Can Potential Customers Find Your Business?
Local search is one of the most important aspects of digital marketing for law firms and small business owners with brick and mortar locations. Here are three ways you can improve your local search visibility today.
Establish Your Local Business on Google Right Now
Though there are other search engines, Google is by far the most used search engine on the internet today. For this reason, establishing your business’ presence on Google is essential for ranking in local search.
Take these steps right now to establish your law firm or small business in local search right now:
- Set Up Your Business Profile on Google My Business: Google My Business is a free business listing service provided by Google.
- Be Thorough: Complete all of the available blanks as thoroughly as possible.
- Verify Your Location: This step literally puts you on the map – Google Maps.
- Assign Attributes: Google also allows some business types to assign what is called attributes to their business profiles. A restaurant, for example, might attribute the term “family friendly” to their business listing. (Unfortunately, attributes are not available to professional services as of the writing of this article.)
Set Up a System that Drives Reviews Right Now
For better or worse, online reviews do impact your ability to be found in local search. For example, the review site Yelp is popular when people are searching for recommended, local service providers and products, and Google has indicated it does consider online reviews when it ranks sites in its search engine results.
- Set Up Yelp For Your Business: Most of the steps you used for Google My Business, also apply here. Be as complete and thorough as possible, and check back regularly.
- Ask for Reviews: Place signage around your office space reminding customers to review your private practice or small business. Email is also very effective. Utilize your customer database generate a list of regular customers who are happy with your service and reach out.
- Give Them Options: Not everyone wants to create a Yelp profile, but most people have Google accounts and nearly everyone has a Facebook page.
- Create a Brag Page: Collect your favorite reviews and testimonials and publish them on your website. Optimize that web page for your business name plus the word “reviews.”
Consider A “Near Me” PPC Ad Campaign Right Now
One of the fastest ways to grab the attention of local searchers is paid advertising. Paid search ads, along with map listings, usually show up at the top of search engine pages, so consider running a Google Adwords pay-per-click campaign that focuses on local search words.
- Set It Up: Follow the steps to create a Google Adwords account.
- Choose Local Keywords: Try using your business category plus “nearby” or “near me” or your neighborhood. For example, “dentists near me.”
- Create the Ad: Keep it simple for now. For this purpose, the ad copy should read like a business listing that features a way for people to contact your private practice or small business.
- Run It and Watch: Now that it’s up, keep an eye on it. You might also observe other ads for ideas about how to improve.
These three local search marketing tactics may take a couple of hours of your day, depending on how prepared you are, to implement. But the maintenance of each of them will need to be ongoing. Be sure to check in with your listings, reviews and PPC campaigns regularly to stay on top of your local search game.
Need help? Above the Fold specializes in supporting the local search marketing efforts of law firms and small business owners. Learn more now.
