7 Tips To Improve Google Local Business Rankings

 

Google Local Search listing pretty much dominate local search, taking up prime real estate on the Google search results page with the first three (unpaid) listings reserved for local/maps listings.  

It is crucial that your estate agency appears within one of these three positions, so we are going to show you how to outrank your competition within Google’s Local search results.

1) Verify Your Google Business Listing

First, and most importantly you must set up and verify a Google Business listing for your offices. If you don’t already, ensure you control this account and have filled in all the information fully and correctly.

2) Choose The Right Business Category

Pick the category that best represents your business. For most of you this will simply be ‘Estate Agent’.

3) Complete Your Business Information

As stated above, it is crucial that you provide all the information you can on your Google Business listing and that it is correct and up-to-date.

Make sure the office address is correct, the business hours are listed, the right phone number and website URL are stated and include a great cover photo, and profile picture as well as any other office related photos.

If you want to go the extra mile you can even get a 360degree virtual tour of your office added. To do this though you will have to work with a Google Trusted Photographer and additional charges will apply.

4) Use Relevant Keywords

Adding relevant keywords to your business name within the listing can help you to rank higher in local search, for example after your business name, enter “estate agents” or “estate agents [your area]”.

5) Get Reviews

Reviews are a big part of Google Business Listings and have an impact on how you rank within Local Search. It will also be very useful to potential customers and can be a decision maker whether they use your service or not.

Most people will look for reviews before using an estate agent, so if you have a lot of negative reviews it is likely to deter a lot of new business.

Ask happy customers to leave reviews and try to do this regularly as a consistent flow of reviews will definitely help with your rankings. We would suggest sending happy customers a follow up email with a direct link to your reviews page to make it easy for them.

6) Monitor Performance On Your Google My Business Dashboard

Once your Google Business listing is up and running, you will have access to the insights tab. Make sure you monitor this data as it will show you how and where people are finding your business and the actions they take once they have found you.

It is important to keep an eye on this to ensure these stats improve over time.

7) Don’t Neglect Your Online Presence

Just ranking highly within Google’s Local Listing isn’t enough to gain new local business. It is important that all the other basic online practices are implemented to ensure you get the most out of this listing. For example, ensure you have the following in place for maximum exposure:

• Do you have a responsive website?
• Is your brand and message well displayed on your website?
• Does your online presence make you stand out from your competition?
• Is your website’s layout and navigation clear?
• Is it easy to find your contact information on your website?
• Does your website load quickly?
• Do you have a strong social media presence?