Local Search Rankings

Presented by:Kristopher B. Jones

Chairman, Internet Marketing Ninjas

About me

1999 – 2009Pepperjam Full Service Internet Marketing / Affiliate Network

2009 – 2011Pepperjam acquired by GSI Commerce in 2009; eBay in 2011. Pepperjam Network powers over 1,500 internet retailers, including Babies R Us, Toys R Us, and the NFL.

2008, 2010Over 50,000 sold

2010 – 2012Found KBJ Capital in 2010; Invested in 12 early stage technology companies, including ReferLocal.com where I’m CEO. Joined Internet Marketing Ninjas as Chairman in 2012.

Ways to Get Ranked Locally• Your Web site (Organic / PPC)• Your Google Places / + Local page• Social Media sites (LinkedIn / Twitter)• YouTube and other Video sites• Directories (Yelp / Merchant Circle)• Local Commerce Sites (Groupon,

Living Social & ReferLocal)• Yahoo / Bing

Blended / Integrated Search

Optimize Your Google Places / + Page

Google + Local Ranking Factors

• Physical Address in City of Search• Distance of your business to the center-

point (centroid) of the user’s search.• Level of engagement on page, including

reviews and interaction w/ pictures & maps• Product / service / location keyword in

business title• Local area code on Page• Age of Page

Review Ranking FactorsWith Google’s acquisition of Zagat…reviews are becoming increasingly important

• Quantity / velocity of native Google Reviews• Ratings – likely more important with recent

changes to remove 1-5 and auto-score• Product / service keywords in reviews• Quantity / velocity of third-party reviews

(Yelp, Foursquare)• Location Keywords in Reviews• Authority / Reputation of Reviewers

Google + Local Optimization Tips

• (Physically) verify your Google Page• Improve / expand category associations• Add a local # to your listing (no 800’s)• Encourage patrons to write reviews• Upload lots of images (think action, fun)• Make sure address / contact info is

accurate on Page and across the Web• Optimize page with best practices SEO

Optimize Your Web site for Local Search Results

On-site Ranking Factors• Domain authority of Web site• City, State in Places Landing Page Title• HTML NAP Matching Place Page NAP• Page Authority of Landing Page

Specified in Place• Product / Service Keyword in Website

URL• Geographic Keyword in Website URL

Off-Site Ranking Factors• Quantity / authority of structured

citations (Yelp, Local.com, YP.com, etc.)• Consistency of structured citations• Quality / authority of unstructured

citations (newspaper articles, blog posts)

• Quality / authority (and quantity) of inbound links to domain

Social Media Ranking Factors• Number of +1's on Web site; Also influenced

by velocity of +1’s and authority of + user• Number of shares / adds on Google+;

Velocity and reputation also likely considered

• Click-through rate from search results• Volume of mobile check-Ins (i.e. Foursquare)• Number of Shares/Likes or Follows on

Facebook and Twitter; Velocity / authority also likely considered

Negative Ranking Factors• Inaccurate or inconsistent contact

information and DBA conventions• Presence of multiple place pages with

same/similar business title, address, phone #

• Non-compliant categories• Listing 800 number as only phone number

on Google page• Low ratings on + / Place Page

Conclusions• Get a Google + Local or Places Page if you

don’t have one!• Make certain your business and contact

info is up-to-date across the Web!• Encourage customers to write reviews and

be social with your site and local pages!• Focus attention on the quality, quantity,

and velocity of reviews, social signals, and citations going to your Web site and pages!