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Video Summary
If your business serves a local audience, then you should do your best to take advantage of “near me” searches. Local search is important for showing the businesses in your community or neighborhood.
People want convenience. And that’s what you offer when your business is properly optimized for local SEO. Because if people can easily find your business at the right time, then it’s much more likely they become a customer or client of yours.
Here are some tips to optimize your business for “near me” searches and local SEO…
Video Transcript
Hello, my name is Jeffrey Kirk. And today I am talking about nearness in search.
You know, proximity isn’t everything, but it’s close. Did you catch that little joke there? If you missed it, go back and watch again! And if I have to explain it, well, leave a comment below.
Either way, be sure to subscribe to my channel and click the little bell so you get notified when my next video comes out. Okay, let’s get started…
You’re here because you want your website to rank higher in the search results, right? In last week’s video, I talked about local SEO and your content strategy.
“Near Me” Searches
Local search is important for showing the businesses in your community or neighborhood. And most searchers in the area who need something are looking for a local provider, and they would likely want to go to your location or call your business phone number.
When you do a search, you’ll notice that even if you don’t include any location, Google will automatically show you results that are in or near your vicinity. These are often called the “near me” searches.
And these searches are significant because they typically include people who are searching for a product or service that they want or need right now. Examples could be “hair salon near me” or “flower shop in Wisconsin”. Or maybe someone cracks a tooth and searches for “dentist near me”.
Meanwhile, you take a trip out of town. You don’t know the area, but you really want a cup of coffee so you search for “local coffee shop”. In all of these scenarios, Google will show the locations that are nearest to the searcher. You’ll quickly know which coffee shop to visit.
And you might not think about it, but time is a factor too. If you’re looking for that coffee shop on your way to an early meeting, your search might be “local coffee shop open at 5 a.m.” For these local searches, Google takes into consideration the location and time of the search to make sure the results are the best available options. That means businesses must be nearby and available when the searcher is looking.
So, let me bring this back around to your business…
The Money Zone
If your business serves a local audience, then you should do your best to take advantage of the “near me” searches. You want your business to show up at the top of the local search results. That’s the part of the search results showing 3 businesses and a map. It’s this part of the search results that I call the Money Zone.
I call it the Money Zone because it’s so prominent in the search results, and the businesses showing up there are easily seen. And since people are almost always hooked to their mobile devices, anyone can do a search anytime and anywhere with just a few taps on their phone.
If people can easily find your business at the right time, it’s much more likely they become a customer or client of yours. And that’s great because you’re not just bringing cash into your business. You’re also helping people solve their problems.
And because you help them solve their problems, you have an opportunity to get a testimonial or a referral or a review. These days, those public reviews are almost as good as referrals because they persuade other searchers to do business with you.
People want convenience. And that’s what you offer when your business is properly optimized for “near me” searches. And I say you need to properly optimize your business because it’s more than just optimizing your website.
As technology evolves, people use their computer and their mobile phones for search. The old style of search engine optimization is not enough.
Often, traditional SEO costs way too much relative to the results you get. So before I continue, I would like to invite you to join me on an upcoming training so I can show you a better way to get your business into the money zone part of the search results.
You’ll save a ton of money and get more new clients than ever before. Go to upatdawn.biz/webinar
Voice Search
Another consideration with mobile phones is voice search. When you’re driving and your phone is listening to you, you can speak voice commands and keep your hands on the wheel.
The words people use when typing and when speaking are somewhat different though. You might type “dentist near me” into a search bar, when speaking you’re more likely to ask a question, like “where is an emergency dentist that’s open now?”
The challenge is to make sure you give people exactly what they need as accurately and quickly as possible. So, if your website’s loading time is slower than molasses, it’s time for you to start making some improvements.
Tips to Optimize your Business for “Near Me” Searches and Local SEO
Tip #1
According to Google, the first thing you should do is claim and verify your Google Business Profile. Make sure your business information is accurate and optimized. Not only does a verified and optimized Google Business Profile help improve your ranking, it also helps searchers quickly learn more about your business.
This is a free service that lets you maintain your business information online. And it’s important to do this if you want new customers to easily find your business.
Tip #2
Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are exactly the same everywhere. These name, address, and phone number references are called citations. And these citations help connect all your potential online assets.
Consistent information also helps searchers more easily trust and connect to your business.
Tip #3
Be sure to include your business hours in your business profile and on your website to make sure Google is able to reference that information.
Remember in the example where time is of the essence for “near me” searches? If your business is open during the time frame of a search but Google doesn’t know it, then Google will not show your business as available in the search results.
If you need help claiming and optimizing your listing, look for some additional video links here.
Tip #4
Word of mouth is still powerful, and it has a significant impact on your visibility in your local area. The new way of getting word of mouth is through public reviews. There are only 3 businesses shown in the Money Zone, and getting a lot of positive reviews and high numerical ratings are a couple keys to getting one of those top spots.
I mentioned the training webinar earlier. Join me there and I’ll show you an easy way to get all the high-quality reviews you need.
Tip #5
Don’t forget to create a business page on social media platforms, too. Sometimes social media pages are indexed and shown in the search results. If showing up once in the search results is good, showing up twice is even better.
If you have the dominant business in the search results, searchers will begin to believe that your business is the best business.
Tip #6
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly. Mobile search is very convenient for people on the go especially when they want answers quickly.
One way to make sure your website is mobile-friendly is to build it with responsive code. This way your website shows the same content and information across all platforms. The content adjusts itself depending on the screen size the searcher is using.
Tip #7
Along with having a responsive website, you need to prioritize your website speed. Let’s be honest, people don’t want to wait for your slow website to load.
In separate videos, I talk about how to make your mobile site friendlier and why this is important. I will include those links here so you can check them out.
Tip #8
After all that, it’s time to focus on providing quality content. But don’t be fooled. Just because I am giving this as the final tip, does not mean it’s the least important. If you don’t have quality content, none of the rest matters!
If you show up 3 times in the search results, have the top money zone position, with a responsive website that is fast for mobile users, and you provide information that is crap, you will still lose to those who provide better content.
And Google will know it because people bounce when they get to your site. One of the best ways to offer great content is to start a business blog and use it to offer information that solves the problems of your target audience. Blogs are a perfect way to create online visibility while connecting and engaging with your audience.
Okay, that’s it. By applying these tips and maintaining a good site, your business climbs the ranks of search and you get more clients. Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there.
Join me on my next training. Register for free at upatdawn.biz/webinar.
Thanks for watching and have a great day!
