Dave Cosper of EZlocal, Inc. covering the important ranking factors affecting your Google+ Local Page. A practical Local SEO guide for SMB marketers.

1. Competing for
Visibility in Maps &
Google+ Local
Small Business Pro Guide
Local by Dave Cosper
VP Marketing, EZlocal, Inc.
© 2012 EZlocal, Inc. | Local Search Made Easy ezlocal.com

2. Local

3. The shift to social (Google+) is indicative of a
more democratized local algorithm.
Google Places Google+ Local
Further evidence is Google Map Maker being
increasingly relied on as the back-end for Google+ Local.

4. The Google Local Business Center (owner dashboard) used for
edits/updates/reporting will likely be wholly integrated into Google+ Local
with Map Maker serving as the back-end “mapper-driven” verification tool.

5. Map Maker encourages users (or "mappers") to
update geographic info, particularly in their local
area, within Google Maps. Updates are reviewed by
other mappers before being published online.
Note: “Google Trusted Reviewers” are allowed
special editorial privileges. Opportunistic
SMB Marketers would be wise to begin diligently
working towards attaining this special status.

6. Google Maps and Earth content is constantly
being updated from every angle – literally.

7. How local search content often displays in a SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ...
AdWords Ads; Sponsored Ads; PPC
(Google paid advertising)
Local business listings; Maps;
Google+ Local (formerly “Places”)
Organic
Universal results: websites; Internet
directory (IYP) listings

8. Making sense of Google’s
local search algorithm
Consider that Google relies on multiple sources
for information verification, weighing various signals
to determine which businesses are the most relevant
and locally prominent for any given search query.

9. Your Google+ Local page.

10. 100’s of factors determine where this page ranks
Ex: plus.google.com/115118824099727884428

11. Local search ranking factors
are based largely on:
Location
Relevance
Prominence

12. Location ”Distance from centroid”
ezlocal.com/mapradius
Don’t expect to rank in Maps outside of a 10 to 15-mile radius of city searched.

13. Relevance ”Authenticity and depth of content”
Does content throughout the web (associated to your NAP)
corroborate your categorization and location?

14. Prominence “Local popularity”
Quantity and quality of mentions, and reviews, of your business.

15. Google+ Local Page Ranking Factors (just a few):
• Physical address in city of search on G+ Local page
• Proper business category associations on G+ Local page
• Domain authority of website
• Quantity of structured citations (IYPs, data aggregators)
• City and state in the page title of home page
• Local area code on G+ Local page
• Quantity of native G+ Local page reviews
• Quality/authority of structured citations
• Owner-verified (claimed) G+ Local page
• Quality, quantity and diversity of inbound links to website
• Product/service/location keywords in anchor text of inbound links
• Photos and logos, and video, on G+ Local page
• Depth of content, and % completion, of G+ Local page
• Categories and location keywords in G+ Local page review content
• Categories and location keywords in G+ Local page “at a glance”
• Number of +1s on your website
• Number of followers of G+ Local page
• Historical performance of G+ Local page
• Number of likes on Facebook
• Number of followers on Twitter

16. Important: Standardize your NAP and business
details according to Map Maker User Guides.
http://support.google.com/mapmaker
N = Name
A = Address
P = Phone number (local)
Tip: Pay close attention to Google’s grammar guidelines for business name and
street address. Avoid address abbreviations, keyword stuffing, and use of special
characters such as '#' or '/' in the Name and Address field, with the exception of a
dash or hyphen character '-‘ or a ‘#’ used in this format: #suite number (#200).

17. Establish consistency
Once your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) is
standardized using Google Maps guidelines and ran
through USPS verification, it is important to make sure your
NAP is consistent everywhere else on the web – including
on your website using hCard / schema.org format.
Example: If Google crawls your listing on another site
and instead of “Road”, you have “RD”, Google may not
read it as the same address.
Your NAP serves as the anchor in building valuable
citations throughout the web and establishing your
online “certificate of trust”. Treat it with care.
Note: Do not list multiple phone numbers. Use the same local phone # on all listings.

18. Build-out your G+ user account
The user account associated with your G+ Local page
should be complete. Add personal details, photos,
etc. Ideally, use an email address linked to your
business’s domain (owner@yourbizname.com).
Be active, build social connections and Circles.

19. Upload a minimum of 10 unique photos
GeoTag: mark location of your photos. This feature
is available on all smart-phones.
Tip 1: Add GPS Tags manually via sites like
Panoramio, Flickr, Mappr, and Google Earth.
Tip 2: Use keyword descriptive file names
and provide image descriptions
(ex: riva-motorsports-service-center.png).

