Small businesses don’t need a global presence to maintain their clientele, and that’s why so many aim for Google Local when reaching out to potential customers. Interesting point is that over 50% of all local search results in a sale. A sprawling corporation has hundreds of markets to worry about, but for a small company, they only need to concern themselves with a handful, if that many. For these businesses, it’s not about bringing in as many people as possible online, it’s about finding the people who are likely to patronize the business. And doing that means targeting search results to people who are close by.
How can Google Local Search help a business gain additional visibility?
The search engine giant places a major emphasis on returning search results that would be most relevant to a user, and that means finding places that are nearby. It is strongly recommended, then, that a company do everything possible to make themselves attractive to the search engine. For small businesses, that can mean a lot of things, such as creating a website that is cleanly organized and filled with relevant information. It can mean producing a strong social media presence. It can even mean getting the company listed in a number of directories.
Google Local, however, is a must for a company that wants to improve its online marketing. It functions as a part of Google+, the search engine’s social networking platform. In fact, the two are tightly linked and reference each other when functioning.
Upon getting started, the business creates a profile through the site and attains verification, which engenders that trust that the search engine places a big premium on. During setup, the company inputs in information, which mostly consists of its name, address and phone number. This information, once verified, is used as the standard when the search engine indexes any sites that the company is cited on. However, more importantly, Google Local Search reaches out to Google+ users who are near the business when they search for a service the company offers. In other words, if a plumber secures a Google Local profile, they will be more likely to show up in search listings and maps when someone nearby is looking for a plumber. This is an enormous advantage, especially to companies that operate a brick and mortar storefront. Customers have to be brought in from around the area, and maintaining a profile will often mean much greater visibility online.
Accurate information and a well-maintained website are essential to producing a successful profile, though, and an expert internet marketing team can help on that front. Marketing experts will help put together an effective profile and ensure the company’s information is inputted correctly. Attaining verification is also a top priority, and internet marketers can help with that as well. Ensuring the company is listed in respectable directories is important, as well as adding certain tags to the site to help Google index the company’s site properly.
Internet marketers have an incredible number of tools now, but working with the search engine directly is still an effective tactic that every business should take advantage of.