Brian Wallace, Founder & President,NowSourcing

The coronavirus pandemic changed the way people do business in dramatic, potentially irreversible ways.  While many of these changes were harmful, some came with distinct benefits.  For example, 57% of consumers purchased from a local business for the first time during the pandemic.  They chose the businesses they did based on who offered the best pandemic-friendly services, such as curbside pickup.  How did customers determine who had these services?  They used Google’s local search.

How does Google’s Local Pack operate?  Local search results are displayed above organic search results.  They are visual in nature, including map location, star ratings, and more.  Perhaps most importantly, these search results are linked to Google My Business (GMB) listings.  GMB listing factors are the most important factor in determining local search rankings for businesses, followed by backlinks and reviews.  

For a business to optimize their GMB listing, they need to follow three easy steps.  The first is the simplest: claim the business’s profile.  The second is to fill out every section on the profile.  This includes the business’s name, address, phone number, website, hours of operation, category, and more.  The final step is to keep the listing updated.  Ways to complete this step are to create weekly posts, respond to customer reviews, or answer public questions.  

Single location businesses can focus on optimizing their GMB listing and link to their website homepage, but multi location businesses should invest in local landing pages to gain an edge in local searches.  A local landing page (LLP) is a standalone web page dedicated to a specific location of a larger business.  This allows the business to link each landing page to a separate listing on GMB.  Crafting an LLP is like crafting any other effective website: its headline should be clear, concise, and make effective use of keywords.  Its body should include the most important information in the first 2 screenfulls, where customers spend the most time.  Useful specifically for local searches is hyperlocal content, location photos, a directions button, and location specific social media profiles.

In addition, local businesses should work to make their web pages mobile friendly.  84% of local searches are made on mobile devices.  If the website isn’t mobile friendly, customers won’t want to buy from the business.  Features like click-to-call phone numbers, floating call to action buttons, and mobile-friendly coupons are all beneficial.  Stay ahead of the pack with a sleek LLP.