MediaVision Blog » Local Search

Staying on top of local search: ranking and tracking made easy.

Lauren Potgieter — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:57:18 +0000

When I think of local search, I think of the old fashioned Yellow Pages Directory, but less turning of those thin pages that stick together and more of instant results. Many businesses feel that putting all of their marketing expenditure and effort into their website only will be enough to sell their products and services. They do know, however, that they are not the only Laundromat/butcher/toy store in the area, and this can prove problematic. Bigger brands that wish to sell their products and services to not only their own country but other continents will also face problems when approaching local listings of their business. Whether your business is big or small, local search will place you on the map, literally.

The key to local search is to stay competitive, think laterally and prioritise. Below are a few recourses on how to rank within local search in the countries you would like to target. These articles, written by industry experts, show how you can improve your local rankings.

Local Search Ranking Factors: the best and the worst

This popular survey recently conducted by David Mihm is a melting pot of ranking information and looks at the most significant ways in which you can rank in local search. The survey, completed by various industry experts in the USA and Europe, was conducted in order to give some enlightening feedback to the public about local search. Rated from “very important” to “can hurt your ranking” the survey is great for anyone who is confused by the concept of local search and wanting to learn about its importance (myself included).

Local Search Ranking Factors

International SEO:

Monica Wright offers 9 straightforward steps to approaching SEO for geographically specific areas. She feels that all of these suggestions are fairly easy to execute and will lead to positive results. Some of the suggestions include using a Country Code Top Level Domain as it is likely to be favoured in your desired target country. This will also benefit you if you wish to have your website translated into different languages for your target countries. Other tips include the avoidance of language mixing on your site and the inclusion of your address on your contact pages, maps and other related areas.

International SEO made Easy

GEO targeting

Ann Smarty, a regular Search Engine Journal contributor, gives us a short and sweet point form list on how to strengthen your country specific links. She explains the importance of these links in relation to Google’s understanding of your targeting aims. These tips are extremely beneficial for people who wish to target multiple countries with their business.

Building links for GEO targeting

Google list tracking:

This informative article focuses on the importance of statistics and how tracking and monitoring your listings will benefit you in the long run as well as give you insight into your target market. In this article, Sam Murray gives an enlightening How To guide on tracking Google listings. Murray shares some tracking tips like how to place your local listing through a local business centre, the effect of vanity URL’s and the use of 301 redirects.

How to track your Google Local listing

Many of us are only now seeing the importance of local search and what it can do for your brand. My advice would be to take a moment and see your business from your target market’s point of view and make sure your local business listings are as easily accessible and approachable as possible.

Staying on top of local search: ranking and tracking made easy.

Google getting more local with search

Brett Pringle — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:56:21 +0000

In the first week of April, Google announced changes to search results for local queries, such as restaurants and dentists, etc that would use a location based search such as dentists in Bristol. To make searches easier results are tailored to match the users IP address without having to type the location within the search query. Traditionally, search queries that include a location would turn up results displayed on a map; however, with this new update the need to use locations within your search queries should no longer be necessary, in theory.

This update has been rolled out worldwide (it has not affected Google South Africa, which has yet to display map listings for any location based search) and also includes results for street addresses and stores without the location.

Now, this is not completely accurate, as the location results are based on IP addresses and you are able to use the “change location” option from within the results to fine tune your search query.

This has not been the only change from Google recently; keeping to the local theme Google AdWords Keyword Tool (as well as the external version) has also seen a change towards local. Columns now display “local search volume” volumes against “global search volumes” for keyword queries. The overall average column will definitely be missed (at least by me), as local search volumes only display the previous month’s search volumes. These results are tailored to the country selected prior to querying your desired keyword for further information. Results are not based on region.

Previous Columns:

Some may think that changes to local results within Google will help avoid the need for SEO. However, with the inaccuracies that accompany IP address matching combined with the fact that these changes may not work for all search queries, business owners would do well not to forget about optimising for local search.

But the local search changes from Google are a step in the right direction

Google getting more local with search

Google – The early warning system

Thomas Schonenberger — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:30:46 +0000

An interesting deviation from Google Trends is turning out to be an early warning system for Flu outbreaks. When millions of people start searching for “Flu symptoms” this collective data results in an accurate regional picture of impending flu outbreak, so much so that early tests by Googles philanthropic unit Google.org suggest being able to detect outbreaks up to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Data collected this way can help forecast the imminent future, and reflects the world’s collective desires and needs, its likes and dislikes. A spike in “repossession” may signal an increase in the numbers of people not able to pay their mortgages. “Retrenchment law” an indication that companies are in trouble and are considering redundancies.

Hal Varian, Google’s chief economist was quoted saying that “Most forecasting is basically trend extrapolation,” and that turning points are typically hard to pinpoint. Google data may give a very accurate picture of the market sentiment. However as with most things these days, privacy concerns are already being raised, and are a concern with sharing this data with the world.

Its new service is available at google.org/flutrends analyzes the flu related searches as they come in, creating graphs and maps of the country that, ideally, will show where the flu is spreading. At the moment however this only covers the United States, but Google is hoping to eventually use the same technology to help track influenza and other diseases worldwide.

Google – The early warning system

Google Map invades privacy rights

Sandra Cosser — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:26:29 +0000

In May, Google launched a new feature to Google Map called Street View. This option allows the average user to see in virtual and “real time” shots of most of the United States, from a street perspective. These options includes features, such as taking virtual walks or tours through your favourite US city, for example New York or San Diego, as well as find restaurants, shops and see interesting landmarks.

When Google was approached about Privacy Violations that their new feature might violate, Google`s spokesperson, Megan Quinn allegedly reported: “This imagery is no different from what any person can readily capture or see walking down the street. Imagery of this kind is available in a wide variety of formats for cities around the world.”

Google reports that their street view feature does not violate any privacy rights, because Google, as anyone, has the right to capture street views. The director of a privacy advocates group in San Diego, CA, Pam Dixon disagrees with Google.

Pam announced that “We`ve never had the expectation of privacy in public areas, but it`s the technology that causes us to re-examine this. Computers have very long memories.”

Currently this feature is only available to major cities in the US, but their neighbour, Canada has already alerted Google that if Street View includes them, it will break their Privacy Act. Canada`s Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, contacted Google requiring information about their plans to expand Street View, as the Canadian Law obliges businesses who wish to disclose personal information about individuals to first obtain their constant.

With Google Map`s Street View, images of close-up views of cities and streets that are in “real time” show real people to the extent that they can be recognised. The images are clear enough to be considered a personal view, and therefore personal information.

Google hasn`t given any deadline or information of whether they will be expanding their feature to Canada, but Stoddart informed the press that if they do, there will be an investigation into the matter that will enforce the Privacy Act of Canadian law.

Google Map invades privacy rights