Google Maps Highlights Google Local Recommendations

Google has added highlighting for businesses in Google Maps that ties recommendations made by users through their Google account to others the company thinks match their reviewed locations.

"Starting today, business labels for locations you've rated with Google Places will be highlighted on the map with your corresponding rating beneath it. Additional places that our system thinks you might enjoy visiting -- either to eat, shop, or more -- will be highlighted as well. These personalized recommendations are based on the places and ratings you've already shared," according to Google LatLong.

This move is clever. It reinforces interaction with Google's reviews, further distancing users from review sites like Yelp.

ReadWriteWeb sees the move as Google trying to dominate local marketing:

"These new features push forward Google's efforts to be a one-stop-shop for mobile, location-based searches. From finding the restaurant to walking in the door, Google is building applications to compel smartphone users to use Google and only Google to find, shop and eat at local businesses."

Yelp recently testified at the Senate hearings investigating Google's possible threat to competition. Yelp founder stated he would not start the company right now as there is no longer a "level playing field." You have to wonder what he's saying about this latest feature.

There could be an argument made that Google is slowly moving to a "closed community" like Facebook. Many people have Google as their default home page and the more they add to their products - accessible now from the new black navigation bar - the more people won't need to go elsewhere.

The new game is going to be working out the algorithm used to select the suggestions Google adds from people's reviews. When the reviews from Zagat's - the recent acquisition by Google - will be rolled into the Maps is another question people will be waiting to see answered.

Improve Your Organic Rankings With Google Places, Part 3

One question you might well be asking yourself after reading Part 1 and Part 2 of this series on how to use Google Places to enhance your organic results is: how long does it take for the organic effects of creating a Google Places page to be realized?

The answer here seems to vary. A Places page isn't a silver bullet. It may have an affect, but still not push you to the first page.

The shortest amount of time it appears to take is about two weeks. I've seen it take as long as a couple months, however, which may be more a factor of the rest of the search engine optimization (SEO) process weighing in and pushing the site up than for the Places page to be carrying weight.

How Much Weight Does A Places Page Have?

Unfortunately there is no answer to this question (and no, that's not a cop-out). As with all factors (or as Google likes to call them: signals), it's about balance.

Even if there was a specific percentage I could give you, there's a good chance that percentage would change in the time between the writing of and publishing of this article, as a fluctuation in any signal is going to change all the other weights as well.

Those in an incredibly competitive sector may see virtually no affect from adding Google Places. By the same token, you'd see very little affect from the building of one solid link -- but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be link building.

Those in less competitive sectors could see their site catapult from outside the top 50 right into the top 5 with the help of Google Places.

Let's go through some more tips and results, based on our own tests and implementations, as well as experiences others have shared with us.

Image Optimization

Selecting the right images to include in your Places page can have an impact on your clickthrough rates (CTRs). Most of us have noticed that when Places results are blended into the organic results, they include an image. This image is drawn from one of two sources:

• The Places page
• A third party site (e.g., one that reviewed your business)

Placing your own images on your Places page and testing them can give you control over which image appears in the organic results, thus improving your CTR.

We played around with the images for one of our clients. This was an ideal test because their listing had a fairly generic image pulled from a review site.

The week before the image appeared in the Places-inclusive organic rankings, there were no significant changes in rankings; in the week following, the site received 24 percent more visitors. This included double-digit increases in traffic from phrases with a number one ranking.

This carried over into subsequent weeks, although as the dates get further apart the credit gets skewed with likely more factors at play. So, to be on the safe side, let's just say they received a 24 percent boost in organic Google traffic for phrases where the Places results were blended. Definitely worth the 30 to 40 minutes of time invested in testing a few images.

Adding Reviews

There's been a clear connection between reviews and rankings, though it's clearly not purely a numbers game.

Out of the gate, Google neither seemed to have a strong handle on detecting spam tactics in reviews, nor did they properly consider good versus bad reviews, but they've gained ground lately. It appears that many of the lessons they learned in the manipulation of links have been applied to reviews and that Google is quickly learning to adapt to those pesky SEOs once again.

Unfortunately, we don't have any consistent statistics or concrete tests run on the very important area of reviews. However, we have learned a few things.

One useful strategy is to run an analysis on the top competitors in an industry when determining where to recommend getting reviews. Look at the distribution of sites the reviews are being drawn from and the distribution of ratings, then seek strategies to mimic that environment.

