Local SEO: The Best Ways to Get Higher Quality Reviews

Concerned about the online reputation of your local business?

Wondering how you can better meet your customers’ expectations and get closer to five stars?

Online reviews can make or break your business, especially in the age of on-the-go research smartphones.

On June 8, I moderated a webinar with Marc Hansen, Senior Director of Revenue Marketing at Podium, and Kelley Knott, Co-Founder of Marketing at Intrepy Healthcare.

Hansen and Knott showed how to stay competitive, stay ahead of benchmark research, and win customers before they even walk into your store.

Here is a summary of the webinar.

To access the full presentation, please complete the form.

What Is Local SEO?

Local businesses depend on their online presence to thrive, and 97% of users search for