A great opportunity for small businesses is that they can market their products and services locally. Besides that, frequently it is needed for a local business to operate in a region. For example it is necessary that a plumber you call is in an area where you live. Search engines do recognize that people search for local businesses for specific searches. There are companies that use this by providing services on the internet, like making web sites to target a specific region. Normally these companies use phone numbers and web forms to generate leads for small business that are affiliated with this company. Normally they charge per lead. However small business owners can generate their own leads quite easily by using free services on the internet and, thereby, small businesses can save the costs they would pay for the leads.
What is Localisation for Search Engines?
If someone searches for a restaurant in a specific city it is very likely that the search results served are restaurants from that specific city. This is especially true if a search user uses a city name as a search term, but these days mobile searches are quite common too. In short, search results are adjusted for the location. In this article I will look at two ways to give search engines the right signal that you are a local business:
- Web site optimization for localisation
- Google business places optimization
Web site optimization for localisation
This is one of the most important signals for search engines. That is, you want to be found for local search terms and that information has to be on your web site. Furthermore there are free on-line services for local businesses where you as the owner can link towards your web site and your web site needs to make clear to it does operate locally.
Usually a phone number is placed on every page. However it is not a necessity to add your phone number to every page, but it is recommended to add a phone number to your contact page and home page. Frequently the phone number is in the upper-right corner with a larger font. If you do have a local phone number it is a pretty clear signal. Sometimes web sites use an image to serve a phone number because they added a nice looking effect. That is not optimal because search engines cannot read images well. To overcome this you can add your phone number in the alternative text. That is, if an image does not load properly this text will be served. However there are browser plug-ins, for example Skype, where html text is converted into a click-able action to call. In short, I prefer text.
Besides a phone number it is common to add a business address to your contact web page. Although it is not needed to add your address on every page it does help to add it to your home page and where you think it is helpful. For example if you have a special offer where visitors need to make a reservation.
Google business places optimization
Google business places is a product from Google where you can add your business place to Google Maps. Google Maps is a very popular product and many people use it. Therefore besides the search engine it does make sense to add you listing for your local business. And Google Maps does have a search engine specific for maps. Google Search, the search engine from Google, uses the data from Google business places to serve search results. There is advertisement on the search result page. On the search result page the advertisement is on top, can have a different background but are also served on a right sidebar and in the footer of a page. The business place optimization only affects the organic search results. The blue area in the following image:
During the registration for your business place you should fill in as much as possible. That is, fill in every field, but be honest. For example if you fill that you are open on Sunday while you are not, people can fill complain at Google which might even lead to a suspension of your business listing.
Filling in your web site is pretty much a no-brainer. Besides that the links in the search results do link to your web site and not to Google Maps. In the description you can fill a short description of your business and which products or services you offer. You should use keywords in this description. Keywords are words where you want to be found for. For example if you sell product from a specific brand you can mention that brand. The field category is special field mainly for search. The name of the category will be used as a keyword. When you are filling in a category a dropdown appears with predefined categories. Try different terms to see which one describes your business best. However be specific and do not choose the most broadest term. For example if you are the owner of a comic book store you can fill in comic book store. The computer program that Google uses for their search results, called algorithm, understands that people searching for book stores might be interested in a comic book store. Furthermore if someone is searching specific for a comic book store it is very likely that you rank higher then general book stores. You can add 10 pictures maximum. Choose the best picture you have that fits best with your business. If you are a cabinet-maker your workshop might not be the most attractive picture, while your cabinets set in a nice setting might be very attractive. In other words, visitors are more likely to be interested in your products then your workshop. Additional details are also important because frequently it is looked over. Here you can fill in additional information like which brands you sell or if parking is available.
Finally,
There are more free services like Google Places for Business. However, mainly because of the great integration between Google Places and Google Search, Google Places for Business is a good start. Furthermore you need to have a Google account. The verification goes through a postcard, SMS or phone where you get a PIN, a number for verification. Personally I choose for the postcard because it is faster then SMS, SMS can take up to six weeks while with the postcard it takes up to two or three weeks, and I have good experience with the postcard service.