Looking For Help : Need Advice on Google Places/SEO

26 replies
OK, so this has been troubling me this month.

I have no way to measure the success of my outsourcing Google Places/SEO.

I don't know if the person I am currently paying is doing a good job or plain sucking.

The results have been mixed so far.

He took one client from nowhere to the 'A' spot within probably 2 weeks, but other clients have been paying for over a month now and haven't even made first page yet.

Does anyone know of a truly outstanding service that is 100% reliable, but roughly the same price as paying someone on oDesk to do it?
#advice #google #places or seo
  • Profile picture of the author tuankhanhsaigon
    looking for a service 100% reliable, i think you should buy software and to do it by yourself
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Its possible that the competition in the other markets is to stiff for the amount of SEO work you are applying to them. This would be the biggest reason I can see why its taking months.

    Do you measure competition in the market so you know how easy or hard its going to be to rank? If you aren't doing this you are doing it wrong in my opinion.
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  • Profile picture of the author pablo4103
    I agree with Rus. Were the kw's low hanging fruit for the #1 guy? Lots easier to rank for those kw's.
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  • Profile picture of the author kcom
    As prev mentioned by Rus, checking out the competition is vital for success. Have you compared your client's number of pictures, videos, reviews, citations to the competition that is in the 7 pack. Then compare your client who is in the A spot to his competition to know what to aim for. Also, if it has been a month and one of the area`s are lacking that it what you ask your outsourcer to concentrate on next.
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  • Profile picture of the author buckeye04
    As everyone above me has mentioned...competition is key my friend! And SEO/Google Places/Google + Local results don't happen overnight...these things take time. You at least want to be comparing months over weeks as you seem to be after. Check all the listings in the top spots in the "7 Box" and replicate what they have done. Get the same links they have and more, add 10 pictures and FULLY optimize them, add videos, try to generate REAL customer reviews (fake ones and the big G will be after you!), etc.

    The bottom line...it will be MUCH easier to rank for a keyword in a smaller city/town than in a bigger one. And the industry is a deciding factor as well. Ex. It would be a piece of cake to rank for "comic book store summerville sc" than "personal injury lawyer nyc".
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  • Profile picture of the author jayspann
    You could always look into buying the "A" spot. Your paying for SEO anyway. Might be worth looking to see if it would be cheaper just to pay Google for the spot?
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Learn how to do it yourself. It isn't difficult.
    Then you can hold your outsourcer accountable.
    Like Buckeye mentioned, you need:
    Images, Videos, Citations, Business Directory Submissions

    As far as a more reliable outsourcer... its hard to recommend when I have no idea what your current outsourcer is doing for you.

    You should note that more difficult keywords may take longer to rank.
    I like BrightLocal.com for tracking.
    You can use their white label ranking reports.
    When you show these to your client, they will see improvement (if the outsourcer is doing their job)
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  • Profile picture of the author payoman
    Isn't the whole point of running a business to actually make sales/profit, and not learn how to 'do things'?

    I do sales, client management, lead generation, accounting etc. I don't need this on my plate too.

    I have been in contact with someone who seems very promising so I think I have it sorted anyway.
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Originally Posted by payoman View Post

      Isn't the whole point of running a business to actually make sales/profit, and not learn how to 'do things'?

      I do sales, client management, lead generation, accounting etc. I don't need this on my plate too.

      I have been in contact with someone who seems very promising so I think I have it sorted anyway.
      Well if you plan on having employees at any time ( including outsourcers, as that is exactly what they are )

      Then my school of thought is, If you don't know how to do it, how can you ever
      make sure they do things properly?

      If you are expecting them to know everything ahead of time, then you
      pay a premium, because they are now specialists.

      And when you hire that type of crew, you really don't have the control
      you need.

      just my 2 cents, but i am old school.

      I can name @ least 50 people right now, who will totally disagree with me.

      One more thing, do you know that saying.. "Adapt or Die" ?

      How are you supposed to be able to adapt, if you never knew what you were doing
      in the first place ?
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      • Profile picture of the author payoman
        Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

        Well if you plan on having employees at any time ( including outsourcers, as that is exactly what they are )

        Then my school of thought is, If you don't know how to do it, how can you ever
        make sure they do things properly?

        If you are expecting them to know everything ahead of time, then you
        pay a premium, because they are now specialists.

        And when you hire that type of crew, you really don't have the control
        you need.

        just my 2 cents, but i am old school.

        I can name @ least 50 people right now, who will totally disagree with me.

        One more thing, do you know that saying.. "Adapt or Die" ?

        How are you supposed to be able to adapt, if you never knew what you were doing
        in the first place ?
        Did you study accounting before you hired your accountant? Or study for the BAR exam before you were prepared to hire a lawyer?

        It's like anything; you use resources others recommend or know will get the job done well.

        Sure, I know the basics. Do citations. Do business directories etc. But I can save a TON of time if I simply ask what is working for others and follow that.
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        • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
          Originally Posted by payoman View Post

          Did you study accounting before you hired your accountant? Or study for the BAR exam before you were prepared to hire a lawyer?

          It's like anything; you use resources others recommend or know will get the job done well.

          Sure, I know the basics. Do citations. Do business directories etc. But I can save a TON of time if I simply ask what is working for others and follow that.
          I knew ahead of my posting you would not agree with it.

          That's cool tho. that is what makes the world go round.

          Yes you can. I did not suggest otherwise.

          Like i said, i am old school. i believe in learning every aspect
          inside and out before expanding. Its just the way that works for me.

