How to rank in google local listings with multiple entities?
-
I actually have a portal with multiple listings from different users. Every listing is a physical shop with a different address, but more than the half of them doesn't have a website.
I was thinking on creating a local business for them and then add a link to my website in the section where google asks for your web address.
Does anyone already made something similar? does google allows links to inner pages and from multiple domains? Do you have any other and better idea on how to show in local results if you're like an affiliate and not the direct owner of the shop?
With google local listings crowding the serps it should be interesting to know how to fit in there.
-
Hi Myriam, I totally agree with you, is always good to have such good opinion from other experienced SEOs. I also think that you're right when trying to encourage someone in building a good website and invest on it, they'll be happier and the users too.
My idea got out after seeing how much google is pushing their products into serps, I own a portal which has many features but mainly lists different shops in categorized pages.It's quite frustrating to have the same rankings as last year but lower traffic due to due to local listings and 7pack serps pushing my listing back and deep into the serp.
I was both trying to optimize for broader keywords without locations which are not affected by local listings and also trying to find a spot inside the locals. I know that this may be a further question, but how are you guys recovering the lost traffic due to the serps giving every month less exposure to SEO results?
-
Hi Mememax,
Good question and you're getting some good feedback here. Honestly, what these business owners need to do is have a website, even if it's only a single page. Barring this, Google will show their Google+ Local page as their home base these days, but having these listings link to their page on a directory site is not something I would recommend. Even if the business is broke and wants to set up a generic, free WordPress.com (not .org) site, that would be preferable to any arrangement that puts the control of their home base on the web in any other person's hands.
I'm a strong advocate of clients owning everything in their name, even if it's just a freebie website to start out with. And, as the website is such a HUGE local search ranking factor, modern business owners have got to understand that having the best website they can afford is a must, not an option, if they want to compete and use the web as a tool that drives business to their business. If they can't manage to make this investment, they will be left behind. That's just the way things are now, so it may be that the best thing you can do is make them understand that their primary investment needs to be in getting a website before they even consider where to list themselves. Hope this perspective is helpful!
-
That was what I was thinking about, give support in exchange for a link in their google + page as the main web address
-
Hi Mememax,
I think your idea of providing Google Places support for local businesses with no website is a really good idea. But linking them to your site might be tricky. I havent seen any google places listings which are hosted on a only one, and non-related, website.
For one, if the listing is being searched and people will want to learn more, will you be able to provide those details in your site? Also, pointing them all to one domain is kind of risky.
Maybe you can offer google places and website support. Then include your link as the host on either the google places or site. That would mean more links for your site. Just a thought...
-
thanks for your answer roger, I generally agree with you, as you can't take the initiative and start spamming glocal with new businesses, but what if I contact the shop owner and give him the support to create that page? we can create it for them and then include a link to our website which is hosting the only available version of that shop online (because they don't ahve a website). So when someone's clicking on the glocal result will go to the google local business entry but thispage will also ahave a link to our website which the user may reach to buy what they want directly online.
-
It is against the Google Places guidelines to setup a Google+ Local page if you are not a business owner or representative of that business. They may never approve the listing.
Places / +Local listings are meant to give the user / searcher direct access to the business, not their affiliates or advertisers.
If you want to promote your clients' businesses then you should help them get it setup under their own accounts with all of their direct information.
There are ways to market local businesses online but in my opinion (and I' pretty sure Google's) a inauthentic Places page is not the answer.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How to Maintain SEO Rankings After Redesigning a Website?
Hi everyone! Presently, our web developer team is redesigning our website(live football today). Right now, our website is ranking well on all our targeted keywords. Soon our new website are going to be live. I'm worried about our present ranking. Will it affect our current ranking? If yes, how can we maintain our SEO rankings? Thanks!
Affiliate Marketing | | fktos.tam.906n0 -
Will i able to rank in google of i rephrase amazon product description?
Please guide me if I rephrase the information given on Amazon and write a unique article. Will my post rank in Google?
Affiliate Marketing | | Hmzashk512141 -
How to track Affiliate Clicks to Google Analytics
Hi, We would like to track the affiliate link clicks. Is there any way to track it from Google Analytic? Rajiv
Affiliate Marketing | | gamesecure0 -
Affilliate Marketing for local business? UK
Hi Just a quick question for expert UK affiliates. Would it be worthwhile in setting up a affiliate marketing campaign to get leads for windows, doors and conservatories for my small regional home improvement business? If so what is the best way to approach this, contact the likes of affiliate window? and would they deal with a small regional firm such as mine, or would they only be interested in national firms such as anglian home or everest home improvements? Many Thanks
Affiliate Marketing | | ocelot0 -
Google Panda & Effects On Affiliate Sites
Quick Question, We all have heard that outbound links for affiliate marketing will be filtered via Panda however how does this work when using the Google Affiliate Network URL's? Has anyone found different signals with using Google vs. Another Network?
Affiliate Marketing | | Ben-HPB0 -
My new site experienced a sudden drop in Google rankings
We launched a new affiliate site at the beginning of April this year dealing in reviews, vouchers and price comparison for a niche product. We had a pretty good start, with some of our target keywords ranking #8 #10 #7 but this week they have suddenly dropped off dramatically - like 36 or 42 places. We haven't made any changes to the site apart from publishing new content pieces, such as news posts and reviews - does anyone know why this would suddenly happen? Thanks
Affiliate Marketing | | JohnHillman0 -
Single domain or Multiple Keyword Domains
I do a lot of affiliate marketing for aftermarket truck parts and I also run a lot of community/forum type websites for trucks. On the affiliate marketing side of things, I usually will find a very good keyword rich domain name for a product, and build a site around that product. Sometimes it works well, sometimes it doesn't, but I typically feel like I have an advantage because of the very keyword rich domain names. Lately it's become a lot of work setting up these individual sites and promoting them. I try to do a good job, and provide quality content. I've considered moving these sites to one central site, like, one of my more popular truck community/forums and maybe start using sub-domains or sub-folders instead. They are all truck related, but they are all completely different parts. Some for performance, others being accessories. Does anyone have an opinion on this? I've read on here multiple times about the advantage in focusing all your link power in one place, but I feel at the same time that I would be missing out on the power of the great keyword phrase domains I've been using. If I combined all of these sites into a single community site, the site's content wouldn't be as targeted, right? I would appreciate any advice I can get. Thanks, Andy
Affiliate Marketing | | daenterpri0 -
How Google Shopping Relevance Determined?
After looking at Google Shopping results, I was wondering how the "Relevance" is determined. It would obviously be hugely beneficial to be ranked as one of the top 5 most relevant products, since that is the default sorting criteria. Originally, I thought it was a combination of Price and Seller Rating. But after examining a few examples, that doesn't seem to be the case. When doing a search for "Radian XTSL" - a car seat that our website features - JustKidsStore.com appears at/near the bottom of the Google Shopping list, despite having a competitive price and ranking well for that term organically (8-13). http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=radian+xtsl&hl=en&safe=off&cid=15471698622239402479&os=sellers# Do you know what the ranking factors are? And if so, can you give a few pieces of advice for best practices? Thanks!
Affiliate Marketing | | BarrettAhern0