Strong Google reviews for businesses can attract more clicks, calls, and visits to a business. But a lack of reviews or reviews without responses can have the opposite effect:

• 83% of consumers read reviews on Google
• 55% of shoppers won’t use a business with fewer than 4 stars
• Review signals account for 16% of local SEO ranking factors

In this guide, we’ll explore why Google reviews matter, Google review features, how to manage and get more Google reviews for businesses, and other frequently asked questions.

Whether you want to improve your search ranking, increase customer confidence, or simply get more reviews, understanding Google reviews will give you a lasting advantage.

What Exactly Are Google Reviews

Google reviews are public comments and star ratings written by Google users about a business.

They appear on your Google Business Profile (GBP), a business listing that shows up in local Google search results and on Google Maps when someone searches for your business or the service you provide. Your GBP also has other features, including contact details, posts, photos, Q&As, and booking links. You can find out more about Google Business Profile here.

Anyone with a Google account can write a review. In most cases, reviewers are genuine customers sharing their experiences, but they don’t necessarily have to be. Reviews can also come from Google Local Guides, an active community of super reviewers who contribute reviews, photos, and updates to help improve Google business results.

Each review will feature the name and profile photo of the person who wrote it, which helps potential customers assess the legitimacy of each recommendation.

Key features of Google reviews:

• Star rating: 1-5 stars per review, plus an overall star rating for your business based on all reviews. Reviewers may also be asked to give additional star ratings on specifics like food, service, or atmosphere.
• Text: Written feedback sharing details of the reviewer’s experience. It’s not compulsory to write anything on a Google review.
• Photos and videos: Visual content added to a review by the reviewer. The business owner doesn’t have any control over which photos appear and in what order, but can report these if they break Google’s media guidelines.
• Additional questions: Reviewers may be asked to answer extra questions with pre-selected answers, e.g., “How much did you spend per person?” or “Did you dine in, take away, or get delivery?” This information can be shown in reviews.
• Review keyword filters: Search reviews by top keywords to quickly read reviews matching common themes, helping you spot trends or issues.
• Sort by: Order reviews by Most Relevant, Newest, Highest, and Lowest.
• User information: Shows the reviewer’s name, profile photo, Local Guide status, and number of reviews and photos posted to Google.
• Report review button: Flag reviews that violate Google’s policies directly from the review by clicking the three dots. Business owners can also report fake reviews from their ‘Manage your Google Business Profile’ section.
• Reactions: Users can react to reviews with one of five emojis:

Once posted, the business owner has the option to respond to this feedback. Doing so is a fantastic way to demonstrate that you’re engaged with your audience and that their feedback is valued.

Where do you see Google reviews for businesses?

Google reviews are displayed wherever your business listing appears, helping searchers evaluate your reputation at a glance. They show up in multiple places, including the Local Pack, the Knowledge Panel, and on Google Maps. Google reviews for businesses are also used for specific searches using review justifications. Let’s dive into these.

The Local Pack

When a user searches for a local business service (rather than a specific business) in Google, they’ll usually be presented with the best three results at the top of the page. These three results are separate from the additional organic listings, and this section is known as the Local Pack. There may also be paid-for listings in this section with a ‘Sponsored’ heading.

Within the Local Pack, the average star rating from reviews and the number of reviews will be shown within the listing. Click on a business to open their Google Business Profile, and head to the reviews tab to read reviews in-depth.

You can also click ‘More Businesses’ to see additional local businesses to choose from.

The Knowledge Panel

The Google Knowledge Panel is the information box that appears on the right side of search results when someone looks up a specific business by name.

The Knowledge Panel highlights key details like the address, phone number, opening hours, and website. Google reviews are featured prominently here, showing the overall star rating and snippets of customer feedback.

In some cases, review star ratings from other sources can be shown here too. This makes it easy for potential customers to quickly assess your reputation without leaving the search page. Having strong, positive reviews in your Knowledge Panel can significantly influence decisions and encourage users to engage with your business.

Google Maps

When a user is searching for local businesses in Google Maps, the overall star rating and number of reviews are shown. Often, snippets of reviews relating to the search term are also highlighted and shown.

When a user makes a search for a specific business within Google Maps, they’ll be presented with comprehensive information from the GBP listing to the left of the map.

Users can scroll down through this area or click the ‘Reviews’ tab to find the review summary with an overall star rating and number of reviews, followed by snippets from reviews. These reviews can be filtered by keywords or sorted according to relevance, recency, and rating. Keep scrolling to read the full reviews.

Review Justifications

When a searcher provides specific intent for a local search, such as ‘vegetarian cafe’, then Google will take information from reviews to provide the most relevant results.

As you can see in the image below, part of the search term appears in bold where mentioned; these results are known as review justifications.

Encouraging your customers to use specific keywords when leaving reviews can help you improve your search visibility for relevant terms.

Why are Google reviews important?

Google reviews are an important tool for building trust with potential customers and standing out from competitors. Negative reviews can quickly erode confidence, with 63% of consumers losing trust after seeing negative feedback. Positive reviews help customers feel confident choosing you, even if they have not heard of your brand before.

Online reviews act as digital word-of-mouth, with 42% of people trusting reviews as much as recommendations from friends or family. Factors like star ratings, review volume, detail, and recency all influence shopper confidence.

Beyond influencing customers, Google reviews are also a local SEO ranking factor. A steady stream of positive reviews can help your business appear higher in local search results, making them an essential part of your local SEO strategy.

Maintaining a strong review profile involves delivering excellent service, providing high-quality products, and responding to every review to show that you value customer feedback. To learn more about the broader impact of customer reviews, see the benefits of online reviews.

Are Google reviews important to AI?

Recently, online reviews have become important in another way: AI.

AI tools, also known as large language models (LLMs), use online reviews to guide answers on local business searches. The latest Local Search Ranking Factors survey named high Google star ratings as the 8th most important AI search visibility factor.

At the time of writing, ChatGPT doesn’t surface Google reviews as a source, preferring to cite other business listings and local websites for recommendations. However, Google’s own AI models do use information from Google Business Profiles, including reviews.

Google is unlikely to want its new AI competitors to scrape and summarize Google reviews, but it’s entirely plausible that Google reviews will become more important for AI search visibility over the next few years. Focusing on building genuine, high-quality Google reviews will help your business be ready as AI search evolves.

How to Write a Google Review

To write a Google business review, a customer must first find the Google Business Profile of the business they want to review. This may be by searching for the business, or you may receive a text or email from the business asking for a review.

You need a Google account to leave a Google review, so log in or create an account if you don’t already have one. Then, click Write a Review on the business listing to start writing a review.

Choose a star rating from one to five, with five being the highest. Then write about your experience with the business. The more detail you include, the more helpful your review will be to other customers. You can also upload photos or videos to support your feedback.

You may be asked a few additional questions about your experience, though these are optional. Click ‘Post’ to submit your review, and it will appear on the Google Business Profile shortly.

How to Add Your Business to Google

If you don’t have a Google Business Profile for your business, then you’ll need to create one before you can start collecting reviews. Read our step-by-step guide to setting up a GBP listing to get started.

Once your listing is set up, you should spend some time optimizing it before you move on to thinking about reviews. For full details on how to optimize your profile, see our Google Business Profile optimization guide.

How to Manage Google Reviews

If you manage a single Google Business Profile, you can now update your profile and handle reviews directly within Google Search and Google Maps.

