By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-02-10 22:00:24 | Word Count: 664
One of the best tools that Google has recently introduced to help boost local searches is the addition of Google Maps pinpointing local listings on the top of the search results page.
This helpful function will show a user in one glance which service provider is nearest to them. In the past, local businesses looking to rank high on SERPs have seen their efforts eaten away by national chains with deep pockets. However, the combination of:
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1. targeted SEO that highlights the local nature of your business,
2. the appearance of local businesses showing up on Google Maps in a prominent place in SERPs,
3. the new local ranking algorithms that Google has recently employed
Will now enable you to give the big guys a run for their money.
It’s no longer news, but in case you haven’t heard, in a nod to just how many users turn to Google looking for a local listing has prompted the search engine giant to change the way its universal results are calculated.
Instead of limiting local results to Google Place’s 7 pack in the old format, local listings are now integrated into universal results as long as the content is relevant to a user’s search. This move initially sent companies previously dominating page 1 on SERPs, but who didn’t have a locality associated with them tumbling off the rankings. Travel companies especially were adversely affected.
However Google stands by the changes because of the amount of people who needed the algorithm refinements. As much as 20% of users are looking for a local listing when they turn to Google- even if they use ambiguous search terms that do not have geo-location modifiers.
If you look at the mobile searches, that number jumps up dramatically to 33 %. What’s more, the boon to local businesses is manifold, because users who turn to a search engine to find a local business overwhelmingly act on the information. Over half the people looking to find a local business choose to search online first—and then follow up their online search with a local purchase.
* 70% of them call the telephone number they find on the website,
* 60% of them refer the local company to a friend,
* 14% of them will forward the information in an email to someone else, and
* 11% of them will even fill out an online form while they are there.
The sad state of affairs is that local businesses haven’t taken advantage of the change as much as they could. To show up you have to sign up for a Google Local Business Ad account to input all your local data. Then you can go the appropriate Google Place Page and list your business. So far, millions of ‘spots’ created by Google on their Place pages are still uninhabited.
The great thing about doing this is that Google will not only list your business but your location in the prominently placed map in the SERPs. The Place pages also provide an easy way for someone to write a review about your business—which they just might do since so many people follow a local query with an action involving that business. This will help to build organic back links to your website, leading even more searchers to find your local business.
The fact that Google Maps now appears on the top of SERPs displaying local results more prominently should help optimized local businesses increase their sales and revenue. Contact us today, we can help you with Google Local and Google Maps. Call us Today at 1-800-736-9618
