Companies aren’t looking for just any traffic to their website. They’re seeking qualified local traffic from the areas they serve. Search engine optimization isn’t worth much if all the traffic comes from out of the state, and you need traffic within a 30-mile radius.
Your marketing efforts need to focus on local SEO that brings the type of traffic you need. Local SEO is anything a company does to improve rankings and traffic for local customers. When you combine local SEO with Google Local 3-Pack, you get an unbeatable combination that rockets your business far ahead of the competition.
Learn how these two powerhouses of marketing work to build your traffic and increase your conversions.
Local SEO Includes More Than Just Your Website
When most people think about local SEO, they envision working on their website content, improving page speed, blogging, etc. While your website is part of your Local SEO marketing plan, it encompasses resources outside of your site as well.
In fact, your website only accounts for 14% of your Google Local 3-Pack rank and just 26% of your Localized Organic Rank.
The key to local SEO is the word local. You need to have your business associated with the areas that you cover. The most important thing you can do to help with local SEO is to fill out your Google My Business profile.
Google My Business provides free business listings and reviews. Your business likely already has one even if you’ve never heard of Google My Business. You can claim your listing and add important information such as an address, phone number, hours of operation, pictures, and more.
Google uses this information to help rank in traditional organic results and in the Local 3-Pack, which we’ll talk about later.
In addition to Google My Business, you should claim your online local listings on other sites such as Yelp. It lets you create an attractive listing and keeps your information consistent across multiple sites, which is another important factor for Google.
Your contractor company should also seek backlinks from local websites such as Chambers of Commerce and other business organizations. This shows Google the areas you serve as well as your contribution to the community. It adds to your trustworthiness and authority.
These are all ways you can improve your rankings for local results without doing anything to your website.
Bringing Local SEO to Your Website
Google prioritizes local search results based on proximity. It assumes people in that city want to deal with local businesses. The problem arises when you try to rank for nearby cities within your service area, but outside your home city.
Your business may not even rank on the first page for the next city over, depending on the competition. To combat this, you’ll want to include both general and localized keywords. For example, contractor for New York City, etc. The above scan shows just how location can impact your Google My Business rank.
You can also create landing pages for the individual cities that include local keyword optimization. It’s essential that you provide quality information for these pages and that Google does not see them as “doorway pages.” These are pages designed to rank well, but then get you to click on the main page.
Your city pages should have plenty of information and include a call to action at the bottom.
Local SEO and the Google 3-Pack
You’ve worked hard to improve your Local SEO on and off-page, so it’s time to talk about the Local 3-Pack. When someone searches for a business in their area, two separate results come up: standard search results and the 3-Pack.
The 3-Pack is located above the standard results and features three businesses with review information, hours of operation, and a map that shows their location. This is valuable Internet real estate because it’s featured above the search results and is eye-catching.
It was initially the Local 7-Pack, but mobile users had difficulty seeing all the businesses, and Google concluded only the top three received additional traffic. Changing to three companies made it more competitive and almost a guarantee of improved traffic and increased conversions if you made it into the top three.
As you might guess, Google wants only the best choices for the 3-Pack of a search query. There is no way to guarantee you’ll rank for the Local 3-Pack, but good local SEO provides the best chance. It’s a mix of your location, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.
Local SEO helps develop all aspects of those. While the Local 3-Pack doesn’t always mimic the search results, the better your local SEO, the more likely you’ll be picked for the 3-Pack.
Keep in mind the 3-pack changes based on keywords, which is why it’s important to optimize your website for several keyword phrases.
For example, your site may be on the 3-Pack for contractor company in New York, but not for bed bug removal in New York. Your company handles bed bug removal, but unless you’re mentioned it specifically on your site, Google may not include you in the 3-Pack.
Marketing Improves Local SEO
We understand that you’re trying to run a business and may not have the time to focus on claiming business listings and creating optimized content for your site. LMM is an expert in marketing for companies like yours.
We work with you to develop a proper marketing plan and implement it on and off your website. Our marketing platform is easy to use and lets your keep track of numerous analytics from Google My Business calls to website visits.
If you want the best chance at landing on the Local 3-Pack, then you need to go above and beyond the efforts of your competition. They’re doing keyword research and developing their profiles, but they don’t have us in their corner.
If you want to learn more about local SEO, the Local 3-Pack, and other methods of marketing, then please contact us today.