Weather providers in search results - any idea how to become one?
-
Hi, as google are displaying more and more weather forecasts within results, we'd like to explore whether there's a possibility of exposing our api to google to allow them to use us as one of the providers for the data.
At the moment it appears they use weather.com, weather underground and maybe also accuweather (although I've not seen them mentioned for a while on there), but I'm not sure if this is some sort of commercial agreement, or whether it's simply that google have been given access to the api's from those providers in return for the link in the weather panel in the search results.
Does anyone have any information about this sort of thing (I assume weather isn't unique in this respect), or know of any way to contact google and find out at all please?
Thanks
Paul -
Hi Paul,
Exploring the possibility of exposing your weather data API to Google is a strategic move, especially given their display of weather forecasts in search results. It's true that Google often partners with established weather providers like the website you mention, Weather Underground, and AccuWeather to source their data. These partnerships may involve commercial agreements or data access arrangements.
To initiate a conversation with Google about this, I recommend reaching out through their official contact channels, which can typically be found on their developer or business support pages. By contacting them directly, you can inquire about potential partnerships and data sharing arrangements, and also express your interest in becoming one of their weather data providers. Additionally, you may want to explore the possibility of being featured in Google's weather panel alongside established providers, which could be a valuable way to connect your services with a broader audience, including through a prominent link to your site.
Incorporating your API into the Snow Day Predictor Canada could further enhance your visibility and value, particularly during snowy weather conditions, making your data an essential resource for those planning their activities on snow days.
Best of luck with your endeavor.
Warm regards,
[Lonna]
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
-
National services provider and localized SEO (no physical stores)
Doing work for a telecom provider who operates in over 25 states. They are not trying to drive traffic to their brick-and-mortar stores. They want their marketing website to show products/services/pricing dynamically when a user enters their zip code. Previously, we could not show this until the shopper was already in the purchase flow that began with their serviceable address. They want to move these location-based details more forward in the shopping experience. They would likely have a "default" zip and set of services/pricing displaying until a user changes their location. My question is how does Google treat local SEO on a site where all location-targeted content is dynamic? Will the website suffer in localized search, when a shopper, say, in Colorado, wants to search for Internet providers? Is it better to have distinct landing pages for each territory with services/pricing?
Local SEO | | sprydigital0 -
Free Local Search Marketing Tools You're Using These Days?
Hello to our wonderful community here! I'm updating an old list of free tools to use in a local search marketing campaign. The original list was created before there were quite so many paid tools in our industry, and it definitely needs an update! I'd like to ask, are there free tools you find yourself using these days in marketing local businesses? These could be related to any aspect of your campaigns. I'd love it if you'd share your favorites with me, especially if they are things you feel others might not be aware of but which are working really well for you! Thanks for any suggestions you can provide.
Local SEO | | MiriamEllis1 -
One website or multiple websites
Im going round in circles with the best way to go about marketting my business from an SEO and usability stand point. My company specialise in self adhesive films and vinyls which give us quite a varied niche. Our main areas are: Window films and interior vinyls such as printed wallpaper, wall coverings, furniture wraps etc for homes and businesses - For this area we cover nationwide Automotive films such as car window tinting, car and van wraps and paint protection films - for this we need the vehicles bringing to us so this is a more local are (around 20 miles of us max) Signs and graphics - anything from office signs, pavement signs to printed banners - these are all commercial and we go to the customer. For this its a new side to the business and Id say wed look to go withing 50 miles of our base. My dilemma is, firstly when pushing social media etc we have a real divide for who we target as we have the home owers and business owners on one hand and then car enthusiasts on the other. Also from an SEO point of view theres the local vs nationwide aspect. A few people I have spoken to have said trying to target local for some services and national for others may be a little problematic. I have some people saying have all services under one domain as the links back to the site and content will all help the site to rank better. This sounds logical to me. But then Ive had other people saying split the site into 2/3 sites. Definitely split the automotive which is local from the other national areas as these are also going to be a different audience 9car enthusiasts vs home/business owners). It will mean doing two lots of SEO but the sites will be more focused on the target audience and we can have one tagret local search and the other national. This too seems very logical. My gut feeling is that both options are sort of right but doesn anyone have any advice that could help me figure this out. Also to make things a little more complicated we have an ecommerce side were we supply goods direct to the public. Woudl I be better to have a fresh domain which is simply an ecommerce platform or have a seperate shop section on my main domain were people can go to buy the products if they dont want us to fit them?
Local SEO | | paulfoz16091 -
Discussion: Is Your Local Business Losing Customers To Digital Providers For Want Of Communication?
