How To Improve Your Local Search Rankings In 2024
Customers looking to buy will search before they shop, and most of them do it with a mobile device.
That means if you’re looking for ways to bring more customers into your store, you need to show up in local search rankings.
76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours
28% of those searches result in a purchase
That means if a customer finds your business when searching for an item—the products or services you offer—there’s a good chance they will visit your store, and more than a quarter of them will buy something! You need to make sure they find your store in their quest to shop.
How To Improve Your Local Search Rankings In 2024
A global survey found that 74% of in-store shoppers who searched online before going to the store to shop, said they searched for something in-store related such as the closest store “near them,” as well as hours, directions, wait times, and contact information.
Your Google Business Profile is the key to local search results. When a would-be customer looks for a business or place near their location, they find those local results across Google in places like Maps and Search.
How do you make sure your business ranks high in a local search? By tweaking your site to fit Google’s local results, which are based primarily on these three factors:
1. Relevance
Does your local Business Profile match what someone is searching for? Make sure it does by adding complete and detailed business information so Google understands your business and can match your profile to shopper searches. “Complete” includes physical address, phone number, and business category; and “detailed” includes updating business hours regularly.
2. Distance
This is an easy one—as long as you make sure your business address information is up to date—and if a user doesn't specify a location in their search, Google calculates distance based on information about their location.
3. Prominence
Some places are more “prominent” than others, like that local landmark in your city. Google will determine your prominence based on information about your business, gathering data from across the web.
That means links, articles (including buying guides), directories, and reviews can all factor into local search rankings. More customer reviews and positive ratings will make your business more prominent, as will your ranking in web results—and in that regard, search engine optimization is key.
Remember that these factors work together. In other words, Google might determine that your business is farther away from the customer than another store, but your business is more likely to have what the customer wants. So that could bump up your store in local search results.
Boost Your Local Search Rankings
Searchlight Digital can help boost your local search rankings. We provide comprehensive search engine marketing services, including search engine optimization, content strategy, copywriting, blog writing, and consulting—all delivered with transparency and integrity.
Contact us today to book your free 30 minute consultation, and explore how to take your business to the next level!