Google My Business – Local SEO
What Is Google My Business or Local SEO?
Local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimisation) helps businesses to be found by local customers/clients when they’re searching for your products or services. Local SEO uses search engine like Google and business directories to promote your business.
This is also commonly referred to as Google My Business and it is one of the best way to attract visitors to your business.
Why Is Local SEO Important?
Local search SEO can work wonders for your business if you show up in Google’s “local pack,” “map pack,” or 3-pack,” as the first 3 spots listed below the map are commonly called. Here’s exactly what that local search appears like on a desktop computer. According to Google, 4 out of 5 customers use search engines to research local businesses/services, like yours.
What’s more, 82% of local searchers will call, visit a store, or make a purchase offline(TMP/comScore). And 61% of local searches result in a purchase (Search Engine Watch)– especially if they find you searching on their mobile phone.
So you want to do whatever you can to rank highly in Google local search. You need to be found right below that map, in the top 3 spots … and you want to outrank you competitors when local customers do a search for your type of business.
Local SEO Is Even More Important On Mobile Devices?
Approximately 58% of local searches are now done on mobile devices, as people on the go turn to there smart phones to search for what they need. Once again, appearing in the top 3 results of local search on mobile phones is critical for you.
According to Google, 50% of people who carried out a local search on their mobile phones checked out a store within a day. And 18% of local searches on a mobile phone resulted in a purchase within a day!
The only question is, will those customers buy from you or from your competitor?
How Can You Rank Higher In Local Search?
First, understand that local search depends greatly on prominence. How well known, popular and trusted your business is? Because Google wants to send users to credible and trustworthy websites. It just makes good sense.
The three key elements that contribute to your prominence are: local citations, reviews, and links.
– Local citations are any reference of your business on the Internet. They usually include the name of your business, address and telephone number, aka NAP. The most common local citations are directories like Google , Yellowpages.com, and so on. However, Google also counts citations found on blogs, newspapers websites, event listing sites, etc.
– Reviews are critical. What are people saying about your business on review/information sites? Google counts the number and quality of reviews to help determine your local search ranking.
– Links to your website from well-established local websites are a final key component of search algorithms in Google. Because it’s hard to fake a link to a business from the Chamber of Commerce or a local networking group. So these links are regarded as very important.