Last month in Get Results we took a detailed look at what happens when a keyword search is conducted in the Planet Discover Local Directory. This month, we'll examine the role category search plays in the success of your implementation of Local Directory.
In addition to the ability to search for business listings by keyword, your site visitors have the option to search for local businesses by category. This is important because users may not always be searching for a specific business. On the other hand, they may know the type, or category, of business, product or service they are searching for online. In fact, an analysis of Local Directory search activity conducted by Planet Discover suggests significantly higher activity for category searches compared to searches for directory-related keyword terms.
The Planet Discover proprietary search platform, Search Publisher, allows you to designate featured and popular categories within Local Directory. Once featured and popular categories are configured, they are displayed on the Local Directory home page.
Selecting Featured Categories
Careful consideration should be given to selecting featured categories. Featured categories are frequently
selected based on the businesses that are prevalent in a particular area or the emphasis a local market
chooses to put on certain categories. For example, wineries would be featured for a market in northern
California while agriculture may be selected for a market in the Midwest.
Featured categories can also be selected based on your annual online sales calendar. You can plan an online sales campaign in conjunction with printed directories. Bundling enhanced directory listings with print advertising opportunities provides additional value for advertisers. Planning sales activities around featured categories allows your online sales team to target specific advertisers in these categories.
Landing pages for each featured category offer a targeted solution for advertisers. Landing pages include category-specific featured businesses, user-generated reviews and sub-categories. Location-based text ads and graphic ads can also be added to help advertisers target consumers looking for category-specific businesses.
Featured categories – and corresponding landing pages – are implemented by Planet Discover. Your Market Development Manager or Client Service Manager will help you determine which categories to consider. They will also work with you to create banner ads or search widgets that help drive traffic to your featured categories in the local business directory.
Popular Categories
In contrast to featured categories, Planet Discover clients have the ability to select popular categories
directly in the Search Publisher administrative interface. There are two options for selecting popular
categories: automatic and manual. The manual method allows you to select categories based on your understanding
of your local audience. For the automatic method, Search Publisher determines popular categories based on
search activity and displays them accordingly.
To access this page in Search Publisher, select Popular Categories from the Local Directory menu on the Content Management tab.
To clarify, landing pages associated with featured categories are not included with popular categories. Popular category links on the Local Directory home page direct users to a results page containing local businesses in that category.
How Category Search Works
Compared to the complex sequence of events required to return keyword-based business directory results,
category search is quite simple. For Local Directory category searches, the Planet Discover search algorithm
returns listing results that match the selected category.
The sort parameters for category results differ slightly from keyword results as well. The default sort for keyword searches is based on a relevancy score calculated by Search Publisher. Relevancy is not a factor for category results since it is assumed the results are relevant to the category selected. Alphabetical sort – with enhanced directory listings displayed first – is the default sort order for category results. Users have ability to change the sort order to distance or rating within the results interface.
It is important to note that business listings will not display in the search results if they are not categorized properly. Planet Discover clients have the ability to update categories associated with a business listing directly in the Search Publisher administrative interface.
To access this page in Search Publisher, you can search for a listing in the upper, right-hand corner of the interface. You can also select from an alphabetical list by choosing View Sites & Listings from the Sites & Listings tab. The category tree can be expanded or collapsed using the “+” or “-” symbol next to the category names. Categories are designated for listings by populating the check box next to categories associated with the business listing.
The Planet Discover local business directory is an effective tool to connect local businesses with local users. In addition to keyword searches, categories help consumers navigate to businesses they are seeking.
To explore the revenue opportunities available with Planet Discover Local Directory, contact your Market Development Manager or Brian Talty, Vice President of Sales at btalty@planetdiscover.com.
Advertisers looking to promote their products and services through online advertising programs are utilizing many of the same criteria used in making decisions regarding traditional media purchases. Advertisers are looking for an online environment that reaches an appropriate audience for their message and they want to know that their message will reach consumers at the moment they are making purchase decisions.
