Things are always changing in local search results. With updates to search engines and new features like Google My Business, it’s crucial to stay visible locally. Most people, around 90%, now use search engines to find local info. And local searches often lead to purchases, with about 78% resulting in offline buys. So, it’s smart to focus on improving your local search presence. Make sure your business info is accurate, ask for customer reviews, and create content relevant to your area. This way, you can attract more local customers and grow your business.
Local Search Results Optimization
You might not have paid much attention to local search before, and you’re not alone. But it’s important to understand its value now. Just like regular Google searches, Google Local is the top choice for local searches. That’s why it’s crucial to get your site listed on Google Local and make sure your business details like name, address, and phone number are consistent everywhere. Also, adding local touches to your web pages’ Metadata can make a big difference. So, take the time to optimize your local presence. It can help more people find your business in their area, leading to more customers and growth for you.
Getting Listed
To make sure people can find your business in local search results, start by searching for it on Google Local using your company name and location. If you don’t see your business listed, you can add it for free by going to https://www.google.com/local/add/login. Sign in to your Google account or create one if you don’t have one yet – it’s free. Then, follow the instructions to submit your business details. Include everything from your name, address, and phone number to your hours of operation, business categories, description, and accepted payment methods. Providing all this info makes it easier for customers to find you.
It’s also a good idea to get your business listed on other local pages like Bing Places for Business, Yahoo Local, and Yelp. Being on these sites is the first step to getting noticed locally. Remember to keep your information consistent across all listings, especially your name, address, and phone number. Consistency helps improve your local search rankings, along with being listed on the right websites.
Dominate Local Search Results After the Pigeon Update
Google’s Pigeon update made local search more important this year. Its main goal is to blend local search info with Google’s overall search signals. Like previous updates, Google wants to give users better search results, and they think mixing local and general search signals will help with that.
While the idea behind the update is good, it’s caused a lot of changes. Just like before, some people aren’t happy. Local and national businesses are now competing more to rank high in local search results, and not everyone is finding it easy.
Key Factors That Matter More After the Pigeon Update
Instead of worrying about the bad stuff from the Pigeon update, focus on protecting the progress you made before it happened. If you’re just starting to think about local search now, ignore complaints about the update and work on getting your business to the top and keeping it there. One way to make sure your local search efforts pay off is to pay attention to the things that matter for ranking now. These include:
- How strong your website is overall
- The quality of links pointing to your website
- The quality of links pointing to specific pages on your site
- Having your address in the city people are searching
- Getting good mentions of your business online
- Putting the city or state in the title of your web pages
So, what should you do to make the most of these ranking factors? Here are a few tips:
Domain Authority
In a busy and competitive online world, having a strong website is very important. When search engines see your website as strong, they’ll trust it more and rank it higher in search results. That’s what every website owner wants! After the Pigeon update, it’s even more crucial to focus on local SEO from the top down. That means making sure your website is respected and well-regarded and getting links from other trusted websites. So, work on building up your website’s reputation and getting good links from authority sites.
Quality of Inbound Links to Domain
They say birds of the same feather flock together. In the world of local search, it is assumed that a website attracts links from other websites with the same caliber. When you get links to your domain from authority sites, therefore, search engines interpret that to mean your website is also an authority site. Needless to say, this improves your chance of earning good local search rankings. Work on your content marketing efforts to increase your chances of developing high-quality inbound links. The key is to get your business mentioned in a positive light by authority sites.
Quality of Inbound Links to Landing Pages
This is one of the factors where you will really feel the presence of the Pigeon. This factor was previously important only for ranking well in regular searches; it is now important for ranking well in local searches as well. Be sure to check your link profile and remove any low-quality and low-authority site that may be present there. Don’t hesitate to disavow all links to and from those sites using tools that also enable you to analyze and map out your link profile. If you know who the webmaster is for those sites, it would also be a good idea to request for the removal of the inbound links.
Physical Address in City of Search
If you operate a catering business in Los Angeles, showing up in local searches for caterers in Boston isn’t likely to do you much good. What you need to do is check your citation data and make sure all of your business listings contain your complete business address. This helps ensure you show up only in the most relevant searches. You should also avoid listing your business in nearby cities or towns, as that will only annoy online searchers and even Google, thereby causing your local SEO to suffer.
Quality of Inbound Links to Domain
You know the saying, “birds of a feather flock together”? Well, in the online world of local search, it’s kind of like that. If your website gets links from other top-notch sites, search engines see your site as top-notch too. And that boosts your chances of ranking well in local searches. So, focus on creating great content to attract high-quality links from other sites. The goal is to get your business mentioned positively by trusted sites – that’s how you’ll climb the ranks in local search results.
Quality of Inbound Links to Landing Pages
This is a factor where you’ll notice the impact of the Pigeon update. Before, it was only important for ranking well in regular searches, but now it’s crucial for local searches too. Make sure to review your link profile and remove any links from low-quality or low-authority sites. You can use tools to analyze your link profile and disavow links to and from those sites. If you know who runs those sites, it’s also a good idea to ask them to remove any links pointing to your site.
Physical Address in City of Search
If you run a coaching service in Los Angeles, it’s crucial to focus on showing up in local searches relevant to your area. For example, appearing in searches for coaches in Boston won’t benefit you much. Make sure all your business listings, like on Google My Business or Yelp, have your full Los Angeles address. This helps ensure you show up in the right local searches. Avoid listing your coaching service in nearby cities or towns unless you genuinely serve those areas too. Listing in irrelevant locations can confuse potential clients and might even upset search engines like Google, harming your local search rankings.
Quality of Structured Citations
Think about it: would you trust your 10-year-old brother to explain a math problem better than your math teacher? Probably not! Similarly, search engines care a lot about where your business information comes from when they decide where to rank your website in local searches. To boost your local SEO, your business citations need to come from trustworthy sources and websites.
Good citations have accurate and complete details about your business, like its name, address, and phone number. They also include a clear description of what your business does, using keywords that help search engines find you easily. If you can, adding high-quality images to your citations can also help your rankings. Besides Google My Business, it’s smart to get listed on other trusted sites like Yelp, Yahoo Local, FourSquare, TripAdvisor, Manta, and Zagat to build your online presence.
City/State in Landing Page Title
When it comes to important local SEO stuff, making sure your address is exactly right is super crucial, especially after the Pigeon update. It’s not just about having your full address listed on other websites; you also need to show it clearly on your site. That means putting your address, especially the city and state, in places like your page title, description, main headline, and web address. If you work in different cities, make separate pages for each city.
Sure, there are other things to think about for good local SEO after Pigeon. But getting your address spot-on is one of the most important right now. Focus on it, and you’ll have a better shot at ranking high in local searches and staying there. But don’t just focus on rankings – work on building a strong brand that your customers recognize easily. It might sound like a lot of work, but when you see how much it helps your business, you’ll know it’s worth it.
Making sure your business shows up near the top when people search locally is important. It helps you get noticed and beat out other businesses. Just keep your info up-to-date online, respond to reviews, and use local keywords on your website. That way, more folks will find you easily, and you’ll bring in more customers.