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TurnUp Local

A guide to local search optimization for the small business owner. Helping businesses direct more customers to their businesses by using mobile marketing, local search and general online marketing.

Rich Snippets … Yeah their pretty cool

Drew Barnes - Wednesday, December 19, 2012

I really like using Rich Snippets. They're cool. If you've never implemented any kind of structured data make sure to use Google's rich snippet testing tool just to make sure it displays properly.

Implementing rich snippets for local SEO is easy to do and can make a big difference when it comes to getting the click. Now having that searcher actually take action and call or visit the business. That's a whole different post. Needless to say it's important though just getting the click is step 1 of many. That's where the rich snippets come in. 

Structured markup or rich snippets allows website owners to provide the search engines information about their website in a format the search engines can easily understand an push out to the SERPs.

Some useful markups for local business owners would be: NAP-name, address, phone and reviews from customers and a bonus would be a local business owner can include the stars in the SERPs. 

I am sure you've seen these stars in the search results when searching around for a place to grab a bite to eat. Which result did you click on? The one with the stars showing a good rating I would bet. Having the presence of the stars not only draws the eye to the search listing but builds trust at the same time. Which leads to a higher click through rate to a businesses website. Awesome I know…

If your a business owner and your competitors aren't using rich snippets it could be an advantage over them even if your ranked lower.

If your looking for a easy way to implement rich snippets this is  a great tool. Just put in your info and copy and paste to your website.

microdata generator

http://www.microdatagenerator.com/

Here an example Code for NAP from schema.org. 

<div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/LocalBusiness">

   <span itemprop="name">Business Name</span>

   <div itemprop="address" itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/PostalAddress">

     <span itemprop="streetAddress">Address</span>

     <span itemprop="addressLocality">City</span>,

     <span itemprop="addressRegion">State</span>

     <span itemprop="postalCode">Zip</span>

   </div>

   Phone: <span itemprop="telephone">555-555-5555</span>

</div>

Here's a great article with more information about rich snippets as it pertains to local SEO and for all local ranking factors for that matter. 

local SEO raining factors

http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

I also found this nifty little info graphic over at SEOmoz covering rich snippets for those graphically inclined folks out there. Not to mention it saves me from regurgitating information that's already out there.

Guide to Rich Snippets by BlueGlass Interactive on SEOmoz
Visual Guide to Rich Snippets on SEOmoz created by BlueGlass Interactive.

Bad Reviews ... Actually Good For Business

Drew Barnes - Thursday, December 08, 2011

If your not monitoring your business reviews, you should start immediately if not sooner. Not only to listen to what you're customers are saying and let's not forget they're your best bet in finding out where improvements can be made. 

If you're business gets a negative review don't freak out it can actually improve how customers view your business. Any normal person knows it's impossible to please every single person. By that rational having all positive reviews can seem fake. Consumers in today's online world a quite a bit sharper than most business owners give them credit for so do get caught up in making sure your reviews are all rainbows any glitter. 

Andrew Shotland wrote an informative guest article over at Search Engine Land on how to respond to negative reviews.

"But there’s a lot of lemonade to be made from those review lemons. After all, negative reviews can increase sales. Negative reviews can help potential customers feel like they have “done their homework” which moves them further towards making a purchase decision. Negative reviews can also add credibility to your positive reviews. And perhaps most important, negative reviews give businesses a chance to respond and show how awesome they really are.

So when your business gets slammed on a local review site, be it a legit complaint or a crackpot customer, you can’t afford to ignore the negativity."

There is a list if exactly how craft a response to negative reviews ... go read it here before responding to any negative reviews: http://selnd.com/uNADXI

So next time you're business gets a negative review take a moment to look at the big picture, respond ... look like a hero. 

Learn more about local seo here: http://www.turnuplocal.com

Learn up mobile marketing here: http://www.turnuplocal.com/TurnUp-Local/mobile-media-marketing.html

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