Why is my local page is ranking better than yellow pages for that particular search?
-
My search query is "façadier bastogne" in google.be which in English would translate as "plasterer" and bastogne being the local city I am targeting. I can't seem to understand why my site peintre-plafonneur-facadier-bastogne.be/fr would rank higher than our local directory "Pages d'or" (Yellow Pages) which has a high DA and almost always ranks first for similar searches as "peintre bastogne" (painter)?
Not to mention my site was created by Pages d'Or. How did they manage to rank this so high whereas if you look at it you'll see that they have not made any SEO work on it whatsoever.
Could anyone help me understand this or tell me which way to look in order to get that information?
I really need this as I am paying a lot to this directory for my site and was planning to launch my own WordPress website.
-
Yes, I sure will
Thank you for caring.
Regards,
Thomas
-
Hi Thoma
Just make sure you use that Key phrase on your page: façadier bastogne
I'm sure you do - but check,
Thank & Regards
Nigel
-
Thank you again!
I'll follow your advice. I sure did not want to continue paying for the poor service they offer, the only problem I found was this "façadier bastogne" keyword which they somehow managed to rank high. I'll keep working on my new website and let go off theirs.
Your answers were very helpful and comprehensive.
I wish you a good day.
Thomas
-
If that was me I would not be paying anyone 8000 Euro for a listing - that seems very excessive. There must be other directories where you can list and achieve the same result. So with the new information, I would:
Strengthen the content on my page - if you are learning about SEO then you will know that you must optimize the meta tags and written content which must be minimum 300 words but in your case, I would say 1000+.
I would add images of the town centre with Alt tags saying the name of the town. I would have text and images talking about plastering with images and Alts describing the process.
I would then list the page on a number of other local directories - do not pay! Unfortunately, Whitespark does not cover France (https://whitespark.ca/best-citations-by-city/) but have a look you must have similar directories! Get listed on them and do not pay. Do not forget Google My Business (GMB) Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Pinterest, Flikr, Instagram - get your NAPS (Name Address Phone and Site address) Listed in about 20 White Hat - free directories & Socials - don't list in bad directories or those you have to pay for.
When you have done all of this - it may take a month - dump the paid Yell. Don't do it before.
Then you will be number 1 for sure and for free.
Regards
NIgel
-
Thank you!
You've been really helpful indeed. I know it's very risky to remove our website out of the listing, but the thing is we currently pay a 8,000 euros a year just for being in their listings and they're supposed to do SEO, write articles but you cannot see one article on it.
I've recently started a carrer in SEO and created this wordpress website facadesetpeintures.be. Don't you think I could do better and maybe regain that #1 position by creating valuable content.
And when you look at the search results of "facadier bastogne", you have like 4 adwords results, the local results and only then the website yell made for us.
In this case, even in the first position I would think that we lose a lot of click-through rate opportunities being so low under Adwords and Google my Business.
Plus we summed up the number of client emails coming from Yell in 2016. The number adds up to 8 and we did not even get the contract for all the clients.
At this point, I was thinking of optimizing my wordpress website and making my own Adwords campaigns.
What would you be your recommendation now that I have told you more about our website?
-
Hi Thomas
I would be very proud of myself that I am number 1 for that term to be honest.
Simply that Google serves the most relevant result from what is listed in the search results. Clearly, for this term, your website is more relevant for the term façadier bastogne than the Yell equivalent beneath you.
Don't forget this, you are a plasterer based in Bastogne whilst Yell is a listings directory. Forget the DA this has little to do with that. It is because your website is more relevant and more useful for the searcher. A directory will just list professions and locations so their results are more diluted - you are a plasterer and you are in Bastogne, great result!
Don't forget also that your site is receiving some benefit from the Yell site because of the link from them to you - this is a 'follow' link which of course passes some link juice to you as a very relevant back link so their listing is helping you be number 1.
I would think very carefully about dropping your listing from them as you might just see someone else jump over you for that coveted top spot.
I hope that helps.
Regards
Nigel
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
-
Google Places Competitor Category Ranks (Should we copy them?)
Competitors use "Interior designer" as primary category in Google My Business, they rank well in Google Places, across the phrases we target. Currently we use the same category, but "Office refurbishment service" would seem to be more relevant to us. Should we move to "Office refurbishment service" as the Primary category in Google My Business? If we do move would we need to change our citations? And for other keywords should we be influenced and copy the categories used by our competitors?
Local Listings | | GrouchyKids1 -
Is Local Search Data Included in Google Search Console?
Is local search data Included in Google Search Console? Or is it only in Google My Business? I'm having a hard time distinguishing what exactly is included in Google Search Console's reporting.
