Moz Q&A is closed.
After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.
Google places keyword variations
-
Hi all,
I have a site that is ranking #1 in Google Places for its main <city><keyword>search... but it does not rank for any of its basic keyword variations, which I find very confusing.</keyword></city>
ie (just an example)
Chicago Caterer (ranked #1 in google places)
Chicago Caterers (not ranked in google places)
Chicago Catering (not ranked in google places)
Chicago Catering Company (not ranked in google places)
Chicago Catering Companies (etc..)How can I secure a google places ranking for these simple keyword variations? Do I build links to the google plus page using that anchor text? Do I get citations that contain that keyword somewhere on the page? Do I optimize for these keyword variations on the actual website itself? (not the places listing).
Obviously I don't stuff these keywords into the google places listing.
Any help would be much appreciated!
-
It is my pleasure!
-
Thank you Miriam,
That really helps. I think we are probably wasting our time even worrying about this then. We have the #1 organic for all the keyword variations, above the places listing. So, based on the info you have provided, better to just leave it and not mess with it.
Thank you so much Miriam for the very helpful replies!!
T.
-
Hi Again and Happy Monday,
Since the Venice update about a year ago, yes, it has become much less common for any business to have both an organic and a local listing on the same page. If one manages to get into the local results, their organic ranking is typically subsumed into the blended local listing.
There are some exceptions to this, usually in areas of low competition for which Google has less data, and there have also been experiments done in which Local SEOs have managed to optimize an interior page of the website in such a way that they've picked up double page one rankings (see this: http://localsearchforum.catalystemarketing.com/local-seo-ranking/5180-double-ranking-organic-maps.html), but this is not what I'd call a run-of-the-mill scenario.
So what is the answer to the phenomenon you are experiencing? Why does Google consider you more organic than local for those particular keyword variants? I don't believe this can be resolved with the general advice we can give here without investigating the actual business in question. I think you have 2 options:
-
Run the site through the 51 blocks tool, as I've suggested and see if you can discover some areas in which the competitors included in the local pack are outdistancing you.
-
Hire a really good Local SEO and give him/her the keys to the website so that they can try to uncover the nuances specific to your business.
*One thing I will point out, however, is that if you are managing to rank organically above the local packs for these variants, you may want to consider carefully whether you've really got a problem at all. Over the past couple of years, I have read so many comments (like this one: https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!msg/business/Tq4DsCCth7s/2Z-MyLEc2mMJ) in different places from business owners who have stated that their transfer from an organic to a local format resulted in a drop in traffic. This is an issue you might want to read up on further while making up your mind about whether something actually needs to be 'fixed'.
Hope this helps!
-
-
Hi Kyle & Miriam
I appreciate your answers, but part of the confusion lies in the fact that we have absolutely everything else nailed down, and yet we can't get the site to rank for the keyword variations in google places.
The site has the most positive (legit) reviews in its niche, ranks #1 in google places for its main term, has 400+ pages of content on the site and incredible organic rankings... and the website even ranks above the google places 7-pack for its keyword variations...
And yet... for its keywod variations (plural, ing, companies) it does not show up in google places. And yet the organic listing is actually above the 7-pack places listing for these variations.
Does having an organic ranking above the google places listing make it less likely that they will list your places listing? I wouldn't think so, as I've seen it before where a site ranks both #1 organically above the places listing then also ranks within the places listing on the same SERP.
Thanks for your responses guys...
-
Hi Tyler,
Kyle has provided some good advice here. I will add, it's hard to know the nuances of your client's exact situation without 1) seeing the Google Places Listing, 2) seeing the website, and 3) understanding the actual keywords/categories the client is going after. There could be nuances specific to your client and his market that I can't speak to without knowing the above.
Generally speaking, though, these things contribute to high rankings:
-
A really great website that contains all the right local hooks, awesome content and, yes, definitely excellent optimization for all target terms.
-
A violation-free Google Places/Google+ page. Correct choice of categories is very important here.
-
A variety of citations with consistent NAP (name, address, phone), well written descriptions and proper categorization.
-
Traditional SEO factors like linkbuilding and ongoing content development.
-
Social factors like active review profiles and other activities.
Sorry not to be able to give more specific advice. This is a general picture of what goes into high rankings.
Something you might want to consider doing is to figure out which of your client's competitors are managing to succeed in multiple local rankings for the targeted keyword variants and then do a competitive analysis to see if you can discover where and how they are surpassing your client. I like the free Local Competitive Analysis Tool from 51 Blocks:
http://www.51blocks.com/online-marketing-tools/free-local-analysis/
Check it out!
-
-
Hi Tyler,
You're right to dismiss stuffing keyword variants into your Google Places listing. The best way to go about this is to encourage more reviews on your Google+ Local page and beyond.
