NAP and EAT: Keys to Local SEO

Mar 08, 2021

There’s a reason customers notice some logos of their favorite brands almost immediately as they drive past these doors. It’s part of branding consistency, and it’s important to practice it online as much as it’s practiced offline. Using the same branding message and information across platforms helps build trust in your business and consumer loyalty.

So what does this mean for your local SEO strategy? Simply put, having consistent and accurate business information is crucial for those potential customers who want to reach you. Although they may sound like things you do in preschool, NAP and EAT are two important local SEO concepts that play a major role in online branding consistency.

What is NAP?

Put your pillow and blankie away — this is a different kind of NAP. It stands for name-address-phone number, and it needs to be the exact same on all of your digital marketing assets. Google wants to know that your website and other listings across the internet aren’t confusing customers with their inaccuracies, and will reward those businesses who maintain NAP consistency.

Once you’ve claimed or updated your Google My Business profile to display the right information, do a quick Google search of your business name and see what the search results display. Is your phone number right? Is the street name in your address spelled correctly? Is the zip code accurate? Make notes of which sites show errors to investigate later. 

Good NAP Practices

When considering the accuracy of your business listings, there are some questions you should be asking (and answering) to maintain consistency.

  • Do you have an “Inc” or “LLC” in your business name? Do you want to include this information in your listing?
  • Are there commas in your business name?
  • Does your business name include an ampersand? Do you want to use that or the word “and”? 
  • What about abbreviations, like STE for “suite” or Rd. for “road” — do you want to use the short or long version? 

Whatever the answers are for these questions, just make sure you’re consistent. For example, if you use an ampersand instead of “and” make sure it’s used everywhere. A good rule of thumb is to take a look at your business license and use the name that’s listed there (as long as it’s correct.)

That said, there is a little bit of wiggle room. The phone number doesn’t have to be formatted exactly the same everywhere, and search engines like Google will account for minor variations in common abbreviations. While this is great for search result rankings, don’t overlook your end (human) user as well. Ultimately your NAP information needs to help customers find you and choose you over the competition.

What is EAT?

This is another important acronym for local SEO success; it stands for expertise, authority, and trustworthiness. When it comes to your branding and digital marketing content, you want to show you’re an expert and an authority within your industry and build trust with your customers that you can help solve their pain points. 

If your NAP isn’t accurate, this will impact EAT of your branding messages. Think about how you feel when you can’t reach a business you’re searching for because they’ve moved location or there’s a wrong phone number listed. Would you trust them with your money or say that they’re an authority in their field? Probably not.

Good EAT Practices

Beyond accurate and consistent NAP information, other factors boost  the EAT of your online presence:

  1. Up to date content
  2. Factually accurate content
  3. Positive reviews
  4. Content created by experts
  5. Content that supports that your experts are in fact experts
  6. Content on 3rd party sites that suggests your experts are experts
  7. Content on 3rd party sites that suggests your experts and/or your site are authorities (e.g having a Wikipedia page, a Knowledge Panel for the author, etc.)
  8. Links from relevant URLs on other sites

There’s a good chance that you may have some or all of these EAT components in your local SEO strategy, either unintentionally or because you know how important they are to your digital marketing.

The Bottom Line

Don’t just assume that your NAP is helping EAT. Working with a team of experienced local SEO professionals who can let you know for sure. Many local SEO tasks are so time-consuming and tedious that you simply won’t have time to do it on your own – and other tasks that require sophisticated software to do well, such as removing duplicate listings that are not exactly the same. Request your FREE consultation to understand how you can clean up your NAP and EAT your way through local SEO.

The post NAP and EAT: Keys to Local SEO appeared first on Cole Dalton.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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