Local Listings | | DigitalMarketingSEO1 -
Accurate Rank Checking for Local SEO
Hi all, I am wondering if anyone out there has cracked the enigma of figuring out how to accurately find local rankings for multi-location businesses. I do understand that "accuracy" should be used loosely given the numerous factors that come into play for local such as distance from searcher and business location being located directly in the city of the search. So I definitely get that nothing will be entirely accurate but the programs I have used and the incognito browser approach just seems so far off. Moz tells me something different than the Google Adword Preview Tool which is different than SEMRush which is different than serps.com and so on. I have done the appending to search strings with near=city as well. I unfortunately do not trust any of them at this point. I would LOVE if my company flew me out to every single city we are in so I could do local searches but that is probably not going to happen 🙂 Any thoughts or recommendations for how I can get the most accurate local rank, even if it is an incredibly manual process? Is there an easy way for me to change my location anymore since Google stripped that option away awhile back? That was the ONLY time I felt I was getting somewhat accurate results. Thanks! -Ben
Local Listings | | Davey_Tree1 -
Facebook Locations - Good or Bad for Local Rankings?
Our company has multiple (3) offices, including our headquarters, and each has its own Facebook page. Other than the primary company page, the other two locations have only been claimed and do not have posts, reviews, check-ins, etc. Now, Facebook recently granted us access to Facebook Locations, which, if I understand correctly, would remove 2-out-of-3 office pages and add a "Locations" tab to our primary company page where people can see the other offices. _See Starbucks Example: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Starbucks/locations/?ref=page_internal _ I've read mixed reviews regarding using the Locations feature, but nothing definitively answers whether or not this would negatively affect local rankings. Does anyone have firsthand experience going from individual business pages to a single parent business page with Locations? Is there any trustworthy documentation out there about this?
Local Listings | | MPlata1 -
How do you do Local SEO in a small town?
Good afternoon everyone! I wanted to start a discourse on a subject that I think might benefit a few select readers. What would be your best plan-of-action to successfully propose and execute a Local-SEO campaign for a small, local business in a rural town? The type of town that has next to zero local directories, the type of business that has hardly any (if any at all) "fresh mentions" on the internet, etc. I'm interested to see how other SEOs would handle tackling this kind of campaign. Can't wait to hear what people have to say!
Local Listings | | TaylorRHawkins
Thanks!
Taylor1 -
Difference between Moz Local and Whitesparks
What is the largest difference between Moz Local account and using Whitesparks Citation Builder? Does anyone use both together?
Local Listings | | cschwartzel0 -
Tips for attributing specific rises in rank to increases in traffic
I'm curious how people attribute a rise or fall in a specific keyword to increases/decreased in traffic on a large website that ranks for a wide variety of keywords. I'm specifically interested tracking how small moves on the front page, especially the top positions and in competitive keywords affect (or don't affect) traffic/CTR. I'd like to be able to attribute specific changes in rank to their impact on traffic. I'm thinking about this more for internal testing and optimization rather than for reporting as a way to try to hone resources on what has the largest impact. Things I'd like to know more about: How to measure the difference in traffic/CTR for a term that moves from 2nd to 3rd position in SERPs. 3rd to 1st. 4th to 5th. 1st to 2nd. etc. etc. The same fluctuations, but in a local listing. The effect of moving above or below a local listing, or a listing with some other kind of extended result (sitelinks, news article, etc.) How to measure the impact of an appearance or disappearance of authorship on click through rate, especially for positions 2-5 in the SERPs. The same would go for a video snippet. Measuring changes resulting from any other type of change I'd love for as many people as possible to answer, with as specific or broad of an answer suits your experience and expertise. Feel free to answer only some of the questions, or provide related information. Links to articles, anecdotes, case studies, hunches, and hard numbers are all appreciated and welcomed. I look forward to hearing from people!
Local Listings | | Oren.0 -
How do I get impressions with specific search queries on Google places?
My local Google+ page: https://plus.google.com/104228491449315888832/about?hl=en
Local Listings | | CommercePundit
Business name: Lily Ann Cabinets
Business location: 1630 Coining Drive, Toledo, Ohio, USA
Business telephone: (800) 551-1438
Business category: Cabinet Store
Website: http://www.lilyanncabinets.com I have claimed one business on Google places associated to Kitchen Cabinets. According to my opinion, We're no.1 kitchen cabinet seller in Toledo, Ohio location. And, I am quite excited to gather impressions with Kitchen Cabinets keywords when people search from Toledo, Ohio location. I have checked Google search result for Kitchen Cabinets keywords from Toledo, Ohio location. And, I am not able to see my website name in Google places search listing. You can find out attachment to know more about it. Can anyone guide me to get impressions with Kitchen Cabinets search query with Toledo, Ohio location? Kitchen-Cabinets-Google-Search.png?part=2&view=1&vt=ANaJVrFeEcjJlJHKq5yo0kuWtQJabJJDCi7YqGRINUizw8vf78eRwdqcP8byqWpWC02n28jEsXu7qU2SebzymrZ-NJB5Kam_qtZcC75iQIj_G6zr-Mzejyw0