Community Discussion: Miriam's 2017 Local SEO Predictions ... And Yours?
-
I want to start this thread by thanking everyone in our community who has started and contributed to great threads this past year. You guys are an inspiration!
I want to offer up a few predictions for the Local SEO industry in 2017 and ask you to contribute your own:
-
Attribution will be big in 2017. Google will roll out a more thorough set of attributes in the GMB dashboard as we move forward through the new year.
-
We'll see further rollout out of paid packs in service industries in which Google can play the middle man role. Free-packs won't be gone by the end of the year, but there will be fewer of them.
-
Even SMB local businesses will have to start to tackle the ramifications of voice search.
-
Local SEO will continue to merge with traditional, offline marketing.
-
Local business websites will still matter, but Google will continue to do all it can to keep users within layers of its own local product, and some people will find this maze a bit bewildering.
-
Reviews will finally be recognized as an integral facet of citations, rather than as something separate from them.
Now, please, look into your own crystal ball and share your predictions with the community. What are your predictions for Local SEO in 2017? I'd love to know. And, while I'm at it, please let me wish each of you a busy and profitable new year in our exciting industry!
-
-
Hi Julie,
I wouldn't predict that happening in 2017 (or any time soon). Google has simply positioned themselves too well. That being said, Facebook is definitely one of the major deterrents to Google having the whole pie, and Apple Maps has made some improvements in the past year that could lead to them taking a little bit of a larger slice
-
Do you think anyone can make a dent in Google's dominance? I had expected Facebook to gain some share this year, but it doesn't seem like they've made an impact.
-
Nice predictions, Brett! Count me as one of the folks who thought G+ was simply irrelevant for most local businesses after the big G+/Local break-up. Lo and behold, I've spoken with industry folks I respect who have told me they are still getting traction from it in 2016 for some clients. I'd love to see more people writing about the specifics of this.
-
I see Google focusing on mobile more and more. The launch of Pixel was specifically done to maintain search share (people rarely change default browsers on mobile devices, which Microsoft used to their advantage in Europe by releasing phones preloaded with Bing).
That said, mobile friendliness will be ever more important. This means the mobile first index will be fine tuned, and I expect to see more ad revenue focused on mobile this year. Site speed will continue to play a factor, and further integration of video into the SERP and paid ads is where I'll put my money.
HTTPS is already a ranking factor, but I expect that to become more important in the future once a certain threshold is crossed. Once Google can force the issue without impacting their own search quality I'm sure it will happen. Unknown if that will be a 2017 advancement or further down the line.
And of course Google will continue to try and make G+ relevant
-
I can see that, Donna. The race will be to the swift, for sure. Go small local businesses, go!!!
-
Good ones, Gyi! Thank you for contributing. Agree with everything on your list ... with the possible exception of (hopefully) less spam. This always seems to be at the bottom of Google's own list. Haha
Really enjoyed your points.
-
Small business owners' frustration will grow as Google continues to add layers and nuances to an already crowded and overly-complex process making it harder for them to allocate the time and resources needed to compete.
-
1. Paid Local Packs
2. (Hopefully) Improved local pack data (i.e. Google My Business, local phone tracking).
3. More SERP to lead capture (i.e. schedule appointment, message, etc).
4. (Hopefully) Less spam.
5. More local packs appearing lower in SERPs (i.e. organic outranking packs).
6. Links will still matter.
7. More local pack filtering options.
-
Good ones, Sean! Thanks for contributing to this. Especially like your prediction about 'near me' searches
-
Hey Miriam,
Whatever happens, I would LOVE Google to roll out a more comprehensive way of exporting Google My Business data - the API is still massively limited and the manual process of exporting data for clicks, calls, website visits etc. is an absolute killer!
Referring to your prediction number 3 on voice search, I'm thinking there's going to be way more of a focus on geolocation and we're going to see another huge rise in 'near me' searches.
