Help Me Understand Why I'm not ranking

[sodomojo]

My clients listing is actually dropping.

I got him up from like 17 places result to top 7, then it dropped back down.

This has been all within the past 3 months since I started working on it.

Used Geosetter to optimize photo's. Photo's are also on Flickr. Here is the listing.

Anderson Dental - Google+

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[David Fesler]

The jump in ranking could have been in part due to the changes you were making, helping with the "freshness" factor.

One thing is for certain though, you need to optimize the title tag, meta description and homepage content. Once you lay some optimization on that site, you'll be able to dive deep into the more specific and more frustrating reasons a page isn't ranking. (Hopefully it doesn't come to that for you).

 

[Linda Buquet]

Before I started specializing in training and consulting to help other consultants get THEIR clients ranking, I specialized in optimization for Dentists.

There are SOOOO many things you could do to improve ranking for this client. Image optimization is only one thing and I don't even think it counts that much these days to be honest. There are over 300 factors that go into the algo and on this one there is a lot that could be improved.

Categories and description both need work/have problems.

Plus NAP does not match DemandForce listing which is a biggie and could cause review count to be off.

Looks like there was a business move and maybe a name change that may not have been handled right on the Place page and a hidden merged dupe. Not sure if that's messing things up too. A little hard to tell for sure without seeing dash.

One of the biggest issues however is the web site is not well optimized for Local SEO at all and there are numerous things that could be improved there.

Because by far the biggest ranking factors that control placement these days are organic factors. That's why you can have an empty bare unclaimed Place page with ZERO reviews at #1. It's the strength of the organic listing.

When I was working on Dentists, I'd improve their ranking all I could by optimizing the Place page. But then when I did their SEO and local hooks, that was when the biggest improvement happened. On average, with the special on-site SEO techniques I use for local I was able to move most Dentists up 10 - 12 spots - just with all the on-site changes.

So do you do on-site SEO too or do you only work on Places? If you don't do on-site or need help
I could do it for you and you could mark it up OR better yet I could teach you how, then you'd know how to do it for other clients as well.

Also need to look at potential organic penalties or limiting factors. For example they have TONS of duplicate content because they used the same exact copy word for word on home page as they did on their DF page, so there are 39 pages of EXACT duplicate content on their home page. That's kinda of a biggie.

Without doing a full consult that's about all I have time to do right now.

But that gives you a TON of things you can start working on, that if done well should really help boost this client up!

 

[Linda Buquet]

The jump in ranking could have been in part due to the changes you were making, helping with the "freshness" factor.

One thing is for certain though, you need to optimize the title tag, meta description and homepage content. Once you lay some optimization on that site, you'll be able to dive deep into the more specific and more frustrating reasons a page isn't ranking. (Hopefully it doesn't come to that for you).

Thanks so much David! I was still typing away as you posted so didn't see your post.
But I agree, on-site SEO is one of the main things needed here.

 

[sodomojo]

Thank you. We are currently working on a site redesign that should fix these issues.

 

[sodomojo]

Linda, I really appreciate your reply. Let me go through your comment.

Concerning the NAP, the only thing different from what I can tell is the Suite A, is that what you are referencing?

The thing is, when I log into the admin panel for Google Places, the Suite # is there.

Here are the categories I have for him:

Dentist, Cosmetic Dentist, Emergency Dental Service, Dental Clinic, Teeth Whitening Service

Would you recommend something different?

As far as the description, how could I improve?

Yes there was a business move. I went in and updated the listing, but that is when Google created a whole new listing, this is the one you helped me with on WF a while back. How should I clean that up?

The website is being redesigned with proper On Site SEO, so hopefully that'll help. I'm also going to be doing organic SEO for him.

Show me what you are referencing as far as the duplicate content? I did rewrite his homepage content. here is the new homepage content:

The goal of Anderson Dental is to provide extraordinary care for today?s smiles in the Tri Cities, WA community. Using the latest technology and an extreme attention to detail, you can receive the type of care that you deserve. Dr. Anderson?s philosophy includes treating each and every patient as if they were a member of his family.The friendly, caring staff is there to serve you, ensuring your visit is as comfortable as possible.