Simply type the name of your business into the search bar, and you’ll bring up the GBP control panel. Navigate to the ‘Customers’ section, where you’ll find ‘Reviews’. Here you can view and reply to customer feedback:

How to Manage Google Reviews With BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s Reputation Manager makes it easy to stay on top of your Google reviews alongside feedback from dozens of other sites, all within one simple dashboard. You can view every review in one place, track new feedback with email alerts, and reply directly to customers without switching between platforms.

Reputation Manager also helps you get more Google reviews by sending email and SMS review requests to your customers, helping you build a stronger online reputation and improve local visibility.

How to Reply to Google Reviews

Responding to your customer feedback on Google is essential for building and maintaining an amazing reputation. 93% of consumers expect business owners to respond to reviews, with 81% wanting a response within a week. This expectation means that responding to reviews has become a normal aspect of good customer service.

You’ll be notified by Google whenever a customer leaves a new review, making monitoring simple if you manage a single business or a modest number of reviews.

For higher volumes, staying on top can be more challenging. Review management software like BrightLocal’s Reputation Manager can help, using saved templates or AI-generated responses to craft on-brand, personalized replies quickly and efficiently.

When responding to reviews, begin by thanking the customer (by name) for taking the time to leave their comments. You should then address the feedback in a personable way. Make sure to reference any specific points that they have raised to avoid a ‘cookie-cutter’ response.

If you receive negative feedback, avoid the urge to respond immediately. Instead, take some time to absorb this feedback and to craft an appropriate response. Make sure you supply contact details should they wish to discuss the matter further.

Always responding in a timely and professional way can be tricky. Fortunately, we’ve taken the hard work out of it for you with these review response templates.

Where to Showcase Google Reviews

As well as appearing across Google Search and Maps, you can also add your best Google reviews directly onto your business website. You’ll definitely want to show yours off so that prospective customers can better understand the value of your business.

BrightLocal’s Showcase Reviews widget is an easy-to-use tool that displays your Google reviews on your website. It also allows you to showcase your customer feedback from more than 80 other review sites.

It is also a good idea to use your Google reviews in your marketing materials on off-site channels, including email campaigns, social media posts, and printed brochures, to strengthen your credibility and encourage new customers to choose you.

How to Get Google Reviews For Your Business

Building your online reputation through Google reviews is a free way to increase sales and grow your future profits. But while most people read reviews before making a decision, getting them to write one can take some encouragement.

The good news is that most consumers are willing to leave feedback when asked… so ask! BrightLocal research finds that 70% of consumers have written reviews in the last year. The most common ways of requesting reviews are email, in person, through social media, via text, and on receipts and invoices.

When requesting Google reviews, timing and tone are key. Ask soon after the interaction while the experience is still fresh, keep your request polite and simple, and make it easy by including a direct Google review link or QR code. And don’t be afraid to follow up.

You can also use tools like Reputation Manager to collect more Google reviews for your business seamlessly through personalized email, SMS, and in-store requests, all linking directly to your Google Business Profile. For full guidance and handy templates, visit our guide on how to ask for reviews.

Google Reviews for Business FAQs:

• How long does it take for Google reviews to appear?

Most Google reviews appear almost immediately, but sometimes it can take up to 48 hours. Delays can happen if Google is moderating the review, if the reviewer is new, or due to technical issues.

• How many Google reviews do I need to show up in search results?

There is no magic number of reviews required to rank in local search results. The exact amount depends on your location and local competition. Some businesses without any Google reviews can still rank well if other local SEO factors are strong. You should aim to get a steady stream of positive reviews over time to maintain and improve your visibility.

• What rules do I need to follow for Google reviews for businesses?

Google reviews must be honest and unbiased. Do not offer incentives for positive reviews, filter out negative reviews (known as review gating), post reviews for your own business or competitors, or post misleading content. Reviews should follow Google’s review platform guidelines.

• Can I turn off Google reviews for my business?

No, Google doesn’t allow businesses to turn off Google reviews. If you are having problems with your Google reviews, you can report those that violate Google’s guidelines and focus on getting more positive reviews from happy customers to improve your overall rating.

• Can you delete Google reviews?

Businesses cannot delete the Google reviews they receive. However, if the review breaks Google’s review guidelines, you can report the review, and if Google agrees it’s against the rules, they will take it down. Reviewers, on the other hand, can delete their own posted Google reviews at any point.

Take Control of Your Google Reviews

Google reviews for business are powerful. They build trust, guide customer decisions, and boost your visibility in local search results.

Now that you understand how Google business reviews work, it’s time to take control. Ask for reviews, respond quickly, showcase the best feedback in your marketing, and turn every Google review into an opportunity to grow your business.

One of the best ways for a business to get noticed, and to gain an advantage over its competitors, is to rank in the Google Local Pack.

What is the Google Local Pack?

The Local Pack appears at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) when a user makes a search query with local intent. It’s sometimes known as the Local 3 Pack, the Google 3 pack, the Google Map Pack, or—and this is my personal favorite—the Snack Pack.

Why is it called a ‘3 pack’?

The three most relevant results—determined by Google’s search algorithm—are featured in this ‘local SERPs pack’, and are distinctly separate from the remaining organic search results. If you own a brick-and-mortar store, then you’ll want to appear here! Below are two different examples, so you can see what the Local Pack looks like in different locations and industries.

A Local Pack for ‘Vegan Restaurants in New York City’

A Map Pack for ‘Car Maintenance Palm Springs’

These top three results are accompanied by a map that shows exactly where they’re located, as well as the address, opening hours, and average star rating from customer reviews, plus a click-to-call option for mobile users. ​​​​​​​

How does Google identify a local search?

The following are different ways for Google to identify that a user is making a search with local intent:

• A user will include the name of the desired geographic area, such as the town or city, within their search term. For example, ‘hair salon in Syracuse, NY’.
• A user will include ‘near me’ within their search query. For example, ‘hair salon near me’. Google will use GPS tracking to accurately understand where the user is searching from.
• A user will type their search query, such as ‘hair salon’, without any additional information. Google will understand that this user is likely searching for a hair salon to visit and will factor in their location while determining the most relevant results.

How is the Google Local Pack different from organic SERPs?

The algorithm for the Google Local Pack is different from organic SERP listings, so you’ll need to consider Local Pack SEO separately—start by checking out these local SEO tips for better visibility.

When it comes to appearance, the main difference is that the Google Local Pack contains clear calls to action, such as to visit the website or to make a phone call. Another important difference is that the Local Pack features concise information about a business that the user will naturally benefit from, such as location and hours of operation.  

These features make these positions more valuable—both to the searcher and to the top-ranking local businesses.

A Brief History of the Google Local Pack

The Google Local 3 Pack has been a feature in local SERPs since 2015. Before this time, Google displayed seven results in a list without a map.  

The reduction from seven results to three is great for readability on mobile devices, and the addition of a map helps the user to immediately understand the location of the results. 

Why should I care?

Of the approximately 40,000 Google searches made around the globe every second, data reveals that 46% of these queries have local intent. This equates to a huge number of people seeking information in their local area every single day. 

The stats also show that at least 93% of Google searches with local intent will include a Local Pack within the results.

What’s more, approximately 50% of users making a local search on a phone will visit a nearby business concerning this query within 24 hours. Plus, 78% of these searches will result in an offline sale in the near future. 

These figures highlight the importance of being visible to consumers who are ready to spend when they make a local search.

How do I climb the Google Map Pack rankings?

To start climbing the rankings into the Google Map Pack, you will first need to claim your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business).