Also, try to come up with strategies that encourage your clients to review your site. Send an email asking them to contact you if they've had any problems or review you at [insert your URL here” if they've had a good experience.

Don't send it to just the people who will give you five stars. If a bad review does appear, though, you'll definitely want to direct more of your positive clients to that location for reputation management reasons.

Location, Location, Location

The majority of my Places advice is based on one core principle: that you are geographically located in the area you want to rank. More than a couple times, however, a client has targeted terms in a large city, only to discover that Google has determined the area of that city and decided the client is outside of that area.

Let's use the example of a lawyer in Los Angeles. If that lawyer is geographically located on Santa Monica Boulevard, they won't get the benefits of Google Places because Google has decided that area won't be included in where they pull Places results from when blended with the organic rankings.

One thing we have tested, though never implemented on a client site, is the use of a UPS P.O. Box (which lists as "Suite" not "P.O Box") to register for two or more locations. At this time the strategy seems to work and in the case we tested it on -- the company had the UPS location listed as their address and appeared on the map and received the bump in organic results we had expected -- all within three weeks from the time of confirming the location.

This specific strategy is a bit risky, but worth noting. Ethically I don't have a problem with it from a fairness perspective if used correctly. If your company is in a city but Google has chosen not to select that area of the map then an argument can be made that you are being put at a disadvantage for no legitimate reason.

The problem is that this strategy could be subject to abuse (why not register in many cities?) and if I were Google, I'd request from UPS all their locations to filter out of the Places results. Should they do this, you have to wonder what would happen to your legitimate Places page. I prefer to play it safe and go for the long-term rankings, but promised to note info on the tests we've run and this is one of them -- albeit crossing into the gray zone of SEO.

Conclusion

The data gathered thus far is of a Google service and ranking factor in its youth. Google is adjusting and testing new ways to weight and utilize Google Places in their results and I can't recommend enough -- don't just build it and leave it. Like everything with SEO -- watch what the ranking sites are doing, ask yourself why this is working, what Google is trying to glean from their attributes, and seek to mimic the signals they're sending to Google.

Improve Your Organic Rankings With Google Places, Part 2

In last month's Google Places article we discussed the basics of setting up a Google Places page and the benefits of doing so on your organic results.

Today we'll discuss ways to optimize your Places page to maximize its effectiveness and further improve your rankings.

It's All About Signals

We all know that Google's rankings are determined by algorithms. These are mathematical formulas used to rank sites based on a specific set of criteria; the criteria and their weights being determined by humans.

When these humans sit down and try to figure out what should be used to rank sites, they have to rely on signals from the outside world -- signals they believe indicate quality and relevance. Signals like link popularity, anchor text, content, semantics, etc.

So what we need to do is try to figure out what those signals are and make sure we send them. When it comes to localized search, there are few (if any) signals stronger than a well-optimized Google Places page.

So how do you optimize your Places pages to improve our rankings organically on Google? Filling in all of the information is step one, but let's go through these areas step-by-step to better understand how to enter/edit the information for your page and send the right signals.

Basic Information

Fill this in completely, including e-mail address, website, description, and categories.

Make sure to include your keywords in your description but don't stuff them. Like your meta description tag, you want readability and relevancy. If your keywords are relevant, you shouldn't have any trouble fitting them in.

So far you've told Google where you are, who you are, tied that information to your website, given them a description to display and to draw relevancy and keywords from, and then told them what categories of search phrases you're related to. That's a lot of information you've managed to tie to your website and that's just the beginning.

Service Areas and Location Settings

You can either select that customers need to come to you or that you will go to them. If you select the latter option, you'll be asked for a radius from your place of business, or specific regions that you will service.

While I haven't seen issues caused by adding this information, one can conceivably think of a time when Google might omit a site for a phrase like "emergency plumber subburb wa" if the searcher was in a region that wasn't included in the serviced areas. That may sound fine, because you don't service the area anyway, so you won't lose business.

However, entering this service area information could be a negative if you hit a period where business is slow and you're willing to extend your reach a little. That said, make sure to adjust your Places Page when this happens and you'll always do well.

Hours of Operations

Fill in this information so people know when to contact you. Again, the more information you give Google and your customers/visitors, the better.

