In this comprehensive presentation, attendees will gain an in-depth understanding of how to effectively enhance their local search engine optimization strategies. Key topics will range from optimizing Google My Business and maintaining consistent online information, to social media engagement, online directories, local SEO auditing, and more. Attendees will walk away equipped with actionable insights to boost their website rankings for valuable local searches and increase the likelihood of their Google Business listing appearing in local search results and map packs. This presentation is designed to empower businesses to take control of their local digital footprint and ultimately drive more traffic, leads, and revenue.

1. KEYNOTE
SEATTLE, WA ~ MAY 11 - 12, 2023
DIGIMARCONPACIFICNORTHWEST.COM | #DigiMarConPacificNorthwest
Local SEO:
Brick by Brick
Evan Fishkin
VP, OPERATIONS
LOGIC INBOUND

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Local SEO
Brick by Brick

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Evan Fishkin
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Entrepreneur | Speaker | Author | 17 Years in SEO
Partner at:
Previously with:

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Local SEO VS General SEO

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Local SEO Has Different Rules
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https://whitespark.ca/local-search-ranking-factors/#pack-finder

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Local SEO Has Different Rules, Kind Of
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https://whitespark.ca/local-search-ranking-factors/#organic

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Local SEO Serves Two Masters
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Map Pack
Organic Universal

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So How Do We Rank in Both?
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Google Business Profile
1. Choose a popular Primary Category
2. Choose as many Secondary Categories
as are relevant
3. Create a compelling description
4. Add products & services
5. Add at least 10 photos
6. Add any videos you have
7. Post an update every week
8. Get your GBP short-url & request reviews
9. Respond to every review
10. Continue updating the profile forever
Website Priorities
1. Add your address and local contact
information
2. Include localized keyword target
variations to your content & classic
SEO elements, like title, h1, etc.
3. Create localized service pages for the
highest population zones you operate
4. Earn links from localized websites
5. Do all the other SEO stuff
6. Citations & NAPs

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Choosing Your Primary Category
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Choosing Your Primary Category, Not so Simple…
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Choosing Your Competitor’s Primary Category
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Choosing Your Competitor’s Primary Category
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Choosing Your Competitor’s Primary Category
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What Constitutes a Compelling Description
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Option 1 Option 2
• Welcome to "Spokes 'n Jokes," Seattle's
only bicycle shop where the puns are as
free-flowing as our top-tier bike lube! Known
for our Lance Armstrong-fast repair service,
we'll have your beloved two-wheeler race-
ready faster than a hipster downs a cup of
artisanal coffee. Yes, we might be a touch
pricier, but can you really put a price on not
having to hoof it? We also have rentals, sell
online, and ship worldwide. Got a car?
Great! You can park it for free in our lot
while you cycle. We accept all credit cards
and laughs as payment. (Just kidding,
please pay us.)
• “Good Weather” is a full-serve bicycle shop
with Tailwind cafe/bar inside. They do
everything from flat fixes to custom wheel
and bicycle builds. Their sister business
serves up espresso, beer and wines too!
They're located in the heart of Capitol Hill in
the courtyard of the Chop House Row.

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What Constitutes a Compelling Description
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• Be locally minded
• In New York I’d mention the bagels and trains
• In Seattle, it’s coffee, hipsters & rain. Maybe Sasquatch.
• Address your USP
• Are you faster, harder, stronger?
• Cheaper isn’t always better, but it sure is easier
• List your features
• Maybe you serve popcorn?
• Send patients home with a care package?
• 750 character limit
• Keyword use DOES NOT matter here

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Add Products. Services Too.
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Products Services

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Add Photos. Add Video. No Stock Photography.
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• Photo guidelines
• Format: JPG or PNG.
• Size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB.
• Recommended resolution: 720 px tall, 720 px wide.
• Minimum resolution: 250 px tall, 250 px wide.
• Quality: The photo should have no significant alterations or excessive use of filters
• Video guidelines
• Make sure your videos meet the following requirements:
• Duration: Up to 30 seconds long
• File size: Up to 75 MB
• Resolution: 720p or higher
• NO STOCK PHOTOS.
• More Information:
• https://support.google.com/business/answer/6103862?hl=en

