News

Have you seen that Google is experimenting with a new Page One SERP design? I saw this today as I searched for Chicago Dealers and I was blown away how much Page One real estate was used for Google Maps listings.

I color coded the SERP in sections to show that:

• Google Adwords was split on top and right shown in pink.
• Two organic listings were displayed above the new maps region, shown in green.
• That 7 spots were taken up with exploded Google Maps listings, shown in red.
• The remainder of the organics were shown under maps which were cut off on the screen capture.

Google Maps Changes SEO Strategies

I don’t see this type of display for all searches and maybe this is a new design for broad commercial searches but this is a game changer.  What do you think?

What I can see is that Google review stars are SIGNIFICANTLY MORE VISIBLE which means that automotive reputation management processes must really be locked down.  What I also see is that if you are not in the top spots for organic search, you will get crushed by this new design and experience significantly less clicks.

What I also would expect is that the Google Ads on the right side will receive less clicks.  There is too much activity front and center that brings the consumers eye to the maps region.  So this will also be a game changer for Adwords bidding.

Google Maps Homework

Get your Google Maps listings updated with photos, videos, coupons, and make sure you have the geo-targeting set correctly.  If this is a look at the future, the more complete and compelling your Google Maps listing is, the more calls and clicks you will receive.

If you need help with Google Maps, call: 732.450.8200.

P.S. Here Another Example For Baltimore Honda Dealers – WOW – Same Issue Here

Google Maps can be very frustrating for car dealers and it gets worse in competitive markets. 

For example, if you search Google for “Arizona Honda Dealers” and click on the Maps tab, you get a list of dealers. If your dealership is not showing up in the first few listings, you can get frustrated. 

How does Tempe Honda get top organic billing?  The answers are fuzzy at times but it seems that there is a growing body of evidence that supports theories why some maps are shown more often than others.

Many companies and car dealers have asked me about how they can increase the “relevance” of their Google Maps listing. Keep in mind that the “address” of the Google Maps/Places is a dominant factor in which search results show a Google map.

Misguided SEO hackers have attempted to scam or influence Google Maps listings with fake addresses but Google is cracking down on this practice. In the example on the right, you can see one such scammer (Listing A) that created a listing called “Honda Dealers” with a bogus address as “Metro Area”. 

Google Maps has not yet got around to removing this listing which is pushing real Honda dealers off the top positions.  Google Maps spam is on the rise and I would report to Google any fake listings that do not represent authorized Honda dealers.

Authoritative Directory Verifications

From my testing on Google Maps, I have concluded that having a consistent name, address and phone numbers across “reference” websites can assist your Google Maps listing to be shown above those that have no external references.  That means that you should not use different tracking numbers for public business directory listsing that are different.

Google can see if the submitted “business name and address” can be found on other paid or free websites. If the submitted address is nowhere to be found, you can understand why Google may be reluctant to show that new Maps listing. I am leaning on a recommendation that car dealers “pay” to be included in some very highly ranked directories as well as making sure that they get a free listing on www.dmoz.org which is the undisputed king of organic search directories.

Using GetListed.org

One tool that can simply the process of seeing which directories have your listing correct is www.getlisted.org .  If you type in your business name and zip code, as shown below, it will search Google, Yahoo, Bing, Yelp and BOTW to see if your listing is there. 

The fact that BOTW is listed as a “top” directory is interesting because it is a paid directory if you want to get the most important parts of your business profile visible to consumers, at $30 a month.  That money making recommendation aside, the tool is a quick way to get a snapshot of where you are. 

When the search is done, you can click to get a report on those five top websites that looks like this:

Additional Directory Sites

I would also recommend these directories to ensure that a dealer is represented on multiple free authoritive websites:

• www.MerchantCircle.com
• www.InsiderPages.com
• www.Judysbook.com
• www.SuperPages.com
• www.BrownBook.net
• www.Switchboard.com
• www.InfoUsa.com

According to an InfoGraphic on GetListed.org, the network of business directory websites and facilitators is shown below:

Google Maps Visibility

The idea behind this graphic is to show that there are MANY websites in which you can register your business name, address, phone and website. The idea is that if your contact information can be validated in MANY places, it has a higher likelihood of being accurate. 

This begs the question… 

• Have you made an effort to synchronize your business directory information?
• Have you paid for a listing on Yahoo.com or Business.com?
• Do you need to?
• How have you validated Your Business address?

Let the questions start and I will answer them to the best of my ability….

Today I noticed something strange in a simple Google SERP. This may have been going on for some time but today it caught my attention.  I was in Google and searched using this phrase “Ford memorial day sale”.

On Google Page One , there were two listings that were very odd because of their syntax:

• http://2009-ford-memorial-day-sale.futuremark.us/
• http://fords-2009-memorial-day-sales.wohviesie.us/

and on Google page two there were these:

• http://ford-memorial-day-car-specials.valleywag.us/
• http://ford-memorial-day-incentive.upublish.us/
• http://ford-memorial-day-offer.ugqualitynet.us/
• http://2000-ford-memorial-day.blackmice.us/

Fake Google SERP Pages

When you click on these links you will see that there is an attempt to make the page look like a search result but when in fact, the entire page is a link farm and a Pay-Per-Click mess.  The scheme is using long tail keywords as a sub-domain to a main website that does not have any pages.

Now IF you type in a search phrase in this Faux Google search page and click the “search” button, you will notice that all the search results all change to include your search phrases. Wow, this is a bear trap.

I’m surprised that Google hasn’t picked up on this scheme which looks to confuse the public.  I just wanted to bring it you’re your attention so you don’t waste your time clicking on these pay-per-click or phishing scheme pages.

Are Long Tail Sub-Domains Viable?

The technique brings up some interesting thoughts about SEO strategies that include sub-domains with long tail search phrases.  If these pages were not a big scam, and a real Ford dealer, you wonder how much organic search traffic the pages would pull.

Should we test long tail sub-domains off our proven, highly ranked websites?  I don’t have an answer for this yet since all my sub-domains in the past have been one word.  Looks like I have another thing to test.

P.S.  I want to thank Stoneham Ford for having me check their Ford Memorial Day Sale page in Google, which set off this realization.