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Analytics in Local SEO
What are Analytics in Local SEO?
Analytics in Local SEO provide valuable insights into how a business is performing on search platforms Google and Bing. By tracking key metrics, businesses can better understand customer interactions, refine their digital marketing strategies, and optimize local search presence.
Google Business Profile Insights
Google Business Profile Insights provide a detailed overview of how customers find and interact with a business on Google. These metrics help businesses assess their online visibility and customer engagement.
Key Google Metrics Available in Local SEO
Search Terms – Displays the queries people use to find a business. (Available in Local SEO and Executive Report.)
Search Total – Shows the total number of searches where the business appeared. (Available in Local SEO, Executive Report, Multi-Location, and Multi-Location Executive Report.)
Customer Interaction [Bookings] – Tracks completed customer bookings. (Available in Local SEO, Executive Report, Multi-Location, and Multi-Location Executive Report.)
Customer Interaction [Conversations] – Counts unique conversations initiated via messages. (Available in Local SEO, Executive Report, Multi-Location, and Multi-Location Executive Report.)
Customer Interaction [Food Orders] – Measures food orders placed directly through Google. (Available in Local SEO, Executive Report, Multi-Location, and Multi-Location Executive Report.)
Note: Google updates the Searches metric at the beginning of each month, and it may take up to five days to reflect new data.
Bing Insights in Local SEO
Bing Insights allow Local SEO Pro users to see how their business listings perform on Bing. This feature enhances visibility into search traffic and customer interactions beyond Google.
Key Bing Metrics Available in Local SEO
Traffic insights to measure Bing as a source of customer visits.
Customer interactions based on listing visibility and engagement.
Performance trends for evaluating marketing effectiveness.
Accessing Analytics in Local SEO
Google Insights
Navigate to the Analytics tab in Local SEO.
View Google-specific data related to search queries, interactions, and overall visibility.
Bing Insights (Available for Local SEO Pro Users)
Select a Local SEO Pro account.
Ensure that the Bing profile is created and synced under Listing Sync.
Go to the Analytics section and click on Bing Insights to view performance data.
Note: If Bing sync is disabled, users will need to enable it to access Bing insights. New syncs require time to backfill data from the last 90 days.
Why These Insights Matter
Better Decision Making – Helps businesses understand which search platforms are driving traffic.
Improved Engagement Strategies – Aligns customer interactions with business goals.
More Control Over Listings – Ensures that businesses can monitor and adjust their presence on both Google and Bing.
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Local SEO White-label Walkthrough
Check out this white-label walkthrough video of Local SEO!
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Local SEO Admin Dashboard for Partner Admin Users
The Admin View in our Local SEO product has been a powerful tool for Partners, offering the ability to adjust product settings, view sync statuses across locations, and identify discrepancies between Primary Categories set by partners and Google.
Now, we've introduced a convenient enhancement for Partner Admin users—a direct access point to the Local SEO Admin Dashboard from within the product interface. Partner Admins can now easily navigate to the Admin Dashboard using the new Admin button located in the product's sidebar.
How to Access the Local SEO Admin Dashboard
Navigate to Partner Center > Accounts > Manage Accounts > Select Account > Local SEO.
In the sidebar of the Local SEO product, locate and click on the new Admin button in the left-hand panel.
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Keyword Tracking in Local SEO
Local SEO empowers your agency to start the conversation about digital solutions with local businesses. You can introduce hundreds of business owners to a powerful solution that can help improve their local findability.
Inform your SEO strategy with data that shows exactly which keywords are helping your clients rank in Google organic search and Google Maps.
To get started with Keyword Tracking, navigate to Local SEO > Keyword Tracking.
From here, select 'Add Keywords.'
For those with the Standard edition of Local SEO, you’ll be able to add 3 keywords. Those with Local SEO Pro will be able to add 15 keywords in total. Click 'Add Keywords' to save, and start tracking. It may take 10-15 minutes for results to populate after keywords are updated
Note: If you wish to purchase more keywords you can do so by activating the “Additional Keywords” add-on.
The Local Grid allows you to zero in on individual hotspots that tell you how your client's business is ranking in that particular geographic location.
