Navigating Local Search listings and updates for your Business

Mar 18, 2016 admin
Google+, Google+ Local, or Google Maps... what's the story? You're a business that benefits from local search traffic... how do you check and maintain those listings? What is going on with my Business's Google+ and Google Maps pages? Here's a collection of great links and article pertaining to Local Search Engine Optimization and Local Listings and best practices.
Topics

You may have noticed some recent changes to Google Maps, Google+, Google+ Local, or whatever iteration it is today. You may have multiple listings, some of one kind, and some of another. Critical to all of this is accuracy and consistency with your NAP (Names, Address, Phone) information across whatever platforms you have local listings. Let's take Google for example... It's a full-time job to stay on top of their changes for a professional, much less a business owner who just wants to stay relevant and listed. Whether you're an SAB (Service Area Business) or a Multi-location Brick-and-Mortar business... here are some resources and links to help explain some of the changes and what you should be doing with your listings... whatever they may be or have been:

  1. First thing's first... check your listings any and everywhere to give yourself a good snapshot of the situation: Two excellent free (Free to search but Yext will try and sell you services) resources for this are:

    GetListed.org
    and
    Yext.com
  2. How to connect your Business page to Google Maps:

    Connecting Business to Maps
  3. Where did Google+ Local Go. I think the Title says it all. This is obviously confusing many people. The following article goes into detail.
    In the recent past, you ­­were telling your clients that they needed a Google+ Local page, powered by their Google My Business dashboard...
    Further down in the article... she distills things down to
    The main thing to convey to clients is that all of these different displays have the majority of their origins in just one place: the Google My Business dashboard. That’s where they need to get their NAP right, add their photos, set themselves as SABs or brick-and-mortars, and all of that other stuff you’ve been doing for years. If the client can get it right there, this data will feed all of the various interfaces.

    Where Did Google+ Local Go
  4. Think you have all this handled... see what you already know about Local SEO and take the Moz Local Search Expert Quiz:

    Take MOZ Local Search Expert Quiz
  5. Here's a glossary of Local Search terms you should familiarize yourself with:

    Local Search Term Glossary
  6. Moz's year-end Local Search Ranking factors... this is a yearly survey sent to Local SEO experts that aggregates their "boots on the ground" perspective of what is being said versus reality. We are told certain things by Google and often times they are as they seem. Other times, we test theories and find surprisingly contrary results. Some of the industry's brightest participate in this survey and shed some light on what they actually see across their client portfolio:

    Local Search Ranking Factors Survey Results
Previous A Business Without A Website Is Like A Man Without A Face!
Next Produce Income With Your Tax Refund