keyword Agnostic Features
Page Level Traffic/Query Data
Domain Level Keyword Agnostic Features
The takeaway? On-site optimization is critical, but links and other off-
site factors are a tremendous part of the ranking algorithm-Source: 2011 SEOmoz study “Search Engine Ranking Factors”
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
• Blogging
• Onsite engagement
• Community building
• Community participation
Social
• Directories
• Competitive placement
• Use content to build links
• Conversational (Comments, Q&A)
• Outreach (PR, Guest Posts)
Links
• Keyword targeting
• Optimize existing content
• ID content gaps & develop the right content
• Map content to the inbound marketing sales funnel
Content
• Bot & user accessibility
• Canonicalization
• URL structure
• Page markup
• Structured markup
• Internal linking
Technical
SEO: AUTHORITY PYRAMID
Technical is always
important – no website, no
rankings. Ideas are listed
on ways to build on the
technical aspects.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
BUSINESS LISTINGS
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
WHERE TO PLACE LISTINGS?
Overwhelmed? We all are. Just
find where your customers are
and make sure you‟re listed
there.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
BUSINESS LISTINGS IN SEARCH
Business Listings can help you
dominate the search results –
especially for your branded term!
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
CATEGORIESMake sure your categories are
relevant and accurate to your
business and use as many category
slots as possible while being
relevant.
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
CONSISTENT BUSINESS INFO
Name
Address
Phone
If you use LLC in your
name, use it that way on
your website and business
listings. If you spell out
4th in your address, do it
everywhere. Consistency
is the name of the game!
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
GETLISTED.ORG
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
GOOGLE+ LOCAL
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
GOOGLE+ LOCAL
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
GOOGLE+ LOCAL PAGE Google+ content is being used
in Google‟s search results. If
you don‟t have a Google+ Page,
you really need to create one!
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
REVIEWS
72% of consumers trust online reviews as
much as personal recommendations
52% said that positive online reviews
make them more likely to use a local
business
The Local Consumer Review Survey 2012 From Bright Local (4,500 surveyed)
Google Places didn‟t let you
respond to reviews. Google+
does and it‟s wonderful!
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
TAKEAWAYS
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
RANKING FACTORS
• ONE LINK TO RULE THEM ALL– http://bit.ly/WuOHug
1. Physical Address in City of Search
2. Proper Category Associations in Listings
3. Accurate & Consistent Business Citations
4. Domain Authority of Website
5. Google+ Local Reviews
Twitter: @AmplifySEM
Thanks for your time!
Questions?
That‟s it! Thanks for taking a
look at my presentation and
feel free to send along
feedback. =)