Matt McGee is just begging to be put on the speaker circuit for local search with his exceptional Guide to Local Search Marketing. Matt's done an excellent job of showing (not just telling) where results come from in the local and map search engines and helping marketers to navigate the waters at major local search sources:
- Guide to Google Local Search (Google Maps)
- Guide to Yahoo Local Search
- Guide to MSN Local Search
- Guide to Other Local Search Marketing Options
Images like the one below are very helpful in understanding exactly which results can be influence and affected.
Congratulations, Matt! This is a stellar bit of work and something that I'll make sure everyone at the office reads through.
LOL, I just found this post when looking for a newer post on the matter to reference to an outsourcer. It is amazing to see how much this topic has changed in just 4 years.
LOL, I just found this post when looking for a newer post on the matter to reference to an outsourcer. It is amazing to see how much this topic has changed in just 4 years.
Meant to add a comment. I think I'll be contacting Matt. Good article and I'd love to learn and share experiences with him.
2. Its not only...who gets there first...but it is a combination of moving users into "advanced" search options, whichever they might be.
Local, I'm sure, is an attempt to seriously monetize an opportunity...where to date, billions of $ are going into print YP.
But frankly, if PPC picks up tons of different ads for 8 different versions of "lamp stores" San Francisco and the "12 competitors...then you roughly have the monetised equivalent...if only in a different style.
Just my .02
Dave
Good comments Matt, but as a small business with a well optimized site plus long term good visibility in all 3 of the local versions of the 3 major engines I just don't see the traffic coming through Local. I'm finding that users don't use it.
What they do is use regular old search...and it converts when they have long tail phrases that include both the product service and a geo phrase.
I looked at traffic on my business site going back to 1/1/06. About 17,000 search phrases (a bit more than 100/day) 161 uses of either G, Y, or MSN local.
Of my search traffic about 1/3 represents searches for the industry (generic industry phrases without the geo descriptions). 1/3 is for the industry service with relevant geo phrases. The last 1/3 is for other content on the site, wierd stuff and stuff that is irrrelevant (like the industry service for other geo areas.
About 1 year ago I saw some data referenced in SEW off research by a fellow named Greg Jabois (my apologies if this is the wrong person) that referenced that usage of local represented less than 1% of search traffic. (and supposedly local is being used more than froogle).
I don't see the widespread usage of LOCAL at this point and I monitor it all the time.
I'd love to hear differently, but I haven't...yet.
This could change, but at this time I don't see it.
The review is good and worthwhile, regardless. Local businesses should get exposure every way they can on the web. Lots of different things work.
The 3 things that work best in my experience are the following:
1. Widespread keyword phrases that represent the service/products tied with a wide variety of relevant geo phrases;
2. PPC
3. Highly relevant links
All have produced better for me than Local.
Dave
Dave - I agree with your note that Local currently doesn't drive much traffic, but I also think it's an area where growth is surely coming. And, he/she who gets there first...
Rand took the words right out of my mouth. The point, as I wrote on the Guide, is to get there early and be able to take advantage of it as it grows. It's not unlike a lot of the small business owners that come in these days saying, "I knew I should've done this years ago...."
I've been having a conversation with one small business owner who couldn't get into the organic listings with her site, couldn't get PPC to drive traffic, and then went through the process to get into Google Local ... and now her site shows up in the Local "Onebox" listings above the regular SERPs. She's pleased as punch, as you can imagine. Local is producing just fine for her. :)
And for my next post, I'll do a screenshot of traffic patterns on SBS, which is sure to amaze young and old alike as you behold the power of the SEOmoz blog! :)
Seriously, thanks for the link, Rand. And my apologies to the SEOmoz staff -- 'twas not my intention to give anyone more homework/reading material.
I wasn't even aware that Matt had a blog
*adds to his daily rss reader*