SEO Tip – Local Search Revealed – A Huge Opportunity For 2010

The previous article on this topic involved  seo tips on how social media can help organic search.

This article deals with how local search can provide a window of opportunity for a significant increase in organic search traffic to your website, but you need to act fast since this window will only remain open for a short time.

So Why is Local Search So Important?

You will have seen more and more Google search results displaying Google Maps showing businesses in your local area.

If your business is a retail or service business the chances are that your potential customers will seek your products or services on Google before making a purchase.

Several Research studies have shown that:

• 20-30% of all searches are for services that are subsequently purchased locally
• 80% of purchases are made within 15 miles of the customers home location.

Therefore searches that highlight local sources of goods and services are clearly in a strong position when a Google researcher turns from initial browsing type research to buying type searching.

Furthermore search terms with a local search qualifier are 100% local, so people searching on these terms are very likely to respond more specifically to the results displayed by Google maps.

When someone uses a local search term, it is highly probable that they have completed their online research and are ready to buy from a supplier near their own location.

Why Is Google Maps So Relevant?

Simple, because a local search term will result in a list of potential suppliers and will appear very strong visually at the optimum location on the page to encourage a phone call or a click to your website.

Also, the Google Maps listings are free and you don’t need a website to be listed.

For example if I search for “Attorney in Washington” I will get the following results

This is 7 box map listing with the most favoured results appearing individually on the top left side of the page.

For some keywords a universal search without a local search attribute will also return a Google map of potential suppliers.

e.g. If I search for “Florist” I will get a set of results including a map of florists near me. This will not necessarily be at the top of the search listings unless I include a local search place name or post code.

Example for search for “Florist”

Basically Google is interpreting the keyword and if it is a name for a category of product or service that cannot be supplied over the internet the universal search results will probably include a map of suppliers near your geographic location.

How Many Search Results Are Returned?

Currently the most common result is a box of 7 results , also called a 7-pack. This has replaced the previous 10-pack Google maps results. DSe example above for “Attorney in Washington”.

Sometimes you get a 2-pack or a 3-pack result if Google has not indexed a large number of authoritative potential suppliers in you area.

(Example of a 2-pack search for “flower shop in Wicklow”.

Example of search for “computer maintenance in Irvine”.

More rarely you can get a 1-pack result with 1 supplier and a map.

As far as I can see the Authoritative OneBox listing is most often returned where Google thinks that the search term may be a company name.

Example of 1-pack -  search for “southside motor factors in Dublin”

Can All Businesses get a Google Map Listing?

The category description seems to have a strong bearing on whether google map results are shown or not. A recent thread in the search engine roundtable forum has a message from Google indicating that for the categories “seo” and “web design”, Google are discontinuing showing google map results. This implementation seems to be incomplete as if you use the work “in” it still seems to return a map result.

Example with no map, search for “new york seo companies”

Search for “seo companies in New York”

It would appear that the best map search results are probably related to businesses where Google deems that the services cannot be supplied over the internet such as such as retail, home service trades and travel.

Tips on How To Set Up Google Maps  For Local Search

1. Do your keyword research for search terms with a local qualifier
2. Select the keywords that have a high volume and return 7-pack results as this will give you a better chance of success in appearing in the list of 7 companies
3. Make sure your business details are set up in Google LBC (Local Business Center)
4. Check Business Listings Quality Guidelines you avoid being banned from Google maps
   • Be sure to enter your business name, do not try to optimise using keywords as this could get you banned or red flagged as spam. Do not enter any descriptive information or keywords, only the business name
   • Keep the telephone number consistent with your normal office number, avoid using 1800 numbers – you can add a 1800 number under “additional numbers”
   • Use the description field to add relevant keywords for your business
   • Use relevant category suggestions that Google gives you from the keywords in the description field
   • Enter image details by Adding up to 5 relevant photos and video images as this will be shown by Google if your entry is displayed under More results….
5. Here are a few tips on how to set-up your Google LBC listing.

Your Address:

• Make sure your address is as close to the centre of the town or city as possible
• Your address needs to be consistent across the web (This is very important for citations which will increase your chances of a 7-pack listing

Category:

• Choose the most relevant category and one that will generate a reasonable volume of search traffic. Do research with category keywords and only use those that deliver a 7-pack listing.

Business Name:

• Use the actual name of your business and do not add any keywords or descriptors. Name consistency is again important for citations.

Business Description:

• This is where you can use keyword tags.

Rich Content:

• A video will increase your visibility and has been proven to generate more click through’s.

You will need to validate your listing by phone, sms or by postcard. Phone or sms is fastest for activating your account.

So How Do You Get Listed In A 7-Pack Listing?

Getting a Google maps listing is free and is easy, the challenge is to be selected as one of the entries in the coveted 7-pack listing. How to optimise for this will be covered in the next blog post.

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