This week, I came across an article citing a fascinating statistic from The Harris Poll which surveyed consumers and found that the #1 reason they shop digitally for groceries is when they can’t purchase an item from their routine shopping sources. In other words, if the supermarket they shop at doesn’t carry Seventh Generation Laundry Soap (or some other product), then they’ll turn to a digital provider for fulfillment. This survey focused specifically on grocery items, but what it sparked in my brain was the fact that ANY local store that doesn’t have in place an active campaign to discover unmet consumer desires is likely going to see an increasing loss of sales as shoppers turn to online competitors. I’m going to jot down a few ideas for how better communication could lessen these types of losses, and I would really love it if our community could add to the list of suggestions: Have in-store signage that states, “Don’t see a favorite product of yours? Ask us to carry it!" Have SMS/text messaging that requests this same info from mobile users. Train staff to ask a clear, direct question like, “Is there anything you wish we carried here?” and have a process for aggregating that data to make new inventory buys. Be sure the company website is also asking for this feedback and making it clear that the store will gladly order items not already in-stock. Use social outreach to gather ideas from customers about favorite products that are missing from your inventory. Those are just some ideas off the top of my head. Now, I’m a Local SEO, not a retailer, so some of you will be better equipped to answer this question than I: How would you gauge whether a product is actually popular enough to keep permanently in-stock, rather than just being a one-time thing you’d special order for a customer with unusual tastes? I do wonder about how that plays into this scenario, and how a retailer should invest in new products not knowing whether just 1 customer will buy them or they will be a major hit with lots of customers. One final thought on this: a pain point I’ve noticed in the online/offline equation is time. I’ve had a store offer to special order an item for me, but if it’s something I need right away, I’ll look for a different source locally, or, if there isn’t one, may as well just order it online myself. So this makes me think: If you have access to extra fast shipping (faster than the average consumer could get a product shipped to his home) this would be a point to emphasize. If you can get a product overnight or maybe in 2 days without the consumer having to spring for a big shipping charge, this could influence his decision Google says that 30% of consumers state they would buy from a local store, rather than online, if they knew a product was available. So, this would indicate to me that making it very clear you’ve got the products a customer wants is vital. I recently took a 50 mile trip to purchase a high quality picnic basket from a retailer, because I needed it quickly. I couldn’t wait the 3-5 business days the manufacturer said it would take if I ordered online. Point being, if a local retailer has geographic convenience and fast service on their side, they’ve got an advantage. Please, add your thoughts and tips for strategies that could protect local retailers from losing customers to digital competitors. I’m really looking forward to reading any comments!
Local SEO | | MiriamEllis4 -
Why do SMB owners want more calls as a result of SEO, but don't answer 62% of them?
Working mostly with SMBs for 8 years now, we have gradually developed the notion that small business owners are hard to reach by phone. Our Customer Service agents spend hours unsuccessfully trying to reach business owners. If a potential customer calls the business, they'll have to face the same outcome. This means missed opportunities for both parties. Needless to say, one of the most important KPIs in local SEO is the number of generated phone calls...but no one's there to answer. We wanted to dig deeper into the matter, so we did a small study with 85 businesses. Results show that: 37.8% of calls are answered by a person. 37.8% of calls are answered by an answering machine, where no actual conversation (nor conversion) is possible, so we treat these calls as unanswered. 24.3% of calls are unanswered. We also gathered a list of possible solutions to the problem, but what we really need to know is WHY do business owners neglect such an important part of their business? And what resolutions can you think of?
Local SEO | | 411Locals0 -
Local Search - Google Mobile Results (Web&App)
Hi, I have a client with multiple locations. One of the locations manager is searching for branded and non-branded keywords on his mobile phone and not able to locate the business (within the parking lot of the location). Our ranking reports via a local search platform and manual checks indicate the location is actually ranking well. and we're seeing progress in GA. Has anyone deal with something like this before? This is a location that recently opened to the public. The concern is around mobile web and app results. I'm looking for some guidance around how to approach the situation. I'm sorry I cannot provide more details on the client.
Local SEO | | burnseo0 -
Any Notable Change in Google's Location Based Results?
I've noticed with many of our clients that when searching for general terms, with obvious local intent, that Google assumes you are in the nearest metro area rather than the specific locality. Anyone else noticed this? Example: I have an HVAC client who has ranked a solid #1 for "HVAC Repairs" since January - if the user was in the small town we were targeting (Wake Forest) since January. However, now Google assumes users in this town are in the nearby metro area (Raleigh), and displays local and organic results for Raleigh instead of Wake Forest. I first noticed this change in mid-May. From what I've read about the Nov Hummingbird update, I don't see that playing a direct role. Any insight?
Local SEO | | Rusty_Shackleford0 -
Does having /search/ in your URLs for searches within your site hamper these URLs from coming up on Google SERP's?
We are an aggregate site for a particular category and have our own internal search wherein visitors can search for local references to services that they are looking for. We use SOLR search and our results page for the "Tag123" search would look like www.mywebsite.com/city/search/tag123 For some reason, we see that these pages are all indexed on Google but they do not come up on SERPs appropriately! The content is unique and we also have appropriate title and description tags on these pages.
Local SEO | | mycity4kids0