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Friday, February 08, 2008

Google Local Expands - Pushes Down Organic

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 10:28 AM

Google local search has been integrated into the top of their results pages, for geographic specific searches, for some time now. However, Google recently made an adjustment expanding the number of results displayed in the OneBox / Universal Search results.

Previously when a local based search, such as "Seattle Hotels" was performed, Google would return the top 3 results, followed by the regular top 10 organic listings. With this update, now the top 10 Local results are returned to the searcher.

While this change can have a noticeable positive impact for those local businesses listed for high traffic phrases, it will likely have a negative impact on those relying on organic rankings who will now find themselves pushed beneath the fold should they not rank in the top 4, (based on a 1024 pixel resolution). Daniel Bower (Search Engine Land) notes that if your resolution is set to 768, or even 600 pixels, you will find all organic results pushed beneath the fold, which combined, accounts for more than 50% of web users)

By pushing the majority of organic results below the fold, this can potentially damage the traffic gained through those organic listings, and at the same time, assist the paid listings by making them slightly more prominent - and, potentially putting a few extra dollars in Google's pocket. This change however, will definitely benefit the local businesses listed in the new, enlarged OneBox.

So how can you get your business listed? To start you will need to use your Google Account and log into the Local Business Center. Submission is free, but verification is sent by snail-mail, so it is certainly not instant. Along with adding your site and local information, if your business name also happens to contains a target phrase, this may help you out a little. Once approved however, the rest is up to Google. Google displays these top 10 businesses largely based around the geographic center of the location at hand. If your physical location is on the outskirts of Seattle, you have little to no chance of seeing your business listed in the above example.

Labels: Google, Local Search, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 10:28 AM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
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Thursday, November 01, 2007

Ask Launches Improved UK Maps

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 10:16 AM

Yesterday Ask launched an improved version of UK Maps in a bid to get more users of the utility in the UK.

I am not too familiar with the pitfalls of version 1.0 but according to Ask's press release the new system accounts for the US-english vs UK-english language barrier (i.e. an 'exit' on a motorway is considered a 'junction' in the UK). The other improvements included:

Receive driving directions for up to ten different destinations at one time. In other words, plan your driving route for an entire day of errands - pretty cool.
It now includes walking directions.
"Landmark Assistance" is included which, I presume, allows you to find your way to particularly popular points of interest; this would be quite handy on a holiday!
Subway stations are marked for those who wish to get around a little quicker.
Curious about how everything might look in a particular location? Try the satellite view which will give you a decent photo view of the surroundings.
Satellite shots are available for purchase on the fly... odd but okay.
If you search for any UK city within Ask Search you will be presented with a myriad of city details including hot spots, links to maps, tips, etc.

All-in-all I feel I should reiterate that Ask really has the right approach... be the best you can be at your particular niches and you will get noticed. I think Ask is playing the sure and steady approach and I believe that will steadily grab marketshare as long as they don't play any more ridiculous commercials :-P

Here is a great comment that Ask received from what is definitely a winning response to this new version:

Oh yes, I'd like to congratulate you on your maps.

I've never used Ask.com before seriously, aside from just testing out one or two things; but that was until I found your maps had walking directions.

For me, someone who doesn't own a car and travels mostly by foot or public transport, this was a really nice feature - and one that works well.

So congratulations; you've done good with this maps malarky and I'll be using your map service from hereonin.

One thing I would like to see, but this would be a harrowingly long and tedious job, is to see a mapping system that recognises subways and narrow paths. This route suggested by Ask, for example, would be much quicker if you nipped under the subway.

"Ask Launches Improved UK Maps" by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Web Marketing Inc.

Labels: Ask, Local Search, Mobile, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 10:16 AM.

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Monday, July 16, 2007

Increase Your Visibility in Local Search

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 11:33 AM

This morning I came across a great article by Sujan Patel at Search Engine Journal called "5 Quick Ways to Optimize for Local Search". I highly recommend reading this article!

The following is a summary of the main points with an added Canadian perspective for those who want to add/edit their business listing in Canada:

1) Make sure to list your business in the following local sections of these sites:

Google Maps
Yahoo! Local - here is the link to Yahoo Local Canada
MSN Live Local
SuperPages here is the link to SuperPages Canada
YellowPages - SuperPages and YellowPages have the same listings in Canada so just use the SuperPages Canada link above.
Switchboard - this directory does not appear to have a Canadian version. Even if it did it would be populated by YellowPages information which you can edit using SuperPages Canada.
CitySearch - it appears that Toronto is the only Canadian region covered.

2) Make sure your address information is present within your website; a great place is the footer of every page.

3) Ensure your domain is registered with your business address. Use a WHOIS tool to verify the address is correct in your domain.