Anderson Dental offers modern dental care which provides comfort, convenience, and cosmetic advantages to you and your family. Services include all phases of preventive and restorative dentistry, CEREC single-visit crowns, veneers, teeth whitening, laser dentistry, Dental Vibe , dentistry for children and more.
Dr. Anderson has a personal touch that is unmatched. His combination of dental and personal skills, love for what he does, the ability to help create a beautiful smile, and his genuine care for his patients truly is second to none. This, as well as his commitment to state-of-the-art technology, helps to ensure that he and his staff exceed your expectations. Contact our Kennewick Dentist office to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Anderson today!

Thanks again guys for all the feedback.
​

 

[Linda Buquet]

Cats: These are the cats on the LIVE page: "Dental Clinic, Dentists, Clinics, Physicians, Dentist"
So they are different than what you have in dash, which is why I suspected a hidden merged dupe.

In taking just a VERY brief peek it looks like an old listing at the old location was marked Permanently CLOSED (which pulls it out of the index so it will no longer rank.) Then that CLOSED listing merged with the main listing so I wonder if that's suppressing it somewhat.

Description - Should not repeat name or city. Can cause a ranking penalty. You repeat name. Google also does not like caps except for DDS, INC, LLC, etc. So she likely would have a problem with WOW.

Move - sorry I don't remember all the WF details. I help so many people at so many forums that all these place page details just start to blur together.

If this is an older move done the wrong way, there may be too much water under the bridge to fix it, or at least I could not advise without doing a deep dive.

But so you know for future clients moves and name changes need to close the old listing and start a new one. (Series of steps in between to make it flow right.) But again on this one may be hard to fix.

Dupe home page content - that's not what's there now right? That's what you WILL be adding? Just be sure they don't copy it into the DF rep page because that's where all the dupe content is coming from now.

Sorry gotta run, swamped.

 

[sodomojo]

Linda, thanks a lot, you are great.

Here is the thread from before. Google + Local Optimization

Anyway, I went ahead and updated the text on the message from the owner. Removed the name and all caps.

That which I pasted on my previous post is the new home page content.

Do you recommend waiting it out at this point?

Thanks again.

Anyway, here is the new site (not sure why the facebook box duplicates on the bottom when I take the picture, it isn't like that on the site.

Home | Awesome Screenshot

Cats: These are the cats on the LIVE page: "Dental Clinic, Dentists, Clinics, Physicians, Dentist"
So they are different than what you have in dash, which is why I suspected a hidden merged dupe.

In taking just a VERY brief peek it looks like an old listing at the old location was marked Permanently CLOSED (which pulls it out of the index so it will no longer rank.) Then that CLOSED listing merged with the main listing so I wonder if that's suppressing it somewhat.

Description - Should not repeat name or city. Can cause a ranking penalty. You repeat name. Google also does not like caps except for DDS, INC, LLC, etc. So she likely would have a problem with WOW.

Move - sorry I don't remember all the WF details. I help so many people at so many forums that all these place page details just start to blur together.

If this is an older move done the wrong way, there may be too much water under the bridge to fix it, or at least I could not advise without doing a deep dive.

But so you know for future clients moves and name changes need to close the old listing and start a new one. (Series of steps in between to make it flow right.) But again on this one may be hard to fix.

Dupe home page content - that's not what's there now right? That's what you WILL be adding? Just be sure they don't copy it into the DF rep page because that's where all the dupe content is coming from now.

Sorry gotta run, swamped.

Thanks a lot Linda.

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

Cats: These are the cats on the LIVE page: "Dental Clinic, Dentists, Clinics, Physicians, Dentist"
So they are different than what you have in dash, which is why I suspected a hidden merged dupe.

In taking just a VERY brief peek it looks like an old listing at the old location was marked Permanently CLOSED (which pulls it out of the index so it will no longer rank.) Then that CLOSED listing merged with the main listing so I wonder if that's suppressing it somewhat.

Description - Should not repeat name or city. Can cause a ranking penalty. You repeat name. Google also does not like caps except for DDS, INC, LLC, etc. So she likely would have a problem with WOW.

Move - sorry I don't remember all the WF details. I help so many people at so many forums that all these place page details just start to blur together.

If this is an older move done the wrong way, there may be too much water under the bridge to fix it, or at least I could not advise without doing a deep dive.

