Local SEO Tips & Tricks: How Your Local Business Can Be Better Found on Google Maps & Co

Is local business having no chance in search engine optimization? SEO is only a topic for big websites? Far from it! Many needs, from finding a restaurant in the holiday resort, the next petrol station, the right doctor or the nearest tennis hall, can only be fulfilled locally.

Accordingly, many search results are oriented towards the location of the searcher - or are found directly in map search services like Google Maps or Apple Maps. For businesses of all sizes, this offers the opportunity to make more potential customers aware of their own local offering.

Through measures of local search engine optimization (English: "Local SEO") even the smallest companies can conquer the top positions on Google. But what it's all about? Our guest author Stephan Czysch, author of the technical book,"Local SEO explained understandably", answers these and other questions in this article

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a sub-discipline of search engine optimization, which aims to bring a website to the front places in local search results. It is important to distinguish between "classic web search" and "searches in map services" (like Google Maps), as the results look significantly different.

The search query "veterinarian" has a local reference - therefore Google shows a card integration and (partly) locally specific pages in the normal search results

Within the normal web search, a large part or even all of the search hits are websites with local information (and/or location), and directly in the visible area there is usually a card integration (from Google Maps) with three directly visible companies. If the search takes place directly in map services such as the already mentioned Google Maps, then only company locations are shown as results.

In local search engine optimization, the user's location is of central importance and there are not "the one" local results. Specifically, this means that the displayed search results differ depending on where a user searches from. This makes a lot of sense, because if there are several restaurants in the direct radius of the user, why should a restaurant more than 1.5 kilometers away appear in the first position?

What is the importance of local search engine optimization?

Search engines are a pull marketing channel, meaning an existing need can be answered. The opposite are push marketing activities, e.g. through classic TV or magazine ads, or also through paid ads in social networks. Accordingly high is the (trans-)action will at the seekers - and therefore it is important for local businesses to be visible at exactly this moment. Because if a "Asian Restaurant" is searched for, then this need should be fulfilled quickly.

Within the Google search results there are two free possibilities to make the own company visible: over the "normal" organic results, as well as within the map integration. Both areas condition each other and can be optimized.

While the data from “Google Business Profile” (formerly Google My Business) is particularly relevant for the map results, the findability in the normal organic results can be achieved by optimizing the website.

For which companies is Local SEO useful?

As soon as a company provides its services at its own location or at the customer's location, it should deal with Local SEO.

So this applies equally to, for example,

• craftsmen
• doctors
• lawyers
• gyms
• supermarkets
• cafes and restaurants

How can Local SEO increase findability and visibility?

Generally speaking, there are only two adjusting screws in search engine optimization: Increasing the relevance ("What is this page about? Is it helpful? ..."), and increasing the popularity ("Who confirms that these are important contents?") through more high-quality links ("Backlinks").

Within the local search results, however, the relevance signals can not only come from your own website, but also from the now “Google Business Profile” named, former “Google My Business” profile.

Over Google My Business (often abbreviated with GMB), or more recently, Google Business Profile, companies can create and administer an entry for Google Maps. The best: The use of “Google Business Profile” is completely free and with little effort a profile is created.

Your own Google Business Profile is enormously important for local search engine optimization and often replaces the visit of the website. An example: How often have you already been in a restaurant after you have only looked at the information in Google Maps (maintained over Google My Business / Google Business Profiles)? For many local needs, all relevant information is already to find in the Google Maps profile, from opening times over the phone number over the optical impression to the important route guidance.

When it comes to the ranking factors for the unpaid web search, then the search engine companies are tight-lipped. But by asking experts, the influencing factors can be determined and the importance of the individual factors can be graded among each other. The biggest and most well-known study on the ranking factors is regularly published by the SEO company Moz. The current study can be found here. Method: Local SEO experts were asked to rate individual factors on a scale of 1 (not important) to 10 (most important).

According to the MOZ survey, these factors are considered particularly important by Local SEO experts for a good performance in the map search (Source: moz.com)

So what is important in the optimization of the Maps profile according to the survey? Within the Google Maps profile, the following aspects according to the survey are particularly important:

Signals from Google My Business, e.g. by choosing the right business category (these are provided by Google), or by using important keywords in the company name (pay attention to the Google guidelines!)

Good reviews on Google, ideally 4.1+ stars, as well as with relevant review text

The distance between company location and the seekers

Overall, it is recommended to use the functions offered by Google Business Profile as fully as possible. Because these define the first impression and provide the potential customers with further information. Consequently, for example, choose pictures carefully, maintain opening hours conscientiously and consider where users should be led when they click on the website. Here there is an OMR article on the optimization of the Google My Business profile with many additional informations.

That review texts are relevant is shown by the following search: Google has found the search requests in review texts and prominently displays these reviews in the map results.

The appearance of the keyword in the description text has (partly) led to these results being visible for the search request

In addition to the review texts, relevance can also be obtained through playable product data feeds, user feedback (e.g. through user questions to a location like "Is there [product] here to buy/order?" or "Is this company relevant for [topic]?") and contents that can be found on the website linked from the profile. Google looks at the website as a whole, not just the actually linked subpage.

Further factors mentioned in the expert survey refer to important aspects of search engine optimization in general. Therefore, it is not surprising that the factors for the "normal" results and the map search overlap. The following factors are estimated as particularly important by the experts for a good performance in the normal results:

These were the factors mentioned by SEO experts in the MOZ study for a good performance in the "normal" organic results (Source: moz.com)

With "On-page SEO elements" (with a view to the ranking in the map integration this factor had the sixth place) is especially the use of the local keyword in page title and headings, but also the use of structured data meant. It is actually too obvious, but should not be left unmentioned: Most local searches take place on the go - so it is important that the website can be used well mobile!

