Comments on: Local SEO Directories and Gyro Sandwiches

By: Ewan

Ewan — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 21:14:33 +0000

Hi Nick
I’m based in Inverness, Scotland. Localeze, Acxiom and Express Update don’t offer the option for European business to list their address/contact data. Are there any similar services catering for European businesses?
Cheers
Ewan

By: Hannah

Hannah — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:32:36 +0000

Very entertaining article! The one good thing about directories is that they are what they say they are. A way to get your website listed on the Internet and a technique to send a few spiders in.

Thanks for your post and keep up the good work!

By: Ana Hoffman

Ana Hoffman — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 00:23:19 +0000

You had me at Gyro sandwiches, Nick…

By: Larry T.

Larry T. — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:32:06 +0000

Great article Nick, I know that Google + local is a fantastic way to focus your energy. It has been difficult with the new transitions but we are trying to adjust more smoothly as you stated, these rules will change over time and we always need to be up on those new adjustments. Thank you for this fantastic information.

By: Kundan Bhardwaj

Kundan Bhardwaj — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:32:38 +0000

I got confused after reading it. Are we talking about the google maps and the google merchant thing only ?

By: Nick Bernard

Nick Bernard — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:54:39 +0000

I agree, Janet. I’ve had to endure more than a few sales pitches for a “featured” listing. For general directories, I could be convinced of the value for a premium listings, depending on the site, but for local directories I’m just trying to get the NAP complete and consistent.

The incessant “special offer” emails get old too, but I suppose that’s what filters are for :). Good luck!

By: Nick Bernard

Nick Bernard — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:49:00 +0000

We have an answer! Thanks, Shaun.

Yes, moving can cause a lot of problems–especially for businesses with multiple locations. A different person might have verified each separate listing, and that can be really hairy to sort out. That’s where a good, old-fashioned spreadsheet comes in handy.

By: Nick Bernard

Nick Bernard — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 16:39:21 +0000

Thanks for the comment, Courtney! Thanks to Jim, too–I completely agree. It’s a headache for businesses to have to update two separate pages–Google+ Local (Places) and Google+ Business–even if you migrated over your “Places” content. It’s changed before, and it’ll change again. For now, Google+ Local is where you want to focus your effort.

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:08:33 +0000

Directories, even the “good” ones, definitely cause indigestion. First, they have to verify at some point with a phone call, which always comes across as a telemarketing call by somebody overseas; it’s dumb luck if that call is successful. Second, they send all the contact info to a sales team, which can start an aggressive campaign for “premium” listings; to me, a violation of why the info was supplied. We really ought to be pushing back!

By: Shaun

Shaun — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 09:38:05 +0000

As you say, consistency is the key. I have had more than a few headaches trying to sort out inconsistent NAP data, particularly when the business has moved and half of the data is to the old address and half to the new.

On a different note I once asked the guy in the kebab shop what type of meat was on the spinning shaft, his response was “a spicy meat”. That’s that cleared up then.