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Local search ranking factors (2023) for agencies and marketers

The annual Local Search Ranking Factors report has returned for another year. As a provider of listing management services for agency partners, we are constantly tuned into the strategies and techniques that deliver results right now. And one of the best ways to gauge the opinions of the local search industry is by digging into the responses from 44 leading local SEO experts.

The 2023 Local Search Ranking Factors Survey

For those new to the report, the Local Search Ranking Factors survey has taken place every year since 2008. Industry experts respond to a series of questions, helping identify the conversions and rankings elements that are delivering in Google’s local search results right now. This report also covers the 2022 ranking factors that are anticipated to help businesses throughout 2023.

However, it’s worth noting that the survey results are not a definitive source for local SEO in 2023. This data is just the beginning of the conversation, allowing agencies, marketers and businesses to test their assumptions about local search. With Google treating industries, platforms and devices differently, flexibility is key – and every client requires a personalized approach.

What Local Ranking Factors Should You Focus on in 2023?

Local SEO experts were given 149 possible Google ranking factors and asked to estimate their importance. The results are broken down into local map/finder results and local organic results.

Local search ranking factors (2023) for agencies and marketers

Local Pack/Finder Ranking Factors

  • Google Business Profile Signals (Google Business Profile) – 32%
  • On-Page Signals – 19%
  • Review Signals – 16%
  • Link Signals – 11%
  • Behavioral Signals – 8%
  • Citation Signals – 7%
  • Personalization – 6%

Local search ranking factors (2023) for agencies and marketers

Local Organic Ranking Factors

  • On-Page Signals – 36%
  • Link Signals – 26%
  • Behavioral Signals – 9%
  • Google Business Profile Signals – 9%
  • Personalization – 7%
  • Citation Signals – 7%
  • Review Signals – 6%

Looking back to the 2021 Local Search Ranking Factors, the results undoubtedly have many similarities. However, there are also some subtle changes that are worth considering.

Google Business Profile Management Is Critical

Just as in 2022, this year Google Business Profile management should be a priority for your local clients. Google Business Profile is particularly important for local pack/finder listings, but signals also translate to organic search results. Some of the crucial factors noted in the survey results include selecting a primary Google Business Profile category, keywords in the Google Business Profile business title, proximity of address to the point of search and having a physical address in the city of search.

Here at Advice Local, we’ve been calling attention to the importance of a Google Business Profile listing for your business clients for years. Our agency partners are already well-positioned to maximize local pack results with our listing management, Google Business Profile Sync and other related tools.

Citations Still Matter

Survey results for citation signals have remained steady over the last few years. For most SEO experts, the need for citations is clear, but just how they should be prioritized is up for debate. Unfortunately, many agencies and businesses have suffered from a strategy that includes low-quality citations, irrelevant categories – and a focus on quantity over quality.

But as we discussed in a recent article, all directories are not created equal. To see any significant results from citation building, agencies need to reach relevant, high-quality directories. And you must make submissions with a purpose – think leading data aggregators, GPS accelerators, vertical directories and premier directories. See our Data Amplifier Network for the right approach to citation signals.

On-Page Factors Take on Greater Importance

On-page signals scored highly this year for both local pack and organic ranking factors. If you haven’t been prioritizing your clients’ websites, now is the time to adjust. Running an SEO audit is a great place to start, looking at keywords in title tags, weak content, a lack of internal linking and related factors. This year, prioritizing engaging, optimized content will be crucial for ranking.

Reviews Make a Difference

The report also identifies customer reviews as essential, particularly for local pack/finder rankings. Reviews have long been vital in building a robust online presence, and contribute to establishing an authoritative Google Business Profile.

As you may be aware, we have been discussing the need for a consistent flow of positive reviews for some time, and many of the contributing local SEO experts agree. Ultimately, reviews are just a part of a business’ wider reputational health – a factor included in our Google Authority Score (GAS) metric. Make sure to run a GAS check using our Enhanced Google Business Profile Tool for Agencies and see how your clients measure up.


Which Local Search Ranking Factors Matter in 2023? by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Try Our Industry-Leading Listing Management Services

At Advice Local, we help agencies and local marketers increase the search visibility of their clients. With our leading local citation and listing management services, clients have access to a range of tools dedicated to search ranking success. To see how powerful our dashboard solution is, request a demo today or call (214) 310-1356.

The post Which Local Search Ranking Factors Matter in 2023? appeared first on Advice Local.

