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Local SEO question

by jimcroisdale
13 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hiya all,

We're a print company, based in Huddersfield, UK.

We're starting notice that local search results are playing a more important part in the SERPS are are worried that it will harm our traffic, as we do work nationally.

We rank really well for broad search terms such as 'leaflets', but worry that someone searching for that in Manchester are going to see local search results instead of us simply because of where they are.

The results page tends to show the top 3 national sites and then all of the local ones. This can mean that if we're not in the top three (which we are in a lot of cases, but not all) we're right at the bottom of the first page instead of being fourth or fifth.

Is there any way we can improve this? If we optimised for terms such as 'leaflets manchester' would we rank in the local results for someone searching in Manchester, even if they just search for the term 'leaflets'?

Cheers,

Jim
#local #question #seo
  • Profile picture of the author PerformanceMan
    Jim,

    This is the direction Google has been going in for years. They place you in 'the box' you fit and that's where the traffic comes from.
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  • Profile picture of the author J R Salem
    Why not test out PPC for a week or so, and see if its cost effective for your business? This way you aren't relying solely on Google rankings.
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    • Profile picture of the author hipeopo02
      Originally Posted by J R Salem View Post

      Why not test out PPC for a week or so, and see if its cost effective for your business? This way you aren't relying solely on Google rankings.
      +1

      Especially if you have your own unique product you are selling
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  • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
    Originally Posted by jimcroisdale View Post

    Is there any way we can improve this? If we optimised for terms such as 'leaflets manchester' would we rank in the local results for someone searching in Manchester, even if they just search for the term 'leaflets'?

    Cheers,

    Jim
    Yes. You can easily capture a lot of this local traffic. All you have to do is create a SILO structure (Google Image search "SILO Structure SEO" for good diagrams) part of your website that is focused on specific locations.

    For example, you would have one page on your website that is optimized for "UK leaflets". The page will have some information about leaflets in the UK. Then, at the bottom of the page, you have a list of links to sub-pages that are focused on specific cities/provinces/locations.

    On those specific sub-pages, you need unique content that is specifically focused on that location and is useful to the visitor as well as helps sell your services. DON'T use copy/pasted content on every location, because duplicate content will not rank well.

    Even if every page essentially conveys the same message about each location, they still need to be uniquely worded. One way you can achieve this is to write a comprehensive page about one location, then have 10 different freelance writers (or any number you feel comfortable with) write 1 re-write of the article each but using a different location's name, to create unique but still comprehensive content that conveys the same message.

    So basically, your sub pages would look something like:

    "We can easily provide leaflets in Manchester for all your business needs..."
    "You have come to the right place to fulfill your need of leaflets for your London location..."
    "We are one of the top supplies of leaflets in the city of Birmingham..."

    Notice that they all convey the same message, but in unique text that will all rank separately in Google.

    Ideally, you will want to have one good page with 500+ words (more words is always better, as long as the content is useful to the visitor and not just spam) and comprehensive information that is focused on each location keyword that you want to rank for. So if you want to rank for 100 different cities, then you will need a unique page for each city name you want to rank for.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      Originally Posted by Curtis2011 View Post

      Yes. You can easily capture a lot of this local traffic. All you have to do is create a SILO structure (Google Image search "SILO Structure SEO" for good diagrams) part of your website that is focused on specific locations.

      For example, you would have one page on your website that is optimized for "UK leaflets". The page will have some information about leaflets in the UK. Then, at the bottom of the page, you have a list of links to sub-pages that are focused on specific cities/provinces/locations.

      On those specific sub-pages, you need unique content that is specifically focused on that location and is useful to the visitor as well as helps sell your services. DON'T use copy/pasted content on every location, because duplicate content will not rank well.

      Even if every page essentially conveys the same message about each location, they still need to be uniquely worded. One way you can achieve this is to write a comprehensive page about one location, then have 10 different freelance writers (or any number you feel comfortable with) write 1 re-write of the article each but using a different location's name, to create unique but still comprehensive content that conveys the same message.