The map radius will default to 1.25 miles but if you wish to change the radius of the map, you can do so by clicking the Settings Gear and selecting from 1.25, 2.5, 5, or 10 miles for larger cities.
While the Trend tab showcases the progress of that particular keyword over time.
Keyword Tracking Refresh Rate
The refresh rate for Keyword tracking depends on the version of the Local SEO active on the account.
Local SEO Standard
Monthly
Local SEO Pro
Weekly
FAQ
Q: Can I add or change the competitors in Local SEO Pro?
A: You cannot change or add competitors linked to specific keywords in Local SEO Pro. The competitors are system-generated based on the geographical area and the keywords being tracked. If you have concerns about the competitors displayed, you may consider deleting the associated keywords instead.
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SEO Keywords in the Executive Report
SEO Keywords can be reported on in the Executive Report!
You and your clients can select keywords to be synced (to sources that accept this data), and specify which ones should be pushed to the Executive Report. This allows you to monitor keywords without pushing them all to the Executive Report.
When should I sync Keywords to the Executive Report?
When you want to monitor more keywords than you are actively working on. You may only want to report on the ones you are doing the work on.
When you want to report only on the keywords that have made progress as SEO efforts can take time to show results.
When you only want to display keywords when clients purchase specific SEO products or services.
You can set the default you would like for new keywords - either to be favorited or not when new keywords are added.
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Snapshot Report: SEO
A strong Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy is vital for any business looking to compete online. The main objective of SEO is to increase a website's traffic and ultimately its conversion rate. This is accomplished by ranking high in the search results for keywords related to the business. The SEO strategy's mission is to optimize the website's content so that search engines find the business more relevant and authoritative than their competitors.
This is why it's vital that your clients understand how they appear in local search results and how a majority of their online information affects their search ranking. Snapshot Report can be a great tool in helping them visualize this as it shows exactly how the business ranks within Google Search.
SEO Section Breakdown
The SEO section requires a minimum 60% match to the Google listing for Name, Address, Phone Number, and/or Website to populate this section correctly. If this threshold is not met through matched data, the system sees no match found.
Weighting:
Name: 20%
Address: 20%
Phone Number: 40%
Website: 20%
Local Search Results
This section displays exactly how your prospect's business appears within Google's search results. This helps them to visualize how they appear for any new customers with no prior search history. This section is broken up into two separate parts.
Google Map: This displays their rank within an 800-meter radius around the business's location. Each hotspot is clickable and shows how they rank within that hotspot compared to local competitors for the selected keyword.
Search Results: This showcases the top three search results for the selected hotspot, and where the prospect appears. If they don't appear within the top three results, they'll appear just below their search ranking. They'll also be able to see whether their Google Business profile is claimed or not, which can affect how they rank within these results.
NOTE: The keyword that is chosen is pulled from their Google Business Profile account if it's claimed, and if it's not claimed then it uses the prospects business category. This keyword can also be changed in the Snapshot Reports customization settings found when editing the report. Learn more about your customization options.
Organic Keyword Performance
Organic Keyword Performance measures your prospects against their competition when it comes to the number of keywords they rank for, organically. The higher the value per click, the more optimized your prospects' keywords are.
Keywords: This number shows how many organic keywords your prospect shows up for within the top 50 results of Google. So while they may show up for more than this number of keywords, if they appear within the 50+ results, those keywords won't be counted.
Clicks: This measures how many times those keywords have led to a user clicking on and visiting your prospect's website from Google Search.
Value: This shows how much your prospect would have to spend monthly on paid ads for those same keywords to receive the same amount of clicks they're getting organically. Please note: this value will be displayed in USD ($).
NOTE: This is calculated by assigning each organic keyword a value determined by where the prospect's business domain ranks on it. So the higher a business ranks for a keyword, the more valuable that keyword is to them. We then calculate the average across all their organic keywords.
Value per click: Value per click = Value / Clicks. This is the value of each organic click your prospect receives.
Organic Keyword Ranking
Organic Keyword Ranking displays up to 5 of the top keywords your prospect currently ranks for. This gives the prospect a good idea of how Google views its website based on its content.
Keywords: These are the keywords and phrases that customers would be searching for to find your prospects' business on Google. These are determined by reviewing the content on their website.