20. Keep your page fresh by periodically updating
content, like messages “from the owner”

21. You can enhance your page with a Street View
interactive 360-degree “see inside” tour:
Locate a Trusted Photographer here: http://maps.google.com/businessphotos

22. Include a YouTube video(s)
This is an optimized 60-sec HD video we created
for our client CrossFit: http://youtu.be/Y4gp8PZ1KsA
Google+ Local pages with video not only consistently rank better
but also generate higher engagement and response rates.

23. Generate a minimum of 10 customer reviews
Encourage customers to leave detailed reviews.
It’s okay to incentivize, but make sure you don’t
get too many all at once – spread them out.
Target reviewers with established G+ accounts.
Tip: Consider “Reviews” and “+1’s” to be the new “inbound links” of G+ Local.

24. Make it easy for customers to find and leave
reviews on your Google+ Local page
Use QR codes on marketing materials and place review links
on your website, emails, Facebook, etc.

25. Building citations throughout the Web.

26. What are citations?
Citations are “mentions” of your business name and address
on other sites (no link necessary). Structured citations from
well-established sites and business portals/directories help
increase the degree of certainty major search engines like
Google, Bing and Yahoo have about your business’s contact
information and categorization.

27. Citations not all created equally
Weight of local citations will vary city to city and by business
category. Here are just a few worth mentioning:
Yelp
Yahoo Local
SuperPages
CitySearch
Facebook
DexKnows
BBB.org
YouTube
City-Data
Yellowbook.com
Yellowpages.com
Angieslist
MerchantCircle
ServiceMagic
Manta
EZlocal

28. Seek out citation sources by looking for
relevant sites around the web.
Look for niche/vertical directories within your industry and locale by Google
searching your phone number and that of your high-ranking competitors –
identifying directory listings indexed in search results.
Tip: Use tools like whitespark.ca/local-citation-finder to look for potential citations.

29. Building citations: Think outside the box!
Look for citation opportunities from a variety of sources -- be
creative and think outside the box. The more locally popular
and trusted the source the better.
Examples: Set up a free Wi-Fi hotspot at your business and get listed in
Wi-Fi directories. Offer check-in deals via Foursquare. Sponsor local
events and groups who will in return publish your business’s NAP on their
webpages. Lots of opportunities out there.

30. Create KML (Keyhole Markup Language) files
KML can be effective for citations, especially within certain
verticals. KML is a file format used to display geographic data in
an Earth browser, such as Google (and Bing) Maps. Create KML
files to pinpoint locations, add image overlays, and share rich
data. You can do this with GeoRSS map feeds as well.
ezlocal.com/map
Tip: GeoSitemapGenerator.com is a free and user-friendly KML file generator.

31. Why Local-Mobile-Social is important

32. There’s a frenzy of consumers searching local
86% of consumers use the Internet to
find local businesses. 2
58% of consumers begin a purchase on
search engines, outpacing company
websites and social media. 3
More than 20% of all searches on Google each day have local intent. 4
Online search is the #1 way consumers look for products & services. 2

33. Online reviews are kind of a big deal
86% of consumers consult online
reviews before buying, and 90% of
consumers trust the reviews they read. 5
7 out of 10 consumers share reviews
with friends, family & colleagues. 6
78% of consumers say reviews are
important when deciding what to buy. 7

34. Word-of-mouth still important
90% of consumers trust
recommendations from people they
know and 70% trust the opinion of
unknown users. 11
45% of consumers say they have
products in mind, but do not conduct a
local search for a specific business. 12

35. Mobile consumers take action
Google mobile search is up 4x in the
last year. 1
1 in 3 mobile searches has local intent. 1
After looking up a local business on
their smart phone, 61% of users called
the business and 59% visited. 1
25% of Americans use only mobile
devices to access the Internet. 8
© 2012 EZlocal, Inc. | Local Search Made Easy ezlocal.com

36. For now, Google dominates mobile search
% of searches 9
Will Apple Maps grab significant market share in 2013?
?
© 2012 EZlocal, Inc. | Local Search Made Easy ezlocal.com

37. Yet as few as 15% of business listings on Google
have even been claimed.10 It’s winner takes all,
and the early bird gets the worm!
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Has website Claimed listing

38. facebook.com/ezlocal
gplus.to/ezlocal

39. Sources