Local Search Basics

What are the things needed for Local Search?

There are obviously some key prerequisites for getting a local search listing. These are as follows:-

A unique phone number for your business - you can have more than one at any location but only one will be used per location and must not be used for any other business .

A Google MyBusiness Page - This is a verified page for your business that links to your Google maps entry

A well optimised Web Site for your business - Some while back you didn't need to have much of a web presence to be able to rank well in Google Local. However progressive changes introduced since 2014 have meant that your local ranking  is strongly influenced by how well your site ranks organically.

What is required to rank well in Local Search?

Obviously all the above and...

Citations are key

Citations - are listings/mentions of your business on third party sites. Google looks for consistent mentions of your business name, address and phone number (NAP). These can be on any site but the relevance of the citation is determined by the domain authority of the site where the listing is found. Certain directories carry a lot more weight as they syndicate their data to other directories further down the food chain.

What else is important for Local Search?

Reviews

Reviews are really a conversion issue. They not only build trust but they can make your listing stand out from the crowd. If you are at the top of the local pack in the results with 5 stars you will get a much higher click through rate.