Three Steps for Crushing Multi-Location Local Search

Research firm BIA/Kelsey reports that 97% of consumers use online media to shop locally. If you’re a multi-location business, this means it’s more important than ever to be visible to Web users in all your business locations. This column tells you how to crush it.

Based on  daily searches, it’s clear to that many local businesses (especially brick-and-mortar multi-location businesses) are not optimized for local search marketing. If you’re a business with multiple store locations, with a dealership network, or with multiple state or national branch offices, there’s a good chance you don’t have 100% local coverage in the areas you service. If you’re operating below 100% coverage, you have what marketers call “a Local Market Opportunity.”

Many large enterprise businesses tend to conduct their online operations separately from their in-store counterparts and are thus missing out on the synergies for driving additional in-store foot traffic and online conversions from their digital store locator/finder.

Revenue Growth Opportunities:

Stakeholders in charge of large multi-location businesses often remain blind to the revenue growth opportunities available. They continue to operate as if they’re doing fine and nothing has changed with the Internet and user behavior in the last 2-3 years. It’s a remarkable phenomenon.
Local business listings with reviews, map directions, photo images, etc., are currently being displayed on top of organic search listings, making it both desirable and important for each individual business location to be found through local searches on all the major search engines. For instance, if a national brand is missing 10% of its 4,000 store locations in cities with physical locations, 400 stores go unrepresented. There’s a cost there — and a market opportunity. Even for a smaller chain with just 50 stores, having 5 stores unrepresented is unnecessarily leaving money on the table.

It’s also worth noting that consumers have been choosing local search results over organic and paid search results. Sixty-one percent (61%) of online searchers considered local search results to be more relevant, 58 percent considered them more trustworthy and only 10 percent of online searchers considered paid search results relevant.

Step 1: Identify Your Local Market Opportunity:

First, you have to identify your local market opportunity. When your individual stores, dealerships or offices can’t be found on the first page of search results for their strategic keywords in the cities where they’re located, shoppers searching in those cities won’t find them on desktops, smartphones and tablets. Thus, it’s important to get a sense of your local market coverage.
Identifying your local market opportunity can be labor-intensive. The process is as follows and the result for a multi-location women’s clothing retailer is shown below:

1. Create a list of all the cities where you do business
2. Research and identify your top 5 high-volume topics or keywords
3. Estimate your local monthly search volume for those topics or keywords
4. Estimate your Market Share, (percentage of local purchases)
5. Determine your Average Order Value (AOV)
6. Multiply Market Share x AOV to get your total market opportunity
7. Determine percentage of cities with no 1st page coverage (each keyword)
8. Multiply total market opportunity x percentage with no coverage.

Step 2: Optimize Business Listings For Accuracy & Consistency

Even if you think your brand is optimized for local search in Google+ Local, Yahoo! Local, and the Bing Business Portal, it is likely you are not as fully optimized as you can be. Rendering your business data consistently across all devices gives you maximum optimization.

Desktop, smartphone and tablet data delivered to users and to search engines must be accurate for each location and display your relevant business information (NAP, business hours, promotions, etc.) consistently across all devices for each and every one of your locations.

Beef up your listings with as much data as you can provide — directions, payments accepted, localized description, categories, images, local coupons, photos, social network links and links to individual store pages can really make your listing stand out. I call it good data fidelity. This data — when accurate, current and consistent across locations — helps search engines deliver optimum results to user queries. And search engines live or die by delivering a good user experience through accurate results.

Additional business data you must control and optimize are your unmanaged URLs (unclaimed pages). Unclaimed pages occur when online directories like SuperPages and YellowPages index and publish business pages for your business without your knowledge (through scraping the Web or by purchasing business data that is outdated).

Once these pages are published, Google may create a business page from this data — and until you claim it, it’s floating on the Web with your name on it with data that may not be accurate or current. This likely means the correct category for your business has not been selected, your keywords have not been targeted, and other information may be inaccurate as it was obtained from outdated, unreliable sources. You must claim your listings on all online directories and maintain them for all your business locations as changes occur.

Step 3: Optimize, Publish & Distribute 

Almost all the data feeds provided by clients and vendors to Information Services, IYPs and Local Maps are not enhanced for the local search engines. You must be able to optimize and update data feeds daily or weekly with accurate, current location data changes, new store info, business hours, holiday hours, etc.

The process of local map optimization involves direct management and optimization of the three major search engine map programs. Google+ pages and Bing Business Portal Maps use bulk feeds, whereas Yahoo! Local pages uses a manual feed.

