Are you looking for a new strategy to help get your business into Google's infamous 'local 3-pack'?
For many small or local businesses, ranking in the Google 3-pack map listings is a game-changer for visibility and customer generation. Since the local pack appears on top of search results 93% of the time, you can maximize your visibility by getting your store featured there. The first, second and third results in the local 3-pack receive 33.55%, 14.96% and 9.3% of clicks respectively. The goal is to ensure that, when local people are searching Google for the products or services you provide, they see you—not the competition!
It is not uncommon for a small business that is listed on a few local listings without much traffic to beat out big chains that have a location in that area: that is how strong the effect of your presence on a listings site can be. This is because Google wants to give searchers a good experience by emphasizing the results that are truly local, and it uses these sites as a good way to determine that. So, if you have not done so, take the time to get your business in some local online listings. Be sure your information is 100% accurate and verbatim across all of them (ex. if you use LLC, use it in all the listings; if you use Rd. instead of Road, use Rd. in all your listings).
Create a Google My Business!
If you have not done so already, and in order to aid this process and get the best results, create a Google My Business listing and completely fill it out! What are you waiting for??Doing so can propel your business to relevancy for local search parameters in mere days!
3 Reasons You Should Create a Google My Business:
Interact with your customers - respond to reviews, activate direct messaging, answer questions people have about your business.
Have control over what people see - anyone can create a listing for your business on Google, but only the business owner can claim it; it is important to ensure your potential customers receive the most accurate information when they are viewing your business.
Implement keywords - enhance your local search results by incorporating targeted keywords into your Google My Business profile.
Create a page Google will Love
Let's quickly note that Google loves Google, of course, so it will love seeing its own elements being used on websites (such as maps, reviews, links, etc.). So let's use this fact to our advantage and create a page that Google will love! We'll do this step by step; refer to the image below to see how it all comes together! This page will be created in two columns. The left column will be about 2/3 or about 66% of the screen and the right column will be the other 1/3 or about 33% of the screen. Let's start with the left, larger column:
Choose a target keyword. What is it that you are trying to sell or bring to your visitors' attention? Don't forget to include your location city or the nearby city you are targeting this product/service to. Make this the H1 Heading for this page. "[Key Service] in [Target City]"
Write up a unique paragraph to go along with your carefully chosen heading. Fit in keywords related to and also similar to your H1 but be sure to include them naturally. Stuffing too many keywords will turn off your readers and not be helpful for your SEO in any way so pay careful attention to this and spend time crafting a great paragraph to go here that will both inform your visitors and boost your performance!
Now let's make a H2 titled "Our [Key Service] Reviews" and below it create a bulleted list of links to sites where you have reviews to show off. "Our [Site Name] [Key Service] Reviews"
Follow that up with an H3 "Proudly Serving" and below that create a comprehensive list of all the cities that you are targeting.
Then comes the fun part! Let's link every one of those cities to a page representing that city. Search for each city in Google and link up the city page; if there is not one, there is probably a Wikipedia page for it that you can use instead. For example, we would link Bethlehem, PA because it it our main, target city with this link: https://bethlehempa.org/ .
Let's finish off this column by adding some color with a photo that represents your business. Your storefront, the product you are highlighting or your employees in action would be great to put here! Be sure to add an alt tag that matches your H1.
That completes your left column. Now let's fill out the page with some vital business information in your right column. Use icons with each of these sections.
Firstly, you need your full business address under a bold "Address" H3.
Then, add your business phone number! Make it stand out with a phone icon and make it a link so users on a cellphone can call you easily.
Below your address, naturally, we'll add a Google Map.
Then, add a link titled "Click here for Directions" and link it up to your Google Maps directions.
Finally, add your Hours of Operation and format the hours just as you see them in your Google Maps listing with the AM and PM and hyphen with no spaces between it.
Lastly, don't forget to link up your new page on your site - we recommend doing this in your footer; use the H1 keyword from the page for the link title.
While we can't guarantee creating this custom page will land you in Google's local 3-pack, it can help, it will enhance your SEO and it will also serve as a kind of 'landing page' for your targeted service. You can make multiple pages following this format with different targeted services or locations. Just make sure each page receives unique content under your H1 and an image that goes along with whatever your page is targeting.
We hope to be seeing you in Google's Local 3-pack soon!