      So basically, your sub pages would look something like:

      "We can easily provide leaflets in Manchester for all your business needs..."
      "You have come to the right place to fulfill your need of leaflets for your London location..."
      "We are one of the top supplies of leaflets in the city of Birmingham..."

      Notice that they all convey the same message, but in unique text that will all rank separately in Google.

      Ideally, you will want to have one good page with 500+ words (more words is always better, as long as the content is useful to the visitor and not just spam) and comprehensive information that is focused on each location keyword that you want to rank for. So if you want to rank for 100 different cities, then you will need a unique page for each city name you want to rank for.

      SEO-wise, that works. As far as site design though, in my opinion it looks absolutely stupid when someone visits your website. What difference is there about leaflets in Manchester from leaflets in London?

      I would say instead of screwing around with a bunch of pages trying to rank for every town, just improve your general rankings. You said it yourself, most people are seeing the top 3 national results then the local results follow. Why put in all the effort to be #4 everywhere?
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  • Profile picture of the author Hansons
    Of course, you have to give something for that location, and SEO would also be easy as you would find so many local classifieds sites, local forums etc. you can put your advertisement there, these things would also help a lot.
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  • Profile picture of the author mark587905
    If your marketing budget will allow, run some PPC Campaigns or do some media buys to promote your company. Relying solely on SEO is not a good business model as its out of your hands what changes will happen with Google in the future.
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    • Profile picture of the author jimcroisdale
      Thankyou all for your comments - the siloing info looks very interesting and e will be looking into that in more depth this week.

      We have tried PPC and it is not really suitable for the print business - the cost of each conversion was simply far too high, and we have tried many times.

      We are currently beginning a new marketing campaign based on winning trade customers though, so as not to have all our eggs in one basket.

      As for the siloing, we have started to notice this company a lot in the SERPS:

      https://www.stuprint.com/

      Is this a good example of siloing? (You can see all the regional pages if you scroll to the bottom)

      We notice that they don't have their address on the contact page. Is this one of the ways that Google knows where you are based? Or is it more to do with IP addresses?

      Cheers,

      Jim
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  • Profile picture of the author Annie15
    By local listing, hotel finder, flight finder, calculator and currency converter Google is grabbing visits from its own search engine.
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    • Profile picture of the author Matthew Shelton
      Yes, the siloing approach is really great - if you've already done all your keyword research and decided on your hierarchies for your main site, then you can follow the same structure for your local SEO.
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  • Profile picture of the author andrewkar
    Originally Posted by jimcroisdale View Post

    Hiya all,

    We're a print company, based in Huddersfield, UK.

    We're starting notice that local search results are playing a more important part in the SERPS are are worried that it will harm our traffic, as we do work nationally.

    We rank really well for broad search terms such as 'leaflets', but worry that someone searching for that in Manchester are going to see local search results instead of us simply because of where they are.

    The results page tends to show the top 3 national sites and then all of the local ones. This can mean that if we're not in the top three (which we are in a lot of cases, but not all) we're right at the bottom of the first page instead of being fourth or fifth.

    Is there any way we can improve this? If we optimised for terms such as 'leaflets manchester' would we rank in the local results for someone searching in Manchester, even if they just search for the term 'leaflets'?

    Cheers,

    Jim
    Hi Jim,

    You can easily optimise the site for 'leaflets manchester' without losing positions for other broad keywords. It will take few weeks but it's not rocket science. If you want more info PM and I will tell you how to get this done.

    P.S no need for silo, unless you want to target different parts of manchester (probably no point to do this...)
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  • Profile picture of the author taniawg
    PPC is a good option. Local Optimization plays important role now a days. You need to generate traffic for your website in different ways. No matter whether it comes from map listing or organic listing. For local listing you need to do classifieds and review posting. Your website traffic will develop after following this.
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