But so you know for future clients moves and name changes need to close the old listing and start a new one. (Series of steps in between to make it flow right.) But again on this one may be hard to fix.

Dupe home page content - that's not what's there now right? That's what you WILL be adding? Just be sure they don't copy it into the DF rep page because that's where all the dupe content is coming from now.

Sorry gotta run, swamped.

On the point above about the old listing. Is it best to "DELETE" the old listing or choose "Permanently Closed"?

 

[Linda Buquet]

Google won't let you 'delete' listings any more. IF there are still records out there that list the business you can't delete.

The recommended way is to mark closed (on the listing) explain the business moved. Then you need to delete>> remove from my account in dash. Not delete as in suspend because again she won't take it down.

Marking closed pulls it out of search so it won't rank and will only show up for a direct name search. And in case anyone missed it we FINALLY got Google to change the tag from Permanently Closed to Closed or Moved which is better.

 

[Nick.SEOSpark]

Is it best not to just leave it as "Closed" - - so best to delete it completely from the dashboard.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Yes def want to get it out of your dashboard.

 

[Andrew Sawyer]

Some general content feedback on the site:

• The "About Us" page doesn't have links to the "Meet the Doctors" or the "Meet the Staff:
• The "About Us" page has heavy use of "Dr. Anderson" instead of a sparing mix between Dr Andreson and Anderson Dental that doesn't seem important
• The "doctors" don't have first names listed, nor their specific degrees (DMD, DDS, etc)
• The "Meet the Doctors" drop-down link goes to the page which is titled "Meet the Doctor"
• You capitalize "Kennewick Dentist office" instead of just the location (unless there is more than one location: "Contact our office to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Anderson today!
• Also why is the other doctor not mentioned and it is just Dr. Anderson
• There is no address for the dental practice, ie where is it???

 

[sodomojo]

Some general content feedback on the site:

• The "About Us" page doesn't have links to the "Meet the Doctors" or the "Meet the Staff:
• The "About Us" page has heavy use of "Dr. Anderson" instead of a sparing mix between Dr Andreson and Anderson Dental that doesn't seem important
• The "doctors" don't have first names listed, nor their specific degrees (DMD, DDS, etc)
• The "Meet the Doctors" drop-down link goes to the page which is titled "Meet the Doctor"
• You capitalize "Kennewick Dentist office" instead of just the location (unless there is more than one location: "Contact our office to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Anderson today!
• Also why is the other doctor not mentioned and it is just Dr. Anderson
• There is no address for the dental practice, ie where is it???

Thank you for the feedback. I am still working on some changes.

Out of curiosity, how did you get to the site if I didn't like to it?

 

[Andrew Sawyer]

Thank you for the feedback. I am still working on some changes.

Out of curiosity, how did you get to the site if I didn't like to it?

You're quite welcome. You linked to it on this post.

 

[sodomojo]

Ahh got it. Thanks Andrew.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Thanks Andrew, some great advice.

I know site is still in dev but it's missing many other things I consider critical for Local SEO so hopefully things are still being added/improved.

You linked to it on this post.

The fact that you linked to it and the fact that we can get to it, is a pretty big deal. Google now knows about the development site, which can potentially hurt your ranking on the main site.

Best practice is to keep dev sites password protected plus no-indexed so spiders, especially Google can't get to it. ESPECIALLY don't put links out there to it.

Here are some horror stories and some advice. (Only one reply is shown below, so read the rest.)

Can you be penalized by a development server with duplicate content? | SEOmoz QA

"I created a test copy of a site (WordPress) that I work on with a friend. It had been ranking pretty well mainly though lots of quality curated content, plus a bit of low level link building. The link building had slowed in late 2010.

Within 12 hours of the test version of the site going 'live' (it was set to no-index in WP options, which I no longer trust) the live site rankings and traffic tanked. The test version was on a sub-domain, and was an exact replica of the live site. With no known links, it was somehow picked up by Google and all 400 or so pages where in the Gindex along with the live site. Three re-consideration requests and 6 months later, we got back to where we were. The offending sub domain was 301'd to the live site within minutes of finding the problem, and during the 6 month bad period all other causes were ruled out.

I now password protect any staging sites that are on the internet, just to be safe!"