Wondering best ways to optimize for google maps/local listing
-
I'm wondering if there is any strategy to optimize a client to show up in the local listings. I assume a lot of this is tied to Google + / Google Places for Business. Is it possible to have a company show up in the local listings over a certain geographic area even if they are not technically addressed in that area? Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan H.
-
Hi Bryan,
In order for a business to qualify for inclusion in Google's local pack of results, it must meet the following criteria:
- Have a unique, staffed, physical address. This cannot be a virtual office or P.O. box.
2. Have a unique local area code phone number. Not toll free, vanity or call tracking numbers.
3. Have face-to-face transactions with customers, either at the place of business (like a dentist) or at the customers' locations (like a plumber).
If the business can say 'yes' to ALL THREE of these things, then it qualifies, and it's time to read the Google Places Quality Guidelines to become acquainted with all of Google's various policies. See: https://support.google.com/places/answer/107528?hl=en
If the business cannot say yes to any of the above or fails to meet any of the criteria in the Google Places Quality Guidelines, then it should not pursue Google local pack rankings.
It's very important to understand Google's bias toward physical locale. Most businesses can strive to achieve local pack rankings only for their city of location. In other words, a plumber located in San Jose, California can hope to achieve local results for searches that include the term 'san jose' or that stem from San Jose-based devices. He cannot typically expect to appear in the local pack for his additional service cities where he lacks a physical location. Instead, he must pursue organic rankings for these location-less cities.
There are exceptions to this in scenarios of low competition. For example, if your business is one of only two chimney sweep companies serving 5 different cities, there is a chance that Google may surface you in the local pack for more than one city, simply because their is little competition and there are few choices. This is typically the exception rather than the rule, however.
Pursuing organic rankings for your additional service cities involves the creation of city landing pages. You can read more about this here: http://www.solaswebdesign.net/wordpress/?p=1403
Pursuing high local rankings involves a ton of different efforts. You might find these resources helpful:
http://moz.com/local-search-ranking-factors
http://moz.com/blog/top-20-local-search-ranking-factors-an-illustrated-guide
So, the first step is to determine how the business model fits in with Google's view of local businesses and then proceed accordingly.
-
"not technically addressed in that area"
Physical staffed location is required according to Google Places policy.
If its not techincally in the area, you can build organic content to rank for those areas but not local.
Hope this helps!
-
Hi Byran,
If the site does not have any local presence, that would be a huge disadvantage against better optimized sites that do have a local presence. The level of competition in that industry would also make a difference. I'd like to point out a post by Rand below as reference to this discussion. The post is a bit old (2010) however a lot of the concepts addressed still seem to be revelant today.
Ranking in Multiple Geographies
Cheers,
SEO5
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How to make Google show reviews from Facebook and Google My Business?
I wonder if there is anything I can do to increase the chance that Google shows stars that indicate the average score of our reviews from Facebook or Google MyBusiness for the keywords where we rank nr. 1, for instance our brand name?
Reviews and Ratings | | AudunBK0 -
Do Product Ratings or Reviews Improve Google Rankings?
The is a lot of info on the web about how business reviews/ratings improve local search result rankings. However do product ratings or reviews improve PDP/PLP/Homepage (not local) rankings?
Reviews and Ratings | | rigelcable0 -
What's the best way to keep Google My Business reviews when the business changes names?
I work with an interior designer who is re-branding and changing her business name to focus specifically on windows. Can she keep her GMB reviews and just change the name of her business, then reverify with Google? She doesn't want to lose her current local pack ranking.
Reviews and Ratings | | obkommy1 -
Ups store and local listings
HI,
Reviews and Ratings | | corn2015
Does google look negatively if an address is at a UPS store? A client has their address there because they don't have a physical locaiton yet. Corn1 -
Accessing and Displaying Google Reviews (Url and Structured Data Markup)
Hi, I have a Google+ Page for my business that has 25 Google reviews written by customers, of which I am rather proud that it is an aggregate of 4.9 🙂 I would like to brag more about this on my website and also like it to show up as Structured Data in as many organic results as possible (it shows up on local searches, not a problem). However, I cannot find anything resembling a permanent link to the reviews (other than the about page) on Google... Any clues ? Also, I would like to start including the Google review stars within any other structured data markup that I add to the website (such as a BusinessEvent for example) - But the FAQ's on Google seem to imply that the reviews and aggregates must be on my website and nothing seems to say that I may use the Google reviews or aggregate in my markup. Can anyone point me in the right direction please ?
Reviews and Ratings | | wicko0 -
Local review site discovery
Rand and others have shared a link to a free service where you type in a state location and it shows a list of the most used local listings & review sites for that area. I can't find this service or link anywhere. Was this a service that was on getlisted.org that no longer exists?? Anyone know where it is or where it went?
Reviews and Ratings | | clearlyseo1 -
Moving my photography business to another state. Is it possible to transfer Google My Business listing WITHOUT losing my Google Reviews?
A friend of mine is transitioning her photography business to another state. She moved about 5 years ago and consequently lost all of her Google+/Yelp reviews. Having reviews as a photographer is EXTREMELY important for her business reputation. She doesn't want this to happen again. Is it possible to change the location of a Google my Business page and keep the existing reviews? Thanks
Reviews and Ratings | | RosemaryB0 -
Publishing testimonials on your site that are from your Google + (or other review sites page)
Ive got a site with some good Google + Reviews and some other good reviews on other sites that id like to be able to publish on a testimonials page on our website, but im worried about being penalised for duplicate content. Any idea of the best way to get these reviews on to our website, i was thinking about placing the text in as an image, but id prefer to do something semantic if at all possible. (I know that some review sites have javascript widgets you can use to pull in your reviews but for most of the sites we are reviewed on they dont)
Reviews and Ratings | | Sam-P0