I've seen a number of businesses get high up in the Google Local Search results because they do a lot of things right. But I've seen far more of them get great visibility simply because they screw up fewer things than the guy down the street.
When people type a local term into Google, you want to be the top business in the area. You probably already set up a listing, so that your business shows up locally. But you may not like the visibility you're getting.
If you avoid some common pitfalls, chances are you'll outpull the nearby competition. Avoid these 4 local-visibility killers:
1. Not having a website is the surest way to lose local business. I looked at several hundred #1 local listings across the country. 93% of them had websites. My advice is quick and simple to implement: just slap a site up there. It doesn't even have to be very good. Just have someone get the website up running. Make it pretty later.
2. You lose easy visibility if you don't include a picture next to your local Google listing. When you're editing your listing, you have the option to add a thumbnail-sized photo next to it. If you have a photo, you stand out from all the businesses that don't. Why don't many businesses bother to add the photo? They're idiots. It's quick and easy visibility.
3. You repulse customers if you don't keep an eye on your reviews. Customers can write you reviews. Not only does Google give you a boost if you get positive feedback, but customers see those reviews. Many people don't know that one of those reviews gets excerpted and shown beneath your listing. You can't control which one gets excerpted, and there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to it (Google won't say). To avoid having a negative review displayed for all to see, you need to check your reviews occasionally and drum up as many positive ones as possible (from your customers), so that the chances are small of a bad one being displayed.
4. Without "Local Business Ads" you're probably losing out. It maybe isn't a good option if you're in a super-competitive market and are just starting out. But in most other situations it's a good idea. That's because if you have paid local ads in addition to your local listing in Google (free), you get an extra marker on the map. You can even put your custom logo in that map marker. You can't have either of those benefits unless you get the local ads. There are specific ways to do this (I don't have room to describe it here), but the point is if you're not totally strapped for cash, you can quickly and easily get a leg up in Google Local Search results.
Phil Rozek just showed you what not to do. But he'll also show you 3 no-cost solutions you can use this afternoon: just go to http://www.localvisibilitysystem.com/ to find out 3 ways to get a quick boost in local visibility with no hassle and no money spent.
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