Optimization of these feeds is an essential component to the bigger picture of local search optimization. It’s important to understand that providing a vendor with the basic location data requested by the engines is not enough. There are several very important fields within the data feed that must be optimized and kept updated: categories, descriptions, images, coupons, phone number, links to store page, links to mobile page, etc.

Your entire local search optimization effort is at risk when your brand is not fully optimized for all locations in IYP listings. Optimization includes location data changes, new store openings, store closings or moves to new locations, business hours changes, holiday hours, etc. This is all essential data to be kept current and fed to IYPs as search engines cross-verify their data with IYP data — when the data matches, it becomes trusted verified data, resulting in better rankings.

Remember, 97% percent of consumers use online media to shop locally. Consumers are using search engines, smartphones and tablets to find information about your local businesses brand on demand. A fully optimized store locator/finder for desktops and mobile devices has proven to drive incremental increases in online traffic and in-store foot traffic. The three steps above provide a roadmap for multi-location businesses to achieve maximum profitability: determine your percentage of coverage, make sure your data is accurate and consistent across all devices, and update your business data with search engines and IYPs periodically.

Three Landing Page Mistakes Guaranteed to Kill Your Conversion Rate

What Is a Landing Page?

How do you define the phrase “landing page?” In the truest sense of the term, it is any page (on your site or someone else’s) where a visitor lands (thus the name) after purposely being sent there from some sort of trigger.
So, for example, a landing page could be your home page where people land after clicking from an organic (free) search engine listing.  That’s a very broad definition.  More frequently, landing pages are used in targeted marketing campaigns where a trigger (a Facebook ad, an AdWords ad, an e-mail, a banner ad, etc.) drives traffic to a page that is specifically designed and written to work with the trigger.
For instance, you might have a promoted post ad on Facebook that drives visitors to a particular landing page that was created to support that specific ad.  Or, you may have sent a short e-mail to your list that pushes traffic to a page designed to welcome people, provide additional information and close the sale. Regardless of the type of page or its use, you’ll want to avoid these mistakes at all costs.

Mistake 1 —  Scattered Focus

Frequently, I come across landing pages that have little or nothing to do with the trigger.  An e-mail discussing a particular service (say long-term care insurance) offers a link to the company’s general services page.  Or, an eCommerce ad for one product might push visitors to the home page. That’s too much work for your visitors.
Here’s one example:

This Facebook ad leads visitors to a landing page that is specific to the ad content.  The customer doesn’t have to click around or try to find the shirt that was listed in the ad.  L.L. Bean dropped visitors slap in the middle of the exact page where they could buy the shirt.

Here’s what happens when you don’t stay focused: you end up with an ad — like this one from Wal-Mart — that touts college football gear and a landing page that has nothing to do with it.

Mistake 2 – Complicated Calls-to-Action

Just imagine how frustrating it is to click from an e-mail/ad/social media post to something you think you really want and not be able to get it.  This is the challenge your visitors will face if your calls-to-action aren’t clear and simple.
Use these suggestions to make sure it is ultra-easy for visitors to take the action you want them to take.

• Forms — Only ask for information you need immediately at that phase of the process. If you’re doing lead generation, then you may be tempted to ask for too many details up front.  Resist the urge. Think of your own experiences: how much information are you willing to give right off the bat to someone you don’t know?

• Buttons — Create buttons in colors that contrast with your other design elements.  Buttons that blend in with your scheme are much less noticeable and harder to find.  Buttons also need to be large enough to be instantly visible.
• Contact Information — The same goes for your phone number or e-mail address if you’re using these as calls-to-action. People will not scour your page to find this.  There are too many other choices online.  They will simply leave if you don’t make the process simple and seamless.

Mistake 3 – Trying to Do Too Much
In many cases, you can use an existing page of your site as a landing page. However, keep in mind that leaving certain elements in place can also cause serious decreases in conversions.
If you find your landing pages aren’t performing well, one frequent culprit is trying to do too much on the page.
Try this:

• Remove Site-Wide Navigation — Leaving the navigation links to the rest of your site can distract visitors. They could easily lose their way to the page they started on, get frustrated and leave.  Eliminating the navigation bar helps customers focus on the task at hand.

• Only Make One Offer – The more choices customers have, the more confused they get.  Rather than offering several options and multiple calls-to-action (buy a product, click to other pages on the site, sign up for a list, call for more information, etc.) only give one.  The simplest pages often perform the best.

Understanding how people behave on different types of landing pages can go a long way to increasing your conversion rates. Correcting these common mistakes can help you get the results you’re hoping for.

