If you’ve followed SEO strategies for any length of time, you know one thing: SEO changes all the time. When it comes to local SEO, We take it more serious than ever that we optimize your on-site and off-site SEO strategies for your clients and customers who may be searching for your local business. Local competition is heating up, and if you’re not on top of your rankings, you can bet your competitors will be.
According to Google, roughly four out of five use search engines to conduct local searches. Yet many small businesses have not claimed even a single a local business listing online, which is a huge missed opportunity. It’s important that you get your business listed correctly and consistently on top online business directories, like Yelp, Merchant Circle, Citysearch and others. You will also want to seek out respectable local directories to get your business listed on. Also Google My Business (GMB) is considered a directory, but it’s a biggie, so it deserves its own section. It’s very important for local businesses to claim their Google My Business (and Bing Places For Business) page. It can get you incredible exposure if you’re optimized enough to show up in Google’s local three-pack
When it comes to Local SEO, everyone seems to be fixated on the Google maps search results. Of course, this is justified considering the scale and market share Google Maps has in the local search market. When talking about exposure in the local search, Apple Maps is seemingly more relevant to some business than Google Maps. Reason being… Some customers use the default Siri search on their iPhones, which in turn defaults to the Apple Maps search results.
This is interesting, coming directly from someone who has 12 locations for their business throughout the US. I realize that when Apple Maps first debuted, it was a laughing stock on the tech scene as users were getting wildly inaccurate directions. But over the past year or so, Apple has been quietly investing in improving Apple Maps on iOS devices, and even as early as last year, integrated transit direction support in iOS 9.
While doing some research for this article, I found where, according to Apple, that Apple Maps on iPhone and iPad is now used more than three times as often as Google Maps. And Apple reported that Apple Maps now handles more than 5 billion mapping requests each week. What’s interesting from a local SEO perspective, is that Google Maps users on iOS need to take an additional step to query a local business, product, or service. And that step it would be opening either the Google search app or Google Maps app.
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.
Benefits of Google My Business
People turn online multiple times a day to find information to make their lives easier. As the Main Search Engine to help you find what you need, Google has developed a way for businesses to stand out: Google My Business. Whether through a search result or a maps query, over five billion Searches are made each day through Google. That means that a large audience can see your Google My Business profile. In an era where Google not only is a noun but a verb, since searching on the website is so universal—”just Google it!”—improving how your business appears on Google can have a big impact.
Mistakes to avoid on your Google My Business Listing
Low-Quality Photos:
Never underestimate the power of visuals. For a huge percentage of your potential customers, your GMB listing is their first impression of your business. High-quality, authentic photos will entice customers to take a closer look. Low-quality photos make users click away as fast as they can.
Considering how many impressions your Google My Business listing gets, you can’t afford to keep bad photos on your Google listing. When it comes to online listings, users definitely judge a book by its cover.Category Confusion:
Google Categories can be a huge source of confusion and frustration. Lumping your unique business under a broad umbrella is sure to ruffle feathers, but it is absolutely crucial to your Google business listing.
Google Categories are a major component to local search. Categories define your business at a glimpse, and (hopefully) helps customers find what they’re looking for. These categories are made by Google, and you cannot make your own.
Luckily, Google has a massive list to choose from, with more showing up all the time.
Make sure your primary category (the one you choose first) is as correct as possible. Your primary category determines which customers search for you.
Getting your categories wrong can result in angry customers, bad reviews, abysmal rankings, and an extremely tedious phone call with a Google customer service representative.Duplicate Listings
This happens all the time. If your business has a duplicate listing, it will show up twice in local search, and Google will strike your listings down with extreme prejudice. Duplicate content is a ranking-killer, it confuses customers, and it makes your business look sloppy and disorganized. It’s also against Google’s terms of service.
A lot of businesses try to make a new Google My Business listing when they open a new location or move. Instead of making a duplicate page, update the listing you already have to reflect any changes, including new locations.
If you have duplicate listings, remove or report them. If that doesn’t work, get on the phone with a Google representative.
What Apple Maps Mean for Small Businesses and Local SEO
Now that more and more people are searching for businesses on mobile phones, making your small business easy to find on a mobile device is crucial. In the past, having a presence on Google Maps was important because users would generally use the map to determine where your businesses is located. Clicking on a link to find a location seems like too much work on a mobile phone, so Maps are the easiest way to find information quickly.
Plain and simple, Apple Maps are going to be important when it comes to local search because Apple is such a huge company. According to Survey and analysis done by Google, 30.2 percent of total mobile users are using Apple.