          I know a TON of business people who think shortcuts are the way to go.
          some are successful, some aren't.
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  • Profile picture of the author payoman
    Well I don't want to come across as arrogant, I am glad to hear your opinion Ken. Also, I think I will buy Mobile Renegade. Cheers!
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    • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
      Originally Posted by payoman View Post

      Well I don't want to come across as arrogant, I am glad to hear your opinion Ken. Also, I think I will buy Mobile Renegade. Cheers!
      You don't come across that way to me.

      P.S.
      Don't buy it. I will give it to you.


      Check your PM, i sent it to you .
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      Selling Ain't for Sissies!
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  • Profile picture of the author Larry Young
    Try to do it yourself then you will find the difficulties and opportunities coming in the way.

    The better you understand, the better you will do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kung Fu Backlinks
    Hey Payoman, what kind of work is being being done on the listings? Maybe I can point out a few things missing.

    In the end it's just my opinion, but I'm happy to contribute.
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    SCHEMA.ORG + GEOTAGGING + KML + PUBLISHERSHIP + so much more...
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  • Profile picture of the author equilizer123
    Hi I have a question is there anyway a Google places page which is incomplete can always have the a spot. Im trying to rank high I have images all geotagged I have video I have about 100 citations and genuine reviews and a 100% complete profile, my main competitor has only his business name and address and telephone number yet he always has the A spot can he pay google for this A spot as im at a loss as to how he is in this position.
    thanx eq
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  • Profile picture of the author Kung Fu Backlinks
    Hey EQ,

    Could be many things holding you back.

    G+ Local is a blended algo, so a lot depends on the strength of your site.

    PM me a link to the site and I'll do a quick audit.

    Cheers
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    G+ LOCAL SETUP ___and____ Custom WordPress - Genesis Child Themes (see portfolio here)

    SCHEMA.ORG + GEOTAGGING + KML + PUBLISHERSHIP + so much more...
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  • Profile picture of the author kcom
    Although, I'm a little late, I believe both Ken and the Op are right. My philosophy has been you don't need to know everything there is to what you outsource or pay someone to know. But, you do need to know enough to be able to tell when you are getting screwed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Google Local SEO
    I believe that if your places listing is 100% accurate and verified and is having good amount of review then the ranking will come up automatically.
    You need to check whether your places listing title is well optimized.

    If you consider this criteria I think you can make it rank in "A" all by yourself
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  • Profile picture of the author evenromefell
    payoman, I think outsourcing is great on many levels. I am the old-school of thought that basically says I try to figure out as much as I can before I start selling a service so that I can talk with my clients intelligently but also ensure that my outsourcers are doing their job. I try to stay away from one person that I outsource too but rather break up the tasks and then send out for bid "micro-jobs". This method has worked for me multiple times and worked better than just hiring one person or company... the reason I like this is because if one of the people I outsource to does not perform their task, I don't have a house of crumbling cards.
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  • Profile picture of the author Boavida
    I'm helping my nephew to rank his Google Places page on the first page.
    He has a driving school in the Netherlands. When I was checking his competition I noticed that one Google Places listing is from a Lead-generation site. On further research it seemed this website has multiple GP=listings in various towns. All the listings are claimed with addresses of local driving schools and then customized for their website.

    How can I report this site to Google? Cause this is a violation of their policy.
    One less competitor for me on the first page, right?

    Thx
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  • Profile picture of the author NateOlsen
    SEO Isn't 100% and places doesn't always rank in one month but there should be consistent improvement to ranking every month
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    • Profile picture of the author justalfe
      I have been having really good luck with SEO Service Agents ; Daniel is a great guy who always responds quickly, sets up a cmm login where you can see the work done each month.(I''ve tried kungfu and he does an outstanding job of setting up the profile and on page setup & seo ,but for me they were missing the monthly maintenance reseller service,(citations & back links) that i was looking for.

      Answering the question of should you know how to do local seo?, i say yes or at least have a basic understanding of it.

      i personally dont have the time to sit down and manually create back links, and do site submissions; I do though have time to sit down email reports to clients, gather new reviews and setup meetings to grab more clients and outsource the work.

      Remember to be successful you need to understand that you cant do it all by yourself .. if your just starting out..do the first 3-6 clients by yourself then outsoruce.
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  • Profile picture of the author bizgrower
    Originally Posted by payoman View Post

    OK, so this has been troubling me this month.

    I have no way to measure the success of my outsourcing Google Places/SEO.

    I don't know if the person I am currently paying is doing a good job or plain sucking.

    The results have been mixed so far.

    He took one client from nowhere to the 'A' spot within probably 2 weeks, but other clients have been paying for over a month now and haven't even made first page yet.

    Does anyone know of a truly outstanding service that is 100% reliable, but roughly the same price as paying someone on oDesk to do it?
    You have no way of measuring? You should have your favorite web analytics installed and access to the data. Or get the reporting as someone else suggested.

    You should know enough to not get screwed and carefully monitor your outsourcers activities so you don't screw your clients' branding/image.

    Besides just rank, you need to monitor return on investment and revenue gen or lead improvement, relevant traffic increase..., or whatever the main objectives for the client.
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    "If you think you're the smartest person in the room, then you're probably in the wrong room."

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  • Profile picture of the author NateOlsen
    They should be supplying you with reports and screenshots to show improvement and if they are not that should put off a lot of red flags in my opinion, Would you take your car to be repaired and pay a bill that doesn't say what they did? any how if you would like an audit I would be happy to do it @ no cost I typically charge for this service, but I didn't just join this community to make money I am here to help my fellow Warriors.
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