Page Layout Algorithm

Google has released a refresh of its Page Layout Algorithm. The filter, known as the Top Heavy algorithm, downgrades the ranking of a web page with too many ads at the top or if the ads are distracting the users. Rather than scrolling down the page past a slew of ads, users want to see content right away.So sites that don’t have much content “above-the-fold” can be affected by this change. If you click on a website and the part of the website you see first either doesn’t have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site’s initial screen real estate to ads, that’s not a very good user experience.Such sites may not rank as highly going forward.

This would be the third confirmed update to the Top Heavy algorithm, with the full release schedule as follows:

• Top Heavy 1: Jan. 19, 2012
• Top Heavy 2: Oct. 9, 2012
• Top Heavy 3: Feb. 6, 2014

How the Mobile Shift Will Affect Paid Search and Social Advertising Efforts

In 2014, more than 1.75 billion consumers will use smartphones. The adoption of Internet-enabled mobile devices, both smartphones and tablets, has further cemented ours as a multi-device world. Mobile devices have taken a more central role in consumers' lives – from research and content consumption to social sharing and shopping – and these shifting consumer behaviors were notable this holiday season.

From personal experience, I can attest to these changing trends. I traveled over Thanksgiving and Christmas and opted to tote my more conveniently-sized tablet instead of my laptop.

Over the course of my trips, I turned to my tablet while relaxing (and digesting) to check out the latest deals and sales. When I wasn't searching and shopping on my device, I was checking in on my social media accounts to post photos and wish my friends a happy holiday.

With activities like these becoming more prevalent, smartphones, and tablets continue proving to be much more than just "on the go" devices. Advertisers must seize the opportunity to capture and engage potential consumers across mobile devices and through different apertures, such as search and social.

With 2014 shaping up to be a banner year for mobile, here's how marketers should equip their paid search and social campaigns to ride the mobile wave.

Consider the Consumer When Developing a Mobile Paid Search Strategy

The biggest news on the paid search front in 2013 had to be Google's switch to enhanced campaigns. Google's response to the evolving multi-device world was a step to better align its advertisers with the future of digital marketing, streamlining campaigns and taking context into account.

As marketers continue to gain confidence in multi-device strategies, the next level of opportunity lies in refining bid adjustments, targeting, and optimizing these campaigns.

Consumers are ready and willing to engage with paid search via mobile devices. In the U.S., seasonal shoppers turned to these devices on key 2013 shopping dates with more than one out of every three paid search clicks originating from phones and tablets. Of these two devices, tablets saw significant increases, with revenues doubling year-over-year to nearly 19 percent.

Once mobile ads are served, advertisers should think about the experience the consumer will have. Nearly half of all mobile searchers say they would be more likely to turn to another brand if a business lacks a phone number in its search results. This rings true particularly for local search marketers as click-to-call represents a powerful way to connect directly with consumers looking to get in touch.

Once marketers enable click-to-call functionality, it's crucial to track this activity and analyze these calls. By associating phone calls back to ads and keywords, marketers can discover what works to keep the phone ringing and optimize ad buys accordingly.

Following the click, a mobile-friendly website is a must-have – whether B2C or B2B. Nothing deters a consumer more than reaching a website not optimized for his or her device and having to navigate through a clunky mobile experience. This can be a lengthy and expensive task, so marketers should start by focusing on the key components of their site, seeking ways to create a simplified and streamlined mobile environment.

Driving Mobile App Activity through Social Ads

Shoppers didn't just engage with mobile paid search this holiday, they also turned to branded mobile apps. With more than 100 million apps available in the Apple App Store alone, it's imperative for marketers to cut through the noise to gain visibility.

Facebook reported that in 2013 its mobile app ads helped drive more than 145 million installs.

Driving installs gets consumers to a branded app, but it's what they do within the app that really makes an impact. It's critical for brands to encourage more down-the-funnel conversion events – such as signups, video views, or in-app purchases. Facebook offers mobile app ads that promote this type of engagement by deep linking to specific content that correlates to a desired action.

Marketers should deliver clear and powerful calls to action to make the most of this ad type. By layering some of the sophisticated targeting options offered by Facebook, such as Custom Audiences, marketers can ensure they are targeting the right customers.

Twitter also offers ways to target app installs via its AppCard (not currently a paid ad format). Its acquisition of mobile ad exchange, MoPub, certainly added to the company's push for mobile, and soon after, Twitter announced updates to its ad targeting to include options for segmenting audiences by device, OS, and WiFi connection. Taking advantage of these newer options offers advertisers more granular control in reaching desired consumers.

Embrace the Mobile Era

The time is now to invest and capitalize on mobile. The best thing marketers can do is to research and understand the trends in mobile consumer search and social behavior and the various ad options available in the market. Cobbling together a mobile strategy won't cut it. Marketers must embrace the mobile shift and develop well-informed strategies to win in this new era.