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Customize sales tool website

Your agency is unique. It’s refined, a cut above the competition, and you choose style and wording carefully when interacting with customers and prospects alike. So, doesn’t it make sense that your sales tools for your website hold to the same standards?

At Advice Local, we wanted to develop a sales generation tool for agencies like yours, with total customization and control available from the get-go. That’s precisely what we did, and now we’d like to teach you how to better customize your new sales widget for everyday use!

Getting Started – A First Look at the Sales Tool Website Widget

Before we dive into a step-by-step rundown of the customization possibilities, let’s first look at Advice Local’s sales tool for your website. We’ll start with exploring its outward appearance and uses for the visitor to your website.

Shown here is the sales widget in its minimized and expanded state.

Free visibility report

The sales widget is quite straightforward. Upon expanding the widget from your agency’s website or homepage, the prospect will be greeted with your logo and copy. Below that, they may fill in their business information and personal information before running a free online visibility report.

Business information

Once the prospect selects “Get a FREE Report Now,” the widget will pull in the necessary business information. The prospect will then select their specific location from the list of available options or select “My business is not listed.”

Select your business

From there, the widget will begin the process of running the free online visibility report. On the screen, the prospect will be presented with an overview of the Visibility Score, and have the option to click to “See The Full Report” onscreen.

If they choose to view the report onscreen, a new browser window opens where they can examine the report. Otherwise, the report is sent directly to the prospect’s email – with your custom wording and agency information included. That way, the prospective client is prepped for future contact with your team.

Online visibility score report

The results of the online visibility report will also appear in your Advice Local partner dashboard, allowing your sales team access to key information needed to make a quick sale. The prospect will then receive an email with their visibility report and any other information that you provided within your email template.

Overall, it’s an extremely simple and effective way to gather sales information without wasting manpower or resources.

Now that we have covered the experience for the site visitor utilizing the sales tool we have created for your website, let’s discuss where you can access this sales tool to customize it to match your agency’s brand.

Accessing the Sales Widget Within Your Agency Dashboard

Before you dive into customizing your new sales widget, you’ll need to locate it within the partner dashboard. And by design, like everything else to do with the widget, it’s simple!

First, log in to your partner dashboard via the Advice Local website. You’ll start on the main page of the dashboard, which will look something like the example below.

Advice Local dashboard

Look to the top right corner – you’ll see your email address. Click here and open the admin panel drop-down box to access additional information, commands, reports and tools. Click the item that says “Widget.”

Advice Local account

Once you click the widget function, you’ll have access to the sales widget editor. Here you can customize your sales widget, and access the code allowing you to implement the widget on your website.

Now, we’ll move on to customizing the sales widget step-by-step.

Customizing the Sales Widget for Your Agency Website

With a basic understanding of how the sales widget functions, let’s look at how to customize your new widget before pushing it live on your website.

Personalization and branding can be considered the most important features of the sales widget. For that, navigate to the “Global” category, where you can insert your agency’s logo and select the type of font you want to use. It looks something like the below image.

Widget personalization

In the place that says Image Logo Link, add the link to your logo that you have uploaded to your agency website.

Now, let’s move to the “Header” tab. In this section you can select the widget’s primary background color. This color appears behind your logo at the very top of the sales widget itself. You can also change the font color if you’d like.

When you use the Chrome browser you’ll have more color preference options, including the ability to enter the exact color codes you use on your website. In Safari, you’ll have a color selector to choose from (or use the dropper to select a color from something else already on the screen).

sales widget editor

In the “Header” tab, the text box is one of the more important components. You can insert custom copy related to your agency, mission statement, or how you wish to help customers. This message will appear on your website when the site visitor expands the widget to generate their free report.

Next, navigate to the “Body” tab. In this section, you’ll have a chance to edit the background color on the main body of the sales widget. We recommend choosing a color that’s pleasing to the eye and also easy to read, as prospects will enter text in this section.

Further, you can also change the font and the background color for the bottom section.

Sales widget color options

But what if you don’t have a specific color in mind? You can choose from popular color options by using the drop-down box. Click on the font color section and choose what works best for you from the color picker.

Sales widget color options

Once you’ve selected the important colors that set your agency apart from the competition and turn eyes your way, it’s time to choose the perfect wording for your sales widget.

Get ready to set up the “Button/Input” tab. This includes the background/border color of the button itself, the button font color, the text included on the button – and the text for viewing the full report. You can customize each aspect of this to best suit the wording your agency prefers.

