You might have heard about local & global so many times, but have you understand the difference and importance of local SEO; According to Google, 46% of searches have a ‘local intent’ i.e.

Local Search Engine Optimization, sometimes referred to as local organic marketing, is a proven and effective way to market your local business & services online, as it helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers nearby their location.

If a website with high-quality SEO bank links and authority can rank for a search query like ‘pizza shop’, But it become more relevant for customer and query has much more purchase intent behind it, when it becomes ‘pizza shop near me’ or ‘pizza shop in [location]’

So now where a customer wants services based on a particular location, search engines understand the user want a list of business nearby, so this is what they offer in local search engine results pages (SERP’s).

The difference between behavior and results makes local SEO more important and specific besides doing traditional SEO.

Now, what are local results or Local SERPs?

Every business which is present online wants to drive relevant traffic to their website, but how? Here comes the role of Google Snack Pack which is a boxed area that appears on the first results page when a local online search is made through Google search engine. The Snack Pack box displays the top 3 local business listings most relevant to the search inquiry. Have you ever thought that from where these results appear above SEO search results? Everything that appears in the Google snack pack comes directly from Google my business profile, a supercritical part of Local SEO.

What is Google My Business?

Google my business is not just a business listing, it actually a free tool that helps businesses to increase their visibility along with making it easy for customers to reach business by adding location, reviews, website, photos and many more things.

In case your business is not visible even after listing it on Google My Business or on Google Maps that means A GMB profile include a host of information submitted by you, such as business name, services you offer, contact number, website name, and business address, it also includes attributes like question and answers and Google reviews which are submitted by consumers who all have taken your services.

Now the most important factor in maintaining a high-quality GMB profile or easily visible in snack pack is to make it more accurate, trustworthy & attractive i.e. optimizing it for local or nearby customers.

Google My Business is the perfect example of online citation!

What are citations?

Citations are information of your business in a particular format appearing in online directories or other classified or business listing websites.  In simple term maintain your NAP (Name, Address & Phone Number) in a similar way all over the internet. This makes searches for your business more stable and you will rank well for local results as compare to your competitors.

Rank well in Local search or in Google Business Listing, Focus on these they key areas :

• Proximity: How close is your business to the customer search for your services.
• Relevance: How relevant are your products and services to search query?
• Prominence: What do other consumers say about your products and services? i.e. feedback or reviews.

Learn more about local & global SEO at Adzentrix Digital Marketing Training Institute.