Local Search Engine Optimization - Off-Page Local SEO Factors
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Keep in mind that Google weighs on-page SEO much less than off-page SEO. Search engines use outside indicators to scour information, thus matching the address, phone and company name in directory listings is crucial. Ideally everything should be identical throughout all of your appearances on the web.
Optimizing on-page factors can be more helpful in less competitive fields, but in cluttered markets, the value of on page SEO goes down. Some SEOs also say that citations that reference your business with its address can be more valuable than targeted keyword-rich links for local optimization.
Make sure you validate listings everywhere validation is offered (Google maps, Yahoo maps, Live maps, etc) to prevent vandalism of your listings. Also keep in mind that Google has editing holes in map listings that allow third parties to modify information. Even after verification, some goofball or competitor can change key information about your website on Google, so keep a close eye on it.
Inbound Links still play a crucial role in rankings. Matt McGee states that local businesses do not attract many links, something search engines have to consider, but one of our sites has top listings and is a top leader on local search results. Links are as valuable as with regular SEO. The more authoritative and targeted links, the better.
Anchor Text with city names help search engines classify pages. The difference between regular SEO and local SEO is that local anchor text has to be targeted by city locations. Keep in mind that the value of anchor text has gone down, especially when it's aggressively targeted, so keep it looking natural. For example, some links may be outright optimized, like "chicago real estate agents," while others appear only as www.site.com or "buy and sell real estate in Chicago IL."
Customer Votes, such as star ratings and customer reviews, can have an impact on how a website is ranked. A site with stars, in comparison to a site without stars, is a clear indicator to search engines that it has more value. Make sure your listing get scored by associates from multiple locations of your country.
User Reviews can be important, but user review criteria depends on the industry. If you're in a field where the site get a lot of reviews and feedback, it's likely counted in algorithm computation. If one site gets 50 reviews and others only receive 10, it's a clear indicator of natural "votes" to search engines. On the other hand, if you're in an industry where sites get little or no reviews, they aren't likely to make a difference. Hotels and restaurants usually have the most reviews so it's crucial to have many there. This brings us to the next topic.
Next: Fake Reviews >>
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