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Google Local Optimization
A properly optimized Google Business Profile is an extension to your
SEO
and can help you get more clicks and more business. Find out how Consultus can help your business get found on Google.
This service can quite literally put you on the map. Google’s first page displays local results in the maps section, and being present in that section puts you at the top of the first page, places your reviews in plain sight, and localizes you. Do you have multiple locations? Even better. Google Business Profile Optimization ensures you’ll be front and centre when your customers go looking for you.
What is Google Local Optimization?
Google Local Optimization, also known as Local SEO, is the process of making your business more visible in local search results.
Businesses with a physical location or that serve a geographic area can greatly benefit from Google local. When users search Google for any keywords related to your business, a map with three listings appears underneath it, also known as the 3-pack pack. Local SEO can help you get your business to the top of these results.
Meet Brittany. She’s the proud new owner of a hair salon in the bustling city center of Toronto. It’s her first venture into entrepreneurship with all the hopes of financial freedom that comes with success. She’ll soon find out that hopes are one thing, but the reality is another. She promotes herself well enough on social media but finds that the likes don’t translate into appointments that day, leaving the cash register a little dry. With rent coming due and other costs mounting, she’s at a loss for how to attract more customers in the near term. Circumstances become dire. Brittany is at a loss where her next customer is going to come from.
Don’t Be Like Brittany, Consultus.
The most impactful marketing tactic online for local businesses is the Google Business Profile section of the search result. It sits at the top of the organic Google section and offers consumers the most information. Customers can view your phone number, website, reviews, operating hours and more — everything they need to contact the local businesses. When indeed Brittany does give us a call, we’ll be sure to set up her profile and apply best practices to it so that the listing is optimized. We’ll then ensure that the salon is in every relevant directory with absolutely accurate information, so Google is confident in displaying her local listing when people are looking for a salon nearby. The information must be consistent and correct because bad data can be crippling to Google’s confidence in your listing. Essential to our process is ensuring that the Salon’s name, address, and phone number are accurately propagated across the internet’s directories. We’ll also put our review generation engine to work for Brittany so that the customers she does have help attract other customers. Our goal is to ensure Brittany’s Salon pops up with glimmering reviews so that her biggest challenge isn’t acquiring customers but finding other hairdressers to meet the increasing demand. If you have a local business that needs to get noticed, giving Consultus a call is the most prudent decision you can make.
The Local 3-Pack
Google’s primary mission (aside from revenue generation) is to organize the world’s data.
Google wants to ensure that they deliver the most relevant results to searchers. Google does this because it ensures people continue to use Google’s search engine for answers. If they did not offer the best results, users would head to Bing or Yahoo! for their online searching needs. While Google Local Optimization is a form of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), the factors Google considers are different.
Google Maps
Ranking Factors
- The proximity of the business to the searcher/user
- Authority of the local business listing based on the number of credible citations that point back to that listing – as well as consistency between the name, address, and phone number (NAP) of each citation
- Google Local Optimization and completion of the listing itself
- Number of reviews on the listing
- Regular updates to the listing, such as photos related to the business
- Inclusion of a Google 360° business virtual tour
Why is
it Important?
Making sure you’re present on Google Local is important for a variety of reasons, but we’ll offer two.
Google’s local 3-pack is shown at the top of regular organic listings. This means that they get more attention and more clicks. While it is especially true for desktop searches, it goes double for mobile. On a smartphone, many localized searches only show paid ads on screen-load. You will only see the local 3-pack when you scroll past the first screen of results. Regular organic results are buried below all of that. That’s why Google Local Optimization is an essential part of any SEO program.
Users pay a lot of attention to the 3-pack results because they can see the location, the proximity to them, and the review ratings. This section takes up a lot of space, offers a lot of information, and subsequently gets many clicks. These two examples alone are reasons to be on top of your Google Local Optimization. If you are a business with a physical address, trying to get customers to visit, a properly optimized Google Local listing is vital in appearing when your customers are looking for you. Even if you only have a head office and aren’t looking to get customers to physically come to your location, seeing a pin on Google Maps showing your business is real and has customer reviews is a huge signal to potential customers to trust your brand.
Why is N.A.P the Most Important Factor?
Imagine you’re planning to take your family to a drive-in movie. It takes you some time, but eventually, the car is packed; chairs, snacks and the kids!
You finally get there only to realize the drive-in isn’t there. You’ve driven to the wrong address. By the time you figure out where the drive-in really is, it’s too late, and the show has already started. You would be frustrated and disappointed with the whole ordeal. This is the worst experience Google could provide to you as a user. If they made too many of these mistakes, they would lose market share. That’s why Google will only put results in the map section with a high probability of actually being there. That is why having a highly consistent online presence for your brand name, physical address, and phone number is the most critical factor for Google Local Optimization. This is known as your “N.A.P.” consistency and is crucial to getting to the top of the Google Local 3-pack.
