How to Show Up in the Google Local Pack for Your Small Business
As a small business owner, you know the importance of attracting local customers to your products or services. One way to do this is to show up in the Google local pack, which is a group of local businesses that appear at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs) for relevant local searches.
The Google local pack is an effective way to get your business in front of potential customers who are searching for businesses like yours in your local area. If your business is listed in the local pack, it will be more likely to be seen by these potential customers, increasing the chances that they will visit your website or store.
How can you make sure your small business shows up in the Google local pack?
Here are three steps you can take:
Claim and verify your Google My Business listing
The first step in showing up in the Google local pack is to claim and verify your Google My Business (GMB) listing. GMB is a free tool that allows you to manage your business's information on Google, including your name, address, phone number, website, and more.
To claim your GMB listing, you will need to create a Google account and search for your business on Google. If your business is already listed, you can claim it by verifying your business's ownership. If your business is not listed, you can create a new listing by providing the necessary information and verifying your business's ownership.
Once you have claimed and verified your GMB listing, you can update your business's information and add details like your hours of operation, services, and photos to make your listing more informative and appealing to potential customers.
Optimize your GMB listing
Once you have claimed and verified your GMB listing, the next step is to optimize it for the local pack. This includes providing accurate and complete information about your business, including your name, address, phone number, and website. It's also important to use keywords in your business's name and description that are relevant to your products or services and to your local area.
In addition to providing accurate and complete information, you should also focus on getting positive reviews from your customers. Google takes reviews into account when determining which businesses to include in the local pack, so the more positive reviews you have, the more likely it is that your business will be included. You can encourage your customers to leave reviews by asking them directly or by providing a link to your GMB listing on your website or in your email signature.
Optimize your website for local search
In addition to optimizing your GMB listing, you should also optimize your website for local search. This includes using local keywords in your website's content and meta tags, as well as implementing local SEO strategies like creating a local landing page and adding your business's location to your website's title and header tags.
By optimizing your website for local search, you can improve its visibility and ranking in the SERPs for local keywords, making it more likely that potential customers will find your website when they search for businesses like yours in your local area.
Next Step for your Small Business
This was the short and sweet version. If this is all jibberish to you at this point, or you aren’t confident in taking the next step on your own, reach out to us today for help with getting your business into the Google Local Pack. If you are in our area, that is probably how you found us, and we will audit your website to see where you can improve your online digital presence in order to drive more traffic to your business.