NOTE: It's important to note that this data is based on the content of your prospect's website. If these keywords don't match up with their business or industry, then that means that work is required to optimize their website content so that they rank for keywords more related to their area of expertise.
Competitiveness: This measures how difficult it is to appear in the top Google search results for that specific keyword. The more competing businesses that are targeting that specific keyword in their SEO strategies, the longer the dark blue bar will be.
Rank: This displays the position your prospect ranks within Google's search results. The closer to 1 they are, the better they're doing in optimizing for that specific keyword.
Local Searches (US Only): For the given search term, this is the amount of estimated organic traffic the keyword receives on average per month within the prospect's local area.
Clicks (Outside of the US): For the given search term, this is the estimated number of clicks the keyword receives on average per month.
Global Searches: This is the estimated number of searches per month across Google for that keyword.
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Local SEO - Overview
Discover the benefits of offering Local SEO or Local SEO Pro to local businesses.
Local SEO establishes accurate business listings, which helps clients attract leads, stay top-of-mind, and generate revenue.
Drive Your Digital Revenue Growth
With Local SEO, your clients can establish accurate business listings across the web, increasing their chances of getting found in local searches. Packed with four powerful presence management tools—Google Insights, Listing Sync, Citation Builder, and My Listing—Local SEO is the most comprehensive business listing solution on the market. Local SEO empowers your agency to start the conversation about digital solutions with local businesses. You can introduce hundreds of business owners to online presence management and your digital marketing platform. Once your clients are ready to buy, Listing Sync Pro and Citation Builder are natural upsells that maximize revenue.
Google Insights
Empower your clients to see how their business is performing on Google Search and Maps. Google Insights in Local SEO provides your clients with a valuable glimpse of their customer activity, including:
How customers find their listing
Where customers find them on Google
What customers do once they find their listing
Listing Sync
With Local SEO, your prospects and/or clients can sync their business info to Google Business Profile, and Facebook for no extra charge. With Local SEO Pro, you can also sync to Apple, Bing, X, and Instagram. From there, you can upsell them to Listing Sync Pro, where they can quickly establish accurate business listings on more than 35 reputable sites.
Improve your client's chances of getting found online.
Drive customers to your client’s businesses by generating accurate locations on popular navigation systems.
Empower your clients to quickly change their hours and contact info whenever there’s a change to their business details.
Protect your clients’ listings against manipulation by third parties
Citation Builder
With Citation Builder, your prospects and/or clients can monitor the accuracy of their listings on the three data aggregators—Tranunion, Foursquare, and Neustar/Localeze—that are referenced by over 300 sites. You can then upsell them to the paid version of Citation Builder where they can build accurate business listings on the four major data aggregators.
Improve the likelihood that potential customers find your business in local search.
Generate hundreds of online citations.
Fix inaccurate business info at the root of the problem.
My Listing
With My Listing, your clients can easily create a mobile-responsive business listing that is optimized for local search.
Drive more traffic to your client's website.
Display your clients’ store hours and contact info so it’ll be easier for people to find their business.
Design and share coupons to generate revenue.
A strong presence is the first step toward success.
With Local SEO, your clients are getting the most essential set of tools they need to start building their online reputation. And after you give it to them—for no extra cost to you—they’ll need more of your solutions to take their marketing to the next level.
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How will Keyword Mapping be targeted in Local SEO?
Q: Why might a business rank highly on Google Maps within a 1-2 mile radius around its location but be undetectable in other areas?
A: Our platform provides the most accurate information available based on mobile search results, specific zoom levels, and location restrictions. It’s important to note that replicating these exact search parameters independently may be challenging.
For Google Maps results, we retrieve a maximum of 20 listings per search. If a business does not rank within the top 20 for a specific area, it will appear as a blank red entry on the map. Additionally, we do not include paid or sponsored listings in organic data reports. Please keep the following in mind:
Organic search results do not utilize a radius setting.
For example: If a search is conducted from a location 8.5 miles away from the business and the keyword falls outside of the business's top 20 results in that area, the location may display as a red dot on the map. To obtain more detailed data, users may wish to adjust the zoom level to focus on a smaller area.
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Why Are There No Results in the Local SEO Grid?
Potential Cause
If the business is a Service Area Business (SAB), the issue might arise from a misalignment between:
The keywords being targeted.
