![\"SERP\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rankwatch.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Untitled.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhile everyone\u2019s working very hard trying to build links + citations and rank in the local 7\/5\/1 pack, there\u2019s just a ton of directories and Yellowpages sites that are clogging up the rankings.<\/p>\n
All that a Local SEO would need to do is, divert part of the efforts being spent on building links and citations to actually enhance directory listings on the top ten or fifteen directories (which includes industry-specific and region-specific biggies as well)<\/p>\n
This strategy of optimizing specific local directories so that your profile on these sites actually ranks is called Barnacle SEO. If you\u2019re interested in reading the blog article that introduced the concept to the world, you can do so here<\/a>.<\/p>\n How to go about finding search engines and directories that you need optimized profiles on<\/b><\/p>\n The biggest generic directories that are a \u201cmust optimize\u201d and a good starting point include:<\/p>\n But, for a well-rounded Barnacle SEO strategy, you\u2019re better off looking for a list of sites that actually rank in your locality and industry.<\/p>\n I usually go about doing searches for my most important keywords to see what sites come up.<\/p>\n For instance, when I do a search for “locksmith los angeles”<\/p>\n As you can see, Yelp and Yellowpages seem to be the most powerful local directories which rank for that keyword. SWEET! You should try and get optimized listings on those two sites.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t see too many directories or search engines come up, you may either be very lucky that nobody has exploited this strategy, or may be competing in a very hard to rank for neighborhood.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re lazy (like I am) it may be a good idea to just pick up a list of the best citation sources<\/a> compiled by GetListed.<\/p>\n Though it’s a good strategy to build optimized profiles on directories that are already ranking on page #1 for a given keyword, I’d still suggest you go ahead and create completely optimized listings on all the sites mentioned above.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re done selecting your target list.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Claim Your Profile<\/b><\/p>\n The most important step in optimizing your listings is to first claim them. Unless your listing on a particular site is claimed, you\u2019re not going to be able to make the level of edits you\u2019ll need to.<\/p>\n While some sites will allow you to verify by email, other sites including Yelp and Yellowpages will need a phone verification.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a list of websites by verification methods, this article about citation verification methods<\/a> might be useful.<\/p>\n Complete As Many Fields As Possible<\/b><\/p>\n If you have ten fields to fill out on a site, fill all ten. A very large weight in most of these sites is given to how \u201ccomplete\u201d your profile is. A list of the typical fields that you\u2019ll need to fill in most sites are:<\/p>\n It might be a good idea to keep this information handy before you start optimizing different profiles. If you\u2019re short on time, using a tool like GetListed<\/a>, Yext<\/a> or Synup<\/a> might help you scan to see how complete each of your profiles is and keep your information together.<\/p>\n Ensure You’re In The Right Category<\/b><\/p>\n Unless your business is listed in the right category, it\u2019s never going to have a shot at ranking for site specific search terms that you want to get ranked for. Similarly, it\u2019s also important that you\u2019re listing yourself in categories that are actually showing up in Google searches.<\/p>\n Optimizing Titles May Be So 1999; But, They’re Still Important<\/b><\/p>\n If there\u2019s one pattern that I\u2019ve regularly observed with actual profiles (vs category pages) that rank in Google searches, they all seem to have title tags with at least part of the keywords I searched for in them.<\/p>\n In this case, the title tag that comes up in local directories like Yelp is the actual business name. Conventional wisdom says that one should have the same business name in all citations, so unless you have a business name that has your primary keyword in it, you may be out of luck.<\/p>\n For some of you that don\u2019t actually mind experimenting, it may be worth giving up the exact match citation bonus on one source (preferably Yelp) in pursuit of getting the listing to rank in the first page of search results.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for an \u201coptimized\u201d business name, I\u2019d generally go about appending the keyword without making it too awkward. For example, if you\u2019re running Action Plumbing and want to rank for \u201cdrain cleaning atlanta\u201d, it might make sense to experiment by changing your name to \u201cAction Plumbing & Drain Cleaning\u201d.<\/p>\n Longer Description = Better<\/b><\/p>\n Not to say that this is a competition for the longest description, but small descriptions that are just near the minimum word limit suck!<\/p>\n Try writing a decent sized business description and it may also be a good idea to include your keyword within the description at least a few times (without being too spammy, of course)<\/p>\n Add More Media<\/b><\/p>\n Add as many photos, videos and media as you possibly can on each site. They not only help you rank better within the local directory or search engine in question, but also help you convert visitors into buyers.<\/p>\n After all, who would want to go see a barebones Yelp profile with simply a company logo?<\/p>\n Get More Reviews<\/b><\/p>\n Reviews have become a critical component to Local SEO success. If you have ten sites to focus on, try to get as many reviews as possible in these sites.<\/p>\n When it comes to reviews, it may also be a good idea to adopt a \u201clow hanging fruit approach\u201d. Do you have a Yellowpages category page ranking in the first page? Sweet! Yellowpages reviews are easy to get.<\/p>\n Yelp is the only toughie when it comes to getting reviews. All of the others are pretty straight-forward and easy.<\/p>\n Phil Rozek\u2019s review handout generator<\/a> is a pretty good tool to have in your kit when you\u2019re going about collecting reviews from clients.<\/p>\n Add Barnacles To Your Link Building Mix<\/b><\/p>\n Still doing a lot of link building? Great! Add some of your barnacles to your link building mix. Not only do your profiles on Yelp, Yellowpages etc., give you a very nice option for a second anchor link on a link page, but they also make your link pages less spammy.<\/p>\n I usually mix my clients\u2019 top ten local profiles to any links I build for them. You\u2019d be surprised at the kind of wonders you can achieve with a few dozen links pointed to a well optimized Yelp profile.<\/p>\n PRO TIP – Is There A Long Tail You’ve Been Wanting To Rank For?<\/b><\/p>\n Yelp profiles are really good at ranking for long tails, and since local is all about long-tails. Creating a Yelp profile is free and this could be an easy way of getting a page with your business information ranking in the first page for terms that you\u2019d otherwise not rank for.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re too tired to do it the hard way, and have a lot of money to spend, you can still identify local sites that rank in Google and actually pay them to put you on the sponsored #1 spot – then again, that\u2019s not how the Local SEO pros roll \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n BONUS TIP – Constantly measure the performance of your barnacles<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to consistently measure the performance of your barnacles to ensure that you\u2019re moving in the right direction. You could use a tool like Rankwatch<\/a> to do this by monitoring different keywords and URLs, which I personally find extremely useful if you are running campaigns in different cities altogether. RankWatch just came up with location-based tracking and if you have clients in various cities, you can manage it all on one platform and see what your customer sees on their end. All you gotta\u2019 do is choose the search engine along with the specific city on which you want to monitor your keyword rankings as shown in the screenshot below.<\/p>\n About the author:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ashwin is the Co-Founder of Synup, a company that specializes in local marketing automation software. He also built Local SEO Checklist<\/a> to help those that needed an easier way to manage their efforts. You can follow him on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You have local clients that you do SEO for. You\u2019ve done \u2018em guest posts, you\u2019ve built those links, you\u2019ve done citations, but it appears like there\u2019s nothing else to be done. Nine out of ten Local SEOs I know focus predominantly on ranking their clients\u2019 own website. Though there’s nothing wrong with this strategy, they’re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rankwatch","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n