Your mother ever say, “First Impressions Count” ?
As more and more of the general market adopts higher usage of mobile devices (smartphones & tablets), consumers are well aware of your business even before they step foot through your doors.
Simply Googling your business name is helping to educate consumers these days about how you do business.
Sometimes a purchasing decision is made without ever stepping foot into your store or restaurant. Online reviews are helping to pave the way to an “authentic” web, a web based on peer reviews and social signals.
Right now, Google is the premier choice for consumers when it comes to search engines, maps, and local business listings.
If your business is ranking organically, is visible on local maps and your Google My Business listing has been claimed, there is a higher chance for increased sales through your visibility on Google and other search engines.
Google is the premiere choice of consumers when it comes to directions and maps. SEO Local Results is the business division at SMDigital Partners that helps small to medium sized businesses optimize their local presence on Google.
By utilizing and optimizing Google Maps and Google My Business listings, SEO Local Results helps local businesses drive more online traffic from mobile, web and tablet consumers.
Did you know that 25% of 1st page search shows local results
Consumers these days are IMPATIENT – they want instant results NOW! The Internet is the one place other than the library that can answer someones question. Now being able to find the correct answer is a little bit harder.
So what does all this have to do with your local Google Maps listing?
Citation Building
Citation building is an important digital marketing tactic in the eyes of Google and other search engines. A Google citation is the (N.A.P), known as the name, address, and phone number of your business. Each citation created and approved acts as a gateway for search engines to find and define your business location with an accurate (N.A.P) and KML information.
Ultimately, the building of citations helps Google validate through its search spiders that your business is real and your Google My Business listing location is accurate.
Offsite – SEO
The key to ranking locally through the optimization of your Google Maps listing and your website is to use Offsite-SEO.
Through the use of online advertising, a small business can create blogs, social signals, local business listings or citations to such sites as Yelp!, Delicious, Twitter, Blogger, and other web properties that will strengthen your website locally but also show web strength.
Also by adding a small snippet of code called, “Schema Code” this will help the search engines classify what your business is about and boost your local rankings online. It is important to focus on high domain authority sites when building your local citations.
One of the most important things for making sure you have success with your local SEO campaign is to be consistent with the name of your business, the address, and phone number also known as the “N.A.P”.
Being able to keep your N.A.P consistent online helps search engines not only find you but also strengthens your local visibility online.
Did you know that 82% of consumers use their laptops, computers, smartphones & tablets online?
Google My Business Listing
The easiest and most cost effective way to show up on the web is to utilize your Google My Business listing that will show potential customers information online about your business including hours, contact information and directions. These days Google 360 Business View is helping customers take a virtual tour of the inside of your business so that they can get better acquainted with your locale.
These days Google 360 Business View is helping customers take a virtual tour of the inside of your business so that they can get better acquainted with your locale.
Your Google My Business listing will help your overall online web presence but specifically give your business a Google Maps location, Google+ Page, as well as found on organic keyword searches with local intent. By having a consistent NAP this will let Google and other search engines verify your actual location but also give consistent business information online.
Google Maps is currently the #1 Map App on the market and it is the preferred map choice here in America. With a Google Maps verified business listing your information will appear on Maps and will help your customers find critical information and directions to your business.
In addition, prospective customers can find your business ratings and reviews. It is important to make sure your Google My Business listing is verified and claimed for the ability to respond to positive and negative reviews about the business.
One of the easiest ways to make sure your business maps listing is optimized is to log in via your Gmail account and visit https://www.google.com/mapmaker to see what Google is displaying. The categories that you place your business in is important for local maps marketing as it tells Google and consumers what your business is in.
To learn more about where you stand locally online, please contact the digital experts at SMDigital Partners at (561) 404-9787 for a free website audit.
SMDigital Partners
601 N. Congress Ave. Suite 430
Delray Beach, FL 33445
(561) 404-9787
