We are honored again this year to be included as one of the 35 experts in this year’s “2013 Local Search Ranking Factors Results” by David Mihm. Read Overview | Read Full Article
Recap: Primary Ranking Factors for Local Search Ranking Placement
- Proper category associations
- A physical address in the city being searched
- Consistent, high-quality citations from sources that are:
- 1) Authoritative
- 2) Trustworthy
- 3) Industry-relevant
- Your NAP information featured clearly on your website
- Your location as a keyword in title tags and headlines
- A smattering of reviews on both Google and third-party sites
- A handful of high-quality inbound links
As there is SO MUCH awesome information jam packed into this year’s report, we thought it might be best to highlight the primary topics that are currently impacting our Innkeeper’s Search Placement. But by all means, we encourage you to take time to read both the Overview and Full Report for details about Google's Local Ranking Factors.
NAP + W (Name, Address, Phone + Website)
We have been teaching, but mostly preaching to our Innkeepers that your NAP + W must be consistent EVERYWHERE online for the past 3 years, ever since the 7-Pack became prominent in October of 2010. If you have spelled your Inn name or your Physical address in a variety of ways, or used multiple phone numbers online, you are causing your placement to not rank as high as it could be. The more “differences” there are online the more time it is going to take to correct all of those “differences”. And THEY MUST BE CORRECTED if you want to increase your Local Placement in Google.
If you want to learn more about how to correct your NAP + W, we encourage you to either register for Acorn University and learn how to Do-This-Yourself, or call 877-226-7699 and request a SEPPIR (Search Engine Problem Placement Identification Report) to help determine if you have mismatched NAP + W issues associated with your web presence.
Mobile
Mobile sites have been around for a few years, but you as an Innkeeper already KNOW how many of your guests are carrying around smart phones. We did a quick survey this past week, and the results were 70% and higher of Innkeepers’ guests had smart phones. The important concept here that Innkeepers need to grasp is that if you are not providing a Google approved Mobile presence that gives your guests a quality mobile experience, the future of your placement on a mobile search is in jeopardy. If you do not have a Google approved Mobile presence, it is past time to invest in your Inn’s mobile future.
Authority
Author and Publisher Tags have been around for quite a while now. But, it’s only been in the past 4-6 months that we’ve seen Google begin to visibly use these tags in their search results, both desktop and mobile. And if you’ve been following our blog or attending Acorn University webinars, you have seen the following quotes below…
“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification…the true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be irrelevance.” -- Eric Schmidt, Google’s Executive Chairman
“We are doing a better job of detecting when someone is sort of an authority in a specific space. It could be medical, it could be travel, whatever. And trying to makes sure that those rank a little more highly, if you are some sort of authority or a site that according to the algorithms we think might be a little bit more appropriate for users.” -- Matt Cutts, Google Spokesperson
If you have not properly installed your Author and Publisher Tags on your Website and Blog, again, its past time to request this work be completed. Read More
Local Carousel
On June 20th, 2013 we published: Google’s Local Results Carousel – Officially Launched!
Being found on Google’s new Local Carousel is highly dependent on many, many factors and it’s definitely a place you want to make sure your Inn is appearing for your City + State Local search phrases. Our Acorn University students already KNOW how to place well in this new Google display and you can too! We’d love to have you join us as an Acorn University Student!
Reviews
Google has recently updated their Google Reviews from the Zagat 30 point scale to the new 5 Star rating scale. A variety of authentic, quality reviews are highly important to your business. In fact we just went over this topic during our last Club 60 webinar on August 8th, 2013. A Video recording of this Webinar is available for Acorn University students if you missed the live session.
Google +
What can we say about Google +? The answer is to "Pull up a chair and sit a spell!!!" We have 2 Acorn University classes totally dedicated to teaching you all there is to know about Google + for personal and for business. You will learn how to claim your free Google Business Listing, load images, update your categories and so much more. Google + helps feed the Local Carousel, the New Google Maps, Mobile results and supports so much of what is all about Local in Google’s search results. At the moment,this is THE best place you can spend time on growing your business. If you haven’t immersed you and your Inn in Google +, you are impacting your local placement and simply not making the most of this incredible free Google opportunity.