In addition, as already written, many factors double with those for the map search - for example, the topic area Backlinks with "Quality/authority of inbound links to the domain", i.e. the link quality of incoming links, as well as with "Consistency of citations", by which is meant the congruence of company data between website, Google Business Profile and industry directories, appears in both lists. Generally this is also described as “ NAP Consistency”. That means the congruence of company name (Name), address and phone number (Phone).

Practice example for Local-SEO

With advancing age, physical complaints increase - same with me. Since after a sports accident the foot did not want as before, it was necessary to go into treatment. To find a suitable physiotherapist nearby, I searched for "Physiotherapy Berlin Friedrichshain", because I could connect the visit well with the way to work. During my treatment, I came into conversation with my physiotherapist and optimized his website tfinkji.de as well as the Google Maps profile.

The choice of the right keyword

To find the suitable keyword, local companies should complete this sentence “I am a _____ in _______”, so for example “I am a physiotherapist in Berlin Friedrichshain”. This allows to determine the local main keyword very quickly.

Before the optimization, the page title of the website was "Tfinkji - Startpage". Also the main headline (h1 headline) provided little clues to the page theme, because it was "Stay healthy with Patrick Tfinkji and team".

The design of these two, still important for search engine optimization, elements was therefore strongly in need of optimization. The new page title "Physiotherapy Berlin Friedrichshain: Patrick Tfinkji" describes the page content much better, right? Also the directly visible main headline "Practice for Physiotherapy in Berlin Friedrichshain" communicates more clearly what is to be seen on the website.

The comparison again shows what exactly was changed in terms of page title and main headline:

• Optimized page title: Physiotherapy Berlin Friedrichshain: Patrick Tfinkji
• Page title before: Tfinkji - Startpage
• Optimized h1 headline: Practice for Physiotherapy in Berlin Friedrichshain
• h1 headline before: Stay healthy with Patrick Tfinkji and Team

These SEO-relevant informations can be displayed directly in the browser most easily over SEO-plugins. You can find my plugin recommendations here.

The choice of the right Google Business Profile category

The main business category chosen within Google Business Profile is extremely important for the ranking, as it gives Google a strong signal as to how the company classifies itself. In addition to the main category visible directly in a profile, further categories can be chosen. Of course, it is important that these fit well to the company.

The Local SEO-Tool PlePerlists the categories offered by Google on his website. The analysis of frequently used categories together, which can be seen on the detail page of a category, is revealing. Thus many accountants use further categories tax consulting.

Concerning the main category, the profile was already well optimized, because the main category "Physiotherapy" was chosen. But further service offers could be added over further categories.

Further optimizations at the Google Maps profile

At the first impression, the profile still had potentials, for example in relation to the used pictures (and their sorting, because for example a company logo can be uploaded) or the offered services. These were created as products.

This is how the Google Maps profile of Physiotherapy looks like meanwhile

Further optimizations at the website

In order for Google to be able to compare and merge the data about a company with those from other data sources, especially Business directories, as easily as possible, the use of structured data is recommended. The Google-Help has the requirements. Thanks to free tools like the Markup-Generator from technicalseo.com the marking can be created easily.

To make contacting users as easy as possible, e.g. the phone number was linked and the company location was highlighted in a map.

Entry in relevant directories

Links are also important for local search engine optimization, because mostly the target group is not on one's own page, when it informs itself around a topic. Frequently, industry books and special directories are part of the customer journey - and these are regularly displayed for the corresponding local search requests in the organic search results.

Accordingly, it is important to be represented in these directories with current data. No longer current entries, e.g. due to a change of location, were updated and the entry in further directories was made.

The successes of Local SEO

Already a short time after the start of the optimization positive changes can be seen. In the Google Business Profile statistics, both for website accesses, calls and route descriptions, an increase of 70 percent is recorded in the last 28 days compared to the previous period.

Which tools are suitable for Local SEO?

The most important tool around Local SEO comes from Google itself: Google Business Profile. If your company is not yet represented there, then you should catch up as quickly as possible and use the offered functions as fully as possible.

Especially for the entry of company data in industry directories there are paid solutions, which take over this time-consuming process. But not only that: often the incoming evaluations on the different portals can be answered directly from the respective tool. In addition, the tools check if the data has been changed - because this causes inconsistencies on the subject NAP (Remember, this is about name, address and telephone number of a company).

Providers in this area are Semrushwith the Local Listing Management-Addon as well as Yext Search Experience Cloud and Uberall CoreX. Especially the last mentioned SEO tools are aimed at franchisees with several (hundreds) of locations. Because for companies with many locations, completely new complexities arise around local search engine optimization.

One tool, of course, which should not be missed, is the Google Search Console. The free of charge tools collection offered by Google delivers many data to the own website directly from Google. In this article you learn, what it's about in the Setup of the Google Search Console.

Local SEO and the look over the Google rim

Google has two very strong offers around the local search with Google Search and Google Maps, but also other providers should not be ignored. Because also in e.g. navigation systems a findability should be given. In addition, both Apple (with Apple Maps) and Microsoft (with Bing Maps) have their own map services in the offer. Since these services use their own data sources, it is not guaranteed that your company is represented. So also apart from the Google cosmos, ask yourself how you can make users aware of your location.

If you wonder where the suggested places come from when sharing a location via WhatsApp - that is written quite at the bottom in WhatsApp. So that you do not have to look for yourself: the data comes from foursquare. The shared card link is from Google, the proposed places but not. That means, that your company can not directly be shared, if you are not listed in foursquare.

To bring your own location to Bing Maps is for example a piece of cake, because the data from Google Business Profile can simply be synchronized. Just activate the corresponding data release at Bing Maps and the own company is to find locally in the Bing cosmos.