One potential trouble area is if you're working longer hours than normal due to business situations (e.g., holiday season, peak time of year for your business), and you don't keep your hours of operations updated. In this case, your site won't show in Google's results because it's based on your regular hours of operation -- even though, in actuality, you're working longer hours.

Payment Options

While not necessary, you should add this information for the same reason I recommend all information where applicable -- the more you give Google, the more they can assume you'll give your visitors on your site.

Photos

Adding photos further reinforces that you offer a variety of resources and that you take your Google Places listing seriously. While this message is important -- even more important is that adding your own photos allows you to control how your SERP appears for blended results.

Also, as discussed in Part 1, photos can have a tremendous impact on clickthroughs. Improving your click through rate (CTR) is a clear signal to Google that your site is relevant.

So add photos, test your CTRs when specific photos are displayed in your blended organic results, and adjust accordingly. This will help your CTR and make your Places page more compelling.

Videos

I haven't seen much in the way of direct organic benefits from videos in Google Places listings yet.

However, it's no secret that YouTube is featured prominently in Google's SERPs and Google loves sites that send a lot of traffic to their various properties. Tying together your business and a YouTube page for your business, assuming you have enough views/impressions, should help your organic rankings overall.

Additional Details

If you want to rank for branded local terms or if you would like to include details that haven't already been entered and are relevant to your business (e.g., free parking or fully accessible), this is where to enter these details.

Because there isn't a solid set of data Google is collecting and because this area is easily abused (you can put almost anything there) I believe it has low weight and I haven't seen a huge impact on results. However as Google Places ages this section will likely be used by Google to determine what other types of information they should be collecting.

This information may also impact results without producing a blended Places SERP listing. Just because the results aren't blended with Places data doesn't mean that information wasn't drawn from Google Places to help form those results.

On Your Site

Having a well-optimized Google Places page is one thing, but what it's linking to is equally important. If your site doesn't hold visitors or if it's not deemed relevant to the query in question -- it's still not going to rank.

Let's use an extreme example. If I optimize my Places page for "victoria bc restaurant," my site still won't rank for "victoria bc restaurant" because the site itself is related to search engine optimization (SEO).

More Work

So I've got more work for you now. Here we've gotten into how to optimize the Places page. In the next article we're going to have the results of some specific tests we're running and additional hints.

Before then, you need to get your optimization completed. To get started, read the other great articles here on Search Engine Watch to familiarize yourself with SEO and link building strategies so your efforts will reap the maximum rewards.

Improve Your Organic Rankings With Google Places, Part 1

Most of us remember that chaotic day last October when map-based results stopped being just an alternative search function at Google and started impacting the organic results directly. For the first time we witnessed in the live results Google Places integration right into the organic listings and the impact of Google Places pages on those SERPs.

Google tells us that more than 20 percent of search queries have a regional specifier included in them (e.g., "lawyer seattle wa"). This means that this change is affecting a large number of queries.

In some cases we're still seeing the old onebox result with all the Places results showing together and 10 organic results appearing below, but in many if not most cases we're seeing a blending of the results with the map appearing to the right with the AdWords listings and Places information being included in the organic results right below the classic description.

We'll begin this series on how to improve your organic rankings with Google Places by discussing the basics of a Places listing, how to set one up properly, and some of the principles behind why this is important.

Getting A Places Page

To set up a Places page:

1. Sign up for Google Places.
2. Verify your listing (via SMS, e-mail, or postcard).
3. Enter all the easy to add information you can about your company (address, hours, payment methods accepted, etc.). There will be time to add more details later.

Now that you have a Google Places page it's time to spruce it up for two audiences.

Optimizing the Places Page for Google

The primary reason we're doing this is to enhance our organic rankings (at least in relation to the purpose of this article). If I have to give one underlying philosophy to follow when seeking Google rankings, it's "drink the Kool-Aid."

Google needs data. They feed on it. The more you give them, the more they can reward you.

It's not a case of them forcing webmasters to use their services per se, but if you add pictures, videos and more details to your Google Places page they can assume that:

• You're a real business willing to invest time into getting your message out.
• You have a lot of resources to apply to your site.

One might even go so far as to believe that Google can assume that if you're willing to put a lot of resources onto your Google Places page that you likely have a lot of resources on your website.