Sales widget button color

Next, we have the “Notifications” tab, which features an email BCC, email subject line and email body. We recommend adding your email address in the BCC, so you’ll know right away when a free report has been generated via your agency website.

Free report email notification

You can make the email body content as personal or professional as you like – it’s yours to work with and mold as you see fit.

You’ll note the email body begins with “Hi [business_name].” It’s best to include this code to ensure the widget pulls the business name from the information provided by the prospect.

If you don’t want to use “Hi,” change it to something more your style. You could throw in a “Hey,” or “How are you,” (and so on) to fit your needs. It’s very important to leave the “this link” text untouched, as we have code in there that will link the free report to your partner dashboard for the prospect.

And finally, we have the “Format”   tab. From this final tab you can choose whether or not to permanently float your sales widget on each page of your website. You can also change the positioning (from left, center, or right) depending on your space, and where you’d like the widget to appear to best catch attention.

Sales widget format tab

Inserting Your Customized Sales Widget

Once you have fully customized the sales widget, it’s time to add the widget on your website.

From the Advice Local dashboard (in the same area as the customization tools), you’ll find the Sales Widget Code. This code changes as you enter your various customizations. Therefore, before you copy/paste the code to your website, it’s best to wait until you’ve uploaded your logo, finished selecting coloring and font, adjusted the other settings, etc.

Sales widget code

As you can see, depending on the type of content management system (CMS) your website uses, you have a few options. For example, if you have a WordPress website you can install a plugin to handle the code implementation for you. Google Tag Manager is also an option for adding the code into the header.php file on your website.

An alternate method is to copy and paste the sales tool website widget code directly into the header.php on your website within the <head> and <body> tags.

And once you add the code to your website and click save, your widget will appear on your agency website, right on the homepage, for easy access! If you cannot see the widget right away, you may need to clear your website and browser cache.


How to Customize Our Sales Widget for Your #Agency Website by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Ready to Get This Powerful Sales Tool for Your Agency Website?

For current Advice Local partners, the new widget is already turned on in your partner dashboard. Please keep in mind that if you’re using the legacy sales tool, you’ll no longer be able to make customizations to the legacy sales tool or landing page. Please contact your account manager if you have questions or concerns regarding this.

If you are not yet an Advice Local partner, request a demo right away. You’ll definitely want to get our sales tool for your agency website! Call (214) 310-1356 today to learn more.

The post How to Customize Our Sales Widget for Your Agency Website appeared first on Advice Local.

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new sales tool website widget

We’re excited to announce a new addition to our local presence management product suite – the sales tool website widget. Our latest innovation focuses on helping our agency and marketing partners get more sales. As listings management is one of the more important local marketing strategies, it also helps improve local visibility for your brick-and-mortar and service area business clients. Simply put, listings management is one of the easier ways to generate income for your agency.

Using our sales tool website widget, site visitors can run a free online visibility report directly on your website. You’ll receive the prospect’s contact information and Baseline Report in your partner dashboard as a widget lead, and the prospect will receive a white label report in their email – with your logo and wording included.

How Does Our Sales Tool Website Widget Benefit Your Agency?

Through passive sales generation it’s possible to build a customer base, increase trust and credibility, plus drive traffic via worthwhile prospects. Before long, a quality prospect can turn into a valued customer.

We all understand that sales generation equals long-term growth and revenue. And both of these become more attainable when you utilize the proper resources, like the latest sales tool from Advice Local.

As you focus on the importance of leads and sales generation, you might ask how utilizing this brand-new sales tool website widget could benefit you. We’ll explain how Advice Local’s sales widget can make your job easier overall.

1. Increased Revenue

Businesses focus on new customers to increase revenue. Essentially, every lead is a prospective customer – it’s simply a matter of selling them your services and turning them into a paying customer. By generating leads directly on your website (with little to no interaction necessary) the widget will streamline the sales generation process, allowing partners to focus their efforts on closing more deals and opening new accounts.

2. Business Opportunities

It’s safe to say that even the best account managers and sales professionals will miss out on a market opportunity at some point. After all, you just cannot be everywhere at once. But with the sales widget implemented directly on your website, prospective clients come to you. This method opens the doors for new business opportunities.