Be
Consistent
If your business name is Acme and Acme Inc., always write it like that. Even minor inconsistencies such as “Acme & Acme Inc” or “Acme and Acme” will cast doubt for Google.
After all, one of the first things you had to get right in school was to spell your name accurately. It’s the same for your business. Keep in mind that one mistake on one directory can be compounded by other less prominent directory sites scraping and copying that incorrect data. After you are sure your N.A.P. consistency is up to scratch, you want to make sure you’re updating your Google Business Profile page with new pictures (showing you’re fresh and relevant) as well as encouraging customers to leave reviews. This can be one of the hardest aspects of Google Local Optimization, which is why many brands choose to add a reputation management component to their digital marketing mix.
Google Local Optimization
The Consultus Digital
Method
Consultus is the leading provider of professional Google Local Optimization in Toronto. Our team of in-house experts are dedicated to optimizing your listing to appear at the top of your desired search results, wherever your business is located. Our unique method uses tried and tested methods to help drive sales to your business immediately.
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Optimizing your Google Business Profile Listing
The first step in the Consultus method is ensuring your Google Local listing is properly optimized to appear in search results. This includes updating all your information, keyword optimizing your business description, refreshing your business photos, ensuring your opening hours are correct, and enabling schema markup to show extra information. This will help your business appear in the right searches on Google and make it more attractive for users to click on.
Ensuring consistent N.A.P.
Consistent N.A.P. is essential in any Google Local Optimization. We comb through your various business profiles and listings and make sure they all display the same information. We will also create more business listings in important online directories to provide further signals to Google that your information is accurate and is the best result to serve to their users.
Review Management
Another important sign for Google that your business is legitimate and something worth showing their users is having many reviews associated with it. We help you get quality reviews from your valued customers, and properly optimize them to display correctly on your Google Local listing to garner the most attention from potential clients.
Regular Updates
Google also wants to see that you are regularly updating your Google Local listing so that your information remains current and your offerings are fresh. We enable cross-posting from your social media platforms and blogs to display on your local listing, adding further weight to your business in the eyes of Google. Are you looking for the best Google Local Optimization has to offer? Look no further than Consultus. We are passionate about digital marketing and growing our business by growing yours. Contact us today and experience the Consultus difference.
Google Business Profile Optimization FAQs
The biggest difference between organic SEO and local SEO is the geographical element.
Organic SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your website on a national or global scale, while local SEO focuses on improving the visibility with searchers in your area.
Businesses with a physical location, such as a store, or serve a geographic area, such as Toronto, can benefit from local SEO.
Local SEO can be effective for almost every industry, but specific industries need a presence more than others, especially service-based businesses, such as:
- Professional Services
- Home Repair & Renovation
- Law Offices
- Medical Practices
- Online Businesses
- Real Estate
- Bars and Restaurants
- Pet Services
Businesses with multiple locations or simply a head office location can also greatly benefit from local SEO.
To get started with local SEO, you must claim your business on Google Business Profile. Google Business Profile enables you to manage your business information across Google Search and Maps.
GMB enables you to manage your business information across Google Search and Maps.
Once verified, your GMB listing will need to be optimized. This is where we recommend the guidance of a digital marketing agency, like Consultus Digital. Our team can optimize and maintain your Google listing to ensure that you appear in the results when searchers look for you.
Client Testimonials
There’s a reason Consultus Digital is considered the best digital marketing agency in Toronto.
Kase Insurance
Stanislav Kojokin
“My firm- KASE Insurance Inc. partnered with Consultus Digital two years ago. At that time we had no online strategy. Michael and his team have helped us rebuild our website and created an SEO strategy that has provided us with 150% ROI! Consultus Digital has an amazing customer service team and they truly care about their clients and deliver on their promises. I strongly recommend Michael and the Consultus Digital team to all my friends and clients”
The Office Shop
Helen Stergiou, Partner
“The team at Consultus Digital won our business due to their thorough assessment and realignment of our digital sales and marketing strategy. Within only a few weeks of partnering with them, we increased our inbound leads significantly by reconfiguring the user experience of our website”
eCycle Solutions
Tricia Oldfield, Vice President of Sales & Marketing
As the VP of both Sales and Marketing for one of Canada’s largest electronic recycling companies, I wear many hats. I rely on the team at Consultus Digital to act as my outsourced, internal marketing team. Over the past 3 years, they’ve provided our company everything from website development to social media management. I would highly recommend the team at Consultus Digital to any business looking for a partner in navigating the complex world of digital.
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