8 Factors To Rank Higher on Google Local Search

Local results appear to people who search for organizations and places nearby their location. They appear in various places across Maps and Search.

Having accurate and updated business-related information in Google My Business will help in improving your business existence in local searches.

Here are 8 factors to rank higher on Google local search:

1- Enter Complete (NAP) Data

(NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number)

Businesses having complete and accurate information makes it easier to match with the right searches. Ensure you have full NAP on every page.

Make sure you have entered the majority of your business data in Google My Business, so clients can easily find out information about what you do, where you are, and when they can visit you.

Remember to make changes in the information as your business changes.

Ensure that your site is in great condition as viruses, mistaken links and keyword stuffing bring down your ranking and positioning.

Use Schema.org markup on your NAP to give search engines all they have, to present your organization’s information precisely.

2- Have Higher Relevance and Prominence

Local results generally rely on factors like relevance, distance, and prominence.

To help locate the best match for your search these three components are combined together.  

Relevance: It shows how well a local listing matches what someone is searching for.

Distance: It refers to how far is your business from the location term used in the search.

Prominence: It refers to how well-known and trusted a business is. It’s also based on factors like inbound links, directory listings, contextual links in articles and positive comments.

Here are some ways through which you can enhance your relevance and prominence quality score:

• Properly managing and responding to reviews.
• Keeping your working hours correct and constantly enhancing your customer service.
• Must have lots of reviews and ratings about your business from clients.
• Recognize your audience and improve your local listing for appropriate keyword queries.

3- Local Link Building and Citations

The citation is simply an online reference for your business’s name, address, and phone number(NAP).

Local SEO depends much on links from other local websites that are truly significant to your business.

You can use the tool “Bright Local” to check any current references you have or to track your rival’s references.

There are various approaches by which you can get local citations:

• On the Moz website, you can go through the list of citations and then submit your citations manually.
• Utilize tools like Ahrefs, Majestic, or  Open Site Explorer to find citations that are gained by your competitors.
• Utilize the WhiteSpark service and inspire them to search and upload local citations for you.

There are many ways for building links.

Check out the links that are really effective within local link-building campaigns, given by Columnist Matthew Barby:

• Go to Meetup.com and look for a list of local events that are relevant to your industry.
• From public data, create a local resource and reach out to the local press to get coverage.
• To get quoted in local publications, sign up to press request services.
• Run an AMA on Reddit and inside other local groups.
• With appropriate online publications, line up interviews and columns.
• Give a discount to local organizations for your items and services in return for a link mentioned on their site.
• Enter local awards.
• Run regular competitive link research and capitalize on any new opportunities that your rivals have gained.

4- Manage and Answer Your Customer Reviews

Regularly answering reviews and feedback that customers leave about your business shows that you value your customers.

Google gives you an opportunity to ask for reviews from clients who have visited your store.

Excellent and positive reviews from your clients will enhance your business perceptibility and improve the possibility that a potential client will visit your business.

Create a link for customers where they can write reviews. You can simply share the link with your clients to urge them to rate your business.

You need to get the Place ID for your business in order to create a link:

To get your Place ID to follow these steps:

• Go to Google Places API.
• Enter your business information in the “Enter a location” field at the top of the map.
• In the list click your business name.
• On the map, your place ID will appear.

To create your link add your Place ID to the below given URL

https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>

According to the above example, the Place ID will be     https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=ChIJj61dQgK6j4AR4GeTYWZsKWw

A window will open in their browser as customers click your link, where they will be able to leave reviews, and feedback and rate your business.

5- Add Images with Resolution 720px Wide and 720px Tall

In order to rank higher, you should add images to your business listing. You can add more than one image of your business to attract your customers.

• Adding images will help your customers in getting a better idea of your products and services.
• Good images help in highlighting your business.
• It helps you increase the ranking of your business.
• To display your page personality you can also add a cover photo.
• For highlighting features of your business you can also add some different images. It relies on the sort of business you are managing.

You need to verify your business first in order to show images on Google and businesses with 10 or more areas can upload photographs through a spreadsheet.

Upload images on Google by meeting the below-given standards as it will make your images appear good:

• Use JPG or PNG format.
• Try to keep the size between 10KB and 5MB.
• Keep the resolution of your images a minimum of 720px tall, 720px wide.
• Focus on your image quality. It should represent reality.

6- Give Your Business a Virtual Tour

Perhaps the only thing that can create more actions on your Google business listing is virtual tours.

A visual tour gives your customer the most effective way of telling your unique story, conveying your experience and distinguishing your business in a vivid manner.

“A photo is worth 1,000 words, a virtual visit is worth 1,000 photos”.

Giving your business a virtual tour will help you in numerous ways:

• It will help your customers in knowing the 360-degree view of life inside your business and helps them see accurately what you are providing.
• Increase the visibility of your business.
• Help generate traffic to your profile.
• Enhance your listing quality and strength.

Virtual tour requires hiring a Google-approved photographer to visit your store.

If you’re really trying to engage potential customers and sell them on the experience of your business, this is one of the possibilities you can consider.

7- Promote your Website via Social Media

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, and many others give a wide array of chances for positive brand exposure to your local audiences.

Below are some tips that will help you rank higher on Google local search via social media:

• Associate your brand page with social media profiles of top local specialists and bloggers.
• Include product-related keywords in your brand page description.
• Utilize location-based keywords in your brand page title or description.
• Having a high user engagement rate on your social media profiles.

8- Incorporate the Correct Keywords on Your Site

When people search for local companies they usually type some words related to your business.

The most important areas to utilize the key expressions are in the individual title labels of your site pages, and any place where the font is large, or italic.

For example:

If your primary keyword is “Chicago Wedding Photographer”, you can use different plural versions of this keyword as shown below:

 

Moreover, you can use Moz Keyword Explorer to ensure that you are not missing any keywords.

Following the above factors can make your business stand out and help you in enhancing your business listing in order to get more customers.