Using keywords instead of brand name on G+ to rank for local terms.
-
I noticed something this morning, when performing a search on Google UK for "Intensive driving courses southend" the first position is awarded to a driving school that is using exact match keywords instead of brand name on their G+ page to rank for local terms. See this for yourself here: https://www.google.co.uk/#q=intensive+driving+courses+southend
Until then, my site had held position 1 for this term for well over a year.
Every gut instinct I have tells me that this will not work forever and its not something I should implement, however I'm interested to hear if anyone else is using this tactic, and how its working for them?
How can I compete with this "grey hat" tactic?
-
Hi Silkstream,
Yep - it's almost always a relief to know what you're experiencing is part of a mass bug rather than an individual problem. Google tends to respond to system-wide problems with more speed and care than they do to edge cases. So glad I was able to answer your question and give you some peace of mind!
-
Thank you so much Miriam. Its good to know that its something that's already been picked up in the US. I've added my comments to a webmaster forum thread that Linda Buquet started regarding this issue too, hopefully, Google will tweak this sooner rather than later. At least I dont feel so helpless now! Thanks again.
-
Hi SilkStream,
What you are experiencing is almost certainly the dread attack of the bad Google one boxes. This is a documented phenomenon going on right now, believed to be fallout from the Hummingbird Update. Instead of showing a complete pack of results for queries like this, Google is surfacing single spammy results with forbidden, spammed business titles. Some listings are for businesses that don't even exist anymore! It's an extremely poor user experience, obviously, and hopefully one Google will fix with another tweak of the dial.
I recommend you do some reading on this. Here are some great resources:
http://blumenthals.com/blog/2013/09/28/hummingbird-local-knowledge-graph-shitty-search-results/
Hang in there. I really hope Google will fix this soon!
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
-
Why not just use an alias if the only change is a different domain Name?
We are rebranding our store with a new name. We have purchased a NewDomainName. Can I just make the "Old Domain Name" an alias for the "NewDomainName"? The site will not change in any other way than having a new logo. This is an e-commerce site with over 100 categories of artisan made products. So once we move the site, the old domain will be empty. Thank you Stephen
Branding | | stephenfishman1 -
Having trouble finding the right keywords for an abstract topic
Hello,
Branding | | IamKovacs
My website is about cultural exploration - foreign cultures. (the people, their art, food, music, places, etc.)
By volume, the word culture is referred to other kind of cultures: company culture, city culture, etc. Also, the people who are actually interested in exploring other cultures - be it food, art, music, travel diaries,
etc. usually do not actually type in "Cultural Exploration". How should I target my keyword? Do a bunch of secondary targets that cover specific? Or just use the word and keyword that are naturally related to the content and hope that google figures out who the right people to direct there?0 -
Short Custom Domains for using instead of bit.ly etc
Hi Can anyone recommend any good sources/sites for quickly trying to find good shortened custom domain options for using instead of bit.ly etc Any hints and tips at trying to find suitable ones too ? since ive tried a few sites and cant find anything suitable and keeps suggesting options with subfolders Thanks Dan
Branding | | Dan-Lawrence0 -
What marketing/branding services can you recommend to get more awareness of my site?
I am a programmer, not a marketing or social media genius. It also takes A LOT of time to market your website properly. Are there services that people can recommend that can help get my site out there and known to people more. I am always working on the SEO part and that takes time to improve. Just looking for suggestions. Thank you!
Branding | | BrickPicker0 -
Branded Domain Names - Keep or Sell?
Hey guys! My company is sitting on a number of branded domains to ensure we have control over the URL in case we ever want to do anything with them and/or to protect brand integrity. However, we are sitting on a total of 24 domains, which seems somewhat excessive. What are you thoughts about .info and .net domains? Or keeping branded domains in general? Is there a good rule of thumb to follow? We have a few up for renewal soon, so it'd be terrific to get your thoughts! Thanks much, Clarissa
Branding | | okatieo0 -
Is there any downside to have a product name (branded keyword) that has a top keyword in it?
The company I work for recently purchased another company. We are currently re-branding their product into our solution offering and are working on coming up with a new product name, while keeping SEO in mind. The product names that we are thinking of also includes a non-branded keyword that we actively look to rank for. We currently rank relatively high for this keyword. Is there any negative to having a product name that has a non-branded keyword in it. My first thought is that it is great because that non-branded keyword will be used repeatedly on our site when we mention the product. Things that I don't know though are: will it appear we are keyword stuffing does Google recognize that its a branded keyword and doesn't rank us for the non-branded aspect Any feedback or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Vince
Branding | | IFSNA0 -
Trying to de-mystify Google Places, Google Local & Google Plus
There is a lot of online 'noise' regarding the changes / merging and making the best out of Googles' Places / Local & Google Plus. Any tips, ideas, experiences or just plain revelations regarding all or any of the above services and how they will work & come together in the future?
Branding | | ScotSEO0 -
Branding/Domain Challenge
A year and a half ago, SEO was all new to me and I may have made a mistake that looks to be a problem now. In a misguided quest to rank higher and faster, I used a domain for it's keywords and quick ranking potential rather than using my business' name URL. I've built the links and authority to where I'm now ranking well for many of my local search terms which is important for my local business success. The situation is that now I want to expand my business nationally as a franchise which will require my company's name in the domain(?), and the addition of entirely new pages and terms. My company's name' URL> www.ImpactMMAfitness.com is pointed to my site www.austinfitnessgyms.com and GA shows a significant # of visitors type our name in to find us. I also think it would be odd for someone outside my town looking for franchise info to be pointed to a different domain with Austin in it. I was wondering what option would be best: Keep as is Change domains - ouch!? Make a new second site ? I have 'ImpactFranchise.com I could use for a new site just for franchising but I would be starting at the bottom for any rankings. Is there a solution, or did I dig myself into a hole?
Branding | | OhYeahSteve0