3. Improve Sales Quality

Securing a prospect with a cold call or an email is a gamble, as the business may not be open to your services. But through our sales widget, the potential client is actively showing interest. They came to your website, took time to fill out the information to receive their free online visibility report and then submitted their business information. Businesses like these will represent a higher-quality sale overall.

Our Latest Sales Tool Makes Closing New Business Easy

Advice Local aims to offer simple, effective marketing solutions for our partners. With our latest sales widget, you can:

  • Boost sales by allowing you to focus efforts on the client, and less on cold-calling prospects.
  • Enjoy total website integration, with the tool displaying directly on the web page in an open or expanding box – and with your agency’s sales copy and logo front and center.
  • Get a full data report submitted directly to the partner dashboard – and ensure it’s easier than ever to follow up with a lead.
  • Every prospect will receive a copy of their online visibility report sent directly to their email inbox, opening the door to your future emails.

Here at Advice Local, ensuring that our agency and local marketing partners have the tools and resources to better assist their clients is our priority. It’s our practice to improve, innovate and offer marketing solutions and sales tools designed to solve your problems effectively.


Meet Our #SalesTool #Website Widget for Agency Partners by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Get Our New Sales Tool Website Widget for Your Agency Today

Our sales widget is one more solution aimed at securing new business and turning prospects into long-time customers. For more information on our sales widget for your website, or a peek into our partner dashboard, request a free demo today by calling (214) 310-1356.

The post Meet Our Sales Tool Website Widget for Agency Partners appeared first on Advice Local.

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White label listing management services

As increasing numbers of businesses recognize the power of digital marketing, the demand for white label listing management services continues to grow. These businesses rely on the expertise of local agencies to gain search visibility and deliver new customers to their brand. But as agencies experience this growing demand, they face the challenge of meeting their clients’ needs. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution for scaling an agency fast – white label local listing management services.

What Are White Label Local Listing Management Services?

Local presence management has grown in importance as more consumers research businesses online before making a purchase. But while digital marketing was once fairly limited in scope, there are now countless channels and verticals that a business needs to target.

White label listing management gives agencies access to all the high-quality integrated services they need to best serve their clients. Here are some of the primary white label services available.

Local Listing Management Distribution

A crucial benefit of local listing management software is the ability to maintain consistent data across all platforms. At Advice Local, we achieve this consistency by using a combination of automated and manual listing submissions.

We can submit your clients’ data to our wide-reaching Data Amplifier Network and make fast adjustments to citations in real time. This distribution covers everything from popular search engines to GPS navigation and mapping apps.

White Label Widgets

Lead generation is a consistent challenge for agencies, and many businesses are in the dark about their online visibility. White label widgets offer a solution to this issue, delivering accessible, solutions-focused data to a business owner.

The development of our new listing management lead generation website widget  is a prime example of such a solution. Agencies simply add the customizable widget to their website, and visitors can generate a free online visibility report. As an automated sales funnel, this hands-off approach provides agencies and local marketers with a straightforward way to secure new customers.

Voice Search Readiness

According to data from Statista, 35% of U.S. consumers own smart speakers. And as consumers grow more comfortable conducting voice searches using mobile devices and smart speakers, agencies need to keep up with this trend.

Our Voice Search Readiness Test allows an agency to generate a report for their business clients, identifying opportunities for improved presence. We can then distribute your clients’ data to Alexa, Siri, Cortana, Google Assistant and other platforms via our data network.

White Label Reporting

Agencies need to keep their business clients informed of progress using monthly reports. But maintaining and compiling digestible reports based on multiple data sources is no easy task. White label reporting helps agencies maintain close relationships with clients without the need for complex data management. Advice Local lets agency partners access detailed reporting from their user-friendly dashboard.

Enhanced GBP Tool for Agencies

While there are numerous platforms that can help increase local presence, Google is still the major player in the industry. Consequently, a Google Business Profile (GBP) will likely be the primary focus for agencies and their business clients. At Advice Local, we have developed the Enhanced Google Business Profile Tool as a white label listing management service for our partners. From our Google Authority Score to GBP syncing tools, clients have everything they need to run successful GBP campaigns.


Why Your Agency Needs White Label Local Listing Management by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Leading White Label Local Listing Management Services

Advice Local is a leading provider of white label local listing management services for agencies and digital marketers. If you would like access to the premier listing tools, GBP services and our Data Amplifier Network, request a demo today or call (214) 310-1356.

The post Why Your Agency Needs White Label Local Listing Management appeared first on Advice Local.

