A company wishing to rank for local searches should first claim and optimize their Google My Business (GMB) profile.
What Is My GMB Profile?
The GMB profile is the map listing that you see when you google something such as “restaurants near me” or “lawyer near me.”
Why Is GMB Important?
GMB is important because it is the primary source of information that Google uses to rank local businesses. It is a good way to show up at the top of a google search relevant to your business. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to establish and maintain.
How Do I Claim And Optimize My GMB Profile?
To claim and optimize your GMB profile, follow these steps:
- Go to Google My Business: https://www.google.com/business/ and sign in with your Google account.
- Click the Manage now button for your business.
- Verify your business ownership. Verifying your business ownership involves adding your business address so Google can send a postcard to your business. There is an option if your business is online only and does not have an address.
- Complete your profile information, including your business name, address, phone number, website, and categories. There is also a section for your business description where you can naturally work in keywords you want to rank for on google, while adding character to your business.
- Add high-quality photos and videos of your business.
- Encourage customers to leave reviews on your GMB profile.
How Do I Improve My Local Search Ranking After I Have Claimed and Optimized My GMB profile?
- Optimize your website for local SEO.https://www.magnificentmarketer.com/what-is-seo/ This includes using relevant keywords in your website title, meta descriptions, and header tags. There are many free and paid tools available to help you do this.
- Create local landing pages for each of your business locations. In my opinion, it is better to have landing pages with the same parent URL as your website … Example: www.thisismywebsite.com/this-is-my-landing-page
- Build local citations. Citations are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. The NAP must be the exact same on every site. For example, you cannot write street on one profile and st. on the other. Once you establish your address on GMB, you must copy the exact address across the board in order to get the most out of your citations. The more citations you have from high-quality websites, the better your local search ranking will be. You can do this manually, I have done it, however, it takes a long time and you must be very precise so it may be a better option to pay a company to do this for you. Plus, some companies make you sign up with a citations company to make changes
- Get involved in your local community. Get involved in local social media groups. Comment where you can and be natural in your writing. This will help to increase your brand awareness and reputation in your local area.
There are some out there that claim your position in local listings depends on your location i.e. the closer you are to the business, the more likely you are to show up on the map, however, I think the optimization is the most important and you will show up if you are one block away or seven blocks away you will show up on the map. Obviously, I mean in reason and you will not show up on the local map if you are a pizza company in North Carolina and someone searches for pizza near me in Pennsylvania, but locally I think it is possible to beat location with optimization skills.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence to increase local traffic, visibility, and brand awareness. It is a subset of SEO, which is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why Is Local SEO Important?
Local SEO is important so you can be found easily by people in need of your services in your area. When people search for businesses online, they often use local keywords, such as “plumber near me” or “best restaurants in San Francisco.” The first three search results will show up on a map on the first page of google. If you are in the top three listings on the map, you are probably more likely to be contacted. By optimizing your website and Google My Business profile for these keywords, you can increase your chances of appearing in the search results for those queries.
Is Local SEO Better For Small Or Large Businesses?
Local SEO is important for businesses of all sizes, but it is especially important for small businesses that rely on local customers.
Need Help With Digital Marketing?
Improving your local search ranking takes time and effort, but it is worth it in the long run. By following the tips above, you can attract more local customers and grow your business.