Are you struggling to rank in the local 3 pack and want to know how to get better local search results for your business?
That should be your goal. Ranking in the local 3 pack for a local business will take some time and smart work.
We all know that it starts by getting your Google My Business page all squared away. Every thing that you can possible do needs to be completed.
Plus, you want to keep your account up to date.
You’ll also want to include images as well as videos about your business.
Start hanging out where your audience hangs out at on social media networks. Post 3 times a day. Morning, noon, and dinner time.
Just use social media to build your brand. Keep it simple using images. Canva is a great place to modify your images to use on places like Facebook.
Try to use the same logo, keywords, and main images so your brand can be easy recognized. You should also have the same name as your domain name for your website.
Stay active and keep engaging. Get one social network rolling before you add any more on. If your too busy, hire a social media manager in your local area that has the expertise you need.
Down the road all of this social media work will help you get a better ranking because Google will see that your business is very active.
People must trust you any so you might as well build that trust on your favorite social network.
Now let’s talk about the next things that you need to make happen.
How To Get A Higher Ranking Locally Using These 3 Tips
SEO and branding is the best ways to get better local search results especially when you have a strategy to use our 3 main tips.
Once you have a handle on your Google My Business account and your social media is up in running then it’s time to get down to business.
We want to get results as fast as possible but we we move too quickly you could get a backlash from Google.
So you need a simple strategy on some of the more important local SEO ranking factors to boost your business up in the search results.
Follow these 3 tips and watch your website start gaining traction in the local search results.
1. Start Getting More Reviews
Getting positive reviews for your business is one of the best ways to move up the ladder in the local ranking. Find out what your customers think.
Get your entire staff involved.
Explain the right ways and wrong ways to ask for a review.
You can find how to ask customers for a review with a simple Google search to get more information..
Respond to all reviews, negative or positive. A quick response is best unless you need to calm down a bit after a bad one.
Be professional and polite.
You simply have to ask for a review. People aren’t going to usually offer a review. So come up with a simple polite way of incorporating it every time you have an opportunity.
This could be in person, email, or even text now days.
Take pictures when you can. Show them off on social media.
You want to maintain a steady flow of new updated reviews.
Your Fan Page on social media as well as your Google My Business page should contain many of your ratings.
Get Your Staff Involved In Asking For Reviews
You’ll be surprised on how many reviews you get once all of your staff gets involved and becomes good at asking for a review the right way.
Hold contest for your employees and reward the top reviews in some kind of way. Make it fun and a learning experience.
You’ll end up with a better staff that will become better at customer service.
You might even end up with some nice video testimonials that will drive traffic and help people decide to use your products or services.
How many times have you looked at a review before you decided to buy?
They can be the deciding factor before someone purchases your food, wares or uses your services.
Getting reviews need to become part of the selling process.
Like we said, they can also help you close sales.
Send reminders (and small training tutorials) using email or text to your employees on how to do a better job at getting the reviews you need.
Talk about it in your meetings and any time you have an opportunity. These reviews are going to help you increase your bottom line.
In addition, people will look on their mobile devices and read 2 or 3 reviews a lot of times before they buy.
Encourage customers to read your reviews. It’s what other people think about your business. Make sure you make any necessary improvements.
Make it part of your daily routine.
2. Look For Link Building Opportunities
Look for link opportunities right in your local area. Talk with other business owners that both of you could benefit with back links.
Do not pay for a link building.
Look for linking opportunities that will drive more traffic to your website. Find links that build trust for your brand.
Do you have a business listing with the Chamber of Commerce?
You can get a very powerful link from this organization.
You should try to add 2 – 3 links every month from different channels that relate to your business and check to make sure all of your links work.
You’ll also want to take advantage of interlinking within your own site.
In addition, take your time building these links. Keep it in your marketing strategy and use your data.
Google Search Console and your Google Analytics need to become part of your marketing efforts. You’ll find out what is working and what is not.
Also, check the competition and see who they are linking to. You may find some great places that will help you out with some link juice.
Citations and directories is another place that you want to have a link back to your website.
It’s all about getting your business found online. The more places that you are listed the more chances you have an opportunity for a customer to find your business.
To build up your citations we recommend that you perform these 2 minute drills everyday using these local SEO tricks to drive more traffic.
3. Are You Using Keywords That You Can Rank For?
Sometimes you may not get any traction using some of the higher level keyword terms. Try to use less competitive keywords on your website.
As your site builds more authority then you can go for the better keywords.
Start adding some blog posts to your site trying to rank for the key phrases that you want to rank for.
Writing reviews is a great way to not only get ranked locally but you can also drive more traffic to your site.
This will enable you to start building a better relationship with your audience and build you a better brand.
Become the expert in your niche.
In addition, update your old content. Keep it fresh and work toward getting a higher ranking with the keywords that your audience would type in.
Don’t forget about voice search. When people speak they will use longer keyword phrases. Take that into consideration when writing your content.
Make sure you add in your local community with your keywords when producing any type of content.
Add in the zip codes you service on your Google My Business page and other small communities that you serve or are surrounded by.
Do the same for your website and social media sites.
There are many other ways to get a higher ranking on Google. SEO is constantly changing and you’ve got to keep up or risk losing traffic.
It all affects the bottom line of your profits.
Use your Google data to help you make local marketing decisions.
Keep working on getting a higher ranking locally.
Summary: How To Get Better Local Search Results
Remember, SEO and Branding is the bridge to getting more customers to your website.
But if you have an outstanding Google My Business page, stay active on your social media network, and produce great content for your audience, you will drive traffic.
Just use the 3 tips we talked about today to help you get a better local search ranking in the future.
Here are the 3 tips to master once your ready to move up the ranking ladder. You have to work your way to the top.
There are only 3 spots on the local 3 pack. So work it.
- Start Getting More Reviews
- Look For Link Building Opportunities
- Are You Using The Right Keyword Phrases?
Did you check out those two minute drills to do everyday? They definitely will help you boost your search power.
Start building a local marketing strategy that will work for your business.
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Alright my friends. It’s time to drop a line in the water.
Until next time we hope you’re living a happy laptop lifestyle and you get a better ranking score for your business.