Mobile vs Desktop, City vs Suburbs, Packs vs No Packs?

[djbaxter]

Some geographical background first:

• my wife has a home based business - website JezziSpa Home Spa & Holistic Esthetician Services
• this business is located in the city of Ottawa, Ontario (capital of Canada)
• the business is actually located in the suburb of Barrhaven which is part of the larger suburb of Nepean situated in the south of Ottawa
• Barrhaven is situated between the center of Ottawa and another suburb just to the south of Barrhaven
• clients are seen in the home spa but also on occasion outside the home
• clients actually do come from some distance outside of Ottawa, so the radius is listed on the Google+ page as 100 km (the majority are probably within 50 km but several have come quite a bit further than that)

First question: I'm noticing some oddities in how JezziSpa ranks for some of her main search terms. For example:

• JezziSpa is #1 in the pack for "home spa Nepean" in mobile search; there is no pack at all in the SERPs from my desktop
• JezziSpa is #3 in the pack for "home spa Barrhaven" for both mobile and desktop, despite the fact that the address is in Barrhaven and Barrhaven is a smaller subcommunity
• JezziSpa is #1 in the pack for "home spa Manotick" for desktop; there is no pack for mobile search
• there is no pack at all for "home spa Ottawa" for either mobile or desktop search

I'm confused about why there is sometimes a pack and sometimes no pack, and about why the business would rank higher in a larger area than in a smaller localized area.

Second question: GMB shows no reviews but there are actually 2 Google reviews that you can see at https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Je...2!3m1!1s0x4ccde2d18f3dce37:0x236706d8f2747212 - why don't they show in Google My Business?

Third question: Is there a reliable link that I can use on the site to direct customers to where they can leave a Google review? I was using https://plus.google.com/+Jezzispa/posts?hl=en&review=1 which on my desktop takes you to a GMB page with a delayed popup to leave a review. On my iPhone it takes me to a Google+ page with no options for leaving a review.

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi David, sorry didn't see this.

I'm going to have to break this up to answer. The 1st part is too long for me to type right now and there are a variety of issues. After I get new Dragon installed later today I can try to explain.

But the 1st this that jumped out at me is... is this really her full legal business name?
"JezziSpa Home Spa & Holistic Esthetician Services" The copyright is just for JezziSpa.

Is that how people make out the check and how bank acct is set up with that big long name or is it just JezziSpa? The rest sounds more like a tag line and could look to Google like there are 4 KWs added on.

The only citation I see for that big long name (just quick glance not deep research) is Yelp.

DON'T change anything now. Changing name is a big big deal. Just asking so I can advise further.

2) I see 2 reviews on the map link. And I also see 2 right on the live public facing page. Are you saying inside dash they don't show?

3) You have right link for desktop, but does not work for mobile. Mobile reviews are hard and customers can't leave one unless they have the app. Can't even think of which app right now. In too much pain. Maybe someone else knows.

Will be back to tackle #1 later after I get new Dragon installed and trained which will take me a couple hours.

 

[djbaxter]

But the 1st this that jumped out at me is... is this really her full legal business name?
"JezziSpa Home Spa & Holistic Esthetician Services" The copyright is just for JezziSpa.

Is that how people make out the check and how bank acct is set up with that big long name or is it just JezziSpa? The rest sounds more like a tag line and could look to Google like there are 4 KWs added on.

The only citation I see for that big long name (just quick glance not deep research) is Yelp.

That is the full name, yes. It's that way on her business cards, advertising materials, and on Google Maps and Google My Business.

She offers standard spa treatments but also some non-standard treatments like reflexology and Reiki, so the rather long name is descriptive of what the business actually offers and what sets her apart from other spas in the area.

Thanks, Linda... but rest your muscles and ligaments, etc. No huge rush... just something that has been puzzling me. Does Google Local get any less confusing as time goes on?

 

[CodyBaird]

To leave a review on mobile people need the Google maps app.

As far as the differences in results I can offer a few opinions/insights:

1. I have often found that packs or organic local results can vary from one city to the another and/or from one vertical to another. Why?
2. Google is testing layouts to see which gets better traction. Some areas/verticlas I believe tend to click through or favor one over the other so the engine continues to serve results that way.
3. I have found in the past in the dental field that I could change a 7 pack to a 3 pack or no pack by raising the authority of my client who was further from the centroid than other listings in the pack. So it seemed that the algo/serp result would change to accommodate the better website/business because of its authority.
4. Sometimes results are just "fubar" and there is not a good or reasonable justification.
5. I see the wide changes usually happen is smaller populated areas, suburbs etc. I also tend to see more of these wacky results in verticals that aren't as competitive as saying dental, hvac/plumbing, or legal.

