A Google Local Listing in One Second Flat

It is increasingly becoming common knowledge in the world of SEO that web localization is one of the biggest trends online right now. Google Universal Search is one of the driving factors behind this recent trend. With videos, books, maps and more and more services showing up in the search results, marketers can now take advantage increasing avenues for content to be found and distributed. And what is arguably the biggest one of these avenues?

Location, Location, Location

Here’s 2 reasons why…

1. When the SERPs return a “Google Local Business Listings” box complete with a map, it instantly draws the browsers eye.  Put simply, it is prominent and striking.
2. Gaining visibility for local businesses in the listings can be extremely quick and easy.

Take this example from a client who verified their Google Local Listing about two minutes ago:

We submitted the optimized Google local listing complete with title, categories, images and more (please click the link for a best practice guide). The client verified the listing. We signed out of our Google account and checked the rankings for one of our major keywords. And Hey Presto! Our client features on the front page in position number one of the listings for “iso consultant“. We are not located a million miles away from our client which might account for the listing but even so the result is incredible.

Instantaneous results like that are music to online marketers ears. It really is a no-brainer.

This easy win is an absolute must for any small or medium sized business out there. And come to think of it, it begs the question ‘why would you still spend the money for a yellow pages ad’? After all, Google appears to be winning in the Google vs Yellow Pages battle illustrated in this video.

Localized Search Engine Results for SEO Services in Melbourne. Notice who is #1?

Web localization is the talk of the town at the moment. Extremely exciting for me considering that a project of mine that I am working on at the moment is extremely localized, and is a niche that I absolutely love.

This project is exciting for me, for a few very good reasons. Finally I have picked a niche that I love and have been active in for my whole life (yes, by whole life, I mean I was being bottle fed in this area as a 2 month old baby!), so needless to say, this is something that I am passionate about, and not only that, it is localized! And that is what I am going to talk to you briefly about today.

About 90% of people who ask me what they can do to boost traffic, the problem with a lot of their processes is that they are marketing to a world wide crowd. Now, if you have the man power and the resources, there is nothing at all wrong with doing that, huge success can be gained by those who market to a world wide audience, however I want you to sit back for a minute and think of what is local to you. Think of the questions that you see that consistently come up in your local paper. Where do people like to travel to in your local area to get away from things? Is there a particular stand out feature about your local culture? Is your town in need of a gazelle like website with a forum attached for interaction between locals? Is there a service that you can provide to locals in need?

You see, going localized and focusing on niches that are winnable in Google in your particular country, this is something that is a great basis for any business. Let me give away a quick trade secret. With every single website that I create, I make sure to submit a sitemap to my Google Webmaster account, and make sure that everything is functioning correctly. Did you know that you can actually set your primary country for your results to be listed in Google using Webmaster tools? If you didn’t know that, then now you do.

For example, Bright is a small town in Victoria, Australia, and I really don’t want to market that new website to people overseas (just yet anyway!), so if I can be straight up with Google, let them know that the audience that I am targeting is Australian, that means that my results will be more relevant to Australians searching through the dot com dot au Google search page, and my page wont appear irrelevant to people searching for that keyword overseas. Lets not forget that if the page is SEOed properly, this will mean that in Australia, this new website will be relevant to those searching here in my home country, and it will give me a good head start on my competition (who I am sure the majority wouldn’t be aware of this little trick).

Localized Targeting In Google Webmaster Tools

So, what is the real benefit of localization. Lets take two web searches as an example. Lets say that I am doing a search for “country cabins” in Google. This search will then direct me to country cabins in the Hunter Valley, Montville, Belford, and so on and so forth. The problem is that I do not want to stay in any of these places. I want to stay in Halls Gap. So, lets do a localized search. “Country Cabins Halls Cap”, although a more long tail query, it is a selling phrase, and a localized phrase, meaning that the person who is searching knows what they want, and where they want it.

So, lets put this into principal when creating a website. As an example, you are wanting to create a website based on Country Cabins in Australia. By doing this, you are going to be entering into a niche which has a large amount of competition, an extremely large amount of information that would need to be created, plus literally tens of thousands of long tail phrases that you can focus on that you probably will not have the time and resources to win. Although winnable, it will be a long slog, and will more than likely mean that it will not be an easy win. However, if you chose to create a website based on accommodation in Halls Gap in Victoria, you could then provide extremely localized results under a domain that (if keyword rich) is relevant to the content contained within.

Localized Results for Country Cabins in Halls Gap

Localization is a way forward, there is no doubt about that. The internet is becoming congested with irrelevant results, and as much as Google is doing everything in its power to filter the junk, creating websites that attract a worldwide audience is an extremely hard task. Going local is good for a few reasons. You get to provide something to a local area that they will more than likely appreciate, and secondly, local websites are easier to win from a keyword perspective, and in most cases, you will attract buyers rather than browsers.

Get Your Google Local Listings To The Summit Of The Search Engine With 10 Minutes Work

If you haven’t claimed your Google local listing as your own yet, you might be missing out on a great opportunity for your business to feature prominently in the Google search results.

As with anything (and for the benefit of our readers with visual minds), it’s always great to prove something with an example.  Please check out the Google search for “carpenter Melbourne” below.

The power of Google local listings is there for all to see. The first thing any browser will notice is the MASSIVE local business results with the map that dominates the page. It’s a proven fact through hundreds of eye tracking studies that they won’t go to the paid listings on the right of any search, they will home in on the top of the search results.

Even more powerful is the information conveyed. Any potential customers instantly know your location, the url of your website and a phone number to get in touch with your business right away.

Can it get anymore powerful than that? The answer is most definitely yes. A Google local listing can trump SEO efforts that might takes a lot of hours of work to achieve.  This is a lot less clear cut than the other benefits… but I would argue that having a listing in the local business results is more worthwhile than having the number 2 spot in the search results occupied by the Carpenter Melbourne business. One thing is for sure, Google local listings are above the fold and most of the other results are beneath.

The case for using Google Local Search for your business couldn’t be any stronger.

This is all well and good but …

How Do You Get A Prominent Google Listing?

I’m sure you’ve heard of the old phable about the plumber or mechanic or whatever profession if can be applied to who “KNOWS WHERE TO TAP”. Well, this applies perfectly to getting a good listing in the local search results. There are certain variables that you can alter to improve your positioning when you go to the Google Local Business Center to claim your listings.

Here’s a few pointers:

1. Title: Use the business name that aptly sums up your business and not your official business name. You can try to squeeze your core services or products into your title as well.  So for example if you’re a dentist in melbourne whose core service is teeth whitening you might choose:  ‘Smiley Dentist – Teeth Whitening Specialist’. It’s your chance to be a bit sneaky.
2. Address: Make this as simple as possible for Google by listing your full address, don’t leave anything out.
3. Categories: list all your core services in the categories section
4. url: definitely include this if you have a website
5. phone number: include this of course, this is a core benefit of the service
6. description: Include your business’s primary keyword in here alongside a couple of your secondary keywords. Also put where you are based in here.
7. GENERAL RULE OF THUMB: the more information Google has about your business the better. Include your reviews, any videos or photo galleries that display your business in a good light. The more there is, the more likely you are to feature prominently.

If you’re still not taking advantage of Google local search results then now is the time you turned the tables and put that right. It will improve the transparency of your business and brand on the web.

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