Local SEO
There was once a time when a business could thrive without an online presence – knowing that with well-placed signage, customers would somehow find their way to the door. Nowadays, that simply isn’t true, and an active and well developed Business Profile has become just another expected component of marketing. But just having a website or business page on Google isn’t the same as having a business that your customers will be able to find.
Enter Search Engine Optimization. Search engine optimization is a type of digital marketing where businesses make sure that customers will be able to find their business – and helps businesses secure a higher position in the search results. Local SEO takes this one step further and ensures that customers will find your business when they perform searches with local intent.
If you’ve ever done a Google search for “*service* near me”, then you already know what local intent looks like. This incredibly simple phrase has made it easier than ever for customers to find local businesses. But the deceptive simplicity of this search hides the fact that your business won’t just automatically appear in these results!
3BrozSEO offers a comprehensive package of services which can help your Local SEO presence.
Google My Business is a tool that allows businesses to manage and optimize their business listings on Google search results. You can have your business visible on Google without a GMB listing. However, you won’t have control over the listing and will miss significant benefits.
It is best to think of Google My Business as analogous to a business directory, except one that has been integrated into Google Maps and Google Search. A sizable portion of mobile searches for businesses takes place directly within the Google Maps app, and having a completed Google My Business profile will allow users to find and engage with your business straight from the app.
Outside the Google Maps app, users can see businesses with GMB listings every time Google adds a local pack (the top 3 businesses shown when you search for “*service* near me”) result every time you search for anything nearby you. Google adds a local pack consisting of a map and a few business results to all searches that Google decides have local intent. You can’t pay to have your business listed in a local pack, as the main factor depends on the user’s location relative to the business, and you’ll need to have a physical location near the search area, but if you can control all the other factors (such as review management, local citations, and content creation.), you’ll make it into these shortlists, this will give you a significant boost in traffic coming your way!
Once you have a Google My Business listing, you can ensure that your basic business information, like business name, address, and phone number, is current. Beyond NAP, you’ll also be able to list your services, show your customers pictures of your business, and receive and respond to user reviews.
The importance of this cannot be stressed enough if you do not exist in Google, you do not exist. That is unfortunately, the world today.
This can all sound really stressful, handling everything that already encapsulated creating a business, not to ad on top of it you have to manage your online presence too! 3BrozSEO is one of those rare companies that care about you and your business, as our top-notch services let you forget about the hassle of Local SEO, leaving the job to us.
Google My Business is an important part of local SEO because your ranking within Google searches is dynamic. Google states three criteria when presenting searches: relevance, distance, and prominence.
Distance refers to the space in relation to the searcher and thus is outside your control, but relevancy and prominence can be improved.
The information within your GMB listing determines relevance – emphasizing the importance of having a complete GMB profile.
Prominence is even more optimizable – and is determined by the knowledge that Google can find about your business. This includes site links (backlinks), article mentions (citations), and inclusion in directories. Google even considers your review count and score and weighs how highly your website places in search results. This means that having an SEO-optimized site will also benefit your local SEO!
The Issue with this is that it is an activity that needs to be performed continuously.
Google updates its algorithm around 400 times yearly, but major updates only 2-3 times a year. Whenever there is a huge update, everything shifts; if you are unprepared, you will find yourself at the bottom of the list.