Lastly I will tell you that it started to drive me mad figuring, calculating the reason or changes. So I started to focus my energies towards activities that I believed would improve searcher intent on the site and conversion. If your GWT and GA data are slowing growing and improving that's a win. If certain intent categories were driving better traffic and conversion then I would expand on or continue to improve them.

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[djbaxter]

Thanks very much, Cody. That's helpful.

 

[Linda Buquet]

• JezziSpa is #1 in the pack for "home spa Nepean" in mobile search; there is no pack at all in the SERPs from my desktop
• JezziSpa is #3 in the pack for "home spa Barrhaven" for both mobile and desktop, despite the fact that the address is in Barrhaven and Barrhaven is a smaller subcommunity
• JezziSpa is #1 in the pack for "home spa Manotick" for desktop; there is no pack for mobile search
• there is no pack at all for "home spa Ottawa" for either mobile or desktop search

I'm confused about why there is sometimes a pack and sometimes no pack, and about why the business would rank higher in a larger area than in a smaller localized area.

Good then on the name, David.

Cody gave you some great advice.

(It's OK using Dragon now.)

The first thing I was going to explain about #1, is that I'm not so sure home spa is the keyword you want to target. Unless that has a different meaning up there. I mean I know you're using it from your viewpoint which is - she has a spa in her home, however I don't think people would search for that and if they did it would probably be for hot tub type home spas. I don't think most women would look for someone with a home spa, - they would search for various spa KWs or the specific service like Reiki.

Then I was going to explain why there is sometimes a pack and sometimes no pack or sometimes a smaller pack. It's based partly on how many businesses are in that area, partly on competition, then I think largely on demand. Google isn't going to give space to a pack for a keyword that not very many people search for, so that's why it varies to some degree between cities.

To prove my point about that, (and this is why I wanted to use Dragon because I have a little story to tell...)

I was doing consulting for a local search consultant and I can't remember the specific keyword but I know that it was a roofing business, so it was some sort of keyword for you to look up if you have a leaky roof. I questioned him and asked why he was targeting a keyword in places category, because that keyword was not even pull a pack, so was a waste of a cat. He said: "you trained me well, so I know enough to check that - but six months ago I swear there was a seven pack for that keyword." Then we realized that the time we were talking was the dry season and six months previously was the rainy season and therefore there were probably more leaks and therefore probably more searches for those keywords.

Additionally, from experience I know that niche keywords in the Dental industry like sedation dentistry and laser dentistry, often don't pull a pack in small towns because just isn't enough search volume.

OK like 105 Dragon errors I had to correct. Need to stop and get new Dragon and new headset set up.

 

[djbaxter]

Thanks, Linda...

The "home spa LOCATION" was just an example. We are also targeting specific keywords for the various services.

But actually, many of her clients do want a home spa, instead of a box store or multiple customer spa. In a home spa, they get individual attention without being rushed out the door, in an atmosphere which is as quiet as they want it to be and without having to listen to chatter from the next booth. It's more relaxing and they feel more pampered. So that is one of the terms she is promoting.

The information about search volume, even seasonally, is interesting though, and it makes Cody's comment even more pertinent:

I started to focus my energies towards activities that I believed would improve searcher intent on the site and conversion.

 

[CodyBaird]

Hey David. I am getting 404 on the manicure and the pedicure pages from the services page btw

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[djbaxter]

Oops. I've been optimizing page titles. Must have forgot to change that one. [emoji51]

Thank you. Will go fix that now.


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[Digitaldar]

Hi there!
I am also in Ottawa My first thought was to target spa or the specific services rather than "home spa".

My second thought is to get your wife on Ladies Who Lunch - a Facebook group of over 6000 women... there are daily requests for spa recommendations

Third... I see alot of searches in my client data containing Barrhaven compared to Nepean. My thoughts as to why: Barrhaven might be more residential than Nepean; I feel like Barrhaven is more family oriented and people might have less time to travel - e.g. motivated to find something closer to home ;-)

That won't help with local but... a few more ideas!

PS will check out JezziSpa

Darlene

 

[djbaxter]

Thanks, Darlene. Mary Lou is already very much a presence on Facebook and with local networking groups, including Ladies Who Lunch.


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