Once you’ve claimed your Google Business Profile (GBP), you’ll then need to optimize it with the appropriate information. This involves completing all of the relevant sections, as well as including photos of your business. 

When deciding which GBP results to return for a query, Google primarily considers:

• Proximity—how close your business is to the user
• Prominence—how popular your business is
• Relevance—how closely matched your business is to the search query

The algorithm will also prioritize listings that are maintained with accurate and up-to-date details, as well as those that contain beneficial information about the business. 

The majority of consumers won’t check beyond the first page of results, so it’s essential that your business is ranking well for a range of different search terms. Once your listing is claimed and optimized, Local Pack SEO should then be the next step to boosting your online visibility. 

What about Google Maps?

Within the Local Pack Google listings, users can click to see more results, and doing so will take them to Google Local Finder (see image below). This is a more comprehensive list of relevant local businesses for the search query.

However, it’s important to be aware that the Local Finder is not the same as Google Maps.

Check out our dedicated post on the difference between Google Local Finder and Google Maps. 

Securing Local Search Success

The importance of ranking in the Google Map Pack shouldn’t be overlooked as a brick-and-mortar business owner. You may wish to hire an agency to help you, but there are many actions you can take yourself. If you want to start learning more about local SEO, then check out our comprehensive article on local ranking factors.

As you push ahead with your local search strategy, it’s important to be aware that Google results will vary when you check your rankings from different locations. Google will always know where you are and will return the results that are most relevant to your current location. 

Variance in the search results can be a stumbling block to understanding how your business is truly performing locally. You can easily solve this problem by using our free tool to accurately observe your local rankings from any location. 

With the best knowledge and the right tools, you’ll be well on your way to local search success!

If you’re a business owner who isn’t currently harnessing the power of citations, then you’ll need to learn about these simple SEO-boosting assets.

What are local citations?

Local citations are listings of a business’s information on a third-party site online. As a local business owner, building these citations should be one of the starting points for expanding your visibility and authority online.

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The information included in a local citation is primarily the business name, address, and phone number—also known as NAP data. A link to your website can also often be included, and this link naturally has SEO benefits.

Adding your business information to directories and other third-party websites will help consumers to find your business online. Doing so also serves to boost how authoritative and trustworthy Google considers your business to be—more on this later!

Below you can see a typical example of a local citation.

What are the different types of local citations?

There are two different types of local citations: structured and unstructured.

What are structured citations?

Structured citations are the most common type of local citation. They’re the listings of your business on relevant business directories and third-party websites. These websites are huge, pre-existing databases of business information that Google already trusts.

Examples of business directories are:

• Google Business Profile
• Yelp
• HotFrog
• TripAdvisor

When it comes to structured citations, being listed on the directories that are most relevant to your industry is key.

Then, on the more general directories and other sites, choosing the most appropriate category for your business is essential. This helps Google to understand your products or services and helps the right customers find you. 

Structured citations should include as much up-to-date, key business information as possible. Keeping this up-to-date is where listing management comes in. 

Because there are so many of these directories online, many businesses use tools and citation building services to upload their information and ensure that it stays accurate and up-to-date. If your information is out there on 100 sites, that’s great, but it also needs to be accurate and consistent across all of those sites to maximize the benefits.

Managed services are often the most straightforward way to do this.

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What are unstructured citations?

Unstructured citations are mentions of key business data on a page, but where the information isn’t grouped together. This is likely to happen if your business is mentioned in an online news article or a blog post, such as the example below from Westgate Resorts.

As you can see, the bar’s name is referenced throughout the text, with the address and phone number appearing at the end. 

Think explicit mentions of key business information in:

• local publications
• social media posts
• blog listicles and reviews
• other press materials

This information can include the entirety of a business’s name, address, phone number, and URL, but doesn’t have to. A business merely has to be cited in some way to be considered an unstructured citation. 

Although unstructured citations aren’t as immediately obvious to search engines as the structured variety, they are valuable to local SEO, brand visibility and authority. They are increasingly valuable as AI tools begin to pick them up as content snippets. 

The strength of individual unstructured citations is influenced by three factors:

• Location;
• industry relevance; and
• website authority.

Location

If your business is mentioned on a website that is connected to your local area, then this is likely to be more valuable than a mention on a website with no local connection.

This is true of both the potential SEO value and the potential for local residents to discover your business from this mention.

Industry Relevance

Appearing on websites that are related to your industry or niche is helpful from an SEO perspective. This also helps to put your message in front of interested people.

For example, if you run a bakery, and a nearby café talks about your goods on its website, this could be more valuable than being referenced on a textile company’s website.

Website Authority

Website authority—or domain authority—is important to consider when determining the value of unstructured citations.

If the website the citation appears on has a high domain authority, then this citation will likely be more valuable to you than one from a website with low domain authority. This is because domain authority is a recognized signifier of a website’s rankability in the eyes of Google.

What are the core components of local citations?

NAP information is always the core component of local citations.

Local SEO citations might also feature:

• company website;
• opening hours;
• business description/category;
• driving directions;
• images;
• links to social media profiles; and
• email address.

There may also be additional features, depending on the site in question.

For example, Manta (as seen below) allows businesses to feature NAP citations data, an ‘About’ section, website link, map directions, and opening hours. The site also offers separate tabs within the listing for additional contact information, details, and reviews. 

Links and Citations: Similarities and Differences

Citations and links are both powerful signals that influence local and organic search rankings.

However, it’s not uncommon for people to confuse the meaning and importance of links and citations. It’s important to recognize the difference between them, because to maximize your site’s visibility for localized keywords, you need to build both.

Focusing on one at the expense of the other means that, at best, you won’t be as visible online as you could be, and at worst, you won’t be visible at all (at least not on the 1st page of the search results).

Links and citations are similar in that…

• Both are online references to your business
• Typically, these references appear on 3rd party sites (at least that’s how most SEOs think of them)
• They can exist on the same page at the same time
• Both have the potential to negatively affect your rankings if done incorrectly, and particularly if they go against Google Webmaster Guidelines

They’re different in that…

• A citation must include your Business Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP), but a link doesn’t have to
• A link must be clickable (i.e. clicking it must take the user to your site), whereas a citation doesn’t have to be
• All citations must be consistent, whereas links should be varied
• Links improve rankings for both the organic search results & local business search results, whereas citations only improve rankings in local results

What do links and citations look like?

Links and citations can take many forms depending on the site and context in which they appear. These are some examples of what both links and citations typically look like…

Links:

this is a link within a phrase
click here
example.com
http://www.example.com

Links can also be embedded within images and widgets.

Citations:

SEOmark, 34 Links Drive, Birmingham, West Midlands, B91 2DL (0330001152)

SEOmark
34 Links Drive
Birmingham
West Midlands
0330001152

SEOmark, 34 Links Drive, Birmingham, UK

SEOmark, located at 34 Links Drive in Birmingham, is run by Mark Walters. You can contact him at 0330001152.

Note: A full citation includes your complete NAP. A partial citation is one that includes only part of your NAP—maybe your name and phone number or name and address. A partial citation is better than nothing, but not as beneficial as a full citation.

Popular Local Citations Sites

There are many different directory sites that you can create listings on.

Some of the best platforms for local businesses to build citations are:

• Foursquare
• Better Business Bureau
• Localworks
• MapQuest
• Yellow Pages
• Angi
• City Data
• Manta

For more extensive lists of citation sites check out our resources:

• Best Business Directories
• Best US Business Directories
• Top Free US Business Directories
• Top Free International Business Directories
• Best Business Directories for Every Industry

Why are citations beneficial for local SEO?

