SearchLove San Diego 2015 | David Mihm, 'Local Search: Shiny Objects may be Closer than They Appear

@davidmihm! © SEOmoz, Inc. 2015!
Local Search in 2016 
Shiny Objects May Be Closer Than They
Appear!
DAVID MIHM!
DIRECTOR OF LOCAL STRATEGY, MOZ!
!
!
DISTILLED SEARCHLOVE!
SAN DIEGO, CA 
SEPTEMBER 10 2015!

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors-2008.shtml!

The easiest, cheapest, quickest way to
get the most new customers.!

WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF
TWO PARADIGM SHIFTS!
https://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/pagedooley/18634815839/!

WITHIN GOOGLE!
A) Getting visibility in
high-value organic
results is much
harder.!
!
B) Organic “local
search results” are
becoming
unrecognizable.!

BEYOND GOOGLE!
Need to backﬁll the
inevitable loss of Google
organic local search trafﬁc
coming in the next few
years.!

IN A LOT OF WAYS, THESE TWO SHIFTS ARE CONNECTED.!

PART I: THE SHIFT  
WITHIN GOOGLE!

A) Visibility is getting harder.!

Brand and Conversational Search!

Users 
(and Brands)!

http://www.rimmkaufman.com/blog/google-local-pack-map-changes-cause-steep-decline-organic-brand-ctr/28082015/!

NOPE.!

None of this changes the basic elements of a
local search campaign.!
!
They are table stakes.!
Are
you
ﬁndable
on
REcovery
searches?

Are
you
conver5ng
these
customers?


What are the stakes?!
Discoverable, authoritative page per location!
Accurate location data across the ecosystem!
Handful of reviews per location!
Decent store locator!
Consistent NAP on trusted sites!
Baseline social proof!

“Other stuff” increasingly matters:!
Domain Authority (Brands) 
Location Authority (SMBs)!
Brand / Behavior!
Brand searches!
Clickthrough rates!
In-store visits!

Behavioral Signals!

https://moz.com/blog/google-may-use-your-behavior-to-impact-search-rankings-whiteboard-friday!

http://www.slideshare.net/darrenshaw1/darren-shaw-user-behavior-and-local-search-dallas-state-of-search-2014!

“Other stuff” increasingly matters:!
Domain Authority (Brands) 
Location Authority (SMBs)!
Brand / Behavior!
Brand searches!
Clickthrough rates!
In-store visits!
!
Content!
Unstructured citations (authority and volume)!
Review text in long-tail categories (authority and volume)!

Unstructured Citations!

B) Organic local search results are
becoming unrecognizable.!

GOOGLE’S SHINY
OBJECTS: 
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
WHAT DO THEY
ADD UP TO?!

Uniﬁed login!
Personalized results!
Cross-device tracking!

http://searchengineland.com/google-maps-explore-adds-curated-recommendations-new-features-229711!

http://searchengineland.com/google-glass-diary-part-4-local-search-navigation-160785!

Image courtesy Mike Blumenthal, blumenthals.com!

Google’s Local Search!
LASER!

“ $ ?”! “ ?”!

PART II: BEYOND GOOGLE!
(Everyone else’s shiny objects)!

http://searchengineland.com/bing-ﬁve-years-old-193114!

“The age of [users] going to Google
on your desktop and ﬁnding [their]
way to Yelp – while it’s not over –
we’ve sort of hit that peak.” 
 
--Yelp Q4 2014 Earnings Call!
!
https://www.ﬂickr.com/photos/jdlasica/!

source:
internetlivestats.com


http://ﬂurrymobile.tumblr.com/post/127638842745/seven-years-into-the-mobile-revolution-content-is!

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/06/16/apples-siri-spotlight-extend-google-like-search-inside-ios-9-apps-without-tracking-users!

http://www.wired.com/2015/08/facebook-launches-m-new-kind-virtual-assistant/!

http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/09/01/hilton-launches-new-partnership-with-uber-gives-you-access-to-uber-data/!

