SEMpdx: Local Search Done Better
Well, best laid plans went astray, and I lost my internet connection right away this morning, so relied on good old Notepad to capture content from SEMpdx here in Portland, OR today.
(Hey, it’s a post on local search, so I’m talking Portland, Oregon, 97225, not Portland, Maine, 04100. More on that in a second…)
Apologies for the blatant notes, but there are some gems in the midst of them…
Matt McGee from Marchex presented on Local Search
Basics: Put your address on all the pages and directories on your site and linking to you…
But get beyond the basics and make pages more local:
- Put address and local phone number on all pages. Search engines rely on bits of data - 800 numbers aren’t good enough.
- Directions page: Write out a “Location/Direction page” make it as specific as possible - near local landmarks and neighborhoods. For example, I work out of my home that’s near St. Vincent’s Hospital, off Barnes Road. That will help the spiders build their database around your services.
- Use every geographic locator that you can - use them on your directions page - put in page title and anchor text.
Pay Per Click (PPC - define) tactics:
- Bid on geo-targeted ads - when users search based on location, (Portland Or vs. Portland Maine…) The search algorithms are not perfect, but this practice could save you some money.
- Advertise on local search engines for very targeted traffice - Yahoo has a great fixed price program. This is especially smart for small businesses. I don’t yet see them flocking to PPC advertising, and wonder why?
- Internet yellowpages, local directories: Superpages, switchboard, etc. handle 10-15% of all local search, but more importantly, supply data to Yahoo and Google. Make sure you’re listed carefully there. Encourage user reviews - searchers (92%) rely on them.
- Algorithms will likely consider them, Citysearch, yelp.com make user reviews important.
Local Search problem:
On January 29, 2007 - Google put Google maps (which only got about 1% of search) on their main site search results pages. In other words, in cross-promotion, they bring the maps out to searchers.
Here’s the rub: the map knocks out the number one organic listing down the page, below the magic “Google F.” (See example) So the good news? If you pay for placement, you’ll still be above the map.
According to hitwise, traffic to Google maps increased 26% in February. Proves value of accuracy, directory listings, etc.