And what does Google want to give their searchers? Information, answers, and solutions.

Send the right signals and you'll get the right results.

Optimizing the Places Page for Your Visitors

So often we forget that when we're talking about search engine optimization (SEO) we're not really talking about rankings at all. What we're talking about are visitors. I'm an SEO myself, and if I discovered that I'd get more traffic on page five than page one, I'd be working hard to drop in the results rather than writing this article.

Higher rankings result in visitors to be sure, but there are numerous ways to influence and impact your click-through rate once you're ranking. One of the easiest is by enhancing your Google Places page.

For those of you paying attention to your Google Places listings, when you run a search you get the Google Places page below the description. Accompanying the Places page is generally an image. This image can either be drawn from pages referencing the company (e.g., review sites) oryou can take control of your own environment and add your own images.

Generally (though not always) these images will be the ones used to complement the listing. These images, properly selected, can be used to draw the eye.

Please note: images with big red "buy now" text are not a good reflection of your site and, I dare say, won't positively be reflected in your traffic.

That said, I have a client running a food tour service and we've selected some of the best images of the restaurants, cafes, and stores he visits in his tours. It makes me salivate when I look at the photos we've chosen and it appears to have had the same affect on the searchers as his traffic has improved.

Like your description tag, don't leave it up to chance how you'll be presented. Select photos that will appeal and draw the eye just as you'd write captivating description tag copy to make sure your description in the SERPs is a positive and controlled marketing message.

10 Reasons to Use Foursquare Explore for Personalized Local Searches

oursquare recently announced "Explore", their new web-based tool that takes geosocial and local search to a new level. Check out these enticing perks that come along with the new features.

Beyond mobile check-ins for badges and mayorship battles, Foursquare Explore now leverages this data in a useful fashion as a web-based personalized search engine.

Consider for a moment that you're looking for a local place to visit for shopping, dining, nightlife, or recreation... What thoughts come to mind?

• Where have or haven't I been before?
• What places are popular?
• What places would my friends or colleagues suggest?
• What places have deals or specials?
• What does the place look like? 
• What should I try when I get there?

Regardless of if we're searching online, we all contemplate some of these questions. Channeling this thought process into a tool seems to be a brilliant idea. Behold, Foursquare Explore is here!

The process is simple:

1. Login or create an account at Foursquare.com
2. If you just created an account, add friends from Twitter, Gmail, Facebook, or Yahoo Mail.
3. Click Explore to begin your local search:

Results can be filtered by related check-in data and the interactive map allows you to easily zoom and drag the map accordingly. The iconography for location types helps to visually spot places you may be seeking.

Top 10 Reasons to Check Out "Foursquare Explore"

1. Flexibility - From your smartphone, tablet, or web browser, searching can easily be done by keyword or category and then be filtered to personalize results by location.
2. Specificity - Specific searches for things like "tiramisu" and "wine list", adjectives like "romantic" and "delicious", or time-significant keywords like "Friday" or "summer" work great because tips and lists are indexed.
3. Retained Privacy - Even if you don't personally like to do mobile check-ins, you can benefit from your friends' check-ins, tips, and lists along with 1.5 billion more from the Foursquare community.
4. Outing Ideas - Easily "save" places to visit later if you come across enticing tips or specials, and mark them "done" to remove them from your list.
5. Money Savings - Current local "coupons" and deals are easy to find! Just filter results by places that "have Foursquare specials."
6. Popularity - Displayed check-in counts help to identify hot spot destinations you'll likely enjoy. If there's a high number of unique check-ins by friends, that could also indicate a higher chance of bumping into a friend at the destination.
7. Travel Tips - Search for places proximate to any worldwide location, and Foursquare will suggest personalized "top picks" based on check-ins in your home town.
8. Adventures - Confidently find and try out new places that you "haven't been to yet" by scanning tips from places your "friends have been to" or by using Browse Categories > Top Picks for popular results.
9. Recovered Memories - Perhaps you checked into a place you visited outside of town two years ago, but you can't remember the name. If you roughly remember the location, you can search by places you "have been to" and easily be able to find it again.
10. Friendships - Grow relationships by learning what places you may unexpectedly have in common with your Foursquare acquaintances and friends.

Geosocial SEO Action List

If you have a public location you want users visit, consider planning a strategy to acquire visits from Foursquare Explore.

