Yes, your clients are still searching the internet for you in 2024.
Especially new clients to an area or people visiting. The difference between going to a 3-star reviewed location and a 5-star location are dramatic. I can speak from experience as I have recently moved to a new area.
Since my family has not established any local connections yet, we are relying on strangers who have written Google reviews to decide where to eat and where to shop.
Yes, we would even drive a few extra minutes in one direction or another to find a better reviewed location.
Here’s what you can do now to make sure your business has a proper web presence for local search:
Update your Google My Business Listing:
Since Google still dominates the local search with Google Maps, it’s important to keep your listing up to date. Make sure you’re filling in the entire description and make sure your hours are up-to-date.
I’d make sure to include any landmarks or locale information in your description like closest towns.
Update Pictures
Include more pictures and post updates.
The updates area is a bit different than pictures, found in your Google Business settings. You’re allowed to post a picture along with a description. These are helpful to give the community updates about your business.
Get More Reviews
If you don’t have an active strategy in place to get more reviews, it’s time to start looking at them. You don’t need a full CRM with automated follow-up, just ask your customers to write a review.
If you are using text messaging as a way to confirm appointments, send a text with a quick link to your Google Reviews after you perform a service.
If you have a brick and mortar store, put a QR code in the door or by the counter.
These Zappy Review cards are pretty nifty with a way for smart phones to scan the card and bring the customer directly to your Google Reviews section.
The point is that reviews strengthen your Google profile. Even if you have one or two 5-star reviews, a company with 300 5-star reviews is going to outperform you in the maps.
Link Social Media
This is a new feature for 2024 where you can put links to your social media accounts directly in Google.
This helps bridge the gap between website and social.
With this update we can be sure that Google is also looking for indicators from your social media profiles.
Social Media
Social media is becoming smaller in the way that we are seeing more things local to us.
To take advantage of what social media has to offer, be sure to post with hashtags and geo-tagging for the towns you service.
Stay relevant, but don’t go crazy posting 8 times a day.
There are plenty of stories where companies excel on social media, so there is a lot of room for growth here, but not as a main focus if you are reading this article. Get the rest of the local search stuff taken care of, then grow into social media.
Subscribe to a Database Service
Google and other search engine sites use sub-directories as a form of verification. This verification happens naturally over time, but can be sped up by a database service like MozLocal.
Make sure your information is exactly the same as it would be in your Google profile to ensure that the sub-directories are putting out consistent information across the web about your business.
Update Other Search Engine Profiles
Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp, Next Door, Redditt, etc.
These all contribute to your web presence and having these up-to-date like your Google profile will help you show up more often.
Conclusion
To wrap this short article up, the biggest reminder here is to update your stuff online. Let me know if I can help your business get up-to-date and then dominate.
