Your website is one of the most important digital assets you or your business has, but do you need one to be able to rank for local searches? Darren Shaw answers that question by taking you through the process of getting a brand new business ranking without a website.
This talk took a closer local SEO and the impact it has on the rankings.
Overview
- Speaker’s name: Darren Shaw
- Job role and company: Founder/President at Whitespark
- Links to Twitter profile: @DarrenShaw_
- Link to LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenshawwhitespark/?originalSubdomain=uk
- Link to the slides:
What was the talk about?
Darren Shaw’s talk was based on a 2018 case study in which he took a business with zero internet presence to ranking fairly well in the local packs for a city.
One of the main methods he used was to create a Google My Business (GMB) listing for the business, optimising it by choosing the right categories, filling out every field and regularly using each feature. He also shared this top tip: if you request a GMB verification postcard and don’t get it, you can wait 2 weeks, and check for the phone verification option instead.
Darrens’ talk took the audience into the work of local SEO work and the impact it has on the rankings, sharing valuable insights along the way. For example, to get a better sense of rankings, you can track from different locations from around the city.
He also highlighted the importance of adding content for organic ranking, reviews, as well as indexing from high authority domains. In the latter, he submitted his page for indexing through Search Console and his indexation rate doubled, and rankings responded too.
Fave quote
“If you’re tracking rank in Local, don’t just track at the city level — track in multiple locations in the city.”
Potential impact on the industry
Darren’s fascinating talk showed that it is possible to rank — and rank relatively well — in local without a website. It just goes to show that local SEO doesn’t always have to take the conventional route; there are a number of factors that can impact ranking that can be used and optimised. However, content and links do contribute significantly and will expand the radius that you can rank in.
Key takeaways
- Want your citations to get indexed? Add a page on your site that links to all of them
- Create a Google My Business (GMB) listing for the business and buy the domain
- It’s not one specific activity, it’s the aggregate of all activities that will move the needle
