Welcome to the Q&A Forum

This was fun. I was glad to see some of the names I watch closely pop to the top.

Will Don earn extra Mozpoints for having earned at "pin to the top"? He should

I like Patrick's answer and agree that you need enough words to be able to orient visitors and search engines. While there is no best practice minimum, I personally aim for at least 100 words.

Yes, it's normal. Yes, you should fill it out. Some of the data is undoubtedly redundant, but you need to help Google connect / associate the two. They're two separate products.

Cyrixr, Can you tell us the site and page you're referring to?

Cool.

Well take a look at Chapter 4, on-page optimization for some tips as to why that page might not be jumping out in search results. Neither keyword phrase - "microsoft hybrid" or "hadoop hybrid" - appears in all the right places. That's the place to start. Hortonworks has good domain authority (74).

I agree with all of the above and just want to add that those local links can make a big difference to a small business in a non-competitive market. Now if you're a SEO company trying to rank for SEO in Seattle, forget it. But if you're a in a niche market in a small community, it can make a real difference.

Hi Valter,

I eyeballed the site and scanned it for obvious errors. I don't think there's a quick fix to your problem. Your competitors are doing a better job of optimizing their sites and yours needs a lot of work. I think you know that already.

If you're especially concerned about ranking for "Scarpe sexy", I suggest optimizing a single page for that search term. Start by learning on-page optimization and see where that alone gets you. Then consider auditing your website or hiring someone to help you with that. That way you'll be able to get a big picture view of what needs to be done and set priorities.

You are still ranking for "scarpe pleaser". Here you have a single page focused on the "scarpe pleaser" topic (http://www.shoechic.it/scarpe-pleaser-flamingo-fla887-fhbrb-19062-p.asp) and so you're managing to rank, just not as highly as you'd like (#28).

What differentiates the 6 GMB pages from one another? You said you have two locations, so it can't just be location.

You're going to have to standardize on a single name / address / phone number (NAP) combination for each of your two different locations. Then you'll need to inventory all the incoming citations you have to all 6 GMB listings and update or delete the ones that are inaccurate. Lastly, you'll need to remove the obsolete GMB pages. It's tedious and time consuming, but it needs to be done.

Whitespark offers a highly effective citation audit and cleanup service with a couple of different price points if you don't have the time but do have funding.

Hi Cyrus,

It's been a couple of years since this was last discussed. Have badges moved up the priority queue for new development? Can we get an update, even if the update is "no progress".

Donna

Okay. Let's start over looking at it from a goal perspective. I compared the two pages. Here is the difference between the two in terms of page text, highlighted in yellow - http://63.249.66.211/comparison.html. The differences are in the URL, the phone numbers at the top, a word here and there in the middle, and the 2nd block of text and photo under "Explore Our Solutions".

The first page, which I'll call India, has a canoncial tag pointing to itself. (http://www.sap.com/**india**/pc/bp/erp.html"/>) .

The second page, which I'll call UK, has a canoncial tag, also pointing to itself. (http://www.sap.com/**uk**/pc/bp/erp.html"/>).

• If you want both pages to rank and have authority, then you use the canonical tag. You need to use the same canonical tag on both pages. Right now they're different. That will essentially tell Google to treat the two pages as one; to show one or the other in search results, but considate their combined SEO value into one for ranking purposes.
• If you only want one page to rank, then noindex the other.

Does that make more sense?

Ask yourself, who is my target audience? What are their burning information wants or needs? Then give them what they want or need in the form of pages and posts.

Establish yourself and grow your connections on the social media platforms where your intended audience likes to hang out. Share your stuff as well as other's. People will remember and seek you out when a need arises.

Not surprising JonOS. If you've done a good enough job with the on-page, that's usually what's remaining.

I also agree with your recommended approach.

I use Moz to easily and affordably acquire a well-rounded base of worthwhile citations that includes data aggregators and supplement with (as you and Miriam suggest) hand-picked industry and geographically relevant additions.

I don't use Yext because it is more expensive and doesn't feed all the data aggregators. If speed was a concern - if it was important to have the citations built as quickly as possible - or the business wanted to update it's information frequently, then I might reconsider.

Have you seen the Moz local search ecosystem visual? It helps convey the difference between the reach of the two tools.

I agree with DJ123. Also recommend John Cooper's link building site - Point Blank SEO. You'll find most, if not all, of the answers to your questions there.

If you were writing a will and had an estate worth $50,000, would you rather leave $1 to each of your closest friends and relatives or a much larger sum to a select few? The first scenario is basically what you're doing with your SEO equity now.

i agree with Patrick. Try to find a logical and meaningful categorization of your products that will make it easier for Google and visitors to navigate your site and understand your priorities.

Hi Bob,

Buzzsumo is a great (and free!) tool for finding popular content. You can enter a topic or domain and it will provide you with a list of the most popular content over the past 6 months, month, week or 24 hours.

As Keri points out, it makes sense to profile your intended audience first so you know who's most likely to convert and appeal to their information wants and needs. But if you're looking for link and social bait as a way to increase your perceived popularity in Google's eyes, I've found Buzzsumo to be helpful. It also helps you see where your audience likes to hang out online. For example, when I plugged "NLP" into Buzzsumo, I could see that the preponderance of sharing was of CDs on Facebook and Twitter.

I'm also going to check out the article Ruben pointed out. Hadn't seen that yet.

You need to optimize for keyword+location so your web page (vs business listing) is eligible to rank in ORGANIC search results.

So, for example, if a potential visitor in San Mateo searches for "best yoga studio", Google will be smart enough to conclude your business listing is relevant and it will likely rank, maybe not at the top, but it should rank. If, on the other hand, you've organically optimized for "best yoga studio san mateo", Your web PAGE will be considered relevant and should rank.

If that visitor is in Philadelphia when he or she searches for "best yoga studio", neither your business listing or organic page will show up in search results.

Hope that makes sense.

Think holistically. Think strategically.

For example, if I was a supplier, I wouldn't want a link profile that consisted largely of customer footer links cause those can be manipulated and carry less weight with the search engines. As Martin and George have pointed out, you could create goodwill with valued suppliers and perhaps some leverage for yourself if you were to follow those links and position them higher on the page with surrounding text.

Follow links pass link juice. It's a currency you can sometimes use to your advantage.

(1) Profile your intended audience to make sure you're addressing their information want and needs and sharing it in the right places.

(2) Consider just asking them - set up a survey.

(3) Include calls to action that specifically ask visitors to bookmark, link to and share your content.

(4) Consider syndication with canonical tagging - if nothing else, it has the potential to drive more traffic and time on site which can help your rankings.

(5) Are you using the right medium? Perhaps your (profiled) audience prefers short how-to videos or screen-casts? (Think of Whiteboard Friday.)

(6) Are you using hashtags and reaching out to the few bloggers that do exist and publish in your industry?

Are you using the yoast SEO plugin? There is a setting under Advanced > Permalinks that forces a trailing slash onto URLs. I'd try looking at that first.