Local citation building is beneficial for SEO because it helps Google, other search engines, and LLMs trust your business’s authenticity and the accuracy of your information.

The core benefits are:

• Foundational trust and authority earning with search engines, as well as customers
• Proving the accuracy of information
• They can provide links
• However, they do confirm information without the need for a link

When Google can see that exactly the same information exists across a number of trusted websites, then this trust can be passed on to your business. NAP citation consistency is therefore particularly important for enjoying the maximum SEO benefit of local citations. This means that your business name, address, and phone number must be accurate across all of the websites on which your business is listed.

Additionally, unstructured citations in particular can work in your business’s favor when it comes to generative AI and its responses to local queries. 

Although links are great, a local citation doesn’t need to link to your business website in order for it to have SEO advantages. Google will identify that your business has been mentioned through the presence of your NAP citations data, and this is enough to influence trust signals towards your brand.

These trust signals then boost your likelihood to appear in local pack and localized organic rankings as well as AI/Answer Engine results. 

What are the benefits of local citations?

Read more

What’s the problem with inaccurate business listings?

Inaccurate citations are problematic because they can cause a decrease in the level of trust Google has in your business. Conflicting information could be seen as misleading, and this can often come down to seemingly insignificant differences, such as spellings and abbreviations. 

For example, if you use a shortened version of your business name on certain sites, but use the business name in full for other listings, then this may appear to be two separate businesses in the eyes of Google. This might mean that less authority is attributed to your website as a result.

Inaccurate business listings can also confuse and deter potential customers. If someone finds your business through a directory but the contact details are incorrect, they may struggle to communicate with you. This could cause them to shift their attention and their money to one of your competitors.

Additionally, if your citations become outdated, such as due to a change in address, then it’s important to resolve this without delay. Accidentally directing potential customers to your old business location could cause frustration for them and the loss of a sale for you. 

What are the business benefits of building citations?

Getting listed on business directories and third-party websites is generally free, making it a cost-effective way to boost awareness of your brand.

When customers search on Google for specific services, business directories will often feature in the results. Therefore, having a presence on these sites can help to put your business in front of more consumers. 

Unstructured citations have the unique benefit of increasing your brand’s organic visibility, reputation, and authority, as well as putting you in the prime position to be picked up by an AI search.

Additionally, a number of local business directory sites allow customers to leave reviews. Positive reviews can go a long way to bolstering your business reputation, so the more sites you can build these assets on, the better!

Ready to build citations?

Now that you understand the advantages of building local citations, you’ll want to get started right away.

Third-party listings management tools can help to streamline the process of building, tracking, and staying on top of your citations.

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Want to do it yourself? We have guides to adding and claiming listings on popular citation sites. These include:

• How to Add or Claim Your Bing Places for Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim an Angi Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your Citysearch Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your MerchantCircle Business Listing
• How to Add or Claim Your Cylex Business Listing
• How to Add a Zillow Listing

Although not all GBPs have received this label, searchers can see that certain profiles have had their business details verified by Google—likely through an automated phone call.

They're like a series of "trust" signals you think @rustybrick ? Has the state of the GBP ecosystem in terms of accuracy become so bad that Google needs to add these to show consumers they can be confident in the panel details? https://t.co/yPjrzFmfIm pic.twitter.com/1Byf5ZgJyr

— Claire Carlile (@clairecarlile) March 3, 2022

Boosting Trust and Tackling Fraud

As Claire Carlile points out in her tweet above, this new label could be valuable as a trust signal. The label states how long ago the business was contacted by Google to confirm its details, so this small but helpful feature will allow searchers to see which businesses definitely have up-to-date information. This could naturally influence which businesses people choose to engage with. 

The additional confirmation also has the potential to expose fraudulent accounts as they may be unable to pass the additional verification steps required during the call. 

How to Get Confirmed by Phone

Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to request that Google contacts you to confirm your details.

It appears that the only way to influence this label appearing on your GBP is ensuring you answer the phone call if you do receive one, and, of course, appropriately confirming your details during the call. However, whether the label is then assigned to you or not is still naturally at Google’s discretion.

Updating Your Business Details

It’s not yet clear if this is a test or a permanent addition to GBP. However, should it become permanent, it may see profiles with the label elevated above the rest in terms of consumer trust.

This makes it all the more important that your contact details—especially your phone number—are always kept up to date. Similarly, you should make sure calls to your business phone number are always answered when possible. If you’re lucky enough to receive a confirmation phone call but you miss it, there’s no telling when you might be chosen again!

Double Verification for Google Business Profiles

Around the same time as rolling out the ‘confirmed’ label, Google also updated the verification help document to state that additional verification methods may now be required.

The updated version of the document now reads:

Some experts have theorized that this strengthening of the verification process could be an attempt to combat fraudulent profiles.

Google Business Profile Verification Methods

The original way to verify GBP was to receive a postcard to the registered business address. Although this method is still in use, there are now a number of other options available, these are:

• Receiving a phone call
• Receiving a text message
• Receiving an email
• Sending a video recording
• Participating in a live video call

The video recording verification option has been available to a small number of businesses in the past, but is now available to all. 

The Impact for Local Businesses

If you’re a legitimate business, then you’ve no reason to be concerned about the potential for double verification. Should this be asked of you, all you need to do is follow the instructions provided and submit the required information.

A more stringent verification process could help to reduce fake listings in the Local Pack, Local Finder, and Google Maps—which is great news for authentic businesses. 

If you’re a marketer working with local businesses, then you’ll want to make your clients aware that additional verification may be required. Ensuring that their contact details and other information is accurate now could help to avoid problems with this in the future.

As the search results began to settle, it soon became clear that this update primarily targeted two things:

• Proximity as a ranking factor; and
• Keyword stuffing and spam in the GBP business name.

In the wake of this important update, we decided to take the temperature of the local SEO community to determine the impact so far.

By polling 500 BrightLocal customers, we’ve been able to gather some interesting insights into Vicinity. The customers polled include consultants and freelancers, multi-location businesses, small local businesses, and agencies.

We also reached out to our community through social media for additional opinions on how rankings have been affected by the update.

Read on to discover what we uncovered!

Insights from BrightLocal Customers

Through the poll data, we’ve observed that consultants and freelancers are evidently the least affected by Vicinity. 67% of people in this group stated they’ve seen no noticeable difference to their client’s local search rankings.

Additionally, only 8% of those in this group have seen rankings greatly impaired following the update.

“Still too early to tell. The tighter circle can help and hurt depending on where you are.”

On the other side of the scale, however, multi-location businesses (MLBs) appear to have been hit the hardest.

14% of people in this group have noticed greatly impaired rankings, and 24% have observed slightly impaired rankings. That amounts to 38% of MLBs reporting a negative outcome.

“From what we’ve seen, the Vicinity update has really narrowed down our ability to rank well further from our location center. I get what Google is trying to do, but it’s impairing what SEOs can do to improve rank over competitors.”

When it comes to small local businesses, the results are balanced on both sides. 33% of people in this group experienced a positive impact, and 33% experienced a negative impact.

55% of small local businesses reported no noticeable change.

“Low competition niches weren’t affected, but high competition sectors like realtors had a negative impact in my opinion.”

The outcome was more varied for agencies working with local business clients. Only 3% of agencies have experienced greatly improved rankings, and only 9% have seen greatly impaired rankings.

