Local Search For the LASIK practice
Reaching your potential clients has changed from advertising your business in the traditional forms of print, television and hosting live events to creating a presence online. Essentially in the world of today, if your business isn’t listed, more importantly if you do not show up in the first page of listings, your business is, quite simply, losing business.
Leading the pack of change is Local Search, that funny section of search results with the addresses and balloons. Local Search has replaced the phone book for how people find everything from household services (plumbers, electricians, doggy day care) to entertainment (dinner out, live events, group functions) to medical services (pediatricians, eye care, general practice).
Recent studies demonstrate that consumers believe Local Search results are the most relevant and trustworthy sources of information, outranking newspapers, word of mouth, local television and radio ads, specialty websites and social media. More than half of the people that perform a local search end up contacting the business to learn more, and around 25 percent will make a purchase. It is becoming increasingly important to create more than just a website demonstrating who you are – you need to stand out.
Local Search is where you can separate yourself from your competition. A well optimized local search presence that ranks well puts you in the line of sight of the customers you want. It provides the venue for your clients to get the simple information about you at the same time it provides an avenue for them to learn more – it’s the starting point, the first impression and with competition heating up, your first impression better be the best it can be. Glacial will assist you in making that a reality.
Local search indexes are a major reason that customers select businesses. With the expansion of smartphones, GPS enabled devices and voice assistance local results have become ultra-important. Consumers will make fast decisions based on a quick search result and quite frankly might not even look past the maps section. If you are not focusing on this with your business digital presence you are risking losing a lot of potential business.
At Glacial Multimedia we have tested methods for obtaining success in search results. Please contact us for a free consultation about how we can problem solve your way into the all-important map packs.
10 ranking factor criteria and facts about local search in 2018
- Citations are very important for local search. getting this done right is not easy and takes time. Patience is often required.
- Ranking in the map pack also has a lot to do with you competition. If they are more experienced and have done the heavy lifting you will also need to follow suit. Once again this does not happen overnight, especially if they have an older domain, with great authority and a well rounded search profile.
- Ranking factors will vary based on the proximity of the person searching and their specific location.
- If you have solid SEO there is an increased chance of success in the map pack but this is not a primary factor in success.
- If you are located in a suburb and think you should show up in the closest city Google does not agree and will favor other businesses closer to the city center. This can be frustrating for many clients and it is not impossible but the odds are stacked against you.
- The amount of reviews and engagement with you local profile matters, although Google always confuses me when you see a business with no reviews in the map pack. This is typically associated the proximity to searcher or city center.
- Pay attention to your local profile categories and get this done properly.
- If you want to be relevant make sure you optimize with keywords and relevant topics.
- Improve your relevance by being involved locally.
- Continually revisit the main criteria of reviews and citations and ask what else can be done to make improvements.