4) If you want to take your local Internet presence to a more competitive level try getting backlinks to your website with geographical references. For example, StepForth might look for "web marketing, Victoria, BC" or "SEO services, Victoria, BC"

5) Cell phone and PDA users are turning to fast local searches using their mobile devices. In order to tap this marketplace create a mobile version of your website with geographical references including nearby popular spots/businesses. You would also benefit from trading links or acquiring links from businesses in your area. Read "Stake Your Claim on the Mobile Web" to get an introduction into Mobile device marketing or read our other articles and posts on mobile.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth Search Engine Placement Inc.
Celebrating 10 Years of Web Marketing Excellence

Labels: Local Search, Mobile, Ross Dunn, SEO News, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 11:33 AM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
View this Article Only: Increase Your Visibility in Local Search

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Friday, June 08, 2007

View Live Data on Internet Usage Worldwide

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 2:33 PM

Akamai, which claims to route 20% of the Internet's traffic through its platform, has used this data to create a very interesting real-time view of Internet usage for news, retail, and music. What I found most intriguing was another report that shows real-time Internet usage data; just drag a viewing box over specific sections of the world to see where the most Internet usage is occurring. It is interesting how these statistics mirror the regional traffic statistics for many of StepForth's clientele.

Do you see correlations in this data and your site's regional traffic statistics? Perhaps, just perhaps, you will find markets to advertise in that you hadn't previously considered.

by Ross Dunn, CEO, StepForth SEO Services
Celebrating 10 Years of SEO Excellence

Labels: Local Search, Other News, Ross Dunn

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 2:33 PM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
View this Article Only: View Live Data on Internet Usage Worldwide

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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

SEO Answers #12: "My .co.uk domain lost rankings when I added a .com... why?"

Written by Ross Dunn and published at 10:01 AM

QUESTION: My client originally promoted a single .co.uk domain that he owned. Recently he purchased a .com and pointed that domain to his current website. Since this change we have noticed his “pages from the UK” content has been dropped from Google UK but the .com is performing well on Google.com under the client’s target keywords. What is going on? – G.S.V.

ANSWER: I see no sure answer why this has happened without more information. First things first, the .com website will get attention from Google.com simply because non-regional TLD’s are favoured at Google.com. Also, the fact that your client’s site got excellent rankings is a testament to the quality optimization of the site (even if you do not want these rankings); so kudos to you if you were the one who optimized the site.

Understanding why the .co.uk dropped in the UK regional rankings seems the tough question. Here are some things to check on:

Was the .com 301 redirected to the .co.uk? A 301 redirect effectively tells the search engines that they should pay attention to the destination domain (.co.uk) versus the domain the spider originally entered at (.com). If you were to enable a 301 redirect now you might save yourself a lot of confusion and potentially pain in the future; since this technique undeniably states which domain represents the flagship website and will limit duplicate content penalties.
Did the .com have a prior history? Perhaps it was bought the .com had a significant number of backlinks or history that outweighed the .co.uk domain. You see, I expect when Google is presented with two domains pointing at the same content it will choose to rank the domain with the most positive history. That is of course, if no other directives have been stated (i.e. 301’s). A way to see if the domain had a history before it was bought is to use the Wayback Machine and see if a prior site existed. Next you should do a backlink check for the domain to see if there are any links that came with the ‘new’ domain.
Is the website hosted in the USA or the UK? If the .co.uk and the .com are both hosted on an American server then achieving a ranking on google.com will be significantly easier than google.co.uk and vice versa. In other words, host in the UK and use a .co.uk domain if you want to be sure to have regional UK rankings.

At the moment these are the most prominent possibilities that come to mind but there are likely more. The fact is, if all else fails and it appears everything is normal I find issues like oddly missing rankings fix themselves over time. I hope your outcome is extremely positive and I do hope you keep me up to date.

If anyone else has experienced this issue or has some educated feedback please post a comment within this posting on The SEO Blog.

PS. Here is a great forum thread at Search Engine Watch discussing Google.com vs. Google.co.uk rankings.

Labels: Google, Local Search, Ross Dunn, SEO, SEO Answers, SEO Tips

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This SEO News was posted by Ross Dunn @ 10:01 AM.

Copyright ©2006-2012, The SEO News Blog, StepForth SEO Services
View this Article Only: SEO Answers #12: "My .co.uk domain lost rankings when I added a .com... why?"

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Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Ask Goes Local

Written by Scott Van Achte and published at 8:32 PM

On Monday Ask launched a local search service that strongly competes with other existing services offered by the big 3.

AskCity allows users to search for businesses, events, movies, and maps with directions. This service has integrated a number of those owned by parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp including CitySearch, ReserveAmerica, ServiceMagic, Ticketmaster and TicketWeb. Ask has also incorporated services from IAC partners.

Many of the new services from AskCity are also similiar to those offered by Google, MSN and Yahoo; however, the big three have to sign partnerships with other companies in order to provide these services.

In the big scheme of things local search is still in its infant stages, but as the internet continues to grow and evolve the world of local search will continue to grow as more and more people allow the internet into their lives.

Labels: Ask, Local Search, Scott Van Achte

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This SEO News was posted by Scott Van Achte @ 8:32 PM.