Do You Understand How to Dominate with Local SEO?
Google regularly makes changes that have a huge impact on small businesses, and one of the most recent local SEO changes is that Google is only showing up to four ads and three maps results above the fold. With this change, having one of those top three positions is Google maps is definitely critical if you want to enjoy greater visibility and an ever-increasing number of clicks over time.
Understanding Local Rankings
Before delving into how your business can enjoy local search engine domination, it’s important to understand local rankings. Local search results show up for people who look for places or businesses that are near their current location. They are show in various places across Google Search and Maps. For example, if someone searches for “Italian restaurant” on their cellphone, they will probably see local results – because that’s what they actually want to see, not a restaurant five states away.
Local SEO is important for your business, but it’s become extremely competitive. To compete in the local search results, you need to better understand how Google ranks your business in local results.
Improve Business Info to Increase Rankings
Take the time to check your business and its local rankings. If your business is not showing up at all or it’s nowhere near those coveted top three spots, you may need to improve your business information online. A Google My Business account can help and help you improve your presence in Google Maps and Search.
Once you have an account, it’s important to enter complete and accurate business information to ensure you show up in the right local searches. This information may include your phone number, business category, physical address, and more. You also need to list accurate hours, verify your location, add photos, and start interacting with customers by responding to reviews that are left by customers who visit your business.
This information must be precisely, exactly the same in every single listing. Even slight differences (such as St. versus Street) will be picked up by the search engines as being different addresses – and this conflicting information in listings will work against you.