Will we no longer need Location + Keyword? Do we even need it at all?
-
Prepare yourselves. This is a long question.
With the rise of schema and Google Local+, do you think Google will now have enough data about where a business is located, so that when someone searches for, a keyword such as "Atlanta Hyundai dealers" a business in Atlanta that's website:
- has been properly marked up with schema (or microdata for business location)
- has claimed its Google Local+
- has done enough downstream work in Local Search listings for its NAP (name, address, phone number)
will no longer have to incorporate variations of "Atlanta Hyundai dealers" in the text on the website? Could they just write enough great content about how they're a Hyundai dealership without the abuse of the Atlanta portion?
Or if they're in Boston and they're a dentist or lawyer, could the content be just about the services they provided without so much emphasis tied to location?
I'm talking about removing the location of the business from the text in all places other than the schema markup or the contact page on the website. Maybe still keep a main location in the title tags or meta description if it would benefit the customer.
I work in an industry where location + keywords has reached such a point of saturation, that it makes the text on the website read very poorly, and I'd like to learn more about alternate methods to keep the text more pure, read better and still achieve the same success when it comes to local search.
Also, I haven't seen other sites penalized for all the location stuffing on their websites, which is bizarre because it reads so spammy you can't recognize where the geotargeted keywords end and where the regular text begins.
I've been working gradually in this general direction (more emphasis on NAP, researching schema, and vastly improving the content on clients' websites so it's not so heavy with geo-targeted keywords).
I also ask because though the niche I work in is still pretty hell-bent on using geo-targeted keywords, whenever I check Analytics, the majority of traffic is branded and geo-targeted keywords make up only a small fraction of traffic.
Any thoughts? What are other people doing in this regard?
-
Currently I am using free version of ahrefs.com, will convert account into paid if required. I also use opensiteexplorer but I like anchor text distribution functionality of ahefs.com.
-
Thanks SanketPatel. Do you have a pay-for account with ahrefs.com or are you using the free version? Do you like it better than opensiteexplorer?
-
I user keyword + location but other way. Lets take your keyword: "Atlanta Hyundai dealers". If I have to optimize this keyword I prefer content "atlanta" in title or content. And Anchor text linking on hyundai dealers or directly on domain. ( Anchor text based upon current backlink profile using ahrefs.com ).
-
Thanks SankelPatel! I'll check them out. So do you not use any location + keyword on the clients' websites?
-
Hi, Apart from Schema, Google + local, Google map.... I do below things to generate local Signals: Local Business Listing, Press Release Distribution with Address, Clients Testimonial... Listing in social sites with same address twiiter, facebook, pinterest, Linkedin etc... Let me share blogpost which I like on local on seomoz: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/40-important-local-search-questions-answered http://www.seomoz.org/blog/you-asked-i-answered-qa-from-you-probably-think-this-citation-source-is-about-you-dont-you
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
-
Changing server location nearest to visitors? i am confused with the content part.
hi there, currently hosted in Singapore, and target audience is the US, john mueller said keep the url, content and cms the same. i am confused with the content part i have been tweaking the content for a month now because i have changed content on my site a day ago if i change the server the next day? is that bad? what should be done?
Algorithm Updates | | maria-cooper90 -
I am wondering if there is a right answer for keywords with alternate spelling.
I work in insurance, specifically CoOp Insurance. I researched on Google trend the 3 different spellings (Co Op, Co-Op and CoOp) and there is search volume for all 3 but no big trends. Moz shows optimization for all 3. Is there a right one to go after? Is the correct spelling the correct one to target, even if it doesn't have the highest search volume? Does going after the misspellings dilute branding, or enhance search visibility?
Algorithm Updates | | Trent.Warner1 -
Google has indexed some of our old posts. What took so long and will we lose rank for their brevity?
Hi, We just had a few of our old blog posts indexed by Google. There are short formed posts, and I want to make sure we're not going to get dinged by Google for their length. Can you advise?https://www.policygenius.com/blog/guaranteed-issue
Algorithm Updates | | francoisdelame0 -
Meta Description / Meta Keywords
So, I am using Wordpress and the seo by yoast..... I have heard that meta keywords and descriptions are no longer recognized or used by search engines with respect to page rankings in the serps. Is this true? If so, why do people still recommend using these? I thought content is king these days?
Algorithm Updates | | APICDA0 -
Need List of new high pr free local USA based directories list.
Need List of new high pr free local USA based directories list. Anyone can help ?
Algorithm Updates | | mnkpso0 -
Optimizing Main URL with Various Relevant Keywords
Hi, I am new to working with SEO on my website and making attempts to create rich content to allow me to rank above and near competitors of our very niche market for LED microlights. I understand the concept now of on-page optimization. I have found key words that are perfect for optimizing specific products. I am working on structuring my website with enriching content that specific key words will direct organic search traffic to products. However, what techniques do I use to drive traffic to my main domain with a keyword that is relevant to my site but no specific products? For example, the phrase "light show gloves" or "light show" is a keyword relevant to my site in general, so I would like my main URL to show in search results when these phrases are searched. What can I do to optimize my site for such phrases? Do I merely use them in related categories and product content? And if yes, how can I ensure I have optimized my domain fully for various relevant keywords and compare to competitors? Thanks!
Algorithm Updates | | Rofldew0 -
Troubleshooting Decline of Branded Keyword Searches
Hi, Over the past year, I have seen a huge change in the distribution of our organic keyword traffic. I'm trying to research why our branded keywords have gone down. Google analytics only shows me impressions for the past three months. Does anyone have ideas on how to explain this change in traffic? Please see the attached chart. Thanks! branded-v-nonbranded-organic-search.jpg
Algorithm Updates | | netdiva_amy0 -
Need some Real Insight into our SEO Issue and Content Generation
We have our site www.practo.com We have our blog as blog.practo.com We plan to have our main site in a months time from now as www.ray.practo.com The Issues - I will then need to direct all my existing traffic from www.practo.com to www.ray.practo.com Keeping in mind SEO and also since I will be generating new content via our Wordpress instance what are the best ways to do this so that google does not have difficulty in find out content 1. Would it be good if I put the Wordpress instance as ray.practo.com/ blog(wordpress instance comes in here in the directory) / article-url 2.Would it be better with www.practo.com / ray / blog/article-url I am using wordpress to roll out all our new SEO based content on various keywords and topics for which we want traffice - primary reasons are since we needed a content generation cms platform so that we dont have to deal with html pages and every time publish those content pages via a developer. Is the above - what soever I am planning to do in the correct manner keeping SEO in mind. Any suggestions are welcome. I seriously need to know writing seo based content on wordpress instance and have them in the urls is that a good idea? Or is only html a good idea. But we need some cms to be there so that content writers can write content independently. Please guide accordingly. Thanks
Algorithm Updates | | shanky10