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Thanks Kevin & Don! Your insights are very helpful. I was asking myself how much traffic would some of these "off the beaten path" directories generate, even if they had a high page rank, and if the effort was worth the reward. I think I will just list them on DMOZ and any niche specific directory my clients recommend. Thanks Again! B/R Will H.

If these were previously closed locations or removed in Google My Business then most likely Google picked them up from the aggregators. It sounds as if that's the case, as those locations were probably listed on other websites, the local search data providers. Moz has more information about these here: https://moz.com/learn/local/local-search-data-providers What you'll need to do is figure out where your other listings are--and get those removed, as well. Otherwise, even if you get them removed from Google again they will show up again once Google pulls the data from the data providers again.

Generally speaking, what you're describing is the fact that the sites just don't have enough Domain Authority and links in order to rank well for the keywords you're targeting. If the sites are new, it might take some more time, as they may be "sandboxed". They need to become trusted more.

Super! So glad it helped. Spammers beware!

Hi Eric! You are right on that Bing's guidelines are actually pretty similar to Google's. Just wanted to take a second to mention, though, that the practice of creating fictitious suite numbers is not recommended and not necessary. Back in the day, Google did have the worst time parsing out individual practitioners or businesses at a shared address, with merged listings often resulting. This is no longer the case; Google has really improved in being able to parse this out, provided practitioners follow some basic safety steps like obeying naming conventions, having unique phone numbers, choosing different categories and ensuring that each practitioner has his/her own landing page on the website. The recommendation to create fictitious suite numbers stems from the days when merging was such an issue, affecting thousands (millions?) of medical practices, legal practices, real estate firms, etc. in their ability to list themselves properly on Google. But, these days, it's much more important to be sure that you're only listing a real-world address, and you can do so with pretty good confidence that Google will understand that lawyers A, B and C all work at 123 Main St, and that the listings won't merge, provided you've followed all the guidelines to the letter. Hope it helps to know this, and I hope you'll keep participating as we all continue learning Local together - a never-ending process!

This is definitely a good answer and the way to be thinking about it. You're never going to outrank Z/T/HP/RDC based off domain authority if you're a small site. First you need to have your onpage SEO absolutely dialied (H1s/H2s/keyword mentions (in this case address)). Then as Matt suggested pull in other content that is related to that listing or area, such as pricing and information about other homes selling or being listed in that area. The more of this rich content you have, the more you will be able to compete. But as others have said, you also need to get more links. If I were you, I'd find aggregators that you can form partnerships with as the originator of the content. Qualifications: I ran SEO at HotPads and Trulia Rentals for a while

Hi Miriam, I'm sorry to hear that phone trees are an issue for you, as well. Yes, other than the hope of temporarily disconnecting the phone tree, our only other option that we have found is to set up an @domain email and work with a site's support with that added authority. I hope that your teammates have some additional suggestions; looking forward to your response! Jack

Hey Radi, Sure! Send over the details and I will take a look.

Wow. That's an excellent assessment by Miriam. Kinda hard to add to that! I looked at citations using the same example as Miriam. You have more than the top 2 ranking sites and 35 less than #3. The quality of your citations is excellent and I see a few that actually use the words "santa barbara" in their name. I agree that it would be worthwhile trying to acquire more, and more specific to Santa Barbara, to see if that helps. Whitespark offers a good service to help you ID some of those, or you could inventory the citations of the top 3 and see if they have some you're missing. I have those if you want me to send them to you.

Thank you guys. I just want to say: my domain isn't.Com, is domain for specific countries, like. CZ for Chechen republic. My site has really big authority because we are one of the biggest brand in the country, but yes, we have a lot of errors and mistakes, also we don't use the hreflang tags correctly.

I will say sub-directory but my reasons are different; I think Google now consider sub-domain as part of the main domain. Here is the Google Webmaster Central blog that will give you more insight on that topic: https://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/08/reorganizing-internal-vs-external.html The reason why I will consider sub directories as more powerful is because it makes more sense to user and also I think internal link juice flow better when the link is moving from main to sub directory instead of sub domain. Also, if you ask experts within the industry they will also recommend you that. But, above all, double check about how your audience will react to it. If the audience is more comfortable with sub domain, you probably should choose that option. Just a thought! I will say sub-directory but my reasons are different; I think Google now consider sub-domain as part of the main domain. Here is the Google Webmaster Central blog that will give you more insight on that topic: https://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2011/08/reorganizing-internal-vs-external.html The reason why I will consider sub directories as more powerful is because it makes more sense to user and also I think internal link juice flow better when the link is moving from main to sub directory instead of sub domain. Also, if you ask experts within the industry they will also recommend you that. But, above all, double check about how your audience will react to it. If the audience is more comfortable with sub domain, you probably should choose that option. Just a thought!

