Welcome to the Q&A Forum

Hi John!

This seems to be a common issue with the Moz bar. Are you still experiencing the same problem? If so, I suggest reaching out to Moz support: https://moz.com/about/contact

Hi Becky,

Although ALT tags might not seem like a high priority item, I do think they hold a bit of value when it comes to SEO. Without the ALT tag, the search engine doesn't know what the image is of. By adding ALT tags to all 22,000 old images on the website, we could hope that this could help to boost your rankings slightly. It will also improve the user experience (if the images don't load for them), which is important in Google's eyes.

If you can't find a way to go through them quickly, then I wouldn't worry about it too much. Maybe find a way to tackle a thousand at a time, and so on.

Hope this helps!

Hi Lee!

We wrote a blog post about the most recent algorithm update on our website. Be sure to check it out for any questions you might have: https://www.bluecorona.com/blog/fred-algorithm-update-march-2017

Hopefully it will provide some insights into why you're seeing a ~4% drop in visbility.

I have a Google map on a website. Currently, there are only two 1-star reviews — which show next to the company name on the map. We added the map for local SEO reasons, but I’m thinking I should take it down because customer experience supersedes local SEO. Why boost search rankings if the content will drive people away from converting?

So basically, customer experience > local SEO.

Question: Do you all agree, or do any of you have any evidence that I should leave it? For example, it’s below the fold, so it isn’t the first thing they see, and we really need to boost their local SEO.

Hi there!

I work with Company A. They've decided to merge with Company B (who we don't work with/doesn't do SEO) under Company B's name. (We would then work on Company B's website.)

What would be the impact on SEO if the content from Company A's website is moved to Company B's website, and Company A's website would be deleted?

Factors to consider:

• Both websites have a domain authority of 6 and a homepage authority of 21, and each has less than 5 backlinks.
• Company A ranks much better than Company B (of the KWs we're tracking, Company A ranked on Page One for 15.3% of them, while Company B ranked for 2.8% of them).

So, what I am asking is:

1. If they do the content migration to Company B's website and get rid of Company A's website, what negative impact would that have on SEO?
2. Could we keep both sites, but change the mentions of Company A on their website to Company B? Although the URL would still be Company A's name, could Company B treat this as a microsite and take up more of the search engine real estate since Company A already has rankings?
3. What would be another solution? The companies merging is definitely happening.

Thank you in advance.

Before realized that the Moz listing should have the correct GMB account connected to it, a few local listings were purchased. Is there a way to change the GMB page it is pulling data from and sending out to directories?

Thanks!

Hi Brett!

I've actually been wondering this same thing for awhile now. From what I've found, there isn't a way to specifically manipulate anything on your website with anything (i.e. schema, etc.) that will help get you in this position of the knowledge graph. At the moment, it seems like it is mostly pulling companies that are ranking prominently in the area. That being said, I would focus on getting your website to be one of the most authoritative in the area to improve your chances.

Hi there Linda!

I agree with Oleg. I would sort through the reviews and see which service or product they mention, and then place the review on the page for that service or product! That way you're not just adding content to add it, but adding relevant content that could help convince people on the site.

I agree. This is going to make the title tags too long. Instead build out individual service pages for each location so you can include the city in the title tag of each of those pages.

Hi there!

First of all, I recommend reading this guide on Moz: https://moz.com/blog/local-landing-pages-guide

Now, to answer your question. Think about it this way, Google ranks your web pages, not your website. The most oages you have, the greater your chance of ranking. That being said, I think it could be extremely beneficial to build out those pages as city + service, not with the double service. It's not going to harm you if you leave it as is, but you will have more chances of ranking if you build them the other way.

Just make sure that you're making the pages different enough so you don't get dinged for any type of duplicate content.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hi Brian,

Piggybacking off Kevin's answer, I agree. Typical FAQ questions and answers are all on one page, but if your answers will have enough content (depending on the question), then I would suggest building out individual pages.