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High-quality directory listings for citations

The primary objective of local SEO is to increase the visibility of a business in the places consumers spend their time. For the agencies tasked with helping companies meet this goal, listing management services are among the effective options available. Leveraging free search engine listings and directories is a low-cost method that has worked for years – and there’s no sign of that changing. But with platforms offering varying quality levels, what listing platforms should you prioritize?

The Top Free Search Engine Listings and Directories

As we have discussed previously, it’s true that all directories are not created equal. In brief, listing your clients’ businesses on the best quality platforms will lead to better search placements and more targeted traffic. However, when you choose low-quality listings sites your clients could be penalized. Here are the sites that deliver for our Advice Local partners right now.

Google Local Search

Naturally, the local pack and Google Maps are the obvious choices that top our list. Note that both are powered by the Google Business Profile (GBP). Every local business is vying for visibility in the local map pack and a leading organic search result. Reaching these top spots could transform results for a business. And if you’re familiar with Advice Local, you’ll know that we offer Enhanced GBP Tools to take Google listings management to the next level.

Bing Places for Business

While Bing might not have the user base of Google, it is still committed to innovating the search industry and commands a sizable audience. Know that Bing Places is essential in building a presence on Bing Maps and mobile platforms. In addition, Microsoft reports that 54% of searchers use Bing for online product research.

Apple Maps

Apple has continued to improve its Apple Maps service, making it one of the key listings platforms that agencies should consider. As the default mapping platform on Apple devices, businesses can reach iPhone users conducting searches while in close proximity to their premises.

Nextdoor

One of the top reasons to love local citations is their importance in hyperlocal search marketing, and Nextdoor is among the best examples of hyperlocal citations. This hugely popular platform shows users the businesses within their neighborhood – and you can get your clients listed with Advice Local’s listing management services.

Yelp

Yelp’s reputation as an authoritative business directory means it is trusted by consumers. A comprehensive listing on Yelp can often achieve a prominent search engine listing by itself, helping businesses dominate a keyword phrase. As with the other listing platforms, accuracy and consistency of business data are required to help your clients’ search visibility.

Additional Listing Services

While these platforms are among the most recognized, many more are trusted sources of information and have significant user bases. For our agency partners, these authority sites are all included within our Data Amplifier Network.

Why is this important? Well, a key benefit of local listing management software is the ability to distribute data quickly, accurately and for a low cost. When you consider the alternative approach – spending considerable time researching the authority of a directory and then manually submitting the information – you’ll soon see the advantages of partnering with a listing management service.


The Most Important Free #SearchEngine Listings & #Directories by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Trusted Listing Management Services for Agencies

At Advice Local, we help agencies and local marketing partners deliver for their clients with our best choice listing management services. We provide citation building, enhanced GBP services, voice apps and so much more. To get started, call (214) 310-1356  or request a demo today.

The post The Most Important Free Search Engine Listings & Directories appeared first on Advice Local.

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Directory listings for small businesses

Everyone involved in local search marketing is constantly looking for the next big SEO strategy. So, it’s really no surprise that citation building using listing management services doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. However, citations are fundamental to most local SEO strategies and have been delivering traffic, sales and search visibility for years. To understand why some agencies don’t prioritize listing management, it’s important to look at the varying quality of the directories that are out there.

Why Quality Beats Quantity in Listing Management

Consider this – if two separate businesses both pursue a strategy of citation building on directory sites, how is it possible for them to have such wildly differing results? In all likelihood, you can link the outcomes to the quality of directories being used to promote each business.

Essentially, Google and other search engines value consistent data on quality, relevant platforms. This is exactly why agencies need to submit their clients’ businesses to authoritative listings sites – sites that deliver results.

The Main Features of Quality Directories

From local and vertical directories to maps and premier quality platforms, there’s no shortage of places to build citations. Here are some of the main features found in quality directories.

Spam-Free Directories

As many agencies have discovered the hard way, listings management services are not created equal. Submitting to a vast number of low-quality platforms filled with spam listings will not benefit a business, and could even lead to less prominence in search results. Recognizing this, our Data Amplifier Network at Advice Local contains only reputable directories backed by analysis.

Niche-Specific Sites

Google places a significant weight on relevance when determining which sites get local pack and organic placements. In fact, along with proximity and prominence, relevance is one of the big three local SEO ranking factors. With listings on niche-specific sites, demonstrating this relevance is possible in many industries. For example, our network contains various legal and healthcare vertical directories.

