SEO Google local listings
-
Hello
We've recently started a campaign for a local business, and now the domain authority and the number of links to the site are equal if not more to all local major competitors (bar one) and organic rankings for relevant terms are increasing well...
However we still do not appear in the google local listings, despite having a verified location business account - fully set up and active and linked to the website.
Does anyone have any advice for increasing local rankings?
Thanks in advance kind mozzers
-
Hey Radi,
Sure! Send over the details and I will take a look.
-
Hi Ryan,
Hope you are well. Thanks for your swift response to this question last month. I have checked the things you mentioned and thought maybe time will help, however a month and a half later, I still have the same issue. Could I msg you the details?
Thanks!
-
How kind of you to say that, Sarah. It's my pleasure to lend a hand!
-
Thanks so much Miriam, your posts are always so informative and helpful. This is all really clear now and I know what needs doing. Thank you again.
-
Thank you, Sarah!
So, reviews are sentiments left by a third party who has done business with your company. In other words, I eat at your restaurant and then I go to Google, Yelp or some other review platform to leave a review of my dining experience. Google-based reviews are considered to have the most impact on Google pack rankings, but perhaps not the most impact on conversions. In the U.S., for example, Yelp profiles are often particularly influential, if they have great reviews or really bad ones. Reviews can also exist on a company's own website, using a review app of some kind that allows customers to review a product or service. Think Amazon.com.
If you are being outranked in the local packs by a competitor, reviews are one thing to evaluate as they are one of the signals (though only one) which can cause a competitor to outrank you.
Citations are partial or complete mentions of your business NAP+W (name, address, phone + website) on any third party platform, whether that's a business directory, a blog, a news site or what have you. Any time your partial or complete NAP+W is mentioned anywhere on the web (except your own website), that is a citation. It's a vital part of Local SEO to be sure that all citations feature consistent data (NAP+W is identical across the board). Like reviews, the number, consistency and authority of your citations are believed to impact local pack rankings. So, if a competitor has more citations, better consistency, or citations on more authoritative sites than you do, it can contribute to them outranking you. So, again, this is something to evaluate in doing competitive analysis.
Hope this helps clarify, and you might like to check out our free Local Learning Center for more definitions of the elements of a Local Search Marketing campaign: <cite class="_Rm">https://moz.com/learn/local</cite>
-
Hi Miriam,
As always, very useful and informative response. Can you explain what you mean by
-
Review inequalities
-
Citation volume inequalities or citation newness
What, in business do you consider to be a Citation and what a Review - I am asking from a UK market and finding it difficult to differentiate between the two.
Many thanks
-
-
Hi Radi!
Your question is an important one, but without being able to look at the actual business, the community will have to provide general answers rather than specific ones. It's perfectly fine if you can't share your client's info - but it will limit the specificity of the feedback you'll receive here.
Local ranking issues generally stem from one or more of the following:
-
Guideline violations
-
NAP consistency problems
-
Review inequalities
-
Poor organic strength
-
Newness
-
Citation volume inequalities or citation newness
-
A history of past issues with the business or its account (past violations)
-
Geographic limitations (user as centroid, distance from industry centroid, etc.)
There can be other things, but these are the big ones. A look at the 2015 Local Search Ranking Factors survey is going to be the best place to start considering the many, many factors that contribute to rank:https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
It sounds from your description like the business and/or your campaign are new. It's important to understand that age does matter, and that it takes time for things like citation building to go into effect. So, if you're doing the right things (building consistent citations, earning slow but steady reviews, building great content on the website, etc.) then it may just be a matter of time before you see this pay off. It's really important to set client expectations properly regarding this. But, at the same time, it's also vital to be sure that there are no guideline violations, duplicates or a past history of problems, so that you are squaring away those things that can hinder the good efforts you are currently making.
Hope this helps!
-
-
Hi,
You should try Reviews. Say your customers or user to give review on Business listing results and another places where site listed.
-
Hey Radi,
There could be several issues but without taking a closer look with the business details, I can't give you exact reasons why.
The most common issue tends to be NAP (Name, Address & Phone Number) consistency. You need to make sure all the details on directories etc are all the same. I would also advise you check the category of the Google+ page as this can play a key part in the local rankings.
To help push local rankings even further, I would advise you get links from local companies or from website relevant to the local area. Feel free to share the business name and address and I'd be happy to help out.
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 My Business
I have a quick question about Google my Business listing. If moving a business to a new location, would all you need to do is edit the listing with the new NAP? The business is verified. Would I need to do anything else? Thanks for your help.
Local Listings | | Kdruckenbrod0 -
UK aggregators of local business data
Hi Guys, I have signed up for Moz Local and I am looking for UK aggregators of local business data to help build my search. Can anyone recommend a source?
Local Listings | | SEM_at_Lees0 -
1800 number for google local
Hi A client with a local business has a 1800 number on their google plus page and most citations. How important is it to use the local number and not a 1800 one for google local? Should we change the phone number to the local number and update all listings? Or should we just continue with the 1800 number and stay consistent? I have added the local number as a second number on the google plus page.
Local Listings | | henya1 -
Clients are not showing up on Google Places (Maps)
Dear Esteemed Mozzers, I am having trouble with a few clients not showing up on the map for Google Maps (Places). What's interesting is that for one of my clients, a number of her competitors (some of them in the same office building) appear on the maps, however, my client does not. Nevertheless, this client is on G+, uses Yext, Yelp advertising, PPC with Google, etc. and as far as I'm concerned, has signed up for every other 'local' listing service of value. With that, I'm hoping you guys may be able to point me in the right direction to get my clients back on track and showing up on the Google Maps (Places) listings. Thank you all in advance for reading this, I look forward to your responses!
Local Listings | | maxcarnage0 -
Google requires that businesses that serve there customers at their customers' locations must hide its address. However, this causes an notice in Moz Local advising that the Google listing is inconsistent. Is that something to just ignore?
I run a walking tour company that operates from a virtual office. We run tours are set locations outside the office. Because of this, Google requires that we hide our exact location. However, Moz Local is warning us that "incomplete listings can negatively impact your ability to rank well in search engine results". Most listings won't allow you to hide an exact address. Do the search engines understand this and therefore we won't get penalized? Thank you.
Local Listings | | freetours0 -
Local listing ranking higher than domain name
Hi everyone,I was wondering why on my ranking report there is a fluctuation between the local listing page and the domain name page. Is it a way to always get the domain name ranking higher than the local listing?Thanks for your support,RM
Local Listings | | skrauss0 -
What are your experiences using the new Google Local Descriptor feature?
I'm looking for any insight from those who have used the Descriptor feature on your Places listings. Has it helped in any way? Caused issues? My issues with this feature are described in this question I posted the other day. But I haven't tried using the feature yet, and I'm hoping to learn from some of you who have.
Local Listings | | irapasternack0 -
Google Places category language issue
Hi there! I've recently added a new listing in our Google Places for Business account. When adding the basic info initially, the category suggestions where in English, so I just picked one. We are based in The Netherlands however, so I'd like to use the Dutch categories. When I edit our existing listing, the category suggestions are Dutch. When I edit our new listing, suggestions keep showing in English. Does anyone know how I can change this? I tried to switch language settings in my Google account, but it seems like the categories are just stuck on a certain language once the listing is set up? Thanks for your help!
Local Listings | | RBO0