With news this week that Google’s ‘Mayday’ algorithm change may be negatively affecting long-tail traffic to yellow page sites, what can directory publishers do? We share the opinion of local SEO expert Andrew Shotland: it’s time to focus on the messy, complicated tasks you may have been putting off. Tactics that build value, not just enhance SEO. Build unique, differentiated content. Create mechanisms to distribute content. Cultivate consumer traffic from a multitude of other sources.
The good news for customers of Destination Search, our website platform for directory publishers and real estate portals, is that the right tools are already at your disposal. And all Local Matters offerings are focused around building long-term differentiation that lessens dependence on search-engine referred traffic.
Here are two of the keys we see to a building a ‘search-engine proof’ online directory presence:
Build Strong Content
Content that’s unique to your site is one of the most important goals to pursue. Through relationships with their large advertising base, publishers have always had a great opportunity to build authoritative business content, but not many have cracked the code on how to extract high-quality, up-to-date information from businesses cost effectively. An increasingly important view on a business is the consumer’s view: ratings and reviews, tags, photos all help users make good decisions, and when posted to your site, contribute enormously to unique content. The third leg of this strong content stool is business information brought in from elsewhere on the web, like ratings & reviews sites, coupon vendors, and social media sites. Combined on a single page about a business, this information becomes quite compelling to consumers, increasing engagement and repeat visitors to your site. And more attractive to search engines.
Be Where Consumers Are
But while it has been a necessary evil for directory publishers to rely on search engines to bring them traffic, search engine traffic is not enough. Consumers spend their time all over the web, and publishers should get content in front of users across the web. As users spend more time in social media sites, access via mobile devices, read media sites, and spend time on new & emerging websites, publishers should be there. Consumers are using all these methods to find local businesses, and your content needs to be there when they’re looking.
Another way to be where consumers are is to allow and promote sharing to social networks. Increasingly, we discover, collaborate, inquire, and validate via our social networks on the web. I learned about the ‘Balloon Boy’ incident, found a tree trimmer, and joined Groupon via Facebook. Make it easy for consumers to share businesses, search results, business photos, business ratings, and other interesting bits out to their social networks, where it can be discovered (and commented on) by their friends.
Destination Search is specifically designed to address these problems. We collect and solicit unique and aggregated business content: ratings and reviews, user-generated tags, integrated Twitter and Facebook feeds, and a self-service area for businesses. Syndication of business content is baked in: partners can integrate via APIs and a collection of more than 15 widgets. And social sharing and discovery is encouraged. If your website platform isn’t set up to handle market developments, give us a call to get you there.
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