The address is listed in the business profile.
How the Map Works:
The business address listed in the profile serves as the center point for the map area displayed in Local Grid searches.
If the targeted keywords correspond to a region far from the listed address, no rankings will appear within the grid.
Workarounds to Improve Local Grid Results
Align Keywords with Business Address:
Update the targeted keywords to focus on the area surrounding the listed business address.
This ensures the keywords match the map's central area and improves visibility in search results.
Change the Business Address (Use with Caution):
Consider updating the business address to a location closer to the region targeted by the keywords.
Important: This approach is not recommended as it may impact the accuracy of the business listing and lead to issues.
Best Practices
Prioritize aligning keywords with the current address for accurate and effective results.
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How do I set up Google Insights in Local SEO?
To set up Google Insights in Local SEO, you or your clients can follow these instructions:
Go to Local SEO > Analytics > Google.
Click Connect Google Business Profile. If your client does not already have a Google Business Profile account, they can click Create a Google Business Profile account to sign up.
Once your client has connected their Google Business Profile account, they will be able to view their Google Insight reporting for important online consumer activity data such as:
Searches - how customers search for your client’s business
Customer views - where customers view your client’s business on Google
Customer actions - the most common actions that customers take on your client's business listing
Searches
This metric gives clients insight into the search terms that show their Google Business Profile in the search results, providing insight into their SEO and the keywords that help them get found.
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Why does the SEO score in the Snapshot Report seem inaccurate?
Google Search results vary from person to person even when using the same exact keywords as there are multiple factors in the algorithm. While the Snapshot Report makes its best effort to provide objective results, they should be taken as indicative information.
Some of the factors Google might use to influence a specific search are:• Previous Searches On a Single Device• Previously Clicked Links• Geographic Location• Google Account History• Device Being Used• Type of Search and Filters Used• Paid Ads Present• Changes to a website or its content• Ongoing experiments with the algorithm
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The Review Widget: SEO
Though Google doesn’t release details about its algorithm for Search Engine Optimization (SEO), many SEO experts believe that having reviews on your website can help you to move up the search results. Having star ratings also increases "search engine results page click-through-rate" (SERP CTR), which indirectly improves your organic rank.
The Review Widget uses “schema.org markup” which is supported by Google “structured data.” This is a standard for how you label data on your website so that browsers and search engines can interpret it and know what it represents. This means that it can identify that a review on your site is actually a review.
The widget is also set up so that the “Aggregate Rating” data is included in the number of reviews and the average rating. This is how Google knows what star rating to include in their search results. Of course, you can’t guarantee that the star rating will appear in the search results since that is up to Google but we have done everything we can to make it possible to show up.
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What is a Sitemap?
Sitemap - A sitemap is a blueprint of your website that helps search engines find, crawl, and index all of your website’s content. A sitemap tells Google which pages and files you think are important to your site and also provide valuable information about these files. Search engines like Google read this file to crawl your site more efficiently.
Why are Sitemaps Important especially in SEO
Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing use your sitemap to find different pages on your site.
If the site’s pages are properly linked, Google/ Yahoo/Bing, etc. web crawlers can usually discover most of the site. It also helps in understanding your website structure, making it easier to navigate your website.
For example, Google largely finds web pages through links. If the site is brand new and only has a handful of external backlinks, then a sitemap is HUGE for helping Google find pages on the site.
How to create a SITEMAP
There are two types of Sitemaps, XML and HTML.
XML documents act as a map for your site allowing a search engine robot to know which pages to check first for updates since it last crawled it helps to speed up the process in terms of page discovery and indexing for the search engines it also allows search engines to find really deep pages within your site so if you have deep content at four or five subfolders within your website this sitemap can help search engines find that easier an HTML Sitemap is actually geared more toward our human visitors than search engines it shows each one of the major sections of our website and then all the sub-pages within each of those sections so it gives a nice little breakdown of all the webpages on our site and helps our visitors to easily find the content they want.
How To Check if your Website has a SITEMAP
Go to your web browser and type your domain name followed by forwarding slash sitemap.xml or Sitemap HTML.
For example, www.example.com/sitemap.xml will show what your XML sitemap looks like.
