4 Easy Ways To Improve Your Local Rankings

By: Team WTI | Date: March 23, 2022

Categories: Local SEO, Team WTI Articles,

Tags: Bing Places For Business, Google Business Profile, Local Search, Reviews, Search Rankings, SEO For Small Businesses,

Local searches are a gold mine for small businesses. Nearly 50% of all online searches are people searching for local businesses or services.

When customers search phrases like “plumber near me,” “local electrician” or “home inspector in my town” they have a purchase intent in mind. If your business is at the top of local rankings, you’ve drastically improved your chances of gaining that new customer.

The digital marketing experts at Team WTI have experience in helping small businesses rank #1 in local searches. We’ve seen what works and what helps businesses climb the Google (or Bing) rankings.

Here are four easy ways to improve your local rankings:

1 – Make Sure Your Business Name & Address Are Consistent 

How you write your business name and address matters to search engines. They want to see identical matches. Consider the following two business names and addresses:

Joe’s Plumbing Inc.
123 1st St.
Anytown, IL 12345

and

Joe’s Plumbing
123 First Street
Anytown, Illinois 12345

Technically, they are both the same address and business name. However, search engine bots may not consider them the same. Are Joe’s Plumbing Inc. and Joe’s Plumbing two different businesses? Is 1st St. different than First Street? What if you’ve mixed the two and listed your address as First St. in some locations?

Pick a consistent way to list your business name and address and stick with it. This helps search engines better understand exactly where you’re located.

2 – Respond To Google Reviews

Reviews matter, but even more than that, your response to reviews matters. If a customer takes the time to leave a review (good or bad) take time to respond. 

For good reviews, a simple, “Thank you for your review” or “We appreciate your comments” shows you’ve engaged with your customers. 

It’s understandable that some businesses would rather ignore a negative review. Don’t do that! You don’t have to respond directly to a customer’s complaint or issue, but acknowledging their review and offering a way to further discuss what they were unhappy about – either via email or phone call – is important. (Check out our article Mythbusting: Can You Remove Bad Online Reviews?)

Responding to reviews shows search engines your business is actively engaged online and strives for customer satisfaction. Review activity and engagement can help push local businesses up the search engine rankings.

3 – Don’t Ignore Your Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (previously known as Google My Business) and Bing’s Places For Business are incredibly valuable tools for local businesses. The profiles are the info boxes that show up in search results and often contain a brief description of the business, photos, map directions, hours of operation, and more.

Claiming and verifying your business is free. Once you’ve verified your business, you can edit and modify the information provided. 

Describe your business and make sure you share your location or service area. Include information on what services you provide. Make sure your hours are updated and, remember, keep your address and business name consistent. 

4 – Offer A Service? Make Sure You Say It

Are you a tree trimming service that also cleans gutters? Does your restaurant business offer catering? At Team WTI, we sometimes hear from business owners mystified they’re not ranking for a service they offer … only to discover that service isn’t mentioned anywhere on their website or Google Business Profile. 

Neither search engines nor customers will know what you offer if it’s not mentioned anywhere. If Google or Bing can’t connect your business to a service or product, you won’t rank for it. 

Need Help With Your Local Rankings? Contact Team WTI

At Team WTI, we are local SEO experts and can help your business climb the rankings pages. Not sure where to start? Email Team WTI today to see what we can do for your business or call us at (309) 489-0026.