If you have a storefront or provide services in a specific area, local SEO is an absolute must. If potential customers search for the type of product or service you offer and your business doesn’t come up in the map listings and/or the first results page, you risk losing the sale to competitors who do!

This guide will answer the most common questions business owners have about showing up in local searches.

Why Is Google My Business Important?

Try searching your business name in Google.

Go on, try it…we’ll wait.

Do you see the information panel about your business that comes up in the search results? It should contain your business name and address, phone number, hours, photos and reviews. That’s your Google My Business listing. It’s often the first encounter new customers have with your brand! Some customers may take action right from the listing and not even visit your website.

That means that incorrect information in your profile—or even just an incomplete or shabby-looking profile—can actually cost you customers. Just think of the poor impression if a customer shows up at your business when it’s closed due to incorrect operating hours, or can’t reach you due to an outdated phone number.

But on the positive side, a great profile can make a strong first impression, improve visibility and increase your chance for new customers and sales.

Google automatically creates a profile for most businesses using information gathered from around the Web. It’s up to you as the business owner (or designated person at your business) to claim your listing and make sure all the information is correct. You can also enhance your listing by adding photos, responding to reviews, and even posting articles and promotions!

And that’s not all Google My Business can do. Optimizing your listing can also help your business show up when people search in Google Maps. From Google’s local search results, you can then have people follow the link to your site, if they don’t contact you right from the listing.

If you’re interested in having us manage your listings for you, contact us!

Do Google Reviews Help Google Rankings?

Absolutely! Having online reviews can rocket your rankings.

Before you race out to try to get more reviews, you should be aware that while you can and should encourage your customers to leave a review, you can’t pay for or incentivize reviews. In other words, you can’t offer a discount or free product in exchange for reviewing your company. (There are some exceptions—such as providing a free product in exchange for an honest review of it—but these must be fully disclosed.)

Why? Offering rewards could create a bias. Review platforms such as Google and Yelp rely on unbiased reviews their users can trust—otherwise, people will stop using them.

There are plenty of ways to leverage reviews, however. Responding to reviews boosts engagement and is a way to continue the customer experience. You can encourage customers to leave a review by making the process as fast and easy as possible. For example, if you have text notification permissions with your customer, you can send a prompt to review immediately following the service, when the customer is happiest and most likely to act.

Unravel can help you garner more reviews with our reputation management services. Contact us about it today!

How Does Local SEO Work? Does Every Business Need Google Listings?

Any business that has a storefront or provides services in a specific area needs a Google listing. Businesses that only deal with customers online and do not have a local storefront typically don’t need a listing. There may be exceptions, such as distribution centers and industrial businesses that don’t perform local services, but have a physical building and employees in the area.

You can however focus on local SEO, as people may want to connect with local businesses, even if they operate online most of the time. These reasons are why local SEO is important for small businesses.

Can I Create Multiple Google Business Listings?

If you have more than one location you should create a separate listing for each. That way, customers can find the location that is nearest them.

Make sure that every location is verified and also make sure that you have accurate hours for all of your listings. If your business name is the same across every location, then the name in your business listing should be the same. Make sure that you are consistent and also make sure that you identify each location separately.

This can be a tricky and tedious process if you have multiple locations, but there are ways to make it easier. If you need help managing your listings, give Unravel a call.

Is Google the Only Search Engine I Need to Focus On?

Google is far and away the most-used search engine in the world, so it should be your primary focus. That said, you shouldn’t ignore other search engines like Bing and Yahoo. Chances are you have potential customers using them!

How Do I Optimize a Business Listing When I Operate in a Complex?

If your business is located within an office building, office park or shopping center, you should still have your own listing. You should also operate as a distinct entity. Your listing should have a unique business name and it should not be the name of the area or mall where your business is located. That being said, you can easily include details such as this in your listing when multiple businesses are within a single building’s citation.

Should I try to Rank for a City Where I Don’t Have a Location?

If it’s a city that’s nowhere near your location, then no. Even if you did manage to rank, your search result wouldn’t meet the needs of the customer. For example, if you’re looking for a pet store in a specific city, you aren’t going to be interested in one 50 miles away unless it is very niche.

It’s a different story if you’re located in a suburb and trying to rank for the larger city that’s within easy driving distance. It is possible to draw people to your site organically, but you have to make it clear that you serve the surrounding area.

Will the Categories Affect My Ranking?

Categories help people to understand what your business does, and they can also help people who might be trying to connect with you as well. If you choose categories that just do not reflect the services that you provide, then you may not be found by the people who are actually trying to find you. In short, yes, the categories you choose will absolutely affect your ranking.

How Many Local SEO Locations Can I Target?

You can target as many locations as you want when it comes to your local SEO, provided they make sense. Do you go to the customer, or do they come to you? If they come to you, how far are they likely to travel? If you sell ice cream, you may not want to target a location that is over 20 minutes away. If you provide HVAC services within a 50 mile radius of your physical location, you can target cities within that area.

Should I Try to Use PPC to Rank for Local Terms?

If you have the budget, it’s wise to use a combination of PPC and organic SEO, especially when you’re starting out. This will help you to rank for local terms quickly while you build your organic campaign. If you need help putting together and running a PPC campaign, Unravel can help.

Do I Even Need Local SEO?

Yes, everyone who has a local business should be using local SEO. If you have a physical location then this really is so important. This requires that your business name, address, and phone number(NAP) is correct all over the internet.

If you do not have a local business and operate online then you may not feel as though you need it, but it doesn’t hurt to rank for country-specific terms.

This could involve you ranking for terms like “website company in the UK”. The main reason for this is because even though you are not necessarily targeting just the UK market, you may find that targeting the country in general helps you to connect with customers who may only want to work with a UK company.

How Do I Beat My Competition in Terms of Ranking?

You have to make sure that you have at least a basic website. You also need to have a Google My Business page, along with other local citation sources. After that, it will become a matter of your content, your links and your reviews. In some instances, local businesses can easily win if they are able to dish out content that is better than the rest.

That’s not going to work 100% of the time though, so you have to make sure that you get a steady stream of positive customer reviews if possible. If you can do this and make it a habit, then this will boost your authority and therefore your rankings. You have to remember that it doesn’t take a lot of links to move the needle for local businesses.

What Is a Citation?

Local citations are any mention of your business online. It could be your phone number, your address or even your name. Citations tend to occur on directories, or even on apps and social platforms. They can also help search engines know where your website is and they can also help you rank.

If you need some help with your local SEO or if you know that you need to make a positive change to your ranking, we can help. Contact us today.