If you don't have Sitemaps, you can go to www.xml-sitemaps.com
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Does Website Pro Restrict SEO Bot Crawling on Temporary URLs?
Yes, Website Pro restricts SEO bot access to temporary URLs.
Why This Matters
When a site is first created in Website Pro, it's hosted on a temporary URL (e.g., sitename.vendasta-site.com). To protect your SEO performance, Website Pro prevents search engine bots from crawling and indexing these temporary URLs.
This restriction helps:
Safeguard your SEO reputation
Prevent premature indexing of incomplete or placeholder content
Avoid potential blacklistings or negative domain rankings
Recommended Best Practice
To ensure your site can be properly crawled and indexed by search engines, connect your own custom domain before launching any SEO campaigns or efforts.
Mapped (custom) domains:
Allow full bot access for indexing
Ensure accurate search engine visibility
Lay a strong foundation for long-term SEO success
Note: If your site remains on a temporary URL, SEO bots will not be able to access your pages, which may delay or hinder visibility on search engines.
Need Help?
If you're unsure how to connect a domain or have questions about your site's SEO setup, our support team is here to help. Reach out anytime for assistance.
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How do I force the deactivation of a Local SEO Add-on?
Partner Center admins of Local SEO can deactivate a cancelled Citation Builder or Listing Sync Pro add-on that is under a contract and has not yet expired.
The syndication services with the aggregator will terminate, and the Partner will continue to be billed until the end of the commitment. This deactivation ensures clients with overdue payments will not benefit from unpaid services.
How to force deactivate a cancelled Local SEO add-on
In Partner Center > Accounts > Manage Accounts, select the appropriate account.
On the account details page, under "Products" find the cancelled add-on you want to deactivate.
Next to the add-on, click the kebab menu > Force Deactivation.
In the pop-up, select "Deactivate Now" to proceed with the action.
Forcing deactivation will result in the add-on being removed from the Partner Center and syndication services ending. As a Partner, you will be billed until the end of the commitment.
This feature will not be visible for active (as in not yet cancelled) Citation Builder and Listing Sync Pro products and is not available for any other Marketplace product or add-on.
This feature is available to all Partners using Listing Sync Pro and Citation Builder.
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Where does the Snapshot Report find the organic SEO Keywords?
The organic SEO Keywords found in the Snapshot Report are pulled from the metadata of the business's website. The Snapshot Report will display five organic search terms that the business is currently ranking for on Google (within the past month).
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AI-Generated Business Descriptions in Local SEO
What are AI-Generated Business Descriptions?
Artificial Intelligence is integrated into Local SEO’s Business Profile tab to allow users to quickly and seamlessly generate short and long business descriptions. This feature works for those with Local SEO and/or Listing Sync Pro active.
Why are AI-Generated Business Descriptions important?
Streamlines the process when a Partner or a user wants to quickly set up their business profile, allowing them to save time, improve the ease of profile creation, and reduce the effort needed to start using the product and syncing.
How do AI-Generated Business Descriptions work?
Navigate to Local SEO’s Business Profile tab and click on the Marketing tab.
Click on the Suggest Description button.
Click on the dropdown on the right to explore some other options. You can click Create from current content if you’ve already provided your own description and the AI can add to it.
Explore the Improve Text option to fix the spelling and grammar, make the description shorter, or change the tone of voice.
Choose from options to make the tone more friendly, professional, witty, and many more options.
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Long Description Syndication
What is Long Description Syndication?
The listings team is working hard to offer you and your clients more value and more clarity within Local SEO. As part of the first slice of our commitment to make continuous improvements to the listing suite, we'll start by adding new Google Business Profile (GBP) fields and attributes to our platform as well as making improvements to existing fields.
How does Long Description Syndication work?
Business information entered in the "Long Description" field will now be synced to the connected Google Business Profile (GBP). This field can be found under Accounts > Manage Accounts > The specific account > Local SEO > Business Profile > Marketing > Long Description. If there is already content in this field, it will be published to the account's GBP. If this field is left blank, no changes will be made to the account's existing GBP.
Customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if it has a complete Google Business Profile. The long description gives a great way to do so by telling prospective customers what sets you or your client's business apart from the rest.
