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You’ve been working on your company’s organic search results, rising to the top of the list for regional and national services, but what about the opportunities in your neighborhood? Local SEO is a tool to optimize your site, making it prominent in local and localized organic search results.
A huge part of this is something called The Map Pack (Local Pack, 3 Pack, Snack Pack, Local ABC pack, etc.), which is the three local listings, next to a map of their locations, that show up at the top of the SERP (search engine results page), with the organic search results listed below.
Generally, it works the same as traditional SEO: Google (Bing, Yahoo, etc.) ranks your page according to its list of factors designed to decide your relevance to the search query. However, for Local SEO there is a separate algorithm and set of rules. These rules are based on the three pillars: proximity, prominence, and relevance.
You may be wondering why Local SEO is so important if you are doing well in organic search rankings. Well, an unnamed attendee of a 2018 SEO event at Google headquarters informed us that “46% of all queries have local intent.” That means that nearly half of all Google searches are looking for a local result!
If that wasn’t astonishing enough, consider that Google Consumer Insights has let us know that 76% of consumers who search for something local on their phone will visit the store that day.
Clearly, optimizing for local searches is going to lead to greater online visibility and conversions to in-store traffic.
Much of showing up on local packs and localized searches will have to do with the proximity of your business to the searcher. But if you are in that proximity, shouldn’t you be in The Map 3 Pack? Perfect! We think so, too, and this is where Acquire Internet Marketing comes in. We will make sure that all steps are taken to facilitate the success of your business!
Search engines will value the proximity of the searcher to your business first. To help with that, make sure to-
1. Register your business with Google My Business
Do it! Right now! This is Google’s own tool to manage Local SEO and The Map 3 Pack. To not use this tool would be negligent and downright silly—and it’s free. And while you’re setting that up, go ahead and set up your business site with Bing! This move will not only help dramatically with SEO, but it also makes your site and services more accessible to your clientele.
2. Update and standardize your NAP
Ensure that you have the exact same spelling and spacing on your NAP (Name, Address, & Phone Number) across all sites and directories. Consistent info across sites legitimizes your listing for search engines. Inconsistent info is tough for the bots to understand and for user experience, which Google also hates.
Next, your prominence will be considered in relation to similar businesses in the search area by evaluating your authority through backlinks, ratings, reviews, shares, and check-ins. Finally, your relevance to the specific words used in the query will take into account your GMB optimization, onsite SEO, content, and more.
The most beneficial tasks with regards to the above are to-
3. Create quality backlinks from reputable sites
4. Encourage reviews and respond to all reviews (both good and bad)
5. Optimize for your keyword and keyword + “near me,” not just keyword + city
6. Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
7. Use a Map Pack Ranking Tracker
8. Keep up with your regular organic SEO!
As your Denver Local SEO specialists, we’ve been delivering top rankings in traditional SEO, but it’s time to get local! We’d love to drive customers to your business by helping you rank for local & localized organic SEO. If you have any questions, utilize our tools and experience, and contact Acquire Internet Marketing today for your Free SEO Analysis!
Don’t just take our word for it—look at some of our Denver Local SEO results!
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