Relevant Categories

Of course, many businesses will not have a wide choice of niche directories to choose from. However, they can still benefit from categories within broader directories. In the highest-quality platforms you can expect to find relevant categories – and a moderation team that prevents inaccurate classifications.

Location-Based Elements

As mentioned, proximity is a crucial metric in local SEO. Therefore, your local clients will benefit from directory features that pinpoint a business’ location. Integrating a map within the listing is practical – and a valuable sales tool. In addition, because consumers use platforms like Judy’s Book and Nextdoor to research local businesses, you need to ensure your clients are listed there.

The Problems With Prioritizing Quantity of Directories

There are many reasons to love local citations, but if the quality is lacking don’t be tempted by the quantity of directories.

  • Low-quality directory listings build a lack of trust with the search engines.
  • Consider the future negative impact of a mediocre directory without management.
  • Managing a substantial number of listings is tough without a quality listing management service.
  • A broad approach is more likely to result in bad data distribution that harms search visibility.
  • Authority and relevance are hard to achieve when prioritizing quantity over quality.

All Directories Are Not Created Equal by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Access the Top Listing Management Services and Directory Network

Advice Local operates the best listing management services for agencies and local marketing partners. Our services include citation building, voice search readiness, white-label reports and the leading business data distribution network. To see for yourself, call (214) 310-1356  or request a demo now.

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Local citation building benefits

If you’ve been providing listing management services to small businesses for any length of time, you surely understand the power of citations. Citations have been a local ranking factor for many years now, and are an integral part of a wide-ranging SEO strategy. But the fact that citations are ever-present in local SEO also makes it easy to lose focus on their many benefits. Here’s why we love citations at Advice Local – and want to make it as easy as possible for you to build them.

Benefits of Local Citations for Small Businesses and Brands

Are you unsure of the benefits of local citation building, or need to articulate to your clients exactly why their business needs them? Just consider the following reasons.

Local Citation Management Is Critical for SEO

Every local SEO strategy for small business clients needs local citations. Also called local search citations or SEO citations by some in the industry, these mentions on authoritative directories directly help companies improve their organic search placement. And while Google is often reluctant to discuss SEO factors, industry experts like those at Search Engine Journal indicate that the search engine uses local citations as a ranking signal in the local pack and in localized organic results.

Citations Help You Build a Diverse Link Profile

To increase your clients’ local presence and future-proof search results for algorithm updates, diversifying link profiles is essential. Citation building may seem like a fairly limited strategy on the surface, yet it actually lets you get featured on directories, review platforms, local community sites, specialized vertical directories and more. You may recall that in our questions to ask before hiring a citation builder we recommended checking both the quality and diversification of a distribution network.

Local Citations Are Vital for Hyperlocal Search Marketing

Citation building also ties into one of our favorite small business strategies – hyperlocal SEO. Hyperlocal is a particularly effective method right now, as Google is prioritizing proximity as one of its key search metrics. At Advice Local, businesses listed with us actually get a free listing on BubbleLife and a premium Judy’s Book listing. In addition, we also provide the option to get listed on Nextdoor within our system. These services let you drill down to highly specific geographical areas, delivering targeted search results.

Citations Are Adaptable to Changing Circumstances

Things change, and your clients may need to modify certain aspects of their businesses fairly frequently. From changing locations or opening a new branch, adjusting hours of operation and updating photos, listings will definitely require adjustment. Unlike many other types of backlinks, citations can be amended with minimal disruption. In fact, using our real-time listings management, you can find and fix inaccurate citations for a local business and keep the important details updated.

More Reasons to Love Local Citations

  • Build Reputation – Accurate citations on quality platforms act as trust signals for search engines and consumers, showing credibility for a business.
  • Improve Discoverability – Consumers are more inclined to search for businesses while in close proximity to their location. Focus on local citations to take advantage of mobile searches.
  • Deliver Low-Cost, Converting Traffic – By placing a company listing on a variety of business listings, your client can reach targeted consumers interested in the products and services they have to offer.

The Top Reasons to Love Local #Citations by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Expert Citation Building Services for Agencies and Local Marketers

Advice Local provides top-quality listing management and develops citation building tools for agencies and brand partners. We make building your local business clients’ citations and growing their search visibility easy. To try our local presence management dashboard for yourself, call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

The post The Top Reasons to Love Local Citations appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local SEO for digital agencies

As all successful agency owners know, a consistent local SEO strategy is vital for increasing search visibility. At Advice Local, we have long promoted the benefits of local listing management software, citation building and other proven SEO methods. But as you are probably aware, SEO takes time – and the more complex the strategy, the less profit an agency typically retains. Today we’re offering an alternative way to create an SEO strategy that requires minimal maintenance, yet delivers client satisfaction and profitable returns.

