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Local SEO: How to optimize for Google’s Local 3-pack listing?

local 3-pack
local 3-pack

Since people are enormously using mobile to find a business in their locality, appearing in Google’s local 3-pack listing is becoming essential for the business to be found.

If you’re operating locally, you would definitely want to show up in local 3-pack. Businesses in the 3-pack list get excellent foot traffic. People believe what Google display on their screen. So the business needs to get displayed on searcher’s screen when they make a search related to your business.

What is Google’s local 3-pack?

Local 3-pack is a list of businesses you get on Google’s search engine result page when you search for the business in your area. Google considers listing the businesses from most to least relevant to the search query, according to search location, and which has high quality.

For example,

When you search “furniture near me” you’ll get the list of furniture showroom nearby. Google ranks top 3 showrooms in the local 3-pack list, which includes the name of the business, rating, address, service hour, links to their website, and direction. And when you click “more place” you’ll get more furniture showrooms in your area.

And if you want to know the customers’ experience with that business, you can read reviews. Reviews on the business help to decide whether the selected showroom meets the expectation or not. And photos help to determine if they can make the furniture as per the requirement.

Local 3-pack is what you exactly get when you search by using “near me.” You might also have noticed, you are also getting a list of business without typing “near me” in Google’s search box.

If you search for “hotel,” “restaurant,” “plumber,” “electrician,” “tutor,” “parlor” etc. in Google, you’ll get the list of a business near you.

Though this is not a local search, you’ll get local 3-pack on your screen as Google takes these types of searches as a local search.

If you want your business to appear in local 3-pack, you need to practice local SEO in your online marketing strategy.

Actually, Google My Business profile can somehow help to appear in the local 3-pack list.

Optimize Google My Business (GMB) for Local 3-pack

About 25% of local 3-pack ranking signals belong to Google My Business account. This percentage might seem less, but it’s more than any other sign such as Social media, personalization, links, review, behavior, on-page, citations.

Though these components have a specific impact in local 3-pack, Google My Business account, Links and Reviews has heavyweight on influence the ranking in local 3-pack.

GMB account
GMB account

If your GMB profile is not the part of your online local marketing strategy, then now it’s time you incorporate it. Local SEO is vital to bring locals in your business, and GMB has a considerable impact on local SEO.

Fill all information in the GMB account. Provide business information, including your business name and category, location, service hour, phone number, business website, and more. Ensure that you’re including all the right information in the GMB profile and don’t mislead Google with any wrong information.

Adding photos in your GMB profile can help you in getting people’s attention. Posting attractive images related to your business or any event can influence people to make their decision in your favor.

People also like to give a review of your business. Replying to the people is a good sign to tell Google that you’re active in your GMB account. And being active in GMB can somehow impact local ranking.

If you don’t have reviews in your account, then you can ask your customers to give a review in the GMB account. Positive reviews impact your local ranking and drive customers to your business.

Encourage reviews

84% of people trust reviews online as much as a recommendation. For customers, reviews are like ultimatum for decision making.

Reviews work as a suggestion for people who are newly introduced to your business. They trust what your existing customers say about your business and decide whether to take your business offers or look for other businesses in your industry.

In fact, reviews are not just crucial for people but it’s also an evaluation factor of Google.  Reviews weight 15% of your local listing.

Reviews can have significantly more impact on bringing locals to the business. And reviews from locals are also equally important to grow business. The positive reviews increase the trust of your customers towards your business.

Your reviews are also closely related to your behavior toward the customers. The way you respond to the customer’s problem, your manner of talking to your customer, and how generously you take criticism also matters.

If your customer service and your business offer meet the customers’ expectation then that can get you a good number of reviews.

There are many businesses that provide similar services like yours. The best way that can help you keep your customers in your business is by giving them value.

Only then you’ll get positive reviews that can help you save your rank in Google.

Mobile-friendly website matters

You might have experienced when you make a general search (not local search) about products or services you’ll also get local 3-pack list along with organic results in SERPs.

Mobile friendly website
Mobile-friendly website

Most people are using mobile to make a local search that’s the reason why Google’s local 3-pack list appears on screen to stay relevant to the searchers.

In fact, Google gives priority to the website that is optimized for the mobile. Google is frequently updating its algorithm to provide better user experience and that’s why you also need to make your website mobile-friendly.

A mobile-friendly website also encourages visitors to stay longer on your website. More time they spend on your website, the higher the chance you get to rank on the local search results.

Why Google loves mobile-friendly websites?

61% of people are more likely to contact the business if the website is mobile-friendly.

When most of the traffic is coming from mobile, optimizing the website for mobile users should be the priority of every business.

Backlinks are essential

Build strong backlinks to improve your organic rank. But remember to focus on high-quality backlinks than on the quantity of backlink because Google gives importance to quality backlinks.

You can build backlink by getting your site listed on many directories as possible in your niche. Ensure that they have high authority.

Creating locally tailor content and guest posting are another great way to build backlinks. Publishing content for the locals sends positive signals to Google which can boost your ranking as well as engage locals in your content. In fact, this is a great way to increase the level of locals’ trust in your business.

And guest posting is always a great way to bring backlinks. Just remember to bring backlink from a high-quality website.

Optimize location pages on your website

Although Google is getting better and better at understanding user intent through machine language, keywords are still important. Optimizing URLs, Keywords, and title tags are still important to be rank in the result page.

The study has found that optimizing your URLs, keywords, title tags with the city name can influence ranking.

You can write unique content for your location page that includes information about the place or can put pictures and descriptions for the location.

Final Thought

Getting displayed in Local 3-pack is a wonderful way to bring foot traffic to your business. However, you need to follow the mentioned guideline to enhance your presence in local search.

Other than those guidelines you also need to know some things like, not to include city name with your business name unless you always include it, get a local number, use correct primary category, use an email that ties with your domain name and uses the same business information throughout the internet.

Keep all the points in your mind, and you’re good to go.

The post Local SEO: How to optimize for Google’s Local 3-pack listing? appeared first on Hansikar Technologies.

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