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SEO Strategy for Google Local Listings

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Adding these elements to your Google Local Business Listing will get you in the Top Ten

Being customer-centric is key in your approach to self-promotion.

Would the prospective client like to see information on the web site, which implies that you are knowledgeable and experienced?
Would they like to see hours of operation?
Would they like to see some reviews from other satisfied clients?

Content is King - Encourage User Generated Content on your Website. Content is even better when it is relevant and keyword rich laden with anchor text or contextual links.

Multiple Reviews on your local listing - Reviews from real customers hold a lot of weight; you cannot have too many; encourage honest reviews

Start by asking your customers for your first reviews. Of course, while asking helps – motivating and incentivizing can work even better. Reward positive reviews with a coupon, savings or free promotion.

You need your customers to give you solid reviews, and by giving them something in return, you will accelerate that entire process.

Just as with Amazon, people trust products with lots reviews that have kept above three stars. Usually customers don’t just go and give a business a rating and review unless specifically asked. Email a customer after the job is done and ask for a Google rating and review. Just how can you go about encouraging reviews on Google Local?

Ask our clients to post comments to your Google listing and your Blog. Link your website and blog to your comments page on Google and also Link to Local Business Review Sites. Include a ‘no-follow’ tag in your link codes.

Local search is a socially driven tool. The more reviews and feedback users provide, the more likely Google will be to promote your listings. Consider reviews on local search to be similar to Page Rank for organic listings.

Start editing directly in Google Local Business Center. Here are some tips to edit your Google Local Listings. Keep these tips in mind on an itemized level.

Claim Ownership ASAP:- Google will add listings to their local results without any user submissions. We need to check and see if our business is already listed in there. If so, we need to claim ownership if we wish to suggest revisions and verify all contact information.

Use Keywords in your Company Description: – Google local listings offer an area where you can describe what your company offers.

Use Keywords in your Company Name: -If your keywords are in the extended business name or LLC; make sure this is the name in which you register. Local listings are usually dynamic results based on your keyword.

Add a Coupon: -Google allows printable coupons to be added by your listing.

Create links to the listing: -Add a link from your homepage to the listing and encourage current customers or website visitors to review your company.

Add Photos and Videos: -Photos have only recently been allowed to be added to Google local search. Photo and video is also taken into account to improve SEO, so add as many photos in a gallery as you can along with your company logo. Overwhelm Google with this kind of content. Add videos on YouTube and place them on the website page.

Titles: -Use common business names that people will recognize and if you can do so logically, integrate a primary keyword or phrase that people will be searching for.

Addresses: -Your business is being displayed on Google Local Listing in an approximate location. Do not rely on directional indicators (N, E, S, W, etc.) and spell out things like boulevard, street, avenue and others. Be as descriptive as possible, and check to make sure the location is plotted accurately and correctly. You can make corrections using the “Fix incorrect marker location” area of your listing editor.

Web Pages: -Since we are talking about search engines, its common sense to connect your business to a URL. That said, many listings go without a URL bring connected to them despite the fact that they exist. You need to verify your connection to the business.

Phone Numbers: -Add in all the phone numbers that make sense. Adding them all in will only help to educate your consumers and help make things easier for you once they want to do business with you.

Categories: -These are vital to your success, so choose and update them wisely. Do not assume things are good as suggested either. In fact, test out how different categories will impact your listings over time, and work to implement the best approach across the board.

Hours & Payment: -be as descriptive as possible in these areas. If Google has to retain that data for you, you can be assured that they’ll want to push their users to it.

Custom Fields: -Get creative and play around with this. Upload menus, sales and specials, seasonal rates or coupon codes? The options are only limited by what you can think up and add in!

You can gather large amounts of traffic with real estate like this, if you can list prominently for targeted keywords.

Google Maps listings and other local directories drive traffic to local business sites. Google Local Listings is a great tool that will continue to shape how information is served up to users. Google Local Listings are yours to edit and change freely, so you can test things out and draw your own conclusions.

In the end, you need to commit the time to make the changes, and you should be enthusiastic about what you’re doing. If you can maintain that approach, your listings and business website will be getting a lot of traffic.

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