How StorageMart Succeeds in Global & Local Search

Editor's Notes

1. Jordan
2. Jordan (Welcome & thank everyone for joining, introduce Sarah & self) Sarah is the Director of Digital Marketing at StorageMart,the largest privately-owned self storage company, where she leads the company’s SEO, SEM, local, social, mobile, and content strategies. Sarah and her team recently launched a new responsive website in July 2015, with a large initiative in schematic markup, dynamic call tracking and analytics. Eric - Team Lead. . .
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7. SARAHExperts = https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors 1.On Page – Presence of NAP, keywords in Titles, Citation Volume, etc
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9. SARAH NAP Consistency (Name, Address, Phone) Schema.org - an initiative launched in 2011 by Bing, Google & Y! to “create and support a common set of schemas for structured data markup on web pages.” Schematic markup Organization SelfStorage Address Lat/Long OpeningHours Office Hours/Gate Hours – confused Google Local keywords above the fold and throughout Breadcrumbs Title tag: Brooklyn Self Storage Unit Description: StorageMart's Brooklyn self storage units on Wallabout Ave are just east of the BQE and feature climate controlled storage.
10. SARAHExperts = https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors 2.Local Link Signals - Inbound anchor text, linking domain authority, linking domain quantity
11. SARAH It’s about Content Marketing – writing content is not the same as marketing content. “Like we've talked in the past, link building needs to become more organic marketing-event driven or article driven so that the links aren't links bought or links begged but they are earned links due to some activity on the part of the business…Google is trying and succeeding at moving towards real world metrics.” Mike Blumenthal Local SEO and link building become integrated with Content Marketing and Social, and paid, and email and and and…
12. SARAHExperts = https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors 3.GMB - Categories, business name, keywords in title/description
13. SARAH Ask question – results will show live, comment on them before moving on
14. SARAH1.Name – exact, no keywords or geomodifiers. 2.Not tracking Phone#, 3.Local page URL (can use UTM parameters) 4. ENTIRETY – photos, descriptive copy (unique per listing w/ local info), tour •Issues: Acquisistions – can cause duplicates, inconsistent Citations, etc •Tip: from GMB login, submit map edits
15. SARAHExperts = https://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors 4.Ext Local Signals - Data aggregator, IYP, etc
16. SARAH In general, there’s a shift (since the Snack Pack update) from importance of structured versus unstructured citations. “Structured data aspect is now just ‘table stakes’. If you don’t have it, you can be chasing your tail with unstructured and reviews… If you don’t have the fundamental kernel of clean structured data on your own site and on aggregators, you’re not going to show up. Period. …Google is rewarding those quality mentions [Citations] on local news sites, local chambers of commerce, prominent blogs in your area, those sorts of things.” David Mihm
17. SARAH Now that we have covered local search factors, you can’t forget about global search. Prospects and customers alike will find out more about your brand via global search, particularly because not all propsects search from the locale they are interested in. Two primary factors that influence global search to focus on are Reviews and Social Signs. Let’s start with Reviews.
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19. SARAH Listings without reviews are mostly ignored Listing in what the SEO community has defined as the ‘Snack Pack’ can get about 50% of clicks only if there are reviews Organic gets most traffic if there are NO reviews. (30-60% of clicks) Heat map source: Casey Meraz, on Moz.com https://moz.com/blog/the-new-snack-pack-where-users-clicking-how-you-can-win
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21. ERIC We all know reviews are important but Trustpilot recently conducted research to dive into how reviews affect the Buyer’s Journey. What I think it particulary intersting is the large drop off over 87.2% feel that reviews are either somewhat or VERY IMPORTANT when it comes to deciding who to buy from. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/game-changer-cone-survey-finds-4-out-of-5-consumers-reverse-purchase-decisions-based-on-negative-online-reviews-128670633.html
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25. ERIC Showcase and collect via your Facebook page Leverage your Trustpilot profile page to collect more reviews and showcase your reputation with third party trust signals built right in
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27. SARAH Social Signs are also considered to be a factor in global search.
28. SARAH It’s no longer wondering if social plays a role in ranking organically but to what extent is the impact. Social signals are increasing in importance and will continue to do so - why?
29. SARAH The world is becoming more social. Today’s kids are tomorrow’s consumers - and they are raised on FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest. Based on millennials/generation Z current activity on the web - it can be expected that they will spend more time on social media channels, likely causing an increase in social signals as they grow and interact with their favorite brands on the internet. People already spend more time on social networks than on search engines, and the gap will continue to grow. In addition, people are more likely to trust a website recommended by their friends than by a search engine. Websites with a strong social presence are more easily shareable and accessible, and thus easier to recommend. Search engines can also analyze these shares as recommendations, boosting the credibility (and rankings) of the website. Websites with a strong social presence have better conversion rates and brand loyalty, leading to more sales, more word-of-mouth referrals, and greater brand awareness, which all lead to more positive reviews and inbound links.
30. SARAHIn summary…
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