The Alarming Truth about Local Listings and the Impact on Your SEO

Each year it seems that the holidays creep up on us, imploring businesses everywhere to start attracting the fun and festive gift givers and holiday shoppers. In today’s mobile-first world, having a strong internet presence is crucial for success throughout the holiday season and beyond; if customers find your website through an online search, it can increase the flow of your clientele and sales more swiftly than traditional forms of advertising. If you’re unsure where to start or feel that your current approach is in need of improvement, then SEO services can be very beneficial. Search engine optimization and local listing building is as much a science as an art form and can help you cover all your bases to achieve more sales.

local search marketing

How SEO & Local Listings Work Together

Many intrepid professionals take their SEO strategy into their own hands, creating a single business listing on Yelp or Google with hopes that new users will find them right away. While this is a great start, the truth is that creating one listing for your company is often not enough to create a memorable impression. Not only are customers likely to look it over, but Google’s automatic algorithm might not recognize it and will avoid increasing your local rank.

The bottom line - without the boost from Google and other search engines, your business will be hard to find. SP Marketing’s SEO and link building services, however, can rectify this problem with ease. In addition to updating your site, we will help you configure and optimize new local listings. Acquiring these new business listings and following best SEO practices will bring your company more visibility before, during, and after the holiday shopping season.

To kick-start your SEO campaign and to start boosting your local rank, we suggest following these easy-to-implement tips to your Google/Yelp listing.

Data, statistics and anaylysis

To kick-start your SEO campaign and to start boosting your local rank, we suggest following these easy-to-implement tips to your Google/Yelp listing.

Upload new photos - Choose a good mixture of employee, building, and interior photos. A fancy camera isn’t necessary; your smartphone can take and upload beautiful images.

Link with social media - Give your potential customers easy access to all your profiles in one place by including links to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and any other channels you have.

Update your information - Make sure your business address, phone number and hours of operation are correct to prevent mishaps and angry clients.

Post new messages one a month - An excellent SEO for Google strategy is to make adjustments to your listing once a month. Changing pictures or writing an offer message can put your company back on Google’s radar, further improving your ranking.

Top 3 Mistakes Businesses Make with GMB and Top-Tier Citations

If you’re planning any special promotions this season, there are plenty of steps you can take to spread the word and generate excitement. Executing your strategy properly is half the battle. Here are the top 3 SEO for Google mistakes businesses make on their Google My Business Maps listing and top-tier citations, like Yelp, and how to avoid them:

Forgetting the Call to Action

A well-written blog post should be engaging and informative. Any posts or promotions around your blog should include information mentioning your business by name, how your services or products can help the customer and a call to action leading users back to your website.  Even

Category Confusion

Quality SEO services emphasize attention to every detail, and that includes Google categories. Google has a big list to choose from. Make sure your primary category is as accurate as possible; otherwise customers might not be able to locate you or may become frustrated when matching your services to their search. For more information or category help, reach out to the SEO experts at SP Marketing.

Incorrect Review Handling

Customer reviews are an integral part of a positive business image. Asking people to write their opinion can have drawbacks, however. As you may have already experienced, people post negative comments and complaints. Handle this situation gracefully and simultaneously give your Google ranking a boost by writing a polite response. If necessary, you can also flag the post for removal.

How SP Marketing Can Improve Local Listings and Your Rank

You have multiple options to choose from when selecting an SEO provider, but there’s no better partner than SP Marketing. We are proud to employee local SEO experts that truly have the best interests of your company in mind. Our top-notch SEO for Google tactics can revolutionize your brand’s image almost overnight, quickly boosting your rank and increasing your sales through website SEO and local listing optimizations. Alongside these SEO services, we offer the following -

  • Web design - We create stunning websites chock full of keywords for Google to pick up. The sites are built from the ground-up to ensure optimal functionality.
  • Web hosting - Concentrate on uploading products and content on your website pages - we’ll handle the rest. From website security to regular backups, we have you covered.
  • Full-service digital marketing - We extend beyond business listings into pay per click ads, social media platform management, email marketing, and video production.
  • Graphic design - Our team of creatives is ready to design logos, email templates and customized web graphics your company can use for years to come.

Many businesses are competing for first-page visibility for major keyword searches. We can help you get there through specialized SEO services that make your enterprise look successful, ambitious, and customer focused. Rather than concentrating on one area, we can utilize several different approaches and do it well. A company that has no presence can experience a rush of customers as it begins to show up in searches and get attention.

local listings seo

Start the Season Right by Updating your Local Listings

You might be wondering “how do I list my business on Google?” Or “what kind of content should I be posting on my local listings?” Anyone can take the first steps to achieve a robust online reputation. To avoid a nightmare, use evergreen content wisely. Evergreen content is information that remains perpetually relevant for customers. Evergreen SEO for Google doesn’t concentrate on holiday, news updates or current trends. Rather, it includes:

  • Information lists discussing your value
  • Top tips for your service and/or how to use your products
  • Instructional videos and guides introducing your team and business
  • “How to” tutorials
  • Product reviews

Incorporating this type of content on your business listing and website can steadily attract customers throughout the year. This information is a goldmine for interested readers long past its publication date. If done in tandem with unique holiday pieces, you can gain a dedicated readership and boost your ranking.

Final Thoughts

Scheduling time to build and update your local listings will improve your visibility. Start with your Google or Yelp listing, then consider expanding with SP Marketing. Following our listing tips will build your customer base, but the best way to attract more users through top-tier citations is to invest in SEO services with our team. We’re dedicated to improving your rank and helping grow your company during the holiday season and beyond! Get in touch with our SEO and local listing experts, today.

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