14% of agencies feel that their rankings have slightly improved, whereas 19% believe their rankings have been slightly impaired. 55% of agencies haven’t seen any difference in their rankings since Vicinity was released.

“I believe this is Google trying to sell more ads. By limiting the vicinity a company can rank in, they’re forcing SABs to pay. I do think it’s benefited smaller, struggling companies, however. It also seems to have taken care of a lot of the spam issues.”

The Impact for Multi-location Business Owners

With 38% of MLBs reporting negative outcomes, it’s easy to see who’s felt the weight of this significant update. 

We already know that when it comes to local rankings, the Google algorithm helps to level the playing field between small businesses and the bigger players. This is primarily because the Local Pack, Local Finder and Google Maps all take data from Google Business Profiles (GBP), and not from a business’ website. Therefore, a well-optimized GBP is more beneficial to local rankings than the authority of a business website. 

Through the Vicinity update, it would seem that Google is strengthening the potential for small businesses to dominate over the bigger chains.

How does the local SEO community feel about Vicinity?

46% of the 500 BrightLocal customers polled stated that they’re unsure how they feel about the update, with 34% saying they feel positively, and only 20% feeling negatively:

Given the recency of Vicinity, it’s not surprising that nearly half of these people haven’t quite made up their minds yet.

The fact that such a large number of people don’t yet have strong feelings about the update either way is also likely a result of the change (or lack thereof) in the rankings they’ve seen:

As you can see, there’s no real consensus as to whether the update resulted in higher or lower rankings. This makes sense given that our audience is a reasonable representation of the local SEO community—where some respondents will have seen decreases, other respondents will naturally have risen to take their place, resulting in a kind of equilibrium.

Insights from Social Media

By posting a poll on Twitter and within two Facebook groups for local SEO professionals, we received additional insights into the update. The social media response had slightly more of a negative sentiment than our customer poll did. 

How have you or your clients been impacted by the Vicinity algorithm update?

— BrightLocal (@brightlocal) January 10, 2022

Over on Twitter, 40.8% of respondents shared that they’ve experienced a drop in rankings since Vicinity, with 22.4% ranking higher, and 18.4% having seen no difference:

Over on Facebook, sentiment towards Vicinity is mixed.

Joy Hawkins said,

“We saw a large mix. We definitely had clients in the category of dominating a large geographic area who saw a hit.”

Tim Kahlert explained,

“We saw a huge drop in rankings and impressions on most of our clients’ GBPs but the number of calls/direction requests and website visits is stable.”

Michael Sampson commented,

“One of my clients ranked all over the city for the top keywords due to my SEO experience, now he shows up nowhere because he lives on the outskirts of the city. Shocking really, leads dropped 90%.”

Vikram Saran said,

“Normal rank is restored recently. Dropped 20 plus ranks from one and back to one again in most of the areas in our city.”

Lee Michelle shared,

“In my area the spam accounts have benefited greatly. We have tanked. I know for many businesses it has had a positive impact and a fairly earned impact. In my area, Google takes companies located in the city center and ranks them #1—even five or six miles out—when there are closer legit companies not ranking. It’s a mess.”

Local Search Success for Small Business Owners

It’s evident that many multi-location businesses have experienced a notable drop in local search visibility since the November update. We’ll be watching the search results over the coming months to determine if this is going to give an ongoing edge to small business owners. 

One thing we do know for sure is that it’s a sensible time for those working with small local businesses to up their game. These businesses should be making sure they’re doing all they can to utilize local SEO for the best chance at outranking their competition. 

Rolling out between November 30th and December 8th, this update has been named ‘Vicinity’ by Sterling Sky. This is the largest change to the local algorithm since Possum in 2016 and has caused widespread ranking disruption.

Google confirmed the update in a tweet on December 16th:

Our November 2021 local search update has concluded. It began Nov 30 and ran through Dec 8. It involved a rebalancing of various factors we consider in generating local search results. General guidance for businesses remains the same as covered here: https://t.co/uyXFfmUEIR

— Google Search Central (@googlesearchc) December 16, 2021

What’s Vicinity All About?

This update is named after the fact that it seems to primarily target proximity as a ranking factor.

Although proximity has long been an important signal for local search results, it’s also been the case that businesses can optimize to successfully rank far from their actual business location. 

Through the Vicinity update, Google now appears to be clamping down on this, which will naturally make local search results more relevant to the user. In terms of the benefit to businesses, this gives them a greater chance to rank well in relevant local searches, as they’ll be competing less with businesses that are further away. 

When it comes to adding keywords into the business name of a Google Business Profile (GBP) listing, research from Sterling Sky found that the update has decreased the potential advantage of doing so.

The Sterling Sky data revealed that businesses using keywords (inappropriately) in their name have now largely seen a drop in search rankings. This is likely to be a win for the businesses who have consistently followed Google’s guidelines on keyword stuffing, and for those who have invested their time in fighting name spam.

Local Search Ranking Changes

Towards the end of the Vicinity update rollout, significant changes to local search volatility were picked up by our Local RankFlux tool.

Local RankFlux tracks daily keyword ranking movement to measure fluctuations and identify suspected updates to Google’s algorithm, providing a score out of ten for each day. 

During the period of the rollout, search volatility rose gradually to peak at 6.2. 

As you can see from the data above, search volatility slowly returned to normal levels in the wake of the November 2021 local search update.

The huge ranking fluctuations were observed across a wide range of different industries within the local sphere. 

Here’s an example of how the ranking of a key search term varied for one business during and after the rollout.

December 1st: 

December 15th:

As you can see from the two images above, the business in question has increased its rankings in the immediate local area. 

The Possum Update

Before Vicinity hit, Possum was the last big change to the local search algorithm. Rolling out in 2016, Possum served to better filter the results in the Local Pack and Local Finder. This largely meant that if several businesses of a similar nature were operating out of the same building, that most of them would be filtered out of the results.

At the time, local SEOs also theorized that Possum was placing more emphasis on proximity as a local ranking factor, and also that it decreased the influence that the organic authority of a website has over Local Pack/Finder rankings.

Google Local Pack Redesign

The Vicinity update was released around the same time that Google made design changes to the Local Pack. The redesign means that over the coming weeks, all Local Pack results will return a list of three results on the left with a map on the right. The old design—which features three results below a map—has been the norm since 2015.

The new Local Pack design:

As local SEOs began sharing sightings of the new Local Pack design in early December, many were also reporting big changes to rankings and traffic. Some attributed this to the redesign, whereas others were turning their attention to a potential algorithm update. 

While commenting on the redesign, Google said it’s “constantly exploring ways to connect people with the helpful information that they’re seeking.” As the Vicinity update rolls out alongside the new Local Pack, it remains to be seen if this will provide a better search experience for local consumers, and better search traffic for local businesses.  

What does the Vicinity update mean for local business owners?

In the tweet confirming the change, Google said, “General guidance for businesses remains the same”, alongside a link to guidelines on how to improve local rankings. 

The guidelines explain that the algorithm determines results based on relevance, distance, and prominence—so nothing’s changed here. Within this advice, Google also suggests that in order to boost visibility, local businesses should:

• Enter complete data
• Verify locations
• Keep opening hours accurate
• Manage and respond to reviews
• Add photos

As Google continues to develop the local search algorithm, it’s to be expected that the user experience is always going to be at the heart of any resulting changes. 

Local businesses will have to continue to adapt to the landscape and closely adhere to the guidelines in order to achieve sustainable search success. 

Have you been affected by the Vicinity update? Let us know all about it in the comments below!