Set up your business location(s) on local review sites which Google uses as citations such as Thomson Local or Yell. Include call to actions for feedback on your website and any communications you have with your customers. Authentic reviews should naturally contain these keyword variations and (even better) should increase your overall propensity to rank in the space due to the (hopefully) positivity of the reviews.
Secondly, optimising your website or a particular page that serves a local intent would contribute towards a better ranking.
Keep in mind that the local algorithm is a unique beast. There are plenty of reasons why you may not be ranking for these search terms. For example perhaps your locality, the quality of your competition or the intent behind the search has determined your ranking. David Mihm, the Director of Local Search Strategy at SEOMoz conducted a survey last year to determine the importance of several local search ranking factors. As you can see, there are more than "several" factors.
Hope that helps,
K
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Primary versus secondary keyword
Hello, Can someone give a example of what primary and secondary keywords are and how to implement that in a sentence ? Thank you,
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | seoanalytics2 -
Keywords in URL: sub-directory or single layer keywords?
Hi guys, im putting together a proposal for a new site and trying to figure out if it'd be better to (A) have a keyword split across multiple directories or duplicate keywords to have the keyword hyphenated? For example, for the topic of "Christmas decor" would you use; (A) - www.domain.com/Christmas/Decor (B) - www.domain.com/Christmas/Christmas-Decor in example B the phrase 'Christmas' is duplicated which looks a little spammy, but the key term "Christmas decor" is in the URL without being broken up by directories. which is stronger? Any advice welcome! Thanks guys!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | JAR8971 -
How to measure traffic for a keyword
Sitting in Country A I want to see how much traffic a particular keyword receives in Country B. Whats the best way to do it? Also, will the search results differ if I am analyzing the above sitting in Country A viz-a-viz Country B. In other words, will the IP of the country I am making the search from play a role in the results?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | KS__0 -
My website is not ranking for primary keywords in Google
I need help regarding some SEO strategy that need to be implemented to my website http://goo.gl/AiOgu1 . My website is a leading live chat product, daily it receives around 2000 unique visitors. Initially the website was impacted by manual link penalty, I cleaned up lot of backlinks, the website revoked from the penalty some where around June'14. Most of the secondary and longtail Keywords started ranking in Google, but unfortunately, it do not rank well for the primary keywords like (live chat, live chat software, helpdesk etc). Since I have done lot of onsite changes and even revamped the content but till now I dont find any improvement. I am unable to understand where I have got structed.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | sandeep.clickdesk
can anyone help me out?0 -
Will Google View Using Google Translate As Duplicate?
If I have a page in English, which exist on 100 other websites, we have a case where my website has duplicate content. What if I use Google Translate to translate the page from English to Japanese, as the only website doing this translation will my page get credit for producing original content? Or, will Google view my page as duplicate content, because Google can tell it is translated from an original English page, which runs on 100+ different websites, since Google Translate is Google's own software?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | khi50 -
Page position dropped on Google
Hey Guys, My web designer has recommended this forum to use, the reason being: my google position has been dropped from page 1 to page 10 in the last week. The site is weloveschoolsigns.co.uk, but our main business site is textstyles.co.uk the school signs are a product of text styles. I have been told off my SEO company, that because I have changed the school logo to the text styles logo, Google have penalised me for it, and dropped us from page 1 for numerous keywords, to page 10 or more. They have also said that duplicate content within the school site http://www.weloveschoolsigns.co.uk/school-signs-made-easy/ has also a contributed to the drop in positions. (this content is not on the textstyles site) Lastly they said, that having the same telephone number is a definate no no. They said that I have been penalised, because google see the above as trying to monopolise on the market. I don’t know if all this is true, as the SEO is way above my head, but they have quoted me £1250 to repair all the errors, when the site only cost £750. They have also mentioned that because of the above changes, the main text styles site will also be punished. Any thoughts on this matter would be much appreciated as I don't know whether to pay them to crack on, or accept the new positions. Either way I'm very confused. Thanks Thomas
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | TextStylesUK0 -
Google and Product Description Tabs
How does Google process a product page with description tabs? For example, lets say the product page has a tab for Overview, Specifications, What's In the Box and so on. Wouldn't that content be better served in one main product description tab with the tab names used as (htags) or highlighted paragraph separators? Or, does all that content get crawled as a single page regardless of the tabs?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | AWCthreads0 -
Will changing Google Places address hurt rankings?
I have a client transferring ownership of their service business (photo booth rental). The current listed address will change, so my main concern is preserving the rankings during the transition. Should I change the Google Local listing to a new physical address, or change it to "serve a surrounding area"? It seems best to set as "serving a surrounding area", but I know Google is really weird about making local listing changes. I've seen and heard about countless listings falling completely off the map after being updated. Any advice appreciated.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Joes_Ideas0