The Critical Elements of a Local SEO Strategy

The best local SEO strategies integrate personalized methods (content creation and social media strategies tailored for each client) with streamlined services (real-time data distribution and hands-off citation building). Here are the main elements of a local SEO strategy for small business clients.

Optimize Business Listings

In the past, agencies could rely on a set-and-forget approach to business listings. Today however, with Google and others aiming to deliver up-to-the-minute information to searchers, the GBP (Google Business Profile), Bing Places, as well as similar platforms need more direct involvement. While each directory does vary, here are some recommendations for a GBP listing.

  • Add NAP, opening hours, a description and attributes.
  • Maintain consistent data using our GBP Sync tool.
  • Add high-quality images that showcase the business.
  • Create Google Posts featuring offers, events and updates.
  • Respond to every customer review, positive and negative.
  • Monitor profile quality with our Google Authority Score.

Take Advantage of Data Aggregators

When it comes to understanding local SEO, it’s critical to truly grasp the concept that Google, Bing and others strongly want to avoid conflicting business data. When search engines can’t determine the exact location of a business, they are quite reluctant to give it prominence. Fortunately, you can avoid instances of bad data by syndicating consistent information to every significant listing platform.

To help accomplish this, Advice Local uses data aggregators to distribute your clients’ information to every important search engine, directory and mobile app. And if that data needs to be changed, our real-time solution gets the job done.

Use GPS and Mapping Apps

From smartphones to in-dash navigation, it has never been easier for people to reach local businesses while on the move. When consumers look up a local store they could easily be making a purchase – within minutes. Consequently, any serious local SEO strategy must incorporate GPS and mapping apps. You can submit your clients’ data manually or use our GPS accelerators for straightforward syndication.

Simplified Reporting

As an agency reporting back to clients, you must not overlook the reporting aspect of local SEO. Companies want to know what you’ve done and how the strategy is working. Thankfully, by partnering with the right local SEO software company you will benefit from automated reporting. Clients receive a detailed monthly SEO report – complete with your agency branding.

Get Found With Voice Search

We’ve intentionally left this critical component of a local SEO strategy until last. But just because voice search doesn’t get enough attention, you certainly should not be among those ignoring it. As part of a collection of listing management services, voice search optimization reaches Siri, Alexa, Cortana, Google Home and other uses in your clients’ local areas. And while you might not know it yet, at Advice Local we let you create voice apps in moments – directly through our dashboard solution.


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Simple Local SEO for Marketers and Digital Agencies

Advice Local helps agency clients streamline their SEO and local marketing strategies with high-quality tools. Our listing management software offers simple solutions for local presence management. To see for yourself, request a demo now or call (214) 310-1356.

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Local listing management services

Anyone familiar with local SEO and marketing will recognize the importance of local listing management. And you probably also know just how time-consuming that claiming, managing and updating listings can be. Fortunately there is a solution to this problem – local listing management software. Are you skeptical about putting your clients’ businesses in the hands of data syndication services? Then take a look at some of the benefits.

Main Benefits of Using Local Listing Management Software

An effective local listing strategy typically involves distributing accurate, consistent business data to a wide array of platforms. To achieve this goal you have two possibilities – the do-it-yourself approach or the done-for-you method. As you will see, partnering with an online listing management software provider usually makes the most sense.

Focus On High-Value Areas of Business

Submitting and managing local listings is undoubtedly a time-intensive process. And when bad data can cause incredible damage to a business’ SEO potential and reputation, there is an incentive to get each listing right. Using quality software lets you put your clients’ listings safely into reliable hands, allowing you to focus on high ROI activities.

Create Enhanced Business Listings

Citation submissions are essential to local SEO, but you must also consider the customers who are using the directory platforms. Users want to access pertinent business data to help them locate an address, find opening hours, see quality images and read reviews. Software ensures that every listing maintains the same high standards for each platform.

Reach Broader Audiences

We recently discussed how data accelerators help with local presence management. Among the benefits of using Advice Local’s Data Amplifier Network is the sheer number of distribution partners we work with. When you want to reach customers across every type of service and site, you really need access to a local listing management service.

