Citation, Google Plus and SEO questions

[fslpso]

Hi, I have a website www.gemslearninginstitute.com. We offer different after school programs for kids located in Canada. I have a very basic knowledge of SEO. I have a few questions. Just wondering if someone can please help me.

We offer UCMAS Mental Math Program, Tutoring and Chess School/Coaching and runs a Chess Club. I would like to boost my google ranking and get more local traffic.

1-  My citation is not consistent.  Which program should I use to correct the citation and delete duplicate or inconsistent listing automatically.

2 - Should I do the citation with my company name only “GEMS Learning Institute” or Should I do like this “GEMS learning Institute – UCMAS-Tutoring-Chess”. Which one is better?

3- Right now I have two different google plus business pages. One with the name of “GEMS Learning Institute” and the second one is UCMAS. Should I have only one page as GEMS and delete the UCMAS.

4- I am not sure how to check if my site is penalized by google.

5- How can I measure things which are working on not?

Can you please recommend next steps should I take after doing citation to improve the ranking?

Thanks in advance and appreciate help.

[JordanLowry]

1 . I would recommend going to Moz local - > Check Listing - > and see how you show up in local directories

At first glance, I see you have a google + account but are missing some other major ones. I would recommend using Moz's local feature to bulk upload your citations to all major local directories to keep consistency.

2.  I would do the citation with the company name only 'Gems Learning Institute' short and more memorable.

3. I would get rid of the other Google + page just keep 'GEM's Learning Institute'

4. Set up a Google Webmasters account and keep an eye on your rankings and traffic for unexcepted drops. I do not believe Google will send personal messages if you are being penalized unless they do a manual check. You can dig deeper into your site's health by putting your URL in Moz's opensite explorer and running and crawl test.

Hope this helps some!

[fslpso]

Hi Jordan,

Thank you for the response. It really helps.

I am located in Canada and Moz Local does not support Canada Local directories at the moment. Does the bright local be another good option?. They support Canadian local directories as well.

[JordanLowry]

Yeah I have seen some good reviews on their services. You can check it out some of their reviews on g2 crowd. I think that would be a good starting point and just make sure to stay consistent.

[4RS_John]

If you end up wanting to DIY, the Canadian Local Search Ecosystem infographic helps show you the places to submit. It's a little out of date, but if you can figure out the current version of each source and submit to them you should be ok.

I did one in 2014, (I usually do non-local SEO), and at that time it was hard to find the Yellow Pages option to just submit without buying an ad, but it's there, keep looking.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Faisal,

I'm so sorry that Moz Local doesn't support Canada at this time. For citation assistance in Canada, Whitespark.ca is probably the most high-regarded service. You might want to check out their offerings, and nice to know they are fellow Canadians.