Fact: 72% of consumers who do local searches visit stores within 8 km of their location. Combine this with the fact that more and more consumers rely on their phones to find products and services and the situation is clear.
It is more and more important that local businesses make sure their brands and shops are not only findable, but also visible in the Google local pack.
With this mega-trend in mind, Mash Media asked SEO experts to share their favourite local search tip.
Here we’re counting down the top 6.
Take advantage of these if you want to score some great local search results.
Let’s start.
6. Get more online reviews on various review platforms.
John Rosato, Digital Marketing Manager at Soul+Wolf
Why it matters:
Reviews make and break sales in the critical window when a prospect is looking around just before making a buying decision. More than this, reviews also affect your local visibility.
Small businesses should try to use a variety of review platforms relevant to their industries.
Google My Business is always a great start, but one should think about other platforms that customers might use to find out more about their business. Such as:
- Zomato
- Product Review
5. Citation consistency! A citation is a mention of your business name, address and phone number on the web.
Marc Goodwin, Director at Multiply Digital
Why it matters:
- Each citation with the same NAP (name, address and phone number) adds ‘trust’ to a business’s details and improves its Google Maps rankings.
- If various instances of your NAP across the web don’t match, then search engines are less likely to trust them and show them to users.
- Sure, editing local citations can be tedious, but it can also be a quick win and deliver great results instantly.
- This is especially true for companies that have a strong presence but inconsistent online local citations.
4. Keep your photos up to date, constantly add more and keep them all unedited.
Harry Sanders, Digital Marketer at Studiohawk
Why it matters:
When it comes to Google My Business optimisation, small business owners should upload photos of:
- the interior of their premises
- the exterior or street view of the business
- team photos
- any photos that show the brand and its value.
Keeping these photos up to date will help improve your visibility in local search results. Plus, as most businesses simply don’t do this, those that do really stand out.
3. Google360 virtual tours are an excellent way of showing people the inside of your business before they even get there.
Angus Bower, Content Marketing & Digital PR Manager at Indago Digital
Why it matters:
Having a well-optimised Google My Business listing not only gives searchers a stronger user experience with your business in the SERPs, but it’s also a strong indicator to Google of your business’s validity.
Adding a 360-degree virtual tour is especially important for businesses in the hospitality space. It lets patrons ‘walk around’ inside your restaurant, bar or cafe before actually visiting.
2. With Google My Business now allowing offers and posts that appear temporarily on your local listing, it’s free real estate and advertising potential for sales or new services.
Bec Caldwell, SEO Strategist at Mash Media
Why It Matters:
Google My Business changes quite often, and not all changes in the past have directly benefited the user and business, but this one does.
In a similar way to posting an offer in Facebook, you can now do this in your local listing.
It’s free, appears instantly and is a great way to announce new products without adding to your budget.
1. Make sure the geo coordinates of the Google Maps embed on your website are the exact same as the ones on your Google My Business listing.
Camille le Goff, SEO Manager at Mash Media
Why it matters:
This might seem straightforward, but it often happens that the geo coordinates of a business location on their website vary from the ones on local listings. This slight variation damages their overall local visibility in Google Local search.
Local SEO experts
Yes, the internet spans the globe, but the advent of the smartphone meant the global began to go local.
Nowadays, the internet often folds its world-spanning tentacles up to meet you where you live and give you the information and answers that are relevant to your immediate surrounds.
Local SEO is how you can be part of this radical ‘custom shrinking’ of the net. Follow the tips above and you will be well on the way to best practice.
