Hardcore Local SEO Tactics
Uncategorized

Hardcore Local SEO Tactics

16th May 2012

Local search can be one of the most effective ways to target your marketplace, but it is surprising how many business get it ‘wrong’. This session showed us what to consider as a local business or as a national business targeting locally.

Q&A Moderator

Rob Kerry, Head of Search, Ayima (@robkerry)

Speakers:

Jonathan Ashton, Executive Director of Search & Analytics, TBWA\Chiat\Day
Martijn Beijk, Business Consultant, comScore
Aleyda Solis, Global SEO Manager, Forex Club (@aleyda)

Jonathan Ashton – Local Search Checklist/Watchlist

If you build value at a local level, it gives the right signals to the search engines.

Asking the question how many of you are using Google Webmaster Tools, then asking, how many of your clients will allow you to implement Webmaster Tools Properly? It is still a surprise that some companies just don’t allow you to implement the code!

Jonathan gives us a local search checklist/watchlist including:

? Fight Duplicates!
? XML sitemap – sitemaps must be manageable, updated – use Webmaster Tools – don’t forget to tell Google about different language versions
? Country level TLD – constant balance between managing TLD’s with different managers and managing brand message
? Backlinks – link between sibling sites, global nav spider friendly?
? Content Management – there is a huge investment in CMS for management often with no consideration for SEO
? Social media – at the local level, the dynamics are shifting – search engines are interpreting signals from different locations – build the value to reflect those behaviours – train your market managers
? Language tunnels – the global challenge to localise the content
? Global location finder – a global enterprise has many physical locations – the local operation needs to have a physical url – use micro-formats to provide location based information
? Global IT vs SEO – the most efficient method is not always the right one! Argue for the priority of SEO
? Enterprise Analytics – at the end of the day analytics has to be your friend
? Global brand marketers – Prioritise SEO,  Be consistent, train local managers

Martin Beijk – Custom Variables

Custom variables are the most important part of Analytics and Martin tells us why! Formerly a hardcore SEO, Martin has moved into Data Analytics with Comscore. Sharing with us some insights into tools and gaps in the analytics market.

Most Analytics packages do not guarantee 100% accurate analytics so it can be tough to view data.

Analytics Gaps:

? Google Places dashboard
? Not Provided
? Google changes to universal search, 301, vanity URL tracking, Google places

Looking at Segments:

? CustomVar based on referrer keyword
? Referrer domains for local profile sites
? Visitors visiting local pages
? Visitors that visited store locator pages
? Platform specific segments
? Direct behavioural differences

Aleyda Solis – ForexClub

Aleyda shares with us strategies for a winning local campaign.

The Venice Update:

Google takes the locality of the user into more consideration, so we need to learn how to swim in venice 🙂

? Use a hierarchically localised and categorised structure
? Build highly relevant landing pages
?  A flow of fresh and relevant content
?  Localise content with Schema
?  Use the new Google Bulk Management Tool
?  Google Places Category Tool
?  Citation building strategies for each location
? Customs building strategies for each location
?  Socialise your local presence
? Automate your local information follow-up

See the slides from Aleyda’s presentation:

Tags

Written By
Jackie Hole is an Award Winning Search Marketing consultant specialising in Paid Search, Conversion Improvement and Organic Search / SEO for the USA, Canada and European markets. Starting out in Multimedia & Interface Design, Jackie has over 15 years experience in online marketing and was recently awarded European Search Personality...
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.