Some tips, make sure you directly write out the question be answered and then concisely answer it. The better your answer, the great the opportunity you have to rank in Postion 0 on Google. An FAQ page is a great opportunity to grab this position -- which puts you above all the other organic listings.

Read more on Position 0 here: http://www.bluecorona.com/blog/position-0-google-rankings/amp/

To increase your chances of being featured as one of Google’s rich answers, you should:

• Identify a simple question and include that question within the text of your page
• Provide a direct answer right after the question
• Offer valued added info
• Make it easy for users (and Google) to find
• Use ordered lists, bullets, or tables that Google can read to take up more real estate in the “zero” ranking spot

Learn more about featured snippets and rich snippets from Google »

Hope this helps -- let me know if I can help with anything else.

Hi there!

<dl>

<dd>Google will not always show your meta description, the likelihood of your meta description appearing in the search results increases incredibly when your meta description contains the sought for keyword though, which is why the focus keyword functionality checks for the appearance of the focus keyword in the description.</dd>

</dl>

Google’s own Matt Cutts put together a great video that dissects how snippets work and how they pull from various parts of the page when they deem it necessary.

More on this topic here: https://moz.com/blog/why-wont-google-use-my-meta-description

Hi there,

This is a great question.

Recently I've found that Google is placing high value on photos on a business's GMB profile. Because of this, I suggest that you do not use one set of interior photos for all of the locations. While I don't think you will necessarily get penalized, it's probably best to follow the guidelines Google has in place In case they do penalize you later down the road -- and then you would have to go back and make adjustments after the fact. Even if it takes some time, I would focus on getting photos of each individual location for their profile.

Hi there,

This is a great question.

Recently I've found that Google is placing high value on photos on a business's GMB profile. Because of this, I suggest that you do not use one set of interior photos for all of the locations. While I don't think you will necessarily get penalized, it's probably best to follow the guidelines Google has in place In case they do penalize you later down the road -- and then you would have to go back and make adjustments after the fact. Even if it takes some time, I would focus on getting photos of each individual location for their profile.

Hi Taylor,

When working on SEO in a small, local area, it's likely that (depending on the size/population), Google won't have enough data to generate a local pack. This proves to be both good and bad for you because 1) you don't need to fight for the space in the local pack, but 2) now you need to dominate the organic search engine results.

In order to dominate these results, you need to focus both on on-site SEO AND off-site SEO.

Your on-site SEO should focus on targeting the local area. What can you do to really localize the content? Build out local blogs about events in the community? Build out even more localized pages based on areas within the town? The options are endless.

Here are some suggestions for successfully tackling off-site SEO:

Link building

• Create linkable content – If you have relevant, authoritative content on your site, it’s more likely that other sites will want to link to it.
• Ask for links and be generous with your links – That’s right, just ask for them. Nicely, of course. When you come across other sites whose readers might benefit from your services or information, ask that site to link to yours. And you can also increase your link karma by linking to other sites whenever you can.
• Comment on blogs – This method can be tricky; some blogs don’t allow links in their comments, and you never want to come across as spammy. But if you have something relevant to say about a blog post on another site, commenting and adding a link to your site isn’t a bad idea.

Social Channels

• Optimizing your “about” info on every site – Make sure your contact info is consistent and correct, and create a description that uses words your potential clients would search for to find you. Customize your social media site URLs—this is also called creating a “vanity URL.” For example: facebook.com/bluecorona.
• Creating high-quality posts – Pay attention to grammar, tone, and content. Make sure what you’re sharing is relevant to your target market. And use high-quality photos when you have them. Remember, every post is a reflection of your business. Always put your best foot forward.
• Measuring your results – How do you know if your social media strategy is working? Track your reach, conversions, and sales! Find out what works, what doesn’t, and never stop fine-tuning your strategy.

Local Listings / Citations

• Citations are another critical part of offsite SEO. A citation is any mention of your business on the web. For example, if you are quoted in a local newspaper story online, and you are identified as the president of your company, that’s a citation. Even if the mention doesn’t include a link to your site, it’s still valuable. There are many ways to increase your citations. This is another ongoing strategy that you’ll have to devote some care and attention to, but it has a high return on investment!

