If you’ve ever explored Local SEO and marketing, you know Google My Business (GMB) has become a staple strategy. It’s especially crucial for markets with geographical access to your business, especially when you have a storefront or a local operation.

This post will discuss local SEO, GMB, and why it’s crucial for any business marketing strategy.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is an optimization strategy to rank in local SERPs. Much like the standard SEO definition, you are implementing optimizations to show up in the SERPs of a selected keyword. In this case, you’re aiming for local keywords and search results.

An easy way to show the distinction would be to show examples of keywords used in standard SEO and Local SEO strategies. Take a look:

• Global Keywords (General or Head Keywords):
  • Personal Injury Attorney
  • Restaurant Marketing Services
  • SEO Marketing Services
• Local Keywords (Local and Long-Tail Keywords)
  • California Personal Injury Attorney
  • Los Angeles Restaurant Marketing Services
  • SEO Marketing Services Chicago

Because more global keywords are more general, they tend to have very high search volumes but high competition. On the other hand, local keywords are more specific, meaning they have lower search volumes but are not as competitive.

This can be crucial for smaller and local businesses. If you have a global or national operation that’s just starting out, ranking for as many long-tail keywords might be easier than trying to break through very competitive head keywords.

In most cases, the websites that rank highest in very competitive keywords are established and popular sites, which could be challenging for beginners to contend with. Therefore, instead of focusing all your energy on ranking for only head keywords, you should also incorporate the use of local and long-tail optimizations. Of course, this doesn’t mean you should give up on head keywords entirely; however, ignoring local keywords might slow down or reduce your potential ROI.

Local keywords are even more crucial for local businesses. In cases where you’re exclusively operating from a local area, you need to prioritize visibility among your target market. While it’s great that someone from across the country hears about your store, the people who are most likely to become customers are the ones who live and work in your area.

What Is Google My Business?

When you do a quick Google search of products and services, you’ll often get a listing of relevant businesses. So, for example, if you were to look up “lawyers in los angeles” or “restaurants near me”, you’ll get relevant GMB listings with information about the businesses.

These listings often feature the following information:

• Business name
• Storefront/Office address
• Contact numbers
• Email
• Website
• Operating/Store hours
• Images
• Videos
• Menus
• Google Reviews and average ratings

Essentially, a user would be getting a summary of what your business is about. Then, if they’re interested, they can either make a call, email you, or visit your website for more information.

There are also other valuable features on GMB, which allow you to audit traffic on your listing and enable users to set appointments from the listing itself. For example, if you are a lawyer, a doctor, or a consultant, you can have a “book” button to allow people to reserve appointment dates.

Depending on what business category you fall into, the information field might change. However, whatever the available fields are, you just need to ensure they’re filled out and optimized.

How Does Google My Business Boost Local SEO?

There are several reasons why Google My Business can boost your local SEO:

1. Google Is A Widely-Used Search Engine

The first thing you need to remember is that a lot of people use Google. Google is the default search engine for most users, so there is a viable opportunity for traffic and search volumes.

Part of the reason so many people use it is how intelligent the algorithm is. Google has optimized its search algorithm, so the user is always getting the most relevant information based on a lot of data, such as their location and previous searches. So, if you search “malls near me” right now, you’ll get results relevant to your current location, not just a random list of strip malls from random places.

So, although Google My Business might be one search engine’s active feature, it still has such a broad user base.

2. Google My Business Boosts Local Visibility

As said, Google My Business is a way for people to discover your business. Not to mention, you’re making sure people will see your listing when they’re looking for it, not when they just see ads and fliers.

The reality is people rarely just “stumble upon” stores. Instead, search engines like Google have allowed them to look for what they need without leaving their homes.

The best example of this would be when people are looking for restaurants. Instead of going around town and finding physical menus, they can access them through the GMB listings. They can look for specific cuisines, food items, and services by looking them up on Google. Then, if they’ve decided they want to visit a restaurant, they open Google Maps to find the exact location.

The above example could be applied to any business in every niche. You can apply this to clinics, boutiques, clothing stores, law firms, and repair shops.

3. Stay Locally Competitive

There’s absolutely no reason for you not to set up a GMB listing for your business.

As mentioned, Google My Business has become a staple in Local SEO. You have to set up your GMB to keep up with your competition who already have their listings up and stay ahead of those who haven’t.

The internet has been integrated into our day-to-day lives, and it’s not going anywhere soon. This means the future is in digital marketing strategies, and your business should keep up with the changes.

Bottom-line

Again, the key here is visibility and competitiveness. Google is a viable platform for business because of its effective algorithm and vast user base.

That said, there’s a lot of competition going around, so you need to stand out and be visible as much as possible. You need to make sure potential clients and customers can easily find you, and Google My Business is a great way to do so.

Author’s Bio

JC Serrano is the founder of 1000Attorneys.com, one of the very few private enterprises certified to process lawyer referrals by the California State Bar. His marketing strategies have continuously evolved since 2005, incorporating ever-changing SEO strategies into lawyerleadmachine.com.