Refining the Process of gathering Local information

[Amber Robinson]

Hi All,

I wanted to get some opinions/advice/suggestions on a form I've been working on to improve the process of gathering all business information for a Local Business.

I referred to Casey Meraz's "How to Perform the Ultimate Local SEO Audit" for a majority of the form. In the past I have used excel sheets but find that my clients have a hard time navigating in Excel Hell.

Again, please feel free to offer your suggestions from a Local SEO point of view and as a User.

You'll notice that when you get to the category section that this specific form is modified for a Mortgage Company.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1fU69b-fYLQi8MKdJ86lvvES_QURPV3aWu4ufKL-lvtY/viewform

 

[bczubiak]

I started out using Google Docs and then sharing them with my clients. It worked out pretty well until I got over 15 clients. At that point it was pretty tough to find the data I needed quickly.

We started working on our own custom app a few years ago to manage our clients, directory claiming and a host of all the other services we provide. Clients can log into it and see what we are working on.

I guess it depends on really how big you want to get so you can figure how how to scale properly.

 

[steven]

I think you did a great job, Amber, and I'll probably borrow your idea, too... I don't have advice or suggestions, just that it looks good to me...

 

[Linda Buquet]

OoLaLa! I like the layout of that form Amber. Great job and thanks for sharing!

I think Phil has a new client form too. Might want to check it out and see if he asks anything you want to add to yours.

But I agree with the Excel hell comment - so this is great!

 

[TonyIsSocial]

Did you find some new helpful info on this Amber?

There's lots of resources for questionnaires for local SEO:
https://www.google.com/search?q=local+seo+questionnaire

Phil Rozek's is the one I plagiarized the most when I created mine.
The Best Darn Local SEO Client Questionnaire | LocalVisibilitySystem.com

I used the Gravity Forms plugin for WordPress on a landing page.
Welcome Aboard - Cartography Marketing | A Clearwater, FL Local SEO Company
Anchors Aweigh Questionnaire - Cartography Marketing | A Clearwater, FL Local SEO Company

(they're a very rough draft and haven't had much usage)

 

[Amber Robinson]

Thanks, Steven & Linda for the compliments!

I am just now getting a chance to look at Phil's questionnaire but so far it looks like there are some great additions I can make to the form.

Tony - thanks for the feedback and those links! The Gravity Forms plugin looks interesting and seems to be very user-friendly! I really love the intro on the Welcome-Aboard page - "If you haven't had coffee yet, now is the time to grab some."

Have you always used the Gravity Forms?

 

[TonyIsSocial]

I have. I bought it on a recommendation when I was new to WordPress so I haven't tried anything else (and I really haven't used it much at all).

Here's Chris Lema's comparison of forms. Choosing a WordPress form plugin: Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, or Formidable Pro?

I believe Ninja Forms is free.

 

[ToddB]

+1 for Gravity forms.

That's the one Wordpress plugin i wouldn't want to live without. Not sure how much of the capabilities are available in other contact form plugins as this is the only one I tried.

But you can do a lot with it. From coding up the entries to turn everything into the proper schema markup to setting this up with zapier (my favorite part, I imagine you can do this with google forms too).

Someone submits a form and it feeds right through our project management portal - creates a project, builds out our starter citation spreadaheet and so much more.

 

[steven]

Another gravity form user here. Bought the developers license. Like it more than any others I tried...

Nice catch on the Zapier thing. I use podio, so that can go straight into there. sweet...

 

[Amber Robinson]

Thanks, y'all!! Definitely want to give it a try.

One question - Is the Gravity Forms easy for me to edit or would I need our developers help?

 

[ToddB]

It's pretty easy. All the input types are already created. Just a matter of selecting the right one, labeling it and defining if it's required or not.

 

[steven]

If I can do gravity forms, I'm positive you can. But I'll let others reply to the ease of use as well...

 

[TonyIsSocial]

Have you tried it out yet?

If not, it's a drag and drop interface to build the form and then you insert a shortcode where you want it to appear on the site.

If you're not savvy with HTML and CSS, it mostly inherits the styling (fonts and such) of the site.