Recommended items to include:
What kind of services or products the business offers
Company history/values
Anything other valuable information that customers should know about the business
Keep this content business-focused, leaving out anything related to pricing, promotions, or any type of content that frequently changes. Please ensure that you do not exceed 750 characters and that there are no URLs or HTML code present in this field.
FAQs
Will this data override what my client has entered directly in their Google Business Profile’s description field?
If your client has connected their Google Business Profile to the Vendasta platform and the “long description” field found within the Business Profile is blank, any existing content in your client’s GBP will remain unchanged. If there is existing content in the platform’s “long description” field, this content will be syndicated to their GBP.
Please ensure that any data present in this field is an accurate representation of the business description and is up-to-date.
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Customize the Review Widget
The Review Widget in Reputation Management allows users to request and display reviews from popular review sources like Google and Facebook, as well as My Listings if Local SEO is activated. Popular review sources, such as Google and Facebook, are now included in any edition of Reputation Management, with other review sources available with the purchase of Review Widget Pro, which is coming soon.
What is included in the Reputation Management Review Widget?
Functionality
With all editions of Reputation Management
With the purchase of Review Widget Pro
Google, Facebook, and My Listings review sources
✔️
✔️
Additional review sources (coming soon)
❌
✔️
Feed layout
✔️
✔️
Carousel layout
❌
✔️
Badge layout
❌
✔️
Layout customization
❌
✔️
Light and dark themes
✔️
✔️
Accent colour
✔️
✔️
Customize the Review Widget
Step 1: Go to Business App > Reputation Management > Reviews > Review Widget.
Step 2: The Review Widget interface will appear.
Step 3: Select “Sources” for the review sources you would like to request reviews for and those you want displayed on your website. Users can request and display reviews from Google, Facebook, and My Listings if Local SEO is activated. Users can only select one source to request reviews from on the Review Widget, whereas all sources can be displayed.
Step 4: Select “Reviews” to configure the reviews displayed on the review widget by star rating and the rating format with one or two decimal points.
Step 5: The “feed layout” is the default layout for the Review Widget, for users who want to customize the layout, select “layout” and choose from either the carousel or badge with new configurations with the purchase of Review Widget Pro.
Step 6: Select “Style” to change the appearance of the Review Widget from light to dark or adjust the accent colour to match the website's styling.
Step 7: Once you have configured the Review Widget, select “Save” and “Add to Website” to copy and paste the HTML code into the website's body element. If you change the sources, layout or styling after the HTML code has been installed on the website, you only have to press save to push those updates to the live widget.
How to enable/disable the upgrade path
In the Marketplace, search for “Review Widget Pro.” The upgrade paths are located under the “Product Info” tab. Review Widget Pro resellers can white-label the add-on with a new product name and logo and enable or disable the upgrade path. Note that the layout options will be greyed out to the user when the upgrade path is enabled. However, if the upgrade path is disabled, the user will be completely unaware of the upgraded functionality.
How do I make changes to the existing widget?
For existing users who have the Review Widget installed on a website, don’t worry, those reviews will continue to be displayed. However, in addition to the layout and styling options, you must install the new Review Widget’s HTML code on the website to edit the sources.
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Primary Business Category
Primary Category field: An enhancement for businesses aiming to refine their online presence. Businesses can designate their core specialization, aligning with industry standards observed by Google and Apple. Ten categories may be added; he Primary and expanded Additional categories will sync out to our Listing Sync Pro and our Citation Builder partners.
How Do Primary Business Categories Work?
Automatic Set-Up: For most businesses, we streamline the process by automatically setting the primary category based on data sourced from Google. This ensures accuracy and saves valuable time.
Partner Collaboration: In cases where automatic setup isn't feasible, or if there's a discrepancy between our system and Google's primary category, we leverage the expertise of you, our Partners. Through the Local SEO admin dashboard, Partners can view the categories set on a business, and see what is set on their Google listing. From there you can select the most suitable primary category for the business.
API Partners: The first category sent for a location will be used as the Primary Category.
This feature not only enhances business visibility but also optimizes their online presence for maximum impact.
How to Use Primary Business Categories
Navigate to Partner Center > Marketplace > Products > Local SEO.
Click Admin View Dashboard.
Go to the Category Management tab.
Select the appropriate Primary categories if applicable.
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