Features of local search, Google My Business listings contain key information about businesses and they surface when people search companies near them. For instance, a quick search for “a bread shop near me” yields the following results. The listings at the top of search results make up Google’s local SEO. Searchers can see the locations of these bread shops on the above map, and clicking the results displays the bakeries’ Google My Business listings.

These listings contain key information like a company’s address, hours, website, phone number, and even images.

If you want your business to appear in Google’s local SEO, at the top of results, you need to claim and optimize your Google My Business listing. You’ll also want to keep your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) information consistent across your online listings to improve your chances of earning a top spot in results.

For more information on how you can optimize your Google My Business listing, speak to an SEO Company 24 specialist.

In addition to claiming your Google My Business listing, you’ll also want to build local citations. These citations contain information like your company’s name, address, phone number, and website. Citation building campaigns can help you earn local listings on sites like Bing, Yelp, Foursquare, Facebook, Apple Maps, TripAdvisor, and more. Local SEO services from companies like SEO Company 24 can ensure your citations are updated and driving relevant traffic to your website.

To rank at the top of local search results, you’ll also need to target local keywords on your website and in your site content. For instance: If a beauty products company in Virginia wants to rank in more local search results, they could optimize their page titles, meta descriptions, and site copy to include the keywords “Instant Virginia beauty products.” Targeting location-based keywords can help your business appear in more local searches so people in your area can find and contact you.

For local businesses, it’s extremely important to monitor and respond to online reviews. Ratings and reviews can appear on your website, as well as third-party sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook. Positive or negative, it’s important that you reply to all reviews in order to show customers you take their needs seriously. Remember, people look at reviews before visiting local businesses, so keeping your reviews updated and responding to questions and comments will encourage more people to visit your business.

Worried about putting in the time to manage your business reviews? SEO Company is ready to help you with your reviews to keep your digital presence in tip-top shape.

Link building

Earning backlinks from other reputable, local businesses can also help to boost your local search rankings.