1. Create or claim your Foursquare location if you haven't already. 
2. Regularly review check-in comments and tips to see what users are saying. (Scan for sentiments, adjectives, or long-tail specific query opportunities.) 
3. Define a strategy to get more check-ins, photos and tips. 
• Use a QR code at entries for check-ins or exits for encouraging tip submission. (Be sure to follow QR conversion best practices.) 
• Identify photo opportunity areas and promote them with Foursquare ads. (i.e. menus, check-out counters, waiting areas, etc.) 
• Mention being featured in cool Foursquare lists as social proof and inspiration for others to list you. 
• Include sentiments, adjectives, and other targeted Foursquare SEO keywords with your ads, especially on-site! (Quality check-in comments can work great as testimonials.)

What Do You Think?

A local search tool that includes personalized tips from friends, visit history for you and your friends, and current coupons/specials definitely presents more value than merely earning a badge or mayorship.

Although Foursquare has been known for their mobile app, do you think this new utility will help evolve them into a mainstream application? Please share your thoughts in the comments. If you're tempted to check out Foursquare Explore be sure to share this post!

Domain Names With Geo Specific Keywords Offer Local Ranking Opportunities

Most local search professionals will tell you that citations and site relevance to the target geo are the keys to ranking in local search engine results pages (SERPs).

Testing and retesting old methods is part of maintaining SEO strategies so it seemed a smart choice to take a closer look at one of these key onsite factors and conduct a small study on the weight of domain names in rankings. The goal was to evaluate the performance of a related series of keywords in 10 different geographic locations and put them head to head against a term directly associated with the domain name.

For this test we elected to do a study on the University of California school system and produce a small article on the spring break dates for 2012. The domain we chose to test on was Travelfromlosangeles.com, which at the time had 32 total links and had been in existence for about a year. The domain is a typical WordPress blog with beginner basic optimizations and full metadata descriptions and tags.

The specific article page was +1'd and tweeted a couple of times by our team, but over the course of a few months it appeared on the third page of the SERP. The page continued to climb and in February it achieved the top spot for “UCLA Spring Break 2012,” even edging out UCLA.edu.

Surprisingly enough, the page climbed to the optimum position for the key phrase, and we were curious to see how it fared for the other University of California institutions. Upon further review, it was clear that UCLA centered terms garnered a much higher position than those surrounding other schools like Santa Barbara or San Diego.

Utilizing Google Webmaster Tools’ data, we looked at a constant series of terms that only varied in the school location and pulled ranking data for the past 30 days on Google. The data seemed to have a pattern of rank decreasing as distance from Los Angeles increased, so it was compiled it into the graph below. Strangely enough, no data was pulled in by Google WMT on UCSF so that locale was excluded from the graph.

Key Takeaways

UCLA Spring Break 2012 outpaced any other university search term by three spots without receiving the advantage of a mention in the title tag.

The average SERP position for universities has a correlation with the distance they are located from Los Angeles. The trend line shows the furthest institutions as the lowest performing keywords in the SERPs, with the exception of UC Santa Cruz.

Majority of SMB Websites Fail to Provide Social Links, Contact Info

Just 19.5 percent of small to medium business websites have a link from their site to theirFacebook page, with even fewer linking out to a Twitter or LinkedIn presence. In addition, 6 out of 10 sites are missing either a local or toll-free phone number on their homepage.

These and other startling insights from the SMB DigitalScape collection and analysis of over 1 million websites were released in advance of a presentation of the data at Search Starts Here, happening this weekend in Boca Raton. Together, analysts from BIA/Kelsey and vSplash will discuss the implications of the widening gap between consumer adoption of digital platforms and the deficiencies in SMBs’ digital presence.

Small and medium businesses are already challenged in many ways, as they try to coax consumers through a buying cycle that may integrate online and offline marketing elements. It is critical that companies are able to guide consumers seamlessly onto the next step, with readily available contact information and access to the type of information they are seeking at the time.

SMB DigitalScape is a data collection and analysis engine developed by vSplash. In this look into sites from 14 countries, including over 700,000 sites in the U.S., they also discovered:

• 74.7 percent of SMB websites lack an email link on their homepage for consumers to contact the business.
• 65.7 percent of SMB websites lack a form-fill option to enable consumers to request information.
• 93.3 percent of SMB websites are not mobile compatible and will not render successfully on mobile devices or smartphones.

