Date 28/11/2023
Local SEO
Has your business got a Google My Business account, yet when you look for it on Google you don’t see it in the Google results.
You want the business to appear in Google, my business results, but it doesn’t seem to be showing there at all.
According to reliable data from Bright Local, 98% of shoppers, look on the Internet for information about local businesses and nearly 33% of them carry out a local search for a business multiple times a week.
This could range from looking for a local pizza shop, right through to a local accountant, but quite simply put, if your company, regardless of how large a business is it’s not showing up in the Google My Business results, well you could be missing out on a huge amount of business.
A lot of companies, simply make the mistake, that they can set up a Google My Business account and then they think, that in a matter of minutes, the business will appear in the results. They might also falsely believe that the sales are just going to start rolling in overnight.
However ever since the Google Possum update, the number of businesses that were displayed in the business results has greatly reduced, often from seven businesses down to 3.
So, let’s say for example that you run a business, that offers mortgage advice, now, you are often competing with a large number of other companies to get your company to appear in the Google My Business results.
Therefore, to get your business in the Google My Business results, wallets often involve a lot of work, and it can’t be instantly completed it often needs a substantial amount of work, creating business citations that, also make sure that the company’s NAP nation can be crawled and indexed on the website, this often means placing it in the footer and also putting it on the contact page of the website as well.
Relevance
This is why, it’s so crucial to accurately describe your business in a business description. Also, when you are allowed to select your business sector, make sure that you accurately describe the business, for example, somebody might pick a rather generic business classification, such as gardening services, when really what they specialize in is tree surgery, therefore by simply not speaking the correct business classification, you could have your business appear for work that you might not necessarily.
This is why you must take your time, to accurately fill out all of the boxes, and to make sure that your business is listed as offering the right services and products.
Distance
The algorithm will simply calculate the distance from where the person is, to your business, it will know these two bits of information from the Google My Business account, as it will mention your business address, it will also know where the shopper is if they have their location data switched on their smartphone,
If the shopper is closer to your business, they might only be less than three minutes away, well that company years much more likely to appear, than one which is 17 miles away, because the algorithm will believe that the person wants convenience, therefore, they will want a more local business.
For example, if you fancy really tasty, nice woodfired pizza, well you’re going to want it delivered to your door at least lukewarm if it’s coming from a company that is based on the other side of Cardiff, well going to get to your doorstep rather cold.
So, what Google does is prioritize businesses that are closer to the shopper, for example, you might need a new power tool, let’s say drill, and you have a DIY task you want to complete.
Therefore, what Google will do is show your local businesses, that are close to where you are at that moment in time, making it more convenient for you to find the products and services that you require.
Prominence
Here is where there is a bit of a crossover between having a good location for your company, and also how successful your Google My Business will be in drawing in new customers.
So for example, let’s say you have an excellent location on the high street and there is a lot of footfall and passing cars which will see your business.
It is therefore much more likely that you will get more customers into your business, yet at the same time it’s also much more likely that you will obtain more Google My Business reviews, which is a massive deciding factor on whether your company appears in the results or not.
So, for example, let’s say that you run a restaurant, if your business accumulates let’s say 100 positive reviews, and people will say how great the food is, the atmosphere, and also the staff, well this means your businesses are much more likely to appear in the Google My Business results, compared to a business that hasn’t had any feedback from customers via reviews.
So how do you get your business to appear in Google Maps, a step-by-step guide
Knowledge panel
Let’s say that somebody wanted to quickly find your company’s phone number, well even if your business doesn’t appear directly in the Google My Business results, what it can help is for customers to find the information they require by simply asking Google.
A knowledge panel will then appear, so whether you want to know the phone number or the address it’s there, and with a click of a button, you can simply call the business.
Create business citations
This can take some time to complete, and it can feel like you are going around in circles, simply because you have to keep entering the same information, such as the company’s name, address, and phone number repeatedly many different websites.
So, this work is sure, rather repetitive however what it can do is reinforce your company’s NAP information, and the should match with what is mentioned on your website, and also on your company’s Google My Business account.
Therefore, when this all matches it gives Google greater confidence that your business is based there, at that location, that your phone number is correct, and that the name of the business also matches, this gives your company a much better chance of appearing in the Google M my business results.
Plus, also you have to be careful when building business citations because what you want, is for every single one of those to match exactly. If they don’t, and let’s say for example some say the company’s board address, where you are based let’s say three years back, and others your new address, this can cause what are known as conflicting citations.
Which basically can damage your business’s local SEO.
Keep your Google My Business account
It’s also important, to try and keep your businesses Google My Business account as up-to-date as you possibly can. This will help to keep your customers much better informed, for example, let’s say that you fancy closing your company a little bit earlier on a Friday afternoon,
Well, if you don’t update your then you’re likely to have customers knocking on the door, and being more than frustrated because they may have driven 30 minutes to get there, and instead of an open sign on the door it simply means closed.
So, what you want to do is to keep your business Google My Business account as up-to-date as you possibly can.
This also includes the address and phone number,
Your web designers should add schema
Adding schema is relatively easy to do, and what does is highlight your company’s NAP information so that it can be much easier read by Googlebot.
