it’s not your mother’s yellow pages

it’s not your mother’s yellow pages

Mike Blumenthal, blumenthals.com/blogmike@blumenthals.com | Twitter: @mblumenthal

2,340,000,001

Comscore.com/Google 03/10

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95.8%iCrossing

% of search Traffic frompage-one of the search engines.

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Difference betweenYellow Pages & Google

Yellow PagesDifficulty: EasyCost: ExpensiveService: Phone & Rep

ServiceGoogle Places

Difficulty: More ComplicatedCost: FreeService: Do It Yourself

• Business Listings areAssembled by Computer

• Listings Displayed Across Different Array of Devices and Technologies

Some Other DifferencesWith Google Places

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How Does Google Assemble a Business Listing

The “Cluster”

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

How Does Google MapsAssemble a Business Listing

LBC Data1 Data2 Data2 Feed1 Feed2 Web1 Web2 UserEdits

Name Y X X X X X XAddress X X X X Y YPhone Y X X X X X X XWeb X X XCategory X X X XReviews X X X XGeoInfo X X XCitations X X XAdditional Details X X X

Mobile MapsGoogle

Directories

Goog – 411Directory

Assistance

Google SMS

Google Maps

Google Earth

Google LocalOne Box

Listings display across different array of devices & technologies

• Before You Start

• Establishing Trust

• Providing A Baseline Presence

• Enhancing Your Standing

Steps To ManagingYour Listing

• Make sure that you provideexcellent customer service.

• Do keyword research.

• Review your business name.

• Pick a URL with your business name in it.

• Pick the right categories.

• Write a great business description.

Before You Start – The 6 P’s

Establish Trust with Google’s Algo

• Claim Your Record in the Places Dashboard with email @yourdomain

• Have your contact informationon every page of your website.

• Include Your Business Name onLanding Page, Title & Meta Description.

• Whois Domain Record Visible (Not Private)

• Add a KML Sitemap or hCard info.

Providing A Baseline Presence

NAP+W – Consistent name, address, phone & website on:

• Legal Documents• Phone Directories• Update Your Listing With

Google’s Primary Providers- Localeze- infoUSA & Axciom

(via Universal Business Listing)

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Providing A Baseline Presence

Providing A Baseline Presence

Claim listings from the principalsecondary data suppliers/sites:

• SuperPages• Yahoo, Bing• HotFrog, Manta, MC• Claim Industry Specific Directories

- Yelp, Avvo, Tripadvisor• Note: You claim it. You own it.

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Providing A Baseline Presence

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Enhancing Your StandingIncrease your Relevance & Rank

Enhancing Your Standing

• Increase the Relevance of your listing- Business Title- Business Category- Inbound Link Phrasing or Citation

Enhancing Your Standing

• Increasing your Rank- Popularity of My Maps & GeoReferences- Citations & In-bound Links- Reviews- User Content

Some Helpful Tools To Ease Your Way

•Category Review Tool: blumenthals.com/category

•KML & Geo SiteMap:geositemapgenerator.com

•Listing Assessment and Management:GetListed.org

Some Things Never Change

The Old Way Now

Customer Relations

Know your customers & treat them right.

Know Your Customers. Treat them “righter”.Know what they are saying and encourage them to say nice things.

Marketing Make yourbusiness visible.

Make your business visible in both the offline AND online worlds.

Don’t chase after Google’s algorithm.Find customers.Treat them right.

For More Background

• Blumenthals.com/birmingham

it’s not your mother’s yellow pages

Mike Blumenthal, blumenthals.com/blogmike@blumenthals.com | Twitter: @mblumenthal