“SMBs worldwide are falling behind consumers in the digital commerce arena,” BIA/Kelsey President Neal Polachek said in a statement. “There’s a tremendous opportunity for SMB aggregators and resellers to bridge this gap, but it will require strategic commitment and solid execution.”

Recent growth in mobile, in particular, points to a lot of money potentially left lying on the table if consumers are lost at some point in their decision making and buying process due to a lack of information or unclear next steps.

Local Search Listings: Most Relevant Search Results Regardless of Medium

Local search listings now act as a business’ online anchor identity pulling in important information like website URL, reviews, photos, coupons and hours of operation. These online listings tether all critical information consumers need about a business in order to make a purchasing decision.

Local Search Results are the Most Relevant

According to the 2012 Localeze/15miles Local Search Usage Study, conducted by comScore, 61 percent of respondents said when searching for local business information, local search results are the most relevant, while 58 percent found them to be the most trustworthy when compared to natural search results, paid search results and paid results. Business listings are often viewed as trusted search results because they represent the place where multiple biases meet to give the searcher a 360-degree view of the business.

As for the full landscape of search results – previously, national advertisers dominated paid search results, some were brick and mortar, but some were not. So, consumers searching for local business information, where geography was a critical component, were conditioned not to find value with national ads because they weren’t finding businesses at a granular level. Instead, the closest national chain would appear in results whether it was 5 or 15 miles from home, often leaving a consumer frustrated because merchants who were closer were not at the top of results.

Search is much more specific today and business listings are the go-to for providing consumers with businesses in close proximity of where they live and work. The popularity of location-based apps and social networks make it even more important for search results to produce business listings based on a searcher’s location. And these listings must be accurate (e.g., the phone number is correct, the website is listed and any relevant user reviews are connected).

Name, Address, Phone Number Critical to Local Searchers

In addition to consumers’ focus on local business listings, the Local Search Usage Study found that address details and phone numbers remain the primary pieces of information consumers seek (or are looking for) when they perform a local search – yet, a recent SMB DigitalScape study found that 60 percent of small- to medium-sized business fail to list a phone number on their homepage). This is followed by hours of operation, maps, website URL, distance to business and driving directions.

Most local searchers are looking for quick referential info – an address or a phone number to contact, especially on mobile devices. Searchers are increasingly looking for more descriptive content, in particular for higher-priced purchases or business categories like contractors or auto dealerships.

What does this mean for national brands? More brick and mortar national brands are realizing that online local search business listings are not advertising, yet they need to be part of their marketing efforts because without providing consumers name, address and phone number (NAP) information, their national advertising campaigns are not complete. Combine that with local listings’ impact on how businesses and brands are found on mobile and social sites and national advertisers are now viewing local search listings as a necessary component of their overall digital strategy.

Growth of Mobile-Local Search

Businesses of all sizes need to be more aware of how their local listings look online and across mobile search sites. The growth of mobile-local search is driving more category-based searches. In fact, more local business searches are conducted without a specific business in mind, according to the survey, showing that more research is being done online early in the search process.

This is because on-the-go consumers are hyper-influenced by location and are willing to trade business name for category specificity. As an example, someone traveling to New York City might search for a Smith & Wollensky for dinner. However, that same person, who just left a meeting on 32nd and Park Avenue also might be willing to visit any number of upscale steak restaurants within walking distance.

With increased smartphone adoption and prevalence of mobile-local apps, consumers are getting more comfortable with local search and finding ways to expand their use of it.

Bottom Line

Today, local listings are the search results most unaffected from advertising bias and monetization so they rank high in algorithms. The organic web results section still has a respectable amount of relevance and trustworthiness, primarily due to the vertical or hyper-local nature of some search sites, but may be suffering from the fact that savvy local search consumers know how and where to get answers quickly.

5 Essential Components of Localized Marketing Strategy for National Brands

A whopping 90 percent of consumers now use search engines when researching products or services in their local area, according to BIA/Kelsey.

Google began more aggressively serving local results in October 2010 due to the shift and growth in local search commerce by consumers and advertisers. Advertisers in turn have boosted their local marketing investment. Borrell Associates forecasts local advertising will grow to reach $19.9 billion in 2012.

