Local search is constantly changing and we're seeing how that impacts organic visibility in the engines by managing local SEO efforts for nearly 100k locations. The focus here is sharing information based on the shifts we're seeing in the local search landscape within Google and Google my Business.This deck was presented at the Local Search Association event in Feb 2019 in Dana Point, CA.

1. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER
Driving Engagement Directly from the SERP
Matt Lacuesta
Director of Earned and Owned

2. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER
@mattlacuesta

3. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER
Photo Credit: Matt Lacuesta

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Image Credit: Kristaps Grundsteins

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Image Credit: Jomjakkapat Parrueng

6. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER
Image Credit: Scott Webb

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Image Credit: Alvaro Serrano

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Photo Credit: Naphtali Marshall

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Location3 is the digital marketing agency that delivers
enterprise-level strategy with local market activation.
Founded in 1999 | Denver, CO
@mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Today’s data: Sample
set taken from various
verticals and industries
utilizing the
LOCALACT platform Locations
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3.3B
Views of Listings in Search
2017
3.6B
2018
+9%
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4.4B
Views of Listings on Maps
2017
8.5B
2018
+93%
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20%
60%
20%
22%
56%
22%
Calls Directions Click to Site
2017 2018
Directions dominate for
local businesses
Slight growth for Calls
and Clicks to Site
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Retail
Sample of retail Actions in 2018
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Service Area
Sample of Actions in 2018 for Service Area Business
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Food
Sample of restaurant Actions in 2018
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17. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Kenny Luo

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In 2018 listings managed by
LOCALACT drove 64M+
phone calls from Google My
Business listings.Calls from Listing
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ANSWER THE PHONE
Set tracking # as your Primary number
Ensure real phone # is second # listed
Make sure NAP info is correct on location
page schema
Calls
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21. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Hal Gatewood

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Clicks to website
from listing
In 2018 listings managed by
LOCALACT drove 67M+ clicks
to a local page from Google My
Business listings.
@mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Fantastic traffic driver
Link to location specific page
UTM Tracking issues
Can detract from Organic Search bucket. Update your
conversation of what “organic engagement” really is
clicks to site
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DO NOT BLOCK YOUR
LOCATION PAGES FROM BEING
CRAWLED. Please?
PRO TIP
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26. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Jamie Templeton

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Requested
Directions from
Listing
In 2018 166M+ clicked for
directions from a GMB listing.
Data management through
LOCALACT helped ensure the
locations were accurate.
@mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Help me bug Google by trying to
find out:
“How many users who click
‘Directions’ get to the location?”
directions
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Scrub your location data
Verify lat/long
Test when you can
directions
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31. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Photo Credit: Justin Lim

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Who manages
your posts?
Location level
Corporate
Agency
Vendor
posts
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Google is testing
placement to
measure
engagement and
impressions
posts
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posts
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36. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Philipp M

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The product team
gives you
information that
triggers a
competitive
response
media
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media
Google is trying
to be more visual.
Notice the fact
that they’re not
showing brand
logos?
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Google Images and
video search is often
overlooked, but they
have massive potential
- Gary Illyes / Google
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41. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Chris Knight

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https://www.google.com/maps/reserve/partners
booking
Make things
easier by
booking
directly from
listing
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https://www.google.com/maps/reserve/partners
booking
Many options
depending on
industry. More
to come.
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booking
If you’re not
working with a
booking vendor ($)
some categories
can still book
appointments
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46. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Image Credit: Camylla Battani

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Who manages
your Q&A?
Location level
Corporate
q&a
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What to ask?
Customer Service
Sales Team
Site Search
q&a
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q&a
Q&A Character Limit
Provide a quick answer
and longer answer if
need be. Think TLDR
format
Just because you can
write a TON, doesn’t
mean you should
@mattlacuesta#LSA19

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If you’re using the
agency dashboard
to manage
locations, they
can’t use the app
q&a
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52. LOCATION3/ A GOOGLE PARTNER @mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Photo Credit: Ryan Franco

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Reviews managed
in the platform
In 2018 we pulled in 1.9M
Google reviews that allowed
clients to access and respond
to reviews directly within the
LOCALACT platform.
@mattlacuesta#LSA19

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Please respond
Address issues and
move to direct
communication
UGC can help
relevance
reviews
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PRO TIP
If you’re trying to
suppress a negative
review, do it naturally.
Not this way
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Image Credit: Glen Carstens Peters

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Image Credit: Sharon Mccutcheon

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Photo Credit: James Best

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Photo Credit: Matt Jones

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Matt Lacuesta
Director of Earned and Owned
mlacuesta@location3.com