With around 72% of people turning to places like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to find local businesses when they are ready to make a purchase decision, showing up at the top of relevant searches doesn’t just mean more clicks – it means more foot traffic, phone calls, and revenue. But what does it take to get to the top and stay there? Keep reading, because our SEO experts have all the details you’re looking for!
The Importance of Local Listings
Imagine this – you’re out and about and looking for a caffeine fix. You use your phone to search “coffee shops” and the first page of results are all coffeehouses that are nowhere near you. How frustrating would that be?
Instead, it is likely that you will see results that are in your city, with the very top results being the coffee shops that are the closest to you. This is because Google, and other major search engines, determine user intent when a search is conducted, then provide results accordingly.
User intent refers to the reason why the search was made, and includes these common types: informational, navigational, transactional, and commercial. If you’re a local business, you’re going to be primarily concerned with showing up in transactional and commercial results, which include searches like “restaurants near me” and “best burgers in Rapid City”.
These searches show a high level of purchase intent and indicate that the person is ready to whip out their wallet and pay for a product or service. As a local business, you ‘ll want to be one of the first results they see.
So, What Does It Take to Get to the Top?
This may come as no surprise, but the more competition you have in your vicinity, the harder it will be to get to the top of search results. However, it is not impossible and simply takes a well-planned strategy that includes the following:
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Claiming, verifying, and optimizing your profiles.
Our advice? Start with building or claiming your Google My Business profile, as it reigns supreme as far as local visibility goes. When filling out your profile, complete every field possible, as it will give your potential customers more information that will help them choose you over the competition. You will also want to include strategic industry-specific keywords and your location in the description to further optimize your listing for local searches. Photos of your business and products or services will also be beneficial in building a successful profile.
Google will request you to verify your listing, which can be the trickiest part about acquiring your profile. Depending on your business’s industry, Google will give you multiple verification options; for service-based industries, a video may be required that includes shots of your storefront, business license, and other identifiers.
While the process may be slightly different across platforms, the fundamentals stay the same: stake your claim and be there in the critical moments when your customers are looking for you.
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Managing and responding to all reviews.
Another feature that most local listing platforms share is that they allow people to post reviews about their experience at an establishment. Having mostly positive reviews will go far in building trust with potential customers, but the way you respond to negative reviews can be just as important as well. We know negative reviews can cause stress, so we put together some helpful tips on how to respond.
Reviews are also important because they determine how visible your business will be in searches. The more reviews you have and the higher your rating, the better your placement will be. So, if showing up prominently in local listings is your goal, you will also want a decent plan in place for acquiring more positive reviews. Some ways you can achieve this are through social media posts, email blasts, direct mail, or even ask your customer face-to-face.
Some platforms, Google included, also allow customers to ask questions about your business. Ensure that you are also checking these as well and responding to them promptly.
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Creating posts to drive engagement.
Google and other local listing platforms also allow you to make posts that you can use to spread the word about your products or services, an upcoming event, or a special promotion. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel for these posts – simply republishing posts that you have used on social media can be a great way to further visibility of what matters to you and engage potential customers.
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Keeping information updated and consistent across platforms.
One common acronym in the local listings world is NAP (Name, Address, Phone). It’s crucial that these items are not only accurate but also match across any platform where you have a listing, otherwise you risk losing trust with your customers.
Your business’s operating hours are another important aspect of your listing that requires accuracy. Google will sometimes suggest new hours for your establishment based on other information it pulls online, which may not always be correct, and if you don’t respond within a certain amount of time, the suggested new hours will be automatically implemented. So, it is recommended to regularly review your hours, on all platforms, to ensure they match your actual hours.
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Watching out for unclaimed profiles.
Business profiles can also be automatically created by platforms based on information that is found online, or information provided by customers that use the platform. To maintain control of your business’s online visibility, regularly search your business to see what listings are out there and claim any that you may find.
Key Takeaways
- A fully optimized Google My Business profile is the king of local listings.
- Optimizing your profile includes strategic keywords and photos in addition to complete, accurate business information.
- Check reviews daily and respond to them all, negative and positive.
- Have a plan in place for acquiring new reviews.
- Engage your audience by utilizing the Q&A section and publishing posts.
- Maintain control of your business’s online data by updating information regularly and claiming listing profiles.
Ready to Own Your Neighborhood?
Local search is the new storefront window. Let’s make sure yours shines – contact us today and we’ll take care of the heavy lifting with all of your local listings!