Some national brands have already come to realize online visibility has become the most important ingredient in their local marketing mix. Scalable, automated technology can help them overcome slower national competitors and smaller local competitors who lack marketing support, but whether they leverage automation or manually support local stores and offices, national brands should make sure to consider at least five initiatives in any local marketing effort.

1. Leverage a Comprehensive Data Distribution Solution

Google, Bing, Yahoo, Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, Dex, AOL, Yellow Pages, Citysearch, infogroup, Localeze and hundreds of other sites encourage businesses to submit their location information, not to mention the opportunities available in GPS and mobile devices.

National brands should do this at scale by implementing a data distribution system to ensure customers can find correct information about nearby physical locations, make contact and visit the correct address. Automation technology eases the burden, particularly for national brands supporting many physical locations, enabling new information to be added one time and trigger updates in hundreds of online listings.

2. Claim & Optimize Listings on the Most Widely Used Sites

Ninety-seven percent of consumers search for local businesses online, according to Google. Through Google Places for businesses, the search giant enables brands to ensure local visibility free of charge. Yahoo Local and Bing Local offer similar complimentary listings, and these go a long way toward helping businesses reach potential local customers.

While an automated data distribution system would capitalize on these opportunities and hundreds of others, most searchers will use one of the local services from Google, Yahoo, or Bing. Brands unable to automate a comprehensive data distribution program should at least secure complimentary listings on these three properties for all physical locations.

Once basic listings have been claimed and verified, marketers should go on to optimize these listings based on location, business names and categories, custom fields, and business descriptions, as well as by publishing and optimizing photos and videos of each location. Taking the time to properly optimize these listings won’t just help a brand’s physical locations become more visible on the SERPs; it also helps brands put a friendly face on each location and boost the odds of creating true local engagement with customers.

3. Localize Content With Automation

Like data distribution, managing content across a national brand and numerous locations can weigh on a marketing team and limit overall effectiveness. In fact, according to the CMO Council, 86 percent of national marketers plan to localize their strategy, but only 30 percent of marketers use local automation platforms (October 2011). A local marketing CMS can provide regulated access to corporate, regional or local employees and partners to help national brands spread the workload without sacrificing control.

Maintaining brand integrity and control has long been a top concern for national marketers, but the amount of work to be completed has grown by leaps and bounds. Custom, optimized location web pages with unique URLs are just the first step. Many national brands now provide physical locations with their own mobile location web pages, as well as social and video pages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other top sites.

4. Manage Ratings & Reviews; Incentivize Happy Customers to Share

Reviews have become vital to the success of national brands and physical locations, but controlling this content and ensuring a consistent brand voice for each location can be tricky. Marketers should never lose track of the fact that consumers and search engines love the authenticity of reviews. Marketers should put a comprehensive program in place to incentivize happy customers to share their positive experiences.

At the most basic level, national marketers should support individual physical locations by claiming pages for each location on prominent review sites, integrating unique review links to corresponding locations, and working with local staff to instill an effective review gathering and management program. Taking the time to create collateral, talk to staff and offer true education about best practices and benefits of local customer reviews can mean the difference between a beloved or loathed reputation for any location.

5. Performance Measurement & Reporting

It isn't always easy for national brands to secure the budget and resources necessary to effectively boost visibility for its physical locations; so performance measurement and reporting should be part of every campaign. The right approach can provide insights to help continually improve ROI, ensure efforts keep pace with goals, and help justify marketing investments over time.

Measurement and reporting can incorporate a wide range of response types. Call tracking, interactive voice response, corporate reporting dashboards, automated monthly reports by location, marketing analytics integration, click tracking, video views and Facebook leads are just some of the ways national marketers can measure local engagement and return on investment.

Above all else, getting started matters most. Altogether ignoring the need to boost local visibility for its physical locations can spell doom for even the most beloved brands. Ninety-seven percent of consumers now use online media to shop locally, and national marketers should assume a responsibility to support their local storefronts and physical locations.

National brands have an opportunity to leverage locations to dominate local visibility and reach more customers, and these five components should be part of any localized marketing strategy. Automation technology can help marketers save time, scale the effort and support a full national spectrum of physical locations.

This Local Search Marketing Checklist offers a handy guide to help manage the process and insights about what to look for in an automated technology platform.