geoLocalSEO Services
We have made it easy for you to visualise in this post, if you are not in the Google local results then you are going to be below the fold for almost all local searches for your business.
Getting on here should be easy right? Claiming your Google Local listing is part of the free product offering of Google so whats the big deal? Why are there so many SEO Companies making thousands of dollars from business owners for what is essentially a free service offered by Google?
You’re right, most of these companies are unethical. If you have been approached by a company that will Guarantee a place in the local listings for a fee (sometimes up to $2000 per location!) then you know what to do – show them the door. This is a free service and unless you can’t spell your business name then you don’t need pay for this service.
All you need to do is use your Google account if you already have one, search for your business name in Google and claim and verify your business listing. The only tricky on is to make sure that you have done a thorough search for your business before you create a listing. Creating a new listing when one already exists will cause long term headaches.
Now, if you have done all that and you are still not appearing in the ‘famed’ 7 pack of local businesses, then you may need some assistance.
Some of the most common reasons why your business is not ranking could include:
- A duplicate listing exists
- Your listing contains information that is not consistent with information provided around the web
- Your listing has been hijacked (usually by a competitor)
- Your listing has too many negative reviews (again often malicious and from spammers)
- Your listing is under or over optimised
- Your listing contains information that are outside of the Google Quality Guidelines
- Your listing has no clout – ie Google can’t find your details around the web to verify that this business does infact exist at that physical location
- You have moved address, phone numbers or changed business name and therefore confused Google
These are just a few of the most common issues that we encounter when helping clients recover the rankings of their local businesses. Feel free to contact us to help your business rank in Google+ Local.