How to work on local positioning with Google My Business?

In Spain, 91.53% of internet users choose Google as their main search engine according to Statista data. And although Google does not share its search volume data, it is estimated that there are around 5 million searches per minute. But what type of searches are the most common?

46% of the searches we do on Google are of the type "Restaurants near me" or "Pharmacies in Madrid". In other words, to find local businesses. Furthermore, according to data from HubSpot Marketing Statistics, 88% of users who perform local searches via mobile end up calling or visiting the business in less than 24 hours. This means that appearing in the top search positions for our business area is a key factor that will have an impact on the success of our business.

But, in order to increase our local visibility we need to understand key concepts such as local SEO and tools like Google My Business.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO is a set of techniques used to optimise your website so that it appears among the first local search results, which are, in other words, results based on the user's location.

Working on local SEO for your physical business is key to avoid losing potential customers as well as providing the following advantages:

• Increase both online and offline traffic to your business.
• Appear above organic results in the SERP thanks to the Google My Business listing (we will explain what it is later).
• Increased visibility on Google Maps.
• Manage your company's reputation thanks to customer reviews.
• Convey more confidence to customers by appearing in the first local results.
• Reduce advertising costs as working on local SEO with Google My Business is completely free.
• Attract potential customers who are already thinking of buying.

What steps do I have to follow to work on local SEO?

1. Optimise your website's SEO for local search engines.

Local SEO is closely related to traditional SEO, so we have to try to introduce local keywords in the on-page optimisations that help us to improve the position in our area.

2. Always use the same NAP

The NAP refers to the name, address and phone number of your business. It is crucial that once these are defined, you use them everywhere you are asked for them.

3. Embed a Google Maps map on your website

Inserting a map with the location of your business is key for customers to find us easily. In addition, this practice helps Google to relate our business to its physical location.

We leave you a guide on how to insert a map in your website following this link.

4. Geolocate all your images

This is a very simple practice that you may not be aware of, but it also helps to improve the local SEO of your business. Geolocating your images is another way for Google to have more information about where your business is physically located.

5. Create a Google My Business account

Once we have used all the above aspects, we can start creating our business profile on Google My Business (GMB).

GMB is a completely free tool created by Google with the purpose of helping businesses to manage their online presence in a simpler way. This tool allows you to create a profile, like the one shown below, in which you can include, among many other things, contact details, opening hours, photos and videos, and a description of your business. This file will appear above the organic results or on the side, providing better visibility in searches.

google maps acelera pyme.png

Tips for working on Google My Business positioning

1. Create a profile of your business with detailed information.
2. Take advantage of the description to introduce local keywords that help to better position your business.
3. Try to answer and interact with as many reviews as possible.
4. Add images about your business, products and services.
5. Keep all the data in your file updated.