Google My Business (GMB) is an integral component of local SEO. As the first thing potential customers see that doesn’t require payment (unlike ads), GMB helps position you as the go-to service provider in your area and leads to increased traffic and revenue. There are several things you can do to enhance GMB rankings such as optimizing your website or engaging in active marketing; one often overlooked factor, however, is gathering more Google reviews.
GMB profiles offer businesses a 750-character space to describe everything from products and services offered, company culture and more. To maximize this feature, be as specific as possible while staying within Google guidelines – the more relevant information provided, the higher you’ll rank in local search results.
Local SEO is an extensive process that takes into account both the specifics of a location and keywords searched for by people in that area. Three primary factors determine a local search’s rankings: relevance, distance and prominence. Each factor plays its part, yet together they combine into an algorithmic score which prioritizes businesses that offer products or services related to what a query searches for; for instance if someone is looking for a burger joint nearby Google may recommend another establishment with more targeted offerings like more targeted menu items and similar cuisine than would local pub.
To increase your odds of ranking higher in local searches, be sure to utilize consistent name, phone number and address across all online channels for your business. Incorporating local keywords into the content, meta tags, URL structure and URL structure of your website. Conducting keyword research can also help identify search terms customers in your locality are using to find businesses like yours; which can then help optimize both website and GMB profile optimization efforts.
Though Google does not publicly release their exact algorithm for determining local rankings, it is generally understood that prominence is determined by how much attention your business receives from other sources such as mentions, citations and reviews on aggregator websites as well as appearance in local newspapers or directories. Your own website also plays an influential role, so making sure it contains relevant keywords will only strengthen its impact.
Google reviews play an enormous part in a business’s local search rankings. Consumers value the opinion of other consumers and are more likely to select a business with high-quality reviews, so encouraging customer feedback and quickly responding to positive and negative reviews are vitally important in improving local rankings. Responding quickly shows potential customers that your organization cares about customer satisfaction by investing time into solving any issues quickly; responding also demonstrates to unsatisfied customers that you value them enough that when happy ones return or unsatisfied ones complain, companies become seen as trustworthy partners – further improving local search rankings!
