How Stratus Helps You Boost Local Search Results
You Googled your business. Did it show up?
In our digital world, to get new customers you want to have your business show up when people search for you—by your specific business name and for the broad categories your business falls under. (e.g. "restaurants downtown" or "chiropractors near me")
But how does it all work?
Your business can show up in search engine result pages (also known as SERP’s) in a few different ways. For today, we’re going to focus on the differences between organic search results and local search results.
Organic search results appear on the page after paid search ads and local search results. Getting your website to show up, or rank highly, is determined by:
Your website: do you have relevant content, does your website load fast, is it mobile-friendly, is it SEO-friendly?
Links: do other sites link back to your website, does your website link to other sites?
Other factors to help your business show up: Google My Business (GMB) listing, online reviews, directory citations.
Local search results are how your business shows up in the local map pack view, or how your businesses Google Business Profile (formerly Google Business Listing) shows up on the right-hand side of the search results page. Getting your business listing to show up is determined by:
Your Google Business Profile: is it verified and accurate, do you have your service category filled out, are your hours of operation, phone number, and address accurate?
Your proximity: is your business location close to where someone is searching?
Your online reviews: are you getting new ones, what is your average rating, are you responding back to reviews?
Your website and links: while they don’t have as big of an influence here as organic search rankings, your website is always important.
So, how do you boost your local search rankings?
Local search queries, like “auto repair near me,” have seen a significant increase over the past few years. The way consumers look for and research businesses are evolving. Having a strong local search presence and ranking high for relevant searches both will help your business exposure grow.
Here are a few tips on how to get started and how Stratus can make it easy.
Step 1: Make sure your Google Business Profile is claimed and verified. You can do this at google.com/business if you haven’t already.
Step 2: Make sure your profile is complete. This includes:
Accurate business name (this needs to be your legal business name)
Accurate address (this should match what is listed on your website and other online listings)
Accurate phone number
Accurate hours of operation
Completed primary service category and additional service categories (if applicable)
Step 3: Grow and manage your online reviews. Online reviews are the second biggest factor after an accurate listing for how well your business will rank in local search. With Stratus, make managing and growing your reviews simple.
Set up customized notifications when new reviews come in so you never miss a chance to respond.
Create custom and personalized review response templates. Easily select a template and respond within seconds.
Gather insights on what keywords and themes people use to review your business.
Get new reviews through the review invite features. Send emails or text messages asking customers to leave your business a review.
Get started.
Managing your Google Business Profile and online reviews doesn’t need to be a huge time commitment or one more thing to add to your list. With Stratus, feel empowered to make the updates that matter and help increase how often your business shows up in local search results.