Get Real-Time Updates

Manually adjusting existing listings every time a business makes changes is a substantial drain on your time and resources. In contrast, listing management software often uses real-time updates, maintaining consistency across the distribution network.

Maintain NAP Consistency

Google, Bing and other search engines naturally intend to deliver correct listings to their users. Yet we have witnessed (and frequently discussed) the damage done to local businesses caused by bad data in business listings. An inconsistent name, address and phone number (NAP) makes it hard to trust a business. Listing software resolves this issue by distributing from a single, accurate source.

Increase Search Engine Visibility

Citation submissions are one of the critical factors determining prominence in the local pack listings. And while Google emphasizes the business’ proximity to the searcher’s location, citations still influence search visibility.

Target the Expanding Voice Search Market

The rise of assistants like Alexa and Siri shows that local businesses need a clear voice search strategy. Crucially, voice search is used to research local companies and also to shop directly from mobile devices. With the help of listing management software, businesses can maintain voice search readiness across significant brands.

Take Advantage of GPS Platforms

Similarly, GPS business listings have grown in importance as more people look for businesses while on the move. However, there are so many in-dash navigation, mapping apps and GPS solutions that manual submission is less than practical.


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Access the Leading Local Listing Management Software

Advice Local works with agencies and local marketers and offers superior listing management software. To try out our listing management solution, Enhanced GBP Tool and other local presence management options, request a demo today or call (214) 310-1356.

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Mapping apps for local businesses

From the initial research phase to getting directions to the business’ location, consumers are increasingly taking advantage of mapping apps. As a leading provider of GPS business listing services, over the years we’ve seen firsthand the rise in proximity-based searches. And with big brands dominating most general searches, local map searches are a primary area where agencies can deliver massive value to their clients. If you don’t have a GPS data distribution system in place, here’s what you need to know.

Why Map Apps Matter for Local Businesses

In their simplest form, map apps chart the locations of points of interest around the world. But as products like Google Maps and Apple Maps have continued to develop, today they offer searchers so much more.

Business listings naturally include a name, address and phone number (NAP), but they might also include customer reviews, a description, questions and answers, photos and attributes. And with as many as 46% of Google searches having local intent, this offers a valuable sales tool for local businesses.

What Map Apps and In-Dash Navigation Solutions Matter More Than Ever?

Last year, you may remember we suggested five mapping apps and navigation solutions you can’t ignore. Of course, the ever-popular Google Maps was present, along with Apple Maps and Waze. However, we have consistently advocated for a broader syndication approach that targets a host of GPS devices and in-dash navigation systems, as well as those emerging technologies such as self-driving cars.

The ability to get found wherever people are searching is one of the most straightforward ways to reach targeted consumers. According to Google, 88% of people who conduct a local search via smartphone end up visiting the store within one week. Now consider the same outcome for a person using Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, Ford, Mazda and other in-dash navigation solutions.

More often than not, consumers using mapping apps are deep into the buying cycle, so a carefully crafted GPS directory listing can be enough to secure a new customer. With minimal effort, your local business clients can get real-world results from a broad-reaching mapping app strategy.

How to Get Listed on Mapping Apps

If you’ve been following Advice Local for a while you already know we are committed to distributing business listings far and wide – while also eradicating bad data. But why does this matter? Well, to succeed long-term your local clients must be discoverable on both the obvious platforms like Google Maps, and the smaller services that are just emerging. You cannot ignore these. It’s crucial that they receive accurate, consistent data to satisfy the needs of consumers.

Our Data Amplifier Network meets both demands by distributing consistent business data to a vast network of platforms – mapping apps, GPS POI databases, devices like Garmin and TomTom, wearables, in-dash navigation and more.

Getting Found on Map Apps

Last but not least, the data you provide to each platform matters. Take advantage of the chance to offer keyword-rich descriptions, opening hours, high-quality images – and any other option the mapping app allows. Our listing management services provide opportunities for optimization, and this can truly make all the difference in visibility. When allied with customer reviews and search proximity, optimized listings have the best chance of being discovered by targeted consumers in the area.


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Best Mapping Apps and GPS Data Distribution Services

For local businesses to get found on mapping apps, in-dash navigation and other GPS platforms they need a data distribution service they can trust. Advice Local works with local marketers and agencies in syndicating data to the critical platforms. To find out more, request a demo or call (214) 310-1356 today.

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