Algorithm Testing
Our research team is constantly doing Algorithm Testing
Our research team is constantly looking for ways to optimize our optimization process, yes that’s right I said it. We don’t just remain content with our knowledge base and results, we constantly want to take things to the next level and we love data. We recently performed a test to see how the algorithm would react to a Google places result when we used a specific type of location. The test in a nutshell was based off of a hunch that I had and that was, if you can have a location that is right on the marker that Google places for a city when you search the city name, then you will likely rank well for the terms associated with that city name. So here is what we did.
The test was performed using a site that was in the pressure cleaning business. It was something that I wanted to do on my own while learning html and how to use word press cms, I am an ameture are building sites as you can see but hey, at least I can get traffic to them. I built a site, with barely any content or optimization work done to it aside from the basics (meta optimization and some content). As far as link building goes, I built about 75 citations all with keyword rich descriptions and used all fields to promote social media and my site. The social media pages were all linked up to the site and i made a few posts here and there, asked all my friends to follow and like the pages etc… The main ingredient though, was having the perfect address. If you Google the city name “Coral Springs Florida” you will see this image:
Now if you do a Google search for “Coral Springs pressure cleaning company” you will see my website showing up as ‘Express Pressure Cleaning”. The location that I used for my places listing was about 200 feet away from the marker that Google placed on where they consider Coral Springs FL to be. See this image:
My assumption was that I could get really good rankings for having a location like this. To this day it is in the number one position for that keyword and I have not built a link for over 4 months. The keyword that I focused on mainly was “Coral Springs pressure cleaning company” and I actually show up organically and in places as the first result.
I know this data is not entirely conclusive, but I do feel that the location that I obtained had to do with the fact that I ranked so quickly (3 weeks). So my advice to anyone that is looking for a way to add a little kick to their Google Places campaigns is this, try to find a location that is as close as possible to the marker that Google places uses for that city name when you Google it. I hope this has been helpful, happy Blogging!
About The Author
Jason Hawkins / http://www.themiamiseocompany.com
Jason Hawkins is the CEO & Co-Founder of The Miami SEO Company. He has over ten years of experience in search engine optimization, conversion rate optimization and lead generation. His core responsibilities include identifying ways to increase value of services rendered, training staff on advanced SEO topics, and A/B testing internal processes to consistently improve client return on investment.