Hi Bethany! So glad you've provided these clarifying answers. The business model seems a bit unusual, with all practitioners using the same room, the building not being a business, etc. So there is some grey area here, but here's what I believe is applicable: Google can typically sort out different businesses being located at the same office, but you need to be aware that there is, indeed, some risk here. It is possible that: Should other practitioners using the building create GMB listings, there is a chance their details could get merged with your client's details, particularly if those practitioners don't know what they are doing and don't adhere to Google's guidelines. Hopefully this will not happen, but, there is a lack of control here that makes me a little nervous. Should one of the other people working in the office knowingly or accidentally spam Google, it could negatively impact your client. There is a possibility that, in looking at the street-level signage of the business, Google could become confused by not seeing your client's name on the building. This could lead to a lack of trust. So, given the above, what you will want to do as the Local SEO for this client is to be sure you set up a regular schedule of checking his GMB listing to be sure the NAP and all other details have remained accurate and haven't suddenly changed (indicating a merge). And, you'll want to be on the alert for any sudden ranking drops (which might indicate a red flag being raised at Google due to the activities of other people using the building). I do not advise you to go with the suite number suggestion of the Google rep to whom you spoke. I'm afraid they might not have been acquainted with Google's very adamant policy stating that the address must be exactly as it is in the real world. That rep needs more training. The one thing that gave me pause about the business model you are describing is this guideline from Google stating that this type of business is ineligible for a GMB listing: An ongoing service, class, or meeting at a location that you don't own or have the authority to represent. Please coordinate with your host to have your information displayed on the page for their business within their "Introduction" field. But, in this case, because the building isn't actually a business and has no brand, my conclusion on this is that the guideline doesn't apply, and that your client would be eligible for a GMB listing. Whew! Lots to consider but the devil is in the details with Local SEO. Hope this helps!

Hey There! I really appreciate you coming back to update this thread with your experience. So, that's really good to note that someone noticed your company Twitter. Good to know! And sure, you don't want to abuse the account, but it sounds like you've now got a new resource that could be handy in a variety of situations. Neat development!

Hi Jason, Would it be this: http://www.localsearchforum.com/local-search-news/39251-huge-ranking-algorithm-change-jan-10-2016-a.html Or is that too early?

Hello Pure Visibility, Unfortunately, I am unaware of any solution that updates directory information across multiple channels unless you are utilizing a system like Yext or Moz Local. I had to do this recently with a service based client who upgraded to a new location. He has been in business since the 1960's and was listed in every directory known to man. Not a fun undertaking. I used this procedure from Moz to locate all of the listings and update them manually. I hope this helps, and let me know if you find an automated solution. Good Luck B/R Will H.

Hi Luke Wikipedia can be a friend or a foe. I recommend doing the following strategy: Create a Google My Business account and claim your business (Google+ is not the same as GMB). It takes only a few minutes and the verification postcard should arrive in 1-2 weeks. Make sure you optimise and complete the GMB profile to 100%, add logo, select the correct category, etc. Create a Wikipedia account and make sure disclose your relationship with the company. This is important, so Wikipedia admins will see that you are editing the company's Wiki page to improve it and not just for SEO purposes. This is from the FAQ:Do I have to disclose my relationship with my organization? If you are paid to edit Wikipedia, you must disclose certain information under the Wikimedia Foundation's Terms of Use. source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:FAQ/Organizations Update the Wikipedia page, add the company's website link and make sure all the details are correct and up to date. If you do SEO continuously and improve the authority of the company's website, the homepage will outrank Wikipedia, but until then, make sure you take as much above the fold SERP real estate as you can by optimising Google My Business and the Wikipedia page. Apart from the address, there's also a schema markup for the organisation's logo and social profiles. Add those too! https://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/using-schemaorg-markup-for-organization.html https://developers.google.com/structured-data/customize/social-profiles

Hi Michael, Yes, this is a bit complicated. Ideally, you'd have just 1 website for the business, but if you have to have 2, be sure there is no connection between the two. No shared NAP, no shared content, etc. It would need to be run as a completely separate business to avoid the danger of NAP confusion.

Excellent, thanks again Miriam! It's a weird one lol

Hi Ben, What you want here is: Ideally, 1 website with a landing page on it for each of the 2 locations. A unique Google My Business Page for each of the 2 locations, linking to their respective landing pages Google Plus, as a local product, is dead. Read: http://blumenthals.com/blog/2015/11/25/google-plus-upgrade-faq-for-the-smb/ The only reason to maintain a social presence on Google Plus is if your business has somehow earned a major following there. Otherwise, you may be better off devoting social efforts to Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, and what have you. For a couple of years, the advice for local businesses was to post on Google+ but it never really took off and then Google divorced it from Local, so, remaining pages are kind of useless and if you don't log into them every 6 months, Google will un-validate them. Whether it's necessary to close them, I can't really say. That's a good question, but not one I've seen raised before and am not sure how the millions of local businesses who have recently gone through the +/local divorce are handling that. Hope this helps!

Hey Tom, I see how this could be problematic. In general, Local SEOs will cite the guidelines Joey has, in which Google states they don't want this: Location information, such as neighborhood, city, or street name, unless it is part of the real-world representation of the business. So, short answer here is that you need to leave your name exactly as it appears in the real world on your websites and the citations that you can control (and, of course, your Google My Business listing). I wonder if it would be possible for you to reach out to the top 20 aggregators appearing for your core search and ask them to edit your listing name. If not, then the consolation here is that the playing field is level if competing colleges area all suffering the same fate with the aggregators. In other words, their percentage of NAP inconsistency would be the same as yours. Anecdotally, what you're experiencing is also experienced by all multi-location businesses that list their locations on Facebook. Facebook won't let you have more than 1 FB Place with an identical name, so you have to be Joe's Diner Boston, Joe's Diner Chicago, Joe's Diner St. Paul, etc. Again, because their competitors are all in the same boat, it's something they don't really have to sweat. 100% NAP consistency isn't normally achievable. You want to be as consistent as you can, but don't stress about attaining absolute perfection, and my bet is that the inclusion of your city names on these aggregators is not hurting you very much, if at all. So, this would be a see-what-you-can-do-and-then-leave-it-at-that situation. Hope this helps! Interesting thread.