The Local Pack is a prominent section of the local search results. It features the top three businesses for a local query, as well as a map pinpointing the location of each. Being featured here can make a huge difference to local business web traffic and sales.

Google has typically displayed three results with a map above since 2015. Before then, seven results were listed in the Local Pack without the addition of a map.

New Local Pack Design

The new design—which only applies to searches made on desktop—will feature three results on the left of the page and a map to the right. One notable advantage to this is that the map is bigger and could therefore be easier for some searchers to use.

The updated design:

The old design:

Confirmation from Google

In a statement made to Search Engine Land in confirmation of the changes, Google said, “We’re constantly exploring ways to connect people with the helpful information that they’re seeking.

“We’re currently rolling out an update to the Search interface on desktop so when people search for places or businesses nearby, like ‘parks near me’ or ‘restaurants near me,’ they’ll easily see local results on the left and a map on the right. We expect this to be broadly available over the coming weeks.”

SEO experts have shared on Twitter that they’ve recently spotted the updated interface for certain local searches.

Spotted: the GIANT MAP local pack: pic.twitter.com/ARW8juTGeI

— Miriam Ellis (@Miriam_Ellis_) December 9, 2021

Whoa. Check out this massive local pack: pic.twitter.com/C8y2KZo3gu

— Darren Shaw (@DarrenShaw_) December 7, 2021

What does this mean for BrightLocal customers?

We’re confident that BrightLocal customers shouldn’t be impacted by this update, and that reporting data will likely be unaffected.

As usual, we’ll continue to monitor the situation and release any updates accordingly.  

Local Search Ranking Fluctuations

As more and more local SEOs have reported seeing the new Local Pack design, there have also been reports of big changes to local rankings.

Businesses have been spotted moving up into the Local Pack for the first time, with those that have high numbers of reviews appearing to enjoy the most gains.

Reports of unexpected fluctuations in traffic from local searches have also been circulated online. A number of SEO experts have speculated that this could be the result of an algorithm update, although some suspect the Local Pack redesign could be the culprit. 

Adverts in the Local Pack

As if there wasn’t already enough local search change taking place at the moment, there’s also been some talk around increased ad presence.

Joy Hawkins from Sterling Sky tweeted that she’d seen two adverts in a Local Pack, where it’s previously been the case that one is the maximum. 

Not sure I've ever seen 2 ads show up in the Google Maps app before (it's usually 1). pic.twitter.com/h4MrR2zaae

— Joy Hawkins (@JoyanneHawkins) December 7, 2021

In response to Joy’s tweet, others shared that they’ve also been seeing two adverts in the Local Pack recently—with some predicting this may become more common over the coming year and beyond. 

A potential problem with adverts in the Local Pack—besides arguably impacting user experience—is that they can sometimes show up in surrounding cities to the target location. When this happens, it isn’t great for the advertiser who is wasting a portion of their budget, and is likely of no value to the searcher either.

With increased ad presence in the Local Pack, the visibility of organic results will naturally be affected. This could be of detriment to how valuable these results are for local consumers. 

It remains to be seen if this two-ad anomaly is a permanent and universal change to Local Pack advertising, or if it’s simply a test or a bug. 

Changes to Local Search

These changes to the Local Pack are arriving shortly after Google My Business was renamed to Google Business Profile (GBP)—an update which also saw Google making additional announcements about the future of this local business tool.

If you’re an agency managing GBP listings, or a business owner taking charge of your own local SEO, then now’s a good time to make sure you’re adhering to best practices. Volatility within search engine results is to be expected, but, as the dust settles, those following the guidelines and optimizing effectively can expect to benefit in the long run. 

Google has announced that it’s renaming Google My Business to Google Business Profile, amid a number of additional developments within the local business management tool.

Local SEO experts have been quick to react to the update, and we’ve taken our own look to see what has actually changed for local business owners. 

What’s new with Google Business Profiles?

In addition to the name change, Google has announced that single listings will now be managed directly within Google Maps and Google Search. 

To manage a listing, the owner can simply type their business name into Google Search. They’ll then be presented with this control panel:

Managers can easily edit their profiles in this way without leaving Search.

It’s worth noting that this is not a new feature, and listings managers have been able to control their assets in this way for a while.

However, the company is now making it clear that all single listings should be managed in this way, as opposed to through the soon-to-be-outdated Google My Business model. In 2022, the company plans to retire the Google My Business app entirely to encourage merchants to take full advantage of the upgraded Search and Maps functions. (Update: this has now been discontinued as of July 2022.)

What about businesses with multiple locations?

For those with multiple locations to manage, the existing GMB interface—now known as Business Profile Manager—will continue to be the place to manage these listings.

Google has explained that the existing Google My Business web experience will eventually transition to primarily support large multi-location businesses.

More Power to Google Maps and Search

Google has also announced that additional tools will soon become available to help businesses understand and boost their local search performance.

For now, it’s added the ability to do more things directly from Google Maps and Search, including:

• Claim a business listing
• Verify the listing
• Send and receive messages to customers
• Manage reviews and Q&As
• Track data on inbound calls that came from Google Business Profile (US and Canada to start with, potentially rolling out to other countries soon)

Local SEO Experts React to the News

Google has stated that the reason for the name change is to “keep things simple,” however, some local business marketers have expressed cynicism regarding the sudden development, while others agree that not a great deal has changed.

Dan Leibson, COO of Local SEO Guide, said,

“It’s not surprising that Google wants to limit the amount of support it’s providing to the millions of SMBs and their marketers. The changes they have been going through on the support side have illustrated their lack of ability to handle support in high volumes.

“What I think is surprising is that Google has centered multi-location businesses and brands in their GMB strategy, by thinking about how detrimental this change would be if rolled out to them. Does this signal a shift away from SMBs and toward brands in Google Local?”

Joy Hawkins, Founder of Sterling Sky, commented,

“This update really isn’t a big deal. Google is simply looking for a simplified name that people can remember. 

“I still hear people refer to the profile as Google Places listing, which is name Google got rid of years ago, so I’m sure we will continue to call it a GMB listing for quite some time”.

Google Platinum Product Expert, Ben Fisher at Steady Demand, downplayed the changes and assured us that most of them were in the works anyway:

“There are not a ton of new things going on here. You may have noticed this has been working for the better part of a year already. Slowly Google has been working towards making all new features available in the search version of Google Profile Manager.

“It also makes sense to Google, based on their data and tests. I’m not saying it is awesome for us as agencies, but to them it is, and also allows resources to be spent elsewhere. For example, deprecating the mobile app and moving resources to where 90% or merchants are looking for themselves (and already suggesting edits) inside of search.

“Agencies can still manage in bulk and via the API; nothing there has changed. Additionally, new functionality will probably be developed. (Have feedback? DM me)

“Some notes about the creation of new listings or verifying: this will actually be made simpler and discoverable via the web now versus having to go into business.google.com. And as far as edits go, editing your own profile can be done via search, as Google found out most merchants would type in their name to make an edit. (So this reaction is in part to how merchants actually behave around the world).

“So in a nutshell, resources will be spent in places that will benefit the majority while enhancing features for multi-location users.”

Senior SEO specialist Andy Simpson added,

“I think my biggest concern is that it appears that small business owners will be losing the GMB dashboard/control panel.

“You’ll no longer need to use the separate Google My Business website or mobile app. This could lead to business owners making ‘willy-nilly’ edits, editing their business name (name spam), playing with different categories, etc. Without a dedicated area ‘dashboard’ it just feels like it’s going to be much harder to educate the small business owner who only wants the best from their listing. 2022 is going to be a very confusing year for many to pick up these new changes.”