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What About Image Meta Data?
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What About Image Meta Data?
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Option 1 Option 2
• Take the photo at your location
• Learn to edit image meta data in Photoshop,
etc.
• Can’t be wrong if it’s empty

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Weekly Updates. Every Week. Week after Week.
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Why?
• Updates increase content on your listing and have shown correlation with
rankings improvements.
• Google archives “Updates” as frequently as ~1 week.
• This may be changing…

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Get More Reviews.
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Respond To Reviews. All of Them.
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Setup Q & A.
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• Q & A will show in profile and can also help you generate content.
• More importantly, other people will answer if you don’t

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Turn On Messages. Stay on Top of it.
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• Messages will automatically disable
• Not sure what the timeline is for this

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That’s Pretty Much it for GBP.
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• Now get ready to get suspended.
• No, I’m not kidding.
• To clear a suspension be ready to prove your business is real and
you own it.
• Don’t submit for review until you’ve prepared your documents and
cleaned up your profile of any issues.
• Make sure your name matches your business license/DBA

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Now For NAPs & Local Citations.
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• Local citations are the equivalent of classic backlinks.
• Citations consist of:
• Name
• Address
• Phone Numbers

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Google Likes Consistency.
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• Setup profiles at the following places to start:
• Facebook
• Yelp
• Apple Maps
• This is also critical for all those iPhone/iOS users
• Foursquare
• And then the rest of this list:
• https://whitespark.ca/top-local-citation-sources-by-country/united-states/
• Make sure your information is consistent. Always.

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Options To Automate/Outsource
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• Yext
• Price: $499 a year
• Convenient and user-friendly dashboard
• Manages over 100 listings from one place
• Provides reports about listing performance
• Whitespark
• Price: Starts at $349
• Offers an online citation finder
• Provides local rank finder, reputation builder,
and link prospecting
• Offers custom services for researching new
citation opportunities and cleaning up existing
citations
• Advice Local
• Price: $300/year
• Submits listings to a fixed number of sites
• Claims and submits directly to Google My
Business, Facebook, and Twitter
• Listings revert to previous state after one year if
service is discontinued
• Synup
• Price: Starts at $30/month, with commitment
• Offers reputation monitoring, SEO reporting,
and data synching
• Does not integrate with Google My Business
• Submitting to extra sites incurs additional costs
• GeoRanker
• Price: Starts at $99/month after free usage
period
• Creates local citations across many sites
• Offers a local rank checker
• Most tools can be used for free initially, which is
useful for small businesses
• BrightLocal
• Price: Starts at $60/year, 1-off for $2-3
• Can order individual site submissions/updates
• Available in more international markets
• Google Analytics integration

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How To Do Location Pages Right.
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• Start classically, include your target keywords in the following:
• Title tag
• Meta Description
• URL
• Headers
• Create a page for each unique location you operate in
• Add your NAP to the page
• If you operate multiple locations, only list 1 relevant location per
localized page

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Add local Business Schema
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• Schema Reference Instructions:
• https://schema.org/LocalBusiness
• For the schema you’ll want to at least have:
• Business name
• Text description
• Street Address
• Locality (City)
• Region (State)
• Phone Number

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Add a Map Embed.
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Back To Link Building. Locally.
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• Step 1: Ask ChatGPT

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Back To Link Building. Locally.
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• Step 2: Find opportunities via SparkToro
DISCLAIMER: I get nothing for this recommendation. Can you believe that? 32 years I’ve known that guy.

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Caveats & Secrets.
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• Local results are often skewed by distance from the searcher’s
location. Closer = Higher Rankings.
• How can I combat this?
• Add appointments as a conversion option
• You should try to do this regardless of your business type
• For example, a bicycle shop could offer “selection consultations” and enable a new
conversion method through GBP
• Rotate your categories if your business is seasonal
• Google requires your business name match your registration
• You can register virtually any DBA, and have the paperwork to prove it

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Q&A
Evan Fishkin
LogicInbound.com
evan@logicinbound.com