Richard Beverly's Blog

30-second summary: Search equity allows for your average business owner to compete on the SERP without being impeded by a lack of SEO-knowledge A more equitable SERP is a necessity for Google from a business and overall web-health perspective Google is pushing for equity on the SERP to a far greater extent The democratization of the SERP represents an enormous paradigm shift that brings certain SEO skills to the fore What would happen if instead of having to jump through hoops to rank your new website, you were given a seat at the SERP straight away? Presumably, that would cause all sorts of havoc for SEO professionals. What if I told you that there’s a strong push at Google to do just that? I call it “search equity”. It’s Google trying to remove optimization barriers so site owners (aka business owners) can focus on creating great content and reap the benefits of it.  It’s a move that I think Google is pushing hard for and has already taken steps towards.  What is search equi

Google is currently putting together the final changes for a search algorithm update that they’ve announced will land in May 2021 .  The update is being called the Page Experience update because of its focus on usability rather than things like keywords or search relevance. Google has already provided some information on the update, which aims to measure and potentially rank the experience that a user encounters when visiting a page. The fact that Google have given so much warning about the update says all you need to know about how seriously to take it. We know it’ll impact organic search results but as of yet, there’s no word on whether there will be any specific impact on Google My Business rankings. Although this update is due to hit the algorithm in May, there’s no reason not to get ahead of it now and ask yourself,  “what will the Page Experience update mean for my local SEO efforts?” Here we’ll look at how the update will work and provide some clear and actionable steps to h

Claim your listing on the new BrightLocal Agency Directory to begin generating leads from businesses that are searching for help with digital marketing right now. Every week, BrightLocal’s Customer Success team receives requests for recommendations of top-rated agencies that can help our local business customers with their digital marketing. And, just as often, we receive requests from agencies and consultants to be added to our legacy lists of Top SEO Agencies. We wanted to help bridge this gap between businesses in need of digital marketing assistance and the many talented agencies and freelancers operating in the US and actively seeking new leads.  Introducing the Agency Directory   Today, we launched the Agency Directory – an in-depth directory of digital marketing agencies and consultants offering services including local SEO, PPC, SEO, and web design, in 1,000 cities in the USA*.  A listing on the Agency Directory allows you to show off the key business information that p

30-second summary: Reviews are absolutely crucial to a business’s success and need to be acknowledged. Engagement with consumers will positively benefit your business and bring in more reviews in the future. Staying honest with your reviews will pay off in the long run. Take most reviews as honest opinions about your business and work to build on them for a better consumer experience. When a busy day means dinner will be takeout instead of home-cooked, chances are you don’t simply choose a restaurant at random. Most likely, you’ll use Google or Yelp to search for data on locations or types of food, and then, most importantly, you’ll look at customer reviews. With tacos on your mind, you may look for a casual Mexican restaurant or fast food. But what if it has less than four stars on Yelp? Scenarios like these have become part of daily life in the communities being served by almost any brand you market. Reviews and web exposure Customer reviews have played a significant role in

We’re incredibly excited to announce the launch of Local Search Grid , a brand-new local rankings tool from BrightLocal that allows you to see the bigger picture of search. Without further ado, here’s how awesome it looks. Snazzy, right? There’s a lot I could say about Local Search Grid and what this new tool means for your search strategy (and I will!) but for now I’ll let our launch video do the talking: If that’s piqued your interest and you want to start using Local Search Grid right away, simply: Log in to your BrightLocal account Select a Location from your Clients & Locations dashboard Click ‘Rankings’ in the Location Sidebar menu Click ‘Local Search Grid’ in the dropdown that appears Want to know more before you dive in? Read on to find out just how Local Search Grid gives you better insights, for better decisions than ever before. Local Search has evolved If you’re using a rank tracker like our own Local Search Rank Checker , you’ll know how it works: Plug

In the world of local SEO, there’s always something new to keep your eye out for that could be a game-changer. This week, that news is that star ratings are now appearing in review snippet on Google My Business listings. First time I’ve seen the star rating appear with the review snippet here pic.twitter.com/gXoP0mG7hn — Tom Waddington (@tomwaddington8) February 3, 2021 Spotted on Twitter by Tom Waddington on February 3rd, 2021, this change is yet another step from Google to bring online reviews front and center.  What’s new with Google review summaries? Previously, when a business’s Knowledge Panel was generated by a local search, Google would highlight potentially relevant keywords. For example, “great service” might be bolded for a restaurant. Now, not only is a searcher presented with these highlighted keywords, but the accompanying star rating is shown too.  So, if someone left a review saying “great service” along with a 4-star rating, that’s what will be shown to the sea

30-second summary: Optimizing a small business for local search is a powerful way to boost local traffic and increase sales. With the large majority of web users actively seeking products/services in their vicinity, building local leads is essential. Joseph Dyson offers a step-by-step guide to improving local visibility for small businesses. He focuses on the importance of Google My Business, keyword research and implementation, internal and external links, reviews, and more. Do you want your business to appear in the top local search results on Google? Do you want to attract high-quality traffic that helps you boost sales and grow your business in the long run? Do you want to achieve and sustain target KPIs? If you answered these questions in the affirmative, you may want to optimize your business for local search if you haven’t already. An astounding 80% of all local searches on mobile phones result in a transaction. While you may have created a winning social media market