Tim Capper, GMB Product Expert and Local SEO Consultant at Online Ownership, commented,

“Another changed name for businesses to get to grips with; let’s hope Google does ongoing marketing to get the message across this time round.

“It’s been in the pipeline for some time. Not sure if anyone noticed but they started referring to a listing or page as a profile in support docs around 12 months ago.

“So this change I think has been achieved seamlessly. Nothing is really changing in the grand scheme of things, however the removal of the app so soon is probably going to create the largest pinch point for users.

“What we tend to forget in the industry is that the main users of the product are single businesses and they typically use the app to manage it, especially in Asia and Africa, and there are quite a few missing options in the new search experience that is not available yet.

“Once you get into the new experience, it’s clean, logical and functional for the most part with some bugs to iron out. For example, if I want to check reviews, I select ‘customers’, then ‘reviews’, but then get taken to reviews in my Knowledge Panel, where I have to scroll down to the review, then hit the tiny ‘edit’ button to respond. Whereas the app presented all the reviews without the Knowledge Panel clutter in a quick and easy overview.

“I have yet to figure out how to access the website (business site) which 10 million small businesses rely on. Some areas of the profile in Google Search I like, and others (like reviews above) are horrible. The change makes sense, just not the speed that they want to remove the app, although they don’t specify when this will happen in 2022.”

SEO Strategist Kim Doughty, of RicketyRoo, said,

“On one hand, I’m optimistic that this change will make business verification easier for single-location business owners. Many SMBs don’t know or care to manage their listing in a separate app or account—all they know is that their listing is on Google. The best case scenario here is that more businesses will be able to easily update basic information like their business hours and services without the help of an ‘expert.’

“At the same time, there are a lot of questions unanswered with this update: How easy will it be for a single-location business to transition to managing multiple locations within Business Profile Manager? How will Google Posts work? How will access to their listings’ analytics be affected? How will owners manage listing suspensions? Will this make spam more common in Google Maps? I expect a lot of growing pains, particularly for us marketers and savvy business owners who are accustomed to the GMB platform and now have to deal with a new set of names and changes in functionality.”

Colan Neilson, Vice President of Sterling Sky, commented, 

“I think this is a very exciting update. One of the biggest challenges I see this solving is the high number of businesses that haven’t ever claimed their GMB, I mean GBP listing, or didn’t even know that it was something they could do in the first place.

“Making the claim process more visible and obvious directly in the SERP is a good thing and should increase awareness. I’m still blown away every time I am in my town speaking with business owners and they are clueless to the fact that this powerful free marketing tool even exists. As far as the name rebrand goes, I like it. It makes more sense and I’ve always struggled saying “Google My Business” in the past as it is just an odd phrase.”

Moz’s Miriam Ellis said, 

“Only Google would say “Google My Business” is no longer a thing, but do Google “my business” to find your business! Seriously, losing count of the rebrands Google has rolled out to ‘make things simple’.

“I see the change as offering, perhaps, nominal gains in ease of use for single location business owners who eventually notice them, but given that these are likely to be the very brands with the least spare to time to stay on top of minute-by-minute changes in Googleland, it will likely end up confusing them for some time.

“Agencies will adapt, do a massive search and replace on our existing documentation to try to reflect the changes, and keep calling Google products by the wrong names for the next two years, rather than promoting solid branding, which is what most businesses aim for. Ah, well, by 2024, we’ll likely have a new name to learn!”

Liz Linder, SEO strategist at Kick Point, stated, 

“This change doesn’t feel helpful to business owners. Google has continuously promoted their “commitment” to small businesses in helping them promote their own businesses, but this feels like a step in the opposite direction. Business owners aren’t all local search professionals. I don’t know about you, but from my experience guiding someone on what a SERP is, isn’t always a straightforward process, let alone how to use one.

“Whether you’ve used the app or not, this was a feature that made managing a business profile easy and portable. My biggest concern is what this will look like in terms of posting on Google, responding to messages, updating images, etc. I question this change doesn’t actually make managing a business profile more accessible, but rather, less.

“I’d like to add one more thing, if you’re signed into the Google account that manages your profile and someone else gets a hold of your computer or phone, it would be so easy now to make updates. This feels messy.

“Overall, I don’t think this change is too big of a deal, Google is trying to make Profiles easier to update, but I think what’s easy to them isn’t necessarily easy to the end user.”

Amy Toman, SEO specialist at Digital Law Marketing, said,

“This should enhance the ability of small business owners to control their listings. By having their listing’s editing controls front and center in Search and Maps, it will be easier for them to update without going through the extra step of logging into the dashboard.

“While that’s not a problem for most, there are some who don’t update very often and lose track of the process. If they can do it from ‘the front’ this should encourage them to interact with their listings more consistently.”

What do you think?

What’s your take on this development? Is it a fundamental shift for the local SEO platform, or just a name change with a few additional features? From our end, we’re not looking forward to the natural confusion between GBP as Google Business Profile and Great British Pound!

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

What is a local SEO strategy? 

Think of your local SEO strategy as a blueprint for success. It maps out everything you need to do to build a stronger local search presence, using a range of local SEO best practices. 

Creating a local SEO strategy can take some time, but as you will refer to it continuously to help you outrank other local businesses, the time and resources you invest in getting this right at the start will pay dividends later on. 

What does a local SEO strategy consist of?

A good local SEO strategy for small businesses should be built on insight, analysis, and a clear action plan. To create one that drives real results, start by understanding your current visibility and how you compare to competitors. Here’s how to break it down:

• Your present situation: What keywords are you ranking for? What local SEO activity (if any) are you already working on? 
• Competitor research: who’s performing better than you in search, and what are they doing that you aren’t?  
• Opportunities for improvement: Where do gaps in your current SEO activity exis,t and how can your site be better optimized? 
• Plan of action: A list of tactics that you’ll need to deploy to boost your local search presence.

How do I create a local SEO strategy?

Any type of local business hoping to attract more local consumers needs a strategy in place to guide their actions and ensure time and resources are being allocated in the most effective manner.

However, building out a local SEO strategy for the first time can feel overwhelming, not least because there are so many local ranking factors to consider. A methodical approach is best, allowing you to tackle each element in your plan thoroughly while also ensuring that you don’t miss any local SEO best practices that could transform your results and see your site ranking higher across the Local Pack, Local Finder, Maps and local search results. 

Step 1: Your Present Situation 

Before you can decide which SEO tactics will serve you best, you need to understand where your site is ranking and how it’s performing right now. An audit is the best way to build an objective and data-led view and will flag up any urgent tasks that should be prioritized before other local SEO work takes place. 

The easiest way to complete the audit process and gather as much useful, accurate, and up-to-date information as possible is to use a tool such as Local Search Audit. 

If you’re going to conduct a manual audit, you’ll need to: 

• Create a keyword ranking report, showing which keywords you’re ranking for along with their local search position.
• Review your on-page optimization. Pay particular attention to any issues which could impede your local SEO progress such as missing and inaccurate page titles, slow loading pages, broken links, duplicate and low-quality content, and a poor user experience from mobile search.
• Review your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) to understand where gaps in optimization exist. 
• Create a link report showing inbound links to your page, along with anchor text.
• Study your online reviews, paying attention to how many positive and negative reviews you currently have, which platforms the reviews appear on and whether or not you’re responding in a timely manner.
• Create a list of local citations, noting any with incorrect or outdated information.

