For Beginners Flashcards

Which of the following statements about Google reviews for local businesses is false?

Answer: The business owner should record reviews in writing and then post them to the company's Google+ account.

Google's review policies explicitly state that reviews should be left by customers themselves, reflecting their genuine experience. Business owners recording and posting reviews on behalf of customers is a violation of these guidelines, as it can be seen as inauthentic or manipulative, potentially leading to penalties or removal of reviews. Customers must directly publish their own reviews to ensure authenticity.

Businesses with multiple partners may be eligible for multiple Google+ Local pages.

Answer: True

Businesses with multiple partners, especially if those partners operate distinct business entities or have separate physical locations, may indeed be eligible for multiple Google Business Profiles (formerly Google+ Local pages). Each unique, verifiable business location or distinct entity typically qualifies for its own profile, allowing it to be accurately represented in local search results and maps.

Which of the following is NOT a positive local search ranking factor? *

Answer: Having a physical address in the city where you are looking.

The question asks for what is NOT a positive local search ranking factor. While having a physical address in the city you are targeting is absolutely essential for local SEO, it is more accurately described as a fundamental *prerequisite* for eligibility in local search results rather than a dynamic 'ranking factor' that can be optimized to improve one's position among already eligible businesses. The other options (plagiarism, hidden NAP in Flash, and fraudulent map marker placement) are clearly negative or detrimental practices for local SEO.

It is unusual for a service area business (SAB) in a competitive niche to achieve local pack rankings for service cities where the business has no physical presence.

Answer: True

Google's local search algorithm heavily prioritizes businesses with a verified physical address within the geographic area being searched. For a service area business (SAB) that lacks a physical presence in a particular city, it is significantly more challenging to rank in the competitive local pack results for that city. While SABs can rank, achieving top local pack visibility without a physical address is indeed unusual in competitive niches.

Google no longer supports which of the following?

Answer: Geo Sitemaps

Google officially deprecated support for Geo Sitemaps (which were KML-based sitemaps used to submit geographic data) in 2015. While KML files still have other uses, Google no longer processes them specifically as sitemaps for local SEO purposes. Businesses now rely on other methods, such as standard XML sitemaps and Google Business Profile optimization, for local search visibility.

Describe Apple Maps.

Answer: A tool with a user-friendly interface for adding and editing businesses in Apple Maps

Apple Maps Connect (or its current equivalent functionality within Apple Business Connect) is a dedicated online portal that allows business owners to add, claim, and manage their business listings on Apple Maps. It provides a user-friendly interface for ensuring that business information, such as name, address, phone number, and hours, is accurate and up-to-date for users of Apple devices. It is a tool for businesses to control their presence on Apple's mapping service.

Which of the following techniques for website optimization would you advise clients to avoid? *

Answer: Placing numerous call tracking numbers in crawlable text on various website pages.

Placing numerous call tracking numbers in crawlable text on various website pages is a technique to avoid. This practice can lead to duplicate content issues, as search engines may see multiple instances of the same or very similar numbers, which can dilute SEO value. Furthermore, it can confuse users and make it difficult for search engines to identify the primary contact information for the business, potentially harming local search visibility.

This does not fall under the new Google Core Web Vitals:

Answer: Site speed

While site speed is a critical factor for SEO and user experience, it is a broad concept. Google's Core Web Vitals specifically measure user-centric metrics like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). These three metrics provide a detailed assessment of a page's loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability, rather than just a general 'site speed' score.

Describe 10x material.

Answer: Content that is 10 times better than the highest ranking result for a given keyword or topic.

10x material refers to content that is ten times better than the highest-ranking result for a given keyword or topic. This concept, popularized by Moz, emphasizes creating exceptionally high-quality, comprehensive, and engaging content. The goal is to provide such immense value that it naturally attracts links, shares, and high search rankings.

To set S.M.A.R.T. goals is a recommended practice in goal-setting. The A represents:

Answer: Achievable

The S.M.A.R.T. goal-setting framework stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. The 'A' specifically represents 'Achievable,' meaning that goals should be realistic and attainable given the available resources and constraints. Setting achievable goals helps ensure that efforts are focused on practical and successful outcomes.

These can affect CTR and move organic results further down the page.

Answer: All of the above

Ads, Featured Snippets, and Images (especially in image carousels or universal search results) all occupy significant space at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs). By pushing organic results further down the page, these elements reduce the visibility of traditional organic listings. This decreased visibility can lead to a lower Click-Through Rate (CTR) for organic results, even if their ranking position remains high.

Which of these considerations is crucial when evaluating the effectiveness of a new link?

Answer: It can take time for a new, valuable link to trigger an increase in SERP rank

It takes time for search engines to discover, crawl, index, and evaluate new backlinks. The impact of a valuable link on SERP rankings is rarely instantaneous, as Google's algorithms need to process and incorporate this new signal into their ranking calculations. Therefore, patience is essential when assessing the effectiveness of link-building efforts.

301 redirects send along link equity, correct or incorrect.

Answer: TRUE

TRUE. A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect that passes the vast majority of link equity (also known as 'link juice' or 'ranking power') from the old URL to the new URL. This is crucial for maintaining SEO value when moving or consolidating pages, ensuring that the authority built up by the original page is transferred to its new location.

In order to identify problems with the user experience, Core Web Vitals creates a statistic for:

Answer: All of the above

Google's Core Web Vitals are a set of user-centric metrics designed to quantify the user experience of a web page. They specifically create statistics for page loading performance (Largest Contentful Paint), ease of interaction (First Input Delay), and the visual stability of a page from a user’s perspective (Cumulative Layout Shift). Together, these metrics provide a comprehensive view of a page's user experience.

Included in the marketing funnel are:

Answer: Discovery, consideration, conversion, retention

The marketing funnel typically represents the customer journey from initial awareness to becoming a loyal customer. A common and comprehensive model includes Discovery (when a customer first learns about a business), Consideration (when they evaluate options), Conversion (when they make a purchase or take a desired action), and Retention (efforts to keep customers engaged and loyal).

What DOESN'T a content audit serve in terms of SEO?

Answer: Finding content that serves an HTTP status code error

A content audit primarily focuses on evaluating the quality, relevance, and performance of existing content for SEO and user engagement. While it might indirectly highlight areas where technical issues could exist, finding specific HTTP status code errors (like 404s or 500s) is typically a function of technical SEO audits, crawl reports, or Google Search Console, not the content audit itself.