All the best,
Sean
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
-
Rankings preferring English URL above local URL
We've recently had a redesign for our website and it has influenced our rankings a little bit. However, what I mainly noticed is that for some keywords in MOZ the English URL is looked at in terms of ranking, instead of the local URL. It used to be just the local URL ranking, even for keywords that are more English oriented, and I'm wondering if that might be hurting our rankings. And more importantly, why it's happening. An example of a page where it's happening is: https://www.bluebillywig.com/online-video-platform/
Local SEO | | Billywig0 -
Unsolved GMB Local SEO question
I am trying to diagnose how one particular competitor is smoking us in local rankings. I came across a text field “Service Details' within Google My Business Services. This allows me to put in a brief description of each service we offer. My thought is that this could be a good place for keywords. That said, the descriptions are not public facing (or to the best of my knowledge) so I am reluctant to do all the work for nothing. I am wondering if anyone has filled these out and if there were any noticeable results. Any insight is appreciated
Local SEO | | jorda0910 -
Does popup ads affects SEO?
Hi, webmasters, As a part of Christmas, we have enabled some pop-up advertisement on our homepage. However, we are doing SEO for our services, and if there any SEO experts here, please share your view on my question. Reference of the website which im saying is https://www.cash4carremovalsydney.com.au/ However, if this affects SEO, tell me an alternate solution for this concern for promoting our Xmas offer for our cars removal services.
Local SEO | | AnuManish0 -
How to go about SEO when the content on all the pages is in a regional language (with its own script which is non-roman) but majority of searches are in the same language but roman script?
For example, the entire content is in an Indian language called Gujarati and the script is also Gujarati. However, when I did a keyword research, I found that majority of the searches are in Gujarati langugage by roman script e.g. "gujarati sahitya" meaning Gujarati literature. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Local SEO | | Tumul0 -
Home Service Ads Interview 2017 - Plumber
I am not sure how I feel about home service ads so far. They are supposed to make it easier for home service businesses to connect with clients but the difficulty level seems to be off the charts. I have my first client scheduled for an interview tomorrow. We have 2 previous interview schedules and something went wrong on their end. I have a Plumbing client about to do the video interview? Does anyone have any experience to help my client with the interview? What questions will they ask? What does he need to be prepared for to pass the interview? From a manager/consultant standpoint, does the client need an Adwords manager if he is running home service ads?
Local SEO | | PSLab0 -
Find high DA link opportunities in your local area
Hi, part of my link building strategy is ideally going to be from outreach to local businesses. I run a local service business operating in multiple locations (with no physical base). I have created local landing pages on which I'm showcasing local businesses and photographers (relevant not in terms of industry but location). Its my intention to show off their business as best I can, then get in touch to say "hey, we love what you're doing with X product/service, check out our site here [link]. We'd love it if you could link to us etc etc". Assuming that this is a valid strategy, what is the best way to find locally relevant sites with the highest domain authority?
Local SEO | | Cleanily0 -
Does the physical location of a server effect the local rankings of a site?
I've just been running a report on a site and noticed that while they have a .co.uk domain it is hosted on a server in the United States and just wondered if anyone was aware, if the physical location of a server mattered to search engines for ranking purposes especially with local search?
Local SEO | | ben_dpp0 -
How to promote a local SEO/Web design company via a blog (mainly blogging) and social media?
Hello, What is possible as far as promoting a local SEO and Web Design Company with a blog? I'm offering simple web design, both informational and product based, as well as SEO for existing informational and product-based companies here in Boise, Idaho. At first it won't be face to face so there's no local SEO. I honestly don't like to sell. I've done it for years and I'd like to spend my time blogging (mainly blogging), doing social media, and volunteering. How can I use this approach to get a beginning agency off the ground? Please don't tell me to go push my services. I'd like to get my company off the ground through avenues that have integrity to me. How do I do this? Feel free to include articles and videos in your response if appropriate. Thank you.
Local SEO | | BobGW0