Having a website alone is not enough nowadays to get a consistent stream of leads and sales. Your site is one of hundreds or even thousands of sites serving the same geographic area. If someone searches for your product or service based on your location, does your company appear in the search results? How do I get more orders from Google?
If your answer is “no” or “I don’t know,” then you potentially have a problem with local SEO which means you may be losing out to nearby competitors. One thing you need to do to get more local traffic (and hopefully customers) from Google searches is to claim your local business listing on Google My Business.
What is a Local Business Listing?
Local business listings on Google are separate from standard search engine ranking positions (SERPs), although they sometimes overlap. Just think for a moment how people search for businesses.
If the office manager for a law firm in Jakarta needs IT help, he is more likely to search for “IT help in Jakarta” rather than just search for “IT support”.
Your website plays a big role in how your company appears to localized search queries like this. You can optimize your business information to reflect your location, create a dedicated page on the site that references the work you do in Tampa, and ensure your local contact information is consistent throughout the site. So think of your site as the first part of this process.
The second part of the process is your local business listing.
As a business that works with people in a specific geographic area, you need to have a listing on Google’s local listings service:
Local listings are information that appears when someone searches for a business in Google Map view, on a mobile device via the maps app, or via a standard search engine using localized keywords. Google integrates this local listing information across a number of interfaces, and displays it directly in your Google Business.
Why Local Business Listings are Important?
There are four important factors to consider here that make claiming your local listing a must:
Benefits for Search Engine Positioning – Google often places local listings above the standard SERPs when someone searches with location-specific terms. Top-ranked local businesses will appear with a map view and additional information about services and contact information, directly in the search results. You want this to be your business.
Benefits for SEO – In addition to your business’ position in the SERPs, having a well-optimized local listing can impact your website’s performance in search engines for other terms. The reviews you collect with local listings add credibility to your business, which is directly connected to your domain, and in turn, improves your search position.
Benefits for Marketing – Local listings do several things. Local listings highlight your business in the context of the location. So, you can get in front of people who are close to you and are already looking for what you offer. It also allows you to display images of your business, staff, and services directly in search results. You can also highlight social proof in the form of reviews you receive, both to your Google local listing and to other related accounts where your customers leave reviews.
Benefits for Lead Generation – Local listings are designed to display contact information for the businesses featured. That means street address, phone number, URL, and any other contact information you want to display. This is especially important since most local searches are done via mobile devices, allowing searchers to instantly tap and call or take step-by-step directions to your location on Google Maps.
Listing on GMB should be the second pillar of your web strategy, yet many businesses have yet to claim the default listing that Google creates for them, or they have no listing at all.
Listing on GMB should be the second pillar of your web strategy, yet many businesses have yet to claim the default listing that Google creates for them, or they have no listing at all.
How to Create or Claim a Listing on GMB
Depending on the age of your business, you may already have a listing in Google’s local directory. Since they pull data from public records, most businesses are represented, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good listing, or very accurate. The address could be old, your phone number is wrong, and the value-added features we discussed above (photos, contact information, services, and business hours) are likely missing.
That’s why you need to claim your local listings, and for those who don’t have any listings at all, now is the perfect time to create one.
To get started, visit google.com/business. Here is the hub of the Google My Business feature – which allows you to create, optimize, and manage all your business information.
Click the Start Now button and enter your business name
The system will ask you to confirm the location of the business you are looking for (if it is already in their directory), and then its position on the map. Drag the pin to make sure it is accurate.
Select the category that corresponds to the business
When prompted, add the phone number listed on your website (it’s important to match the phone number), and your website URL.
Finally, you will be asked to verify your business listing. Verification allows you to respond to customer reviews, create promotions and upload photos, and track business analytics from your Google My Business dashboard. To verify, the default method is that Google will send you a postcard with a code. You will then enter the code into your Google My Business dashboard and confirm your account. This process usually takes about a week to receive.
Using Your Local Business Listing
Once you’ve done this, you can start using your listing from the Google dashboard. Some of the features available include the ability to update your hours of operation, add a profile photo, read and respond to customer reviews directly within the local listing, log in and manage all of this from the mobile app, and advertise your local listing to highlight it in local searches.
The value of this is huge and allows even the smallest of businesses to compete in a crowded space, no matter where you are. If you haven’t already, it is highly recommended that you create or claim your local listing and start promoting your business through one of the most visible channels that Google offers today.
Google My Business Services
Of course, in case all these details are a headache for you especially for those of you who are not cyber-savvy, we provide a solution. Our Google My Business service will not only help you claim your local business listing – but we’ll add positive reviews – as well as remove any negative ones scattered across your profile. All you have to do is settle in and get on with your business which will grow much bigger in a shorter period of time. We’ll increase your business visibility online and you’ll achieve success like you never thought possible.
