Local Search FAQs Answered! #LocalSEOChat Recap

As if we haven’t given ourselves enough to do this year already (did someone say monthly webinars?!) on Tuesday, February 18, we took to Twitter to host our first #LocalSEOChat of the year.

Using questions we didn’t quite get around to in last week’s Local Search Clinic with Greg Gifford, we invited the local search community, including some of the industry’s most knowledgeable figures, to solve your frequently asked questions surrounding local SEO.

In just one hour, local SEOs united to solve each other’s queries, ranging from how to gain prominence as a service-area business to tackling shared locations on GMB, as well as first steps for agencies, mobile page speed, and motivating engagement through GMB.

If you missed out on the excitement, you can catch some of the top questions and answers below, along with some useful resources:

Recap Q1. Do service areas on GMB profiles have any effect on local SEO and visibility in those areas? – Adam

A1: A businesses defined service area business will certainly affect local positions within reason.#LocalSEOChat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

I’ve seen an effect when those service areas are also mentioned on the landing page and on other 3rd party pages that mention the brand. More of a co-occurrence strategy, but yes, I have seen it work and do recommend testing adding them.

— Steve Wiideman (@seosteve) February 18, 2020

A1. Interestingly enough, it is possible for SABs to rank outside of the areas they operate in — but that only tends to be the case for smaller locations. Read more about the nuances of SABs in @tomwaddington8‘s blog here: https://t.co/mxf1aDCA26 #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/PAU7QW3sYi

— BrightLocal (@brightlocal) February 18, 2020

Q2. If someone is a practitioner with three locations and three GMB profiles, should their office hours only show when they’re actually in the office? – Nathan

A2. This is a requirement by GMB guidelines. I’m astonished by the number of people and agencies that are unaware of this. The hours should also not overlap. #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/jsD5vh4nwV

— Krystal Taing (@krystal_taing) February 18, 2020

It’s a tough one to explain to a client who has employed a secretary 9-5 to cover more than one location. They don’t like the idea of their business showing as closed. Which I do understand.

— Digital Davidson (@digidavidson) February 18, 2020

A2. Unless practitioner has achieved a quantum state in which they can be at all three locations at the same time, they MUST state real business hours in respective listings. https://t.co/dPTZVKdAdp

— Amit%20Tiwari (@teamamittiwari) February 18, 2020

Q3. What are the first five things agencies should do for new clients? – Tim

A3: Audit, assess, and prioritize. https://t.co/16BHX8rpel

— Gyi Tsakalakis (@gyitsakalakis) February 18, 2020

A3:
1. Audit
2. Strategize
3. Content
4. Fight Spam
5. Links#localSEOChat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A3:
– Claim / Verify GMB Listing
– Optimise Said Listing
– Integrate with Website
– Citation Checks
– Now the work really begins#LocalSEOChat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

A3. #LocalSEOChat Agencies should:
1. Conduct a full client needs analysis
2. Perform a local SEO audit (GMB, LLP, Citations, Reviews)
3. Setup a PM system breaking out LSEO disciplines
4. Setup reporting – including share of voice for critical kwds

— Steve Wiideman (@seosteve) February 18, 2020

Q4. What are the best practices on GMB for home-based companies that don’t want to show their address online? – Ron

A4: Set your business as a service area business.

Select the areas your serve.#LocalSEOChat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

A4: Hide your address once you’re verified – but know that Google doesn’t treat SABs fairly (IMO) so you have to really have strong content on your GMB (and website) to convey the WHERE! Set your Service areas to start, also put that info in your description. #LocalSEOChat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

Q5. How important is mobile page speed when you’re trying to make the first page of SERPs on mobile? – Wes

A5: Since we’re in the world of mobile-first indexing – mobile page speed is a goodly piece of ranking well desktop OR mobile – also if you rank, but have a slow crappy site – you won’t convert – so look at it from a user’s standpoint and MAKE IT FAST! 🏎#LocalSEOChat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A5: Depends on how competitive the market is. If you’re playing with the big dogs, you better have a passing speed. We see sites married to their slow designs losing ground all the time.#LocalSEOChat https://t.co/NyKTnEsDBh

— Kammy Caruss (@ynotweb) February 18, 2020

A5. I have never seen a case where improving page speed hasn’t had a long term impact on keyword rankings and an immediate impact on bounce rates. #LocalSEOChat

— Steve Wiideman (@seosteve) February 18, 2020

It’s important. Specifically the page (not the whole site) that you are looking to rank. However, the goal should be to improve user experience overall. pic.twitter.com/vD8p8mjzk5

— Turrem Technology (@turremdottech) February 18, 2020

Q6. I see offers for press release distribution with GMB embeds. Can this be helpful or is this practice dangerous? – Dennis

A6: Both. #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/WbGK18cTqb

— Gyi Tsakalakis (@gyitsakalakis) February 18, 2020

A6 cont: Also – what most people think is news, is probably not really news.

