We rely on Google’s search results for nearly all of our digital needs these days. From looking up recipes to online shopping, to booking an emergency HVAC technician or plumber in the middle of the night. So the question is: how can your business get found by more customers in your geographic area?
If you’re like me and would rather watch something than read about it, check out this week’s Small Business Saturday video focused on this exact topic and breaking down the main takeaways from this blog post!
According to chatmeter, 46% of all searches on Google have local intent. This means that web users are looking for a local product or service nearly half of their time using search engines and creates big opportunities for business owners to connect with customers in their area.
Why does local intent matter for businesses?
Understanding local search is essential, especially for professionals in the home services space looking to grow their business online, due to the fact that users with local intent have a higher tendency to follow through with a purchase, which translates to a higher conversion rate for your website and marketing campaigns.
It makes sense, right? Rather than having to wait days or even weeks for something you’ve ordered online from a national brand, local businesses provide immediate gratification for our wants and needs. That’s why it’s essential to focus on local search ranking factors when trying to drive more traffic to your site or store.
93% of searches with local intent display the local map pack, which is heavily utilized by mobile device users.
The Google 3-Pack is one of the primary ways in which Google displays local businesses and their physical location when users’ search queries are involving local intent. What this means is that they’re looking for a specific product or service within a given area to include in the local pack results. Searches such as “HVAC company near me” or “Best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia” (the answer is Dalessandro’s, by the way)
Within the proclaimed “3-Pack,” Google lists the top three businesses which its algorithms feel best satisfy the user’s query directly below the paid ads but above all of the other organic results.
Here’s an example of the 3-Pack and the type of information which is displayed for each of the local home services contractors listed.
Does it come as a surprise that an estimated 86% of searchers look up the location of a local business on Google Maps before visiting? Users want to know the exact details of where they’re headed prior to taking physical action to visit. Make sure your address is listed correctly on Google Maps!
Online reviews are changing the game for local businesses, especially when it comes to competitive industries like home services. According to a recent study, 67% of consumers say that company reviews influence their decisions when making a purchase.
This is why you want to be sure to encourage happy local customers to leave positive reviews and feedback about your company, products, and services to help build trust and authority with new prospects who are on the fence about buying into your business.
According to recent studies, nearly half of users perform voice searches to look for more information on a local business, with over 39% of millennials using voice search every month. As millennials grow older and make up the majority of the buying power on the internet, catering to their unique search habits will be crucial for growing your business.
Believe it or not, GMB accounts for 14% of your company’s local ranking power.
It’s for this reason that you want to make sure that you’re in control of your GMB and including all of the products and services that your company offers.
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, according to recent studies, nearly 56% of all local retailers have yet to claim their business listing. This means that over half of businesses with an online presence have no idea about the free leads and growth opportunities that are being left on the table.
Encourage reviews from your happy customers, regularly update offers, and keep the shared, localized content feed fresh by adding new blogs, videos, and pictures of the products and services you sell.
It’s effortless to ask satisfied customers to leave you a review that mentions the product or service they purchased. Google loves when businesses utilize their products and reward you!
There are also tons of free features which your business is likely not utilizing on Google My Business. For example, you may have a blog page on your website or an active social media presence, but when was the last time you used Google posts to promote those pieces of content? Have you announced company events, promotions, or sales on GMB? These are the small wins that can make a big difference when building your small business.
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. To fully capitalize on optimizing your local search presence, you’ll want to be sure that your business’s NAP matches exactly across all local and business directories and listings online. Consistency is key here!
If you’re unsure about building citations or ensuring your business information is correctly listed everywhere on the web, reach out to one of 1SEO Digital Agency’s SEO experts for some assistance!
You’ll also want to have specific location-based landing pages with links to all of your company’s social media profiles. If you have multiple locations for your business, you’re going to want to break out each location as its own page to optimize your business’s local presence.
Think about it from this perspective. If you have multiple business locations but only one about us page that references each location, Google’s going to have a harder time displaying your site in the search results based on where a user might be located. By having multiple pages linked to each of the respective locations, you’re creating a better experience for both the bots and users alike.
Think about all the questions your customers ask you in person. This is precisely how users search with voice. Use keyword research to target long-tail, local keywords, with a robust blog strategy focusing on local queries, will help give your brand a boost in the voice search arena.
When optimizing your website, be sure to include verbiage that mimics how your target audience and customers speak and search for your business online. You’ll want to be sure to avoid jargon or overcomplicating who you are and what you offer users.
The critical thing to remember here is that success starts on a local level. That is why you need to take the customers closest to your business into account when putting together your digital marketing strategy. If you’re ready to outpace the local competition and start winning online, reach out to our nationally leading SEO agency for a free consultation and marketing audit today!
Author: Casey Quinn
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