Dave Zuls - Local Search Interview
February 13th, 2007 by Michael Gray in Local SearchIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Read my top posts or learn more about Michael Gray. Want more frequent updates follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
For this interview we’re talking with Dave Zuls aka Hawaii SEO who publishes a blog over at Hawaii Online Advertising.
Hi Dave why don’t you take a few minutes to tell everyone a little bit about yourself for my readers who may not know you?
I got my first full time SEO job working for a local Hawaii activity reseller. My job was to travel around the islands and experience the tourist activities. I would do something like ride a mountain bike down the volcano, go on a snorkel cruise, submarine ride, or whale watching and finish the day at a popular luau, dinner cruise or whatever. Then I would go back to the office the next day with the photos and write keyword rich sales copy about how much fun I had. It was a rough job but I guess someone has to do it. Now I work at a large Hawaii based airline that only flies too and from Hawaii.
Let’s pretend you aren’t involved in internet marketing for a moment, what kind of local searches do you find yourself doing?
Well… One day my wife and I wanted to check out a new restaurant… so my wife went to look up the address and phone number. She couldn’t find a listing and was getting real mad. She Said… “It’s like they don’t exist! – They’re not listed anywhere! - I’ve looked everywhere! – I’ve checked everything!”
I was puzzled. I asked if she had called Information & looked in the Phone Book? (NO ?!?) By “Everywhere” & “Everything” she meant that she had tried several relevant queries in both Google & Yahoo! but was unable to find the website or a listing in a local restaurant directory. The thought of calling information or opening the Phone Book never even occurred to her.
My wife is not a computer person either. From then on… I knew that Local search was going to take over in a big way sometime soon.
Let’s look at the marketing side for a bit. What sorts of things you believe local webmasters and internet marketers should pay more attention to when designing websites for local business?
That would be “Leveraging the location as a brand” Most locations have been marketed a certain way for a long time and essentially turned the location into a very strong brand that you can apply to your own business. Some locations have such strong brands that people adopt these branding elements for national products. For example: The Chevy Colorado, the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen. Coors has leveraged the Colorado “Brand” since they started.
So how does this apply to local search marketing you may ask. Brace yourselves… Here comes some Search Marketing Psychobabble…
In my opinion… Internet marketing involves two distinct thought processes on the part of the consumer.
Internal Search:
This is the preexisting “Mental images” or ideas in a person’s brain. This can seriously influence how a person perceives new information. The more preexisting information a consumer has, the more of an influence it will be when searching for new info.
External Search:
This is when the consumer starts to look for more information from the outside world via Search Engines and the Internet, etc.
In general… People are looking for decent match between the internal & external information.
(I don’t know what I’m looking for but I’ll know it when I see it.)
So… Let’s say you were searching for “Denver Restaurants”… You visit two websites that both have similar listings. The only major difference is the look & feel.
The first one is based on a generic Restaurant Guide template but the second one is Orange & Blue like the Denver Broncos, it has an image of the Denver city skyline with the Rockies in the background. It also has photos of recognizable Denver restaurants which are also famous local landmarks.
You would likely be drawn to the second website.
This is called a “Cognitive Consonant”. (Your knowledge, mental image or memory of Denver matches the look and feel of the second website) When your mental image matches the new information source, you’re much more likely to notice the new information.
“Cognitive Dissonance” is the exact opposite. This is when you somehow recognize an inconsistency between the internal and external information. (Somehow… you believe the generic website was built by someone who’s never even been to Denver and may not be a very reliable source of information.)
If you’re using a generic template for your local website, you’re likely loosing business to the website that was obviously designed by a local.
Incorporating the location’s preexisting branding elements into your website can make you appear to be much more local than the guy right across the street. (IMO) There is no need to reinvent the brand recognition state and city governments have spent millions of dollars promoting for the last several decades.
(IMO) These location based branding elements are what people expect and hope to see.
Let’s look into the future, where do you see the local search market headed in the next 3-5 years and do you see any big changes coming down the road?
I’m sure it will have a lot to do with the next generation of cell phones. I saw the iPhone presentation a few weeks ago and my erection is just now starting to subside.
I think GPS will have a big influence on how things work in the near future. You will likely be able define a radius around yourself before you do a search. Google will likely serve PPC & contextual ads based on your GPS coordinates as well. Behavioral targeting might also come into play with mobile devices. Your “Call History” may influence your Google Personalized Mobile Search results, where businesses you call tend to show up at the top of your Mobile SERPS. You’re phone might also start trying to figure out you’re age & gender based on your call/surf/search behavior, so advertisers can target your phone with better ads, etc. (Semi-creepy stuff like that)
You also posted a link to a panel discussion with Guy Kawasaki and a bunch of twenty-somethings a while ago. It was a real eye-opener for me to see how important the cell phone is to their lifestyle. (IMO) this type of dependence on mobile devices will only intensify over time.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with me today Dave, to read more be sure to stop by Hawaii Online Advertising or join his MyBlogLog Community
Sphere It
February 13th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
using the location as a brand is not a bad idea…i recently found myself underlaying the skyline of a brand’s local city in their apparel graphics to associate their location with the brand and make it stick better
ill try to do this each time now
February 13th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I really like your correlation of the cognitive consonant and cognitive dissonance. There are always tons of local directories available, but way too many of them are national level websites that are relying on the fact that not enough more localized businesses are getting websites up and running with much more local appeal. Once the smaller local portals and business directories get up and running, these big national aggregators won’t be as prevalent as the information they provide won’t be as valuable. Overall it’s a win/win for the consumer as the most relevant information will be available for the local driven queries. (hopefully!)
February 13th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Thanks Tacimala.
(IMO) Many people searching for local listings on the web, arrive at a generic website think to themselves. “It’s not quite what I had in mind.” If it’s not a good match, these people are likely to keep searching.
It should be obvious at first glance that your local website with a local look and feel is exactly what the searcher “Has in mind”.
February 13th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Dave, because of your many references to our fine State, you have been inducted as an honorary member of the Colorado Search Marketing Professionals group. Congrats!
I too enjoyed your answer about cognitive dissonance. National directories with localized pages get on my nerves and it should be every local SEO’s duty to push them as far down in the SERPS as possible.
February 13th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
Thanks Everett,
It’s not just directories. If you’re a plumber, roofer, mechanic or whatever, you should do what you can to represent your service area visually somehow.
You could create an affiliate website to sell flowers in every major city if you wanted to. (IMO) you would likely have an easier time getting other local businesses to link to your “Denver Florist” website if it featured the state flower, had pictures of Colorado Wild Flowers and somehow looked like a local with some pride in the community created the site.