How to Optimise Your Google Plus Local Page and Stay On Top of Local Results
Stay On Top of Local Results
Ever since Google began transforming their Google Places platform into Google Plus Local, site owners and various other professionals specialising in SEO have often encountered some confusion when trying to understand the ins and outs of Google’s new sites and what these changes mean for Local SEO.
Google Plus Local Explained
Google Plus Local is essentially Google’s updated version of what was once called ‘Google Places.’ Google Plus Local is more versatile, however, and allows you to add much more content to your listing and control how your local listing appears visually in search results.
With Google Plus Local, you can add various elements to your listing to make it much more appealing to users. For instance, you can incorporate aids such as:
- Photos, videos and other images of your business
- Customer reviews and customer photos
- Business location/s and addresses, which are charted via Google Maps
- Business information, such as opening/closing times, phone numbers etc.
Google Plus Local is also directly linked to your Google Plus business profile, meaning you can keep all of your business reviews, photos and information in one easy place for users to find on the web.
Optimising Your Google Plus Local Profile
If you have successfully upgraded from Google Places to Google Plus Local and linked this to your Google Plus Business Page, you might now be wondering what you need to do to enhance your rankings online. What makes a great Google Plus Local listing?
Keywords
It is important to remember that local search results are still based on relevance for the user. That is, the search terms that are used will continue to drive which businesses show up at the top of search results pages and which get pushed to page 2 and lower.
Hence, it is crucial that you use the right keywords when creating your Google Plus Local profile. Keywords and phrases should be used organically and naturally at all times and are best included in your business description.
If you don’t know how to write great content that uses keywords naturally, consider hiring an SEO copywriter. Keywords can also be used in titles, tags and other links as necessary.
If you have no idea what specific keywords you should be using, you can either try to conduct some basic research yourself or, for more effective results, talk to an SEO consultant.
Consumer Engagement & Reviews
Google Plus Local also now demands a significant amount of consumer/customer interaction and engagement. Reviews and customer feedback via Google Plus Local will be significant here and can also impact your rankings.
In terms of user behaviour, reviews can also be very powerful when it comes to influencing user choices. A business with dozens of good reviews will fair much more strongly than a business with bad reviews or no reviews at all.
For this reason, you should encourage customers to leave reviews about your business and also respond to any negative comments about your service.
Images & Videos
Now that Google Maps has a new interface design , your Google Plus Local listings will need to be more visual than ever. Photos and videos (and other images) are emphasised with the new Google Maps, so make sure that your listing includes some kind of visual content; if you can’t invest in a good video at this point in time, make sure that you upload plenty of useful, high-quality photos.
Consider, for instance, how appealing a Japanese restaurant with lots of food photos is, compared to a listing that has no photos or only a single photo of restaurant from across the street.
Images and videos can also contribute significantly to your brand and your customer engagement, and so uploading your brand images, such as logos or banners, can be highly advantageous too.
Profile Completion
Completing your profiles is also critical in enhancing your ranking results via Google Plus Local and Google Plus. Make sure every field in your profile is complete and updated with relevant information for users; those with gaps in their profiles will most likely find it harder to achieve high rankings.
Further Help
Are you getting the most out of your Google Plus listings? SEO Agency in Sydney specialises in creating and optimising pages for Google Plus, Google Plus Local and Google Maps. Contact us here.
virginia cottrell
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