Boosting Your Local Results

Sometimes it can be harder for small businesses to compete in the arena of commerce. They are the small fish in the pond and can often get overlooked in favor of big businesses who have the money and extra resources for extensive marketing campaigns and SEO. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Small businesses are just as important and have every right to be prominent on the local search results. With a few friendly tips, you will be well on your way to boosting your site to higher visibility in the local search results, which will mean more visitors to your site, the chance to build lasting relationships, and create new sales. 

One surefire way to get your business name and brand out for everyone to see is to create a Google+ page. If you haven’t had time to do it, now’s your chance. You can read more about how to create your page by reading Creating a Google Plus Business Page. Here are a couple of things you will want to remember:

• Make sure you verify your page.
• Before posting, your company profile needs to be 100% complete. 
• Use your full, official business name. Don’t shorten it or give yourself a nickname. Double check to make sure it is consistent with the name you use throughout your site.
• Have a detailed company description. Think about these questions: Who is your company? What are you about? What is your goal? How did you get started? In essence, what is your story?
• The name, address, and phone on your local page must be consistent with the information listed on your website. Don’t confuse customers by offering different numbers. 
• Use a local phone number on your website instead of a call center number. Make yourself more user friendly.
• Have a physical address for the city you want to rank for.
• Go ahead and select every relevant category you find for your business.
• If you are a single location business, go ahead and link to the homepage of your website. If you have multiple locations, go ahead and link to the location specific page on your website. 
• Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your local page. Reviews are a great way to drive future business. 
• Make sure to regularly update your page. Don’t let it go stagnant on you after taking the time and effort to create one in the first place. You can update your page with images, video, fresh content, etc.

Now, there are also some things you DON'T want to do to your local Google+ page. Save yourself some headache later on and make sure this doesn’t happen:

• You should know that keyword stuffing is a no-no, so be smart and don’t stuff your business name field with unnecessary words.
• Same goes with your descriptions - no keyword stuffing.
• Your business address should always have a physical address, no P.O. boxes.
• Each of your business locations should only have one local page.
• When selecting categories for your local page, select the ones that describe your business, not the ones that list the products you sell.
• Be smart about the words you use. Some words (i.e. mob, pill, beer, erotic, etc.) will not get past Google’s local listing filter. 

By following these simple do’s and don’ts, you will be well on your way to creating a Google+ local page that will be relevant to customers and help drive business to your website. Remember, you need to schedule time to regularly check your local business page to update content and delete irrelevant information in order to keep your page best optimized for local search rankings.