For most of us, unpaid local search trafﬁc 
from Google WILL decline.!

*!
!
* WHICH, OH BY THE WAY, LEADS 
TO BETTER RANKINGS AT GOOGLE!
HOW DO YOU COMBAT THIS
FRAGMENTATION?!
 
HOW DO YOU AVOID PAYING FOR 
THESE SEARCH RESULTS?!
FOCUS ON TRAFFIC SOURCES 
FAR BEYOND GOOGLE.!

PART III: THE PLAN!

Authority!
Barnacles: 
Review 
Proﬁles 
(Yelp)!

Authority Barnacles: Activity (Facebook, e.g.)!

Authority Barnacles: Features (3rd-Party Content)!

Authority Barnacle Tactics!
1)  Customer Engagement (Reviews)!
2)  Customer Engagement (Activity)!
3)  Inﬂuencer Content-Producers (Features)!

Customer Engagement (Reviews)!
First Barnacle: Yelp!

http://www.yodle.com/downloads/what-consumers-want-from-local-businesses.pdf!
“Who had a positive experience?”!

(h/t Professor Maps)!
Who had a positive experience? (by hand)!

Who had a positive experience? (via Facebook)!

(Reviews on Other Platforms)!

Enter FullContact!

http://www.yodle.com/downloads/what-consumers-want-from-local-businesses.pdf!

http://marketingland.com/incentivized-check-ins-white-hat-trick-getting-reviews-yelp-120607!
Asking for Yelp Reviews: 
The White Hat Way!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fdavid-mihm-portlan
Asking for Yelp Reviews: 
The Blackish Hat Way!

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web 
&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved= 
0CB8QFjAAahUKEwjTkq2KserHAhVLmYgKHTy6BdM& 
url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yelp.com%2Fbiz%2Fdavid-mihm- 
portland&usg=AFQjCNEUKZkFTT08D-TWLEveajX_n6sJvA&sig2=
gYi1brzfrv3CqYw7_LNKqA!

Review-Focused CRM!
Get Five Stars!

Customer Engagement (Activity)!
Second Barnacle: Facebook / Instagram!

- Kill a much-beloved lion in Zimbabwe!
- Offer free check-up for recently-returned vets!
- Host a “Green Card” poker night with proceeds
going to application / administrative fees!
- Sponsor a local high school scholarship for
Latino youth!
- Host a “spring cleaning” event donating no-
longer-used items to a local homeless shelter!
- Partner with California Closets to haul away
and donate no-longer-used items!
Customer engagement as content!

Amplify Your Engagement!
Run sponsored image ads on Instagram!
!
!
Use your CRM:!
!
- Retarget your customer list via GDN!
!
!
!
- Encourage donations via Facebook and
Twitter ads!

Inﬂuencer Content-Producers (Features)!
Third Barnacle: Content!

Captive Inﬂuencers: 
Facebook Connections!
h"ps://www.facebook.com/search/112548152092705/residents/present/me/friends/friends/109330299086483/job-‐liker-‐union/employees/intersect

New Inﬂuencers: 
Facebook “Connections”!
h"ps://www.facebook.com/search/112548152092705/residents/present/6321831972/employees/present/109330299086483/job-‐liker-‐union/employees/intersect

http://www.intel-sw.com/blog/facebook-search/!

Authority Barnacles:!
The Impact on Search Results!

Case Study!
Mae PDX!

Net – Net – Net!
What Should You Focus On?!
TABLE STAKES!
Store Locator!
Location Data!
Reviews!
“WINNING HANDS”!
Brand + Authority!
Inﬂuencer Visibility!
Customer Engagement!
Across ALL sources of customer demand, not
just Google.!

SearchLove San Diego 2015 | David Mihm, 'Local Search: Shiny Objects may be Closer than They Appear

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SearchLove San Diego 2015 | David Mihm, 'Local Search: Shiny Objects may be Closer than They Appear