Step 2: Competitor Research 

Your competitors are likely to be a very useful source of local SEO intel. The local businesses appearing higher than you in search are likely there because they’re doing a better job of implementing local SEO best practices on a regular basis. Taking the time to understand what they are doing well and which tactics they’re deploying will give you a useful starting point for your own strategy. 

For a thorough analysis, you can repeat step one above but, this time, focus on specific competitors, follow our suggestions here or, use a tool like Local Search Audit to do the heavy lifting for you.

Step 3: Opportunities For Improvement 

Steps one and two should give you a very clear idea of where your site stands, how it’s performing now, what you’re doing well, where you’re falling down and how competitors are outranking you. 

Now, you can use this data to pinpoint specific areas where opportunities for improvement exist and use this to begin populating your local SEO strategy. If your on-page audit revealed that your site is populated with poor or outdated content, for example, creating more useful and valuable content for a local reader should form part of your plan. 

Likewise, if your competitor analysis confirmed that your rivals are doing a much better job at replying to Google reviews, you’ll want to ensure that your strategy includes more time for review management.  

Armed with all of this information, it’s now time to formulate your local SEO strategy. 

What are the best local SEO strategies for small businesses?

The best local SEO strategies include optimizing your Google Business Profile, building high-quality local citations, collecting and responding to reviews, publishing locally relevant content, and ensuring your website is optimized for the keywords your audience is searching for. Done well, these tactics can dramatically improve your visibility in local search results and on maps, helping you get found by the people most likely to walk through your door or pick up the phone.

How to Build Your Local SEO Strategy

To help you get your local SEO strategy down on paper, we’ve chosen a small business at random and outlined a suitable local SEO strategy. Use this as your framework for creating your own strategy. 

This business is a unisex barbershop in San Francisco. As you’ll see, any identifying information has been blurred out. 

Google Business Profile

Although this business has claimed its listing, there are a number of ways that it could improve its use of this local marketing tool, including:

• Adding more photos
• Publishing Posts
• Asking and answering questions
• Adding more business information

Photos

No new photos have been added to the profile since 2017. This could give the impression that the business has closed or indicate that the business is not active online.

The photos that can be seen are predominantly of hair products, whereas potential customers are more likely to want to see examples of different haircuts and styles.

By regularly adding new and helpful photos, the business could highlight the skills of the people who work there and show customers what to expect. Before and after images of a restyle for example could be useful for a potential customer.

Posts

The business isn’t using GBP Posts to share news and updates. This is a missed opportunity to connect with customers and push promotional offers. Posts are also a great way to share new information on products and services, and to make other announcements such as competitions, late availability appointments, and new team members.

Although using Google Posts likely doesn’t improve local search rankings, it can help businesses to attract attention and, therefore, earn new customers.

Q&A

A potential customer has asked a question through the Q&A section but the business hasn’t responded. Similar to the previous point on photos, this could lead a potential customer to assume the business is closed, or that it doesn’t prioritize customer service.

Responding to customer questions is a quick and easy way to build relationships and share useful information, and should always be a part of your local SEO strategy. The business can also ask questions itself and answer them. Using this tool to have a list of FAQs can be useful for the local consumer by giving them more information to aid in decision making.

Business Information

The business address listed on Google doesn’t match the address listed on the company website. This could be confusing to customers and also sends mixed signals to Google, which could be harmful to search rankings. Ensuring NAP is consistent across the web begins with the content that the business can control, such as its own website, Google Business Profile, and social media profiles. 

Local Link Building

In order to build local links, this business should be reaching out to other local businesses in San Francisco, especially those within the hairdressing and beauty industries.

Launching a blog on the website would be a powerful way to start building the authority of the site and earn links. The business could also get valuable local links by creating local citations.

Citation Building

This barbershop has created citations on a number of sites, including:

• Yelp
• Foursquare
• Better Business Bureau and
• MapQuest

Although the business has built some citations, they aren’t all being consistently managed or maintained. For example, the business has been reported as closed on Yelp, and the business hasn’t rectified this:

Additionally, the prices listed on various business directory sites don’t match the prices from the business website.

Discrepancies in business information across the web don’t create a good impression for potential customers and are also harmful to local SEO.

Spam Fighting

Several Google Business Profiles in the same category are using spammy practices to boost their rankings, and a number of them are outranking the business in question.

For example, a number of businesses are using the words ‘barbershop’, and ‘barbers’ in their GBP name, even though these words aren’t in their actual registered business name.

The business in question could spend some time reporting these spam listings to get a boost in rankings.

Website Optimization

Although a great deal of local SEO is specific to Google Business Profile, there’s still much to be gained by having a strong website. The localized organic results are made up of websites, and this is still an important source of traffic for local businesses.

There are several ways that this business can optimize its website. The areas to address include:

• the reviews page
• social links
• keyword research and
• image optimization

Reviews Page

The site has a dedicated page for reviews, but only four reviews are featured:

Given that the business has hundreds of positive reviews across multiple platforms, this is a missed opportunity to showcase this feedback. The reviews listed are also several years old, which will likely not encourage a potential customer to use the business.

In fact, only highlighting a very small number of old reviews could actually be harmful to the business’s reputation. This is because a user might assume they don’t have more positive, recent reviews to share. Embedding review widgets on the website to lead visitors to review platforms would be an easy way to ensure that a full range of relevant reviews is easily accessible to potential visitors, without the business needing to make timely manual updates.

Social Links

The website links to a Facebook account that hasn’t been used since 2016 and only has eight followers.

The website also links to the company’s YouTube channel, which has only one video from four years ago.

This lack of activity might give somebody the impression that the shop is closed and cause them to look elsewhere.

This business isn’t using any other social platforms, which means they’re missing out on reaching new audiences. Instagram is a particularly great place for barbershops to promote themselves for free.

If the business were to create an Instagram account, then it could be connected to the website to automatically feature new photos and videos there. This would demonstrate the expertise of the staff, and also show potential customers that the business is active—both online and offline.

Keyword Research

The website for this business ranks for approximately 200 different keywords. However, the only search term on the first page is the exact match term for the business name. The remaining keywords rank on page two and beyond. The amount of monthly traffic to the website is estimated to be very low.

It’s likely that the business hasn’t done much (if any) keyword research to inform the content used on the website.

There are typically around 1,000 searches per month for ‘barber san francisco’, and 720 searches for ‘best barbershop san francisco’. It’s evident that ranking on the first page for these search terms, and similar terms, would be advantageous.

Creating a keyword-informed content strategy and using it to launch a blog could soon help to get this website ranking well in the localized search results.

Image Optimization

Several different images are used across the business website, but none of them are properly labeled or optimized. As you can see from the image below, the photos have generic file names, which have no SEO value. 

By using data from keyword research for the file names, the business could target relevant search terms through its images. This is a simple fix and could give the website a boost in the rankings.

Reviews

The business doesn’t appear to have responded to any customer reviews across multiple platforms in the last few years, such as GBP, Yelp, or Facebook.

Given that the business has several negative reviews, this is a huge, missed opportunity to salvage its reputation and rebuild these relationships. It’s also a lost chance to say thank you to those who left positive reviews to encourage repeat custom.

In Summary

Although this business seemingly has a lot of happy customers, there’s a lot more that it could be doing to enhance its online presence. Addressing the issues mentioned here with the help of a documented local SEO strategy would help the business build a better reputation and potentially drive business growth.