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Now on to This Week in Local SEO:
Experts discuss Pigeons
I don’t expect you know all the changes Google roles out and what they, or others, nickname them. Just know the latest (July ’14) that affects how you appear in search results is called Pigeon and a few experts got together Wednesday on a webinar to debate how to best understand and take action. If you’d like to check it out, the webinar series is InsideLocal. That last recording isn’t live yet, but you can find the slides here.
Joy Hawkins of Imprezzio Marketing shared an excellent strategy that I’ll be adding to my workflow: if your competitors are violating guidelines or using spammy tactics to rank better, utilize the MapMaker community to snuff them out!
Google’s MapMaker is an open source service that allows anybody to check and double-check features in Google Maps and update things on the fly like road changes and… business information.
Action: Search your keyword phrase in Google. Do you see any competitors using addresses where you know they’re not there, or anything else that isn’t right? Log into MapMaker with your Google account, search for that information, and change it! Someone else in the community will verify it. Then it’s gone!
uhh… yea… that was an obvious fake business name spamming keywords
See inside your showroom from Google Street View
Phil Rozek reminds everyone 10 Reasons to Get a Google Business View Photo Shoot.
If you have a showroom, this should be on your to-get list. With Google’s constant emphasis on as much of their data as possible, getting a photographer who has been trained by Google is obviously a good idea. Plus it’s awesome to see inside a place from home or phone on the road before you even get there AND you can put it on your website.
Action: Keep your eye out for the “See Inside” photos when you search business names in Google. If you’ve got more questions about getting it for your location, ask me how.
Examples of Kitchen and Bath Showrooms in Google Business View
Facebook Places
Greg Sterling posted on Local Search Association about Facebook’s new release of their Places. He concludes it’s likely an effort to improve the Facebook mobile experience for places. Whatever their intention is, if Facebook is doing something, it has a large impact.
Some studies show Facebook is the app of choice for leaving reviews for businesses. As I’ve mentioned before, Facebook reviews are starting to get exposure in Google search results.
Action: Take a few minutes to double check the Page Info in your business’ Facebook page. It’s located in the Settings tab when you’re acting as your business page. Send me a note if you would like assistance.
Facebook Business Settings – Page Info
That’s it for this week. As always, shoot me an email and tell me what you need help with.
If you need a good chuckle
After all that brain pain, here’s some remedy. This artist removes 1 letter from a movie title and then gives his rendition.
Pup Fiction. Two mob hit dogs go after a poodle who wrote a slanderous op-ed about their boss.
Click the image to see lots more. Happy Friday!