If you’re doing a PR – make it NEWS – not “we have this new product” type of stuff. #localseochat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A6: Forget Distribution – Do it yourself old school with a nice box, sweetener and press release delivered to journo

Never fails to get real press coverage in the right places.#LocalSEOChat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

Q7. What’s the best way to get social media badges to show on GMB? – Emily

A7: use them as images for posts – getting them anywhere else is a crapshoot. #LocalSEOChat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

If your website is #WordPress and you have #Yoast installed then there’s a chance your profiles will feature on your Knowledge Panel, if you’ve configured everything correctly #localseochat

— Digital Davidson (@digidavidson) February 18, 2020

Q8. What tips do you have for motivating more engagement with GMB listings? – Gyi

A8: Offers exclusive to GMB (posts, etc). #LocalSEOChat #meta https://t.co/2r2D5NBKzW

— Gyi Tsakalakis (@gyitsakalakis) February 18, 2020

A8: your products(#nolongerbeta) should have engaging photos, you should try for the query carousel, you should list services (shows on mobile), you should have compelling cover photo/photos, you should write an engaging biz description #localseochat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A8. Definitely captivating images (underrated IMO), posts, products & menus #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/UvEbyW14q4

— Krystal Taing (@krystal_taing) February 18, 2020

Images! Post fresh images.#LocalSEOChat https://t.co/3KwgeWuW9b pic.twitter.com/g5i2VVneoh

— Amit%20Tiwari (@teamamittiwari) February 18, 2020

Q9. Do keywords in reviews help with map rankings? – Jara

A9: I feel they do – but difficult just to test this singular point.#localseochat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

A9. I do think it can improve your visibility for specific words but wouldn’t bank on this as an overall ranking strategy. #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/at8SQd1hge

— Krystal Taing (@krystal_taing) February 18, 2020

A9: sorta – They help more with conversions. If someone mentions a product/service in a review – and a shopper sees that the biz does “xyz thing” really well – and they’re shopping for “xyz thing” – they’re much more likely to hire that company/buy that product. #localseochat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A9: I think they make a big difference with Google using AI to semantically understand what websites are about. #localseochat

— Ted Chan (@upwardmobility) February 18, 2020

A9: I believe they do! Definitely something to keep on your mind when asking for customer reviews #localseochat https://t.co/d9YPkcFG8x

— Iveta O. (@iveta_osobova) February 18, 2020

Q10. How much do activity and social signals from Facebook, Twitter, etc. affect local rankings? – Chris

A10: I think its indirect and has a lot to do with word of mouth, community building (virtual and offline) and branding. It’s totally worth it for some brands/metros – and not at all for some. #localseochat

— Carrie Hill 🗺🎙 (@CarrieHill) February 18, 2020

A10: Meh#LocalSEOChat pic.twitter.com/mLx111QdIE

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

Q11. What kinds of videos do you suggest adding to GMB? – Joseph

A11: Video Testimonials. Just like you ask for reviews ask for a video testimonial and add it to your Google My Business listing 🙂https://t.co/9xfC2ufodw

— Crystal Horton (@imcrystalhorton) February 18, 2020

A11. Whatever videos will help tell the story of your products or services to customers. Explaining a new program or service, showing a new product and how it could be useful in their life, sharing stories to build connection to the community, etc. #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/FYqNn2IwcI

— Krystal Taing (@krystal_taing) February 18, 2020

A11: Depends on the business

Gym – They love weekly coaches challenge
Restaurants – Sizzle & Flames
Manufacturing – Removal of baffle grease filters ??
Training Centre – Student Diary

Experiment#localseochat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

Videos about the backstage of running that business, the employee’s routine and interesting activities

And of course, videos about the product or service you sell

Are you a restaurant? Make food and kitchen videos

Are you a car seller? Shows your best deals inside

And so on

— Gabriel Botelho 🇧🇷 (@GabrielBoteIho) February 19, 2020

We love adding videos to our #GMB updates as well! A great place to display engaging content, not only in the videos tab! @brightlocal https://t.co/XZmX8p28nS

— Smallbusiness Community (@ssmallbusinesss) February 18, 2020

Q12. What could be the reason for local ranking flip-flopping (e.g. going from #2 to #23 multiple times)? –Henya

A12: Spam. #LocalSEOChat https://t.co/7Rl5zSds2M

— Gyi Tsakalakis (@gyitsakalakis) February 18, 2020

A12. Ranking fluctuations may be due to a slow (or suspicious peak) pattern of growth in data accuracy, local landing page experience, new citations, or rating/review behavior. Work on all consistently, see consistent growth. #localseochat

— Steve Wiideman (@seosteve) February 18, 2020

Q13. What the heck is going on with local rankings?! – Everyone

A13: What the Flux?

But this worked for one SAB business that got fluxxedhttps://t.co/YWQCIlqvAr#LocalSEOChat

— Tim Capper (@GuideTwit) February 18, 2020

A13: They are in massive flux. #localseochat https://t.co/ub1ntQrkGT pic.twitter.com/VLcENwx0Nr

— Gyi Tsakalakis (@gyitsakalakis) February 18, 2020

Resources

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