Hope this gets your started in the right direction! Let me know if you have additional questions.

Hi Becky!

While it's great that you're generating reviews of additional third party review websites, Google should take priority. Most people visiting the website/searching for the business are going to find the website via Google. When they do that, it's likely that they will either see the local pack or the knowledge graph, both of which show their Google rating. These ratings play a significant role in generating click throughs to the website. No matter how many reviews you have on another website, these reviews won't impact the CTR to your website.

To ask for reviews through Google, you can't give anyone an incentive. But I suggest adding a place in the company newsletter that directs them to leave a review on Google, or posting things on social media that ask satisfied customers to leave them a review!

Hope this helps—good luck generating more great reviews!

Hi there!

A while back, Rand wrote a great blog on this topic for Moz: https://moz.com/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic-2012

• Here are the summarized points:
• Target Your Content to an Audience Likely to Share
• Participate in the Communities Where Your Audience Already Gathers
• Make Your Blog's Content SEO-Friendly
• Use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ to Share Your Posts & Find New Connections
• Install Analytics and Pay Attention to the Results
• Add Graphics, Photos and Illustrations (with link-back licensing)
• Conduct Keyword Research While Writing Your Posts
• Frequently Reference Your Own Posts and Those of Others
• Participate in Social Sharing Communities Like Reddit + StumbleUpon
• Guest Blog (and Accept the Guest Posts of Others)
• Incorporate Great Design Into Your Site
• Interact on Other Blogs' Comments
• Participate in Q+A Sites
• Enable Subscriptions via Feed + Email (and track them!)
• Use Your Email Connections (and Signature) to Promote Your Blog
• Survey Your Readers
• Add Value to a Popular Conversation
• Aggregate the Best of Your Niche
• Connect Your Web Profiles and Content to Your Blog
• Uncover the Links of Your Fellow Bloggers (and Nab 'em!)

I think this is a great resource that will provide a lot of insight into your question! Let me know if this helped and if there is anything else I can do to assist. Good luck getting that traffic up!

Hi Michael!

I recommend checking out this blog for more insight: http://searchengineland.com/how-many-301s-are-too-many-16960

The video on the blog linked above answers: Is there a limit to how many 301 (Permanent) redirects I can do on a site? How about how many redirects I can chain together?

Other things to watch out for with chained redirects:

• Avoid infinite loops.
• Browsers may also have redirect limits, and these limits can vary by browser, so multiple redirects may affect regular users in addition to Googlebot.
• Minimizing redirects can improve page speed

Hope this helps!

Hi there!

I suggest reading through this blog from Moz: https://moz.com/blog/are-coworking-offices-eligible-for-google-my-business-listings

While the main topic of the article is coworking spaces, it also addresses virtual offices and how this impacts your chances of ranking in the local pack.

In the article, it says: Virtual offices fail to meet Google guidelines, including:

• Make sure that your page is created at your actual, real-world location.
• Provide a phone number that connects to your individual business location as directly as possible.
• Provide your regular customer-facing hours of operation.
• If your business rents a temporary, "virtual" office at a different address from your primary business, do not create a page for that location unless it is staffed during your normal business hours.

Hope this helps!

The homepage will likely always be the page on your website with highest domain authority. While there are situations where this might not be the case, the homepage is likely the be the page that has the most backlinks (don't internally and externally). That being said, I don't think creating local landing pages for multiple locations would harm the keyword rankings for your homepage. Instead, this provides an opportunity for your client to dominate the search engine results pages and take up more than one of the listings.

As they build out these localized pages, I would spend time focusing on both the geo-targeted keywords, but also building authority for these pages. Are there any local organizations, associations, teams, etc. that would link back to the localized service page?

As Julie said, your homepage is going to do the most work for you. But utilize these landing pages to enhance the results!