Local search helps further position your site as the preferred online presence for local advertisers. Local search provided by Planet Discover enables site visitors to locate relevant content such as news, blogs and events. In addition, the Planet Discover integrated advertising system allows advertisers to target local consumers looking for the products and services they offer.
Relevant Advertising
Keyword search delivers relevant advertising results to consumers at a critical moment in their
purchase decision process. While the Planet Discover business directory provides local business
listings that are relevant to keyword searches, term-based text and graphic ads are available
as well.
Term-based advertising products allow advertisers to designate keywords that are relevant to their business and their customers. Advertisers can also determine where they want term-based ads to display. Term-based ads display on Planet Discover search results pages for keyword searches that match designated terms. They can also display on relevant content pages – such as article pages – on your site. Article-based text and graphic ads display when the keyword term searched matches meta tags you designate for each article.
In contrast to term-based ads, advertisers may be interested in displaying an ad on a specific page regardless of the keyword searched. Location-based text and graphic ads provide an additional source of relevant advertising. These ads, which are smaller than typical online ad units, are delivered to high traffic pages, creating a new, lower cost ad unit. In addition, location-based text and graphic ads can be delivered to pages that allow advertisers to reach their target demographic audience.
Advertisers can display ads on Planet Discover search results pages such as events, movies or cars. They can also be displayed on featured and popular category results pages within the Planet Discover Local Directory. Location-based ads from the Planet Discover advertising system can also display on specific content pages of your site. For instance, advertisers may want to target the business, sports or entertainment pages on your site.
The delivery mechanism for location-based ads is different depending on the page selected by an advertiser. For ads on Planet Discover search results pages, our developers will implement the required code to display ads. To display location-based ads on your site, Planet Discover will provide the code to retrieve an ad from our advertising system. In either case, your client services team will work with you to create location-based ad spaces and ensure they display properly on designated pages.
The Planet Discover Marketing Center provides advertisers with reports to help them manage their online advertising. By analyzing these reports, advertisers can determine the effectiveness of the keywords and ad locations they select. Advertisers have access to the Marketing Center twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to manage their online advertising presence.
At Planet Discover, our goal is to help you, and your advertisers, Get Results with local search. Our local search platform and advertising system provide multiple solutions to achieve online sales objectives.
Contact your Market Development Manager or Brian Talty, Vice President of Sales at btalty@planetdiscover.com to learn more about advertising opportunities available from Planet Discover.
Relevant content is the foundation of providing a compelling experience for your constituents. Visitors will return to your site when they find the content they are seeking. As a local online media property, your site is uniquely positioned to deliver relevant content for your site visitors. The Planet Discover local search offers resources to help you further position your site as the preferred source of local information.
The Value of Cross Promotion
Editorial links are one feature of Search Publisher, the Planet Discover proprietary search platform,
that allow you to cross promote specific content and drive traffic to section fronts and other pages
on your site. For example, editorial links are frequently used to direct users to popular pages such
as business, entertainment and sports. You can also use editorial links to promote your vertical
sites – local college/professional sport teams, mom's sites or dining guides.
Editorial links display in search results based on the keyword search performed. With the ability to include photos and descriptions, editorial links should be part of your online traffic strategy. Furthermore, you can demonstrate to advertisers how these links are used to create additional exposure to ads on pages that are promoted through editorial links.
The article Making Advertising More Relevant with Local Search in this issue of Get Results, examined opportunities to provide local advertisers with relevant online advertising solutions. Editorial links are an additional feature that helps you make a compelling case to local advertisers. With editorial links, you can demonstrate to advertisers that your site can deliver a targeted audience to pages that display their message.
Planet Discover clients have the ability to create and maintain editorial links – and associated keywords – directly in the Search Publisher administrative interface. Resources are available in the interface to help you get started with simple HTML commands to include photos or text. Planet Discover developers can also help you create a standard HTML template you can use for subsequent editorial links.
If it's not already, cross promotion between local search and your editorial content should be part of your online traffic strategy. Contact your client services team or email support@planetdiscover.com to learn how you can start implementing editorial links today.
Clients with questions or concerns should contact their Client Services representative or email support@support.planetdiscover.com.
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