Categories in Places Vs Local

[waynekolenchuk]

Say you are listed with both Google places and Google Local. Places still allows custom categories, while Local limits you to preset categories. Which is the better strategy: to build service pages following custom services available in Places, or build out service pages following the (allowed) preset categories in Local.

[Oren.]

I notice that competitors who set up places accounts before Local (which I did not have the opportunity to do) do better in search for subcategories of specialties that aren't listed in the preset categories.  I'm sure Google will eventually deal with this, but I would say if you have the opportunity to include categories that aren't on the preset list, it may give you a leg up.

[LindaBuquet]

If by local you mean you've merged with G+, then FYI after you merge with G+ you are not supposed to edit anything in the old Places dash any more at all anyway, so there is really no "which is better" strategy. You are limited by which dash you are in and whether you have merged or not (which if you have not do not BTW.)

Plus custom cats are going away soon. Google is upgrading everyone to the new Places dash, which like Google+ does not allow custom cats. THEN they are auto-upgrading everyone to G+ so everyone will have a merged page, which again does not allow custom cats.

So both the old dash and custom cats will be gone soon. Sad...

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Wayne,

You've received some thoughtful replies here, but I'm not sure your question has been answered you. You write:

"Which is the better strategy: to build service pages following custom services available in Places, or build out service pages following the (allowed) preset categories in Local."

I believe you may be talking about building out service pages on a website, not about altering a Google+ Local page. Is this correct? Are you asking whether your website-based service landing pages should be optimized to reflect the old custom category system or the new Google+ Local pre-set category taxonomy? Could you please clarify. I want to be certain you receive a helpful answer.

[LindaBuquet]

So sorry I was rushing to prep for a webinar. Think I totally misread the question, so please ignore my answer.

Somebody give me a big thumbs down. ;-(

[waynekolenchuk]

Hi Miriam,

That's exactly what I'm asking: should I build out my website service pages as per the custom categories available in Places or per preset categories available in + Local?

[MiriamEllis]

Linda, I thought your answer did a good job of explaining certain facets of the two dashes, even if it wasn't quite what Wayne was asking about

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Wayne,

That's what I thought. Here's my take on this. There are two distinct types of keywords you can optimize a local business website for. I think of these as 'is' and 'does'.

Examples of 'Is' Keywords:

Plumber

Arborist

Dog Walker

Examples of 'Does' Keywords

Plumbing

Tree Trimming

Dog Walking

In other words, one set says what a business 'is', the other set says what a business 'does'. Google has always wanted categories, whether custom created or chosen from their pre-set taxonomy, to reflect what a business is - never what it does. In optimizing a local business' website, it is certainly important to include these kinds of 'is' keywords in your work, but you shouldn't limit yourself to this. You'll want to include relevant 'does' keywords, too, because people certainly search both ways.

Keyword research will, of course, be vital to determining which kinds of 'is' keywords are being searched for most for a given business. I consider that Google's pre-set category taxonomy (the only one that will be available to any business once all listings have transitioned to the new Places for Business dashboard) gives us certain clues about how Google understands and organizes types of business. Since we care so much about Google rankings, we need to pay attention to what Google is signalling to us and incorporate these very big hints into our optimization. But we need to build additional content that reflects all the other findings of our kw research, there will typically be lots of 'does' terms in there.

This line of reasoning is why I have to be very frank with low-budget clients who come to me saying that they only want a one-page website, or a five-page website. There are so many keywords we should ideally be optimizing for, and there's no way to cram them all into a tiny site. Pretty much every local business, even if they have to start small, should have a plan for content development that will grow the size of their website to eventually include lots of different keywords. When you start small, though, Google's pre-set categories definitely need to be given consideration, in addition to the most searched terms discovered in your keyword research.

Long answer! But, you've asked a very good question, Wayne, and I wanted to give you a big-picture view of this, based on what I've experienced. Hope this helps!

[waynekolenchuk]

Hi Miriam,

Great answer.  I especially like your differentiation on "is" and "does" and agree 100% about the importance of mapping content to research and trying to cover as many bases as you can.

I've long been involved with national campaigns, but this is my first local job. I knew the categories would be crucial, but wasn't sure about the best approach.  With your roadmap, I know exactly what to do.

You should consider a  post on this issue. This is a crucial issue for local, and I bet a lot of people aren't getting this.

How do you deal with customer resistance to expanded/ongoing content?

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Wayne,

So glad to help! Thanks for suggesting a post on this topic - I'll think this over!

What I have experienced with customer resistance has typically revolved around budget. I've worked with a lot of very small local businesses over the years and they are concerned about being able to afford content development (particularly when they don't have the skills/resources to create it themselves). Sometimes, I have been able to offer an austerity plan to a local business owner - something like just one new page per month once the basic website has been built. Typically they can afford this. In a year, they've added 12 new pages.

This is nothing like some of the Local SEO projects going on out there where people are building hundreds of pages, of course, but it is at least some progress. The hope is that if the company starts getting more business from even a small web presence, they will eventually be able to afford to invest more in things like content development. But I do think there is a threshold for every business. If the owner can't make even a modest investment, he's not going to be able to utilize the web to promote his company. I've had to turn business owners away who just don't get this.

How about you, Wayne? Do you have clients with budget issues or does resistance to growth stem from something else?

[waynekolenchuk]

Hi Miriam,

I think budget issues are always a consideration. I'm with you: if the owner doesn't get that this is a long term effort to increase their business, then I tell them I can't help them.

I tell them that my job is to increase their business and that I need a commitment of time and money to do so. I generally try to get them to commit for a one year period and a budget large enough to actually accomplish something.

These kinds of customers are harder to find, but, once I do, because I have the time and money to get a result, they tend to become more or less permanent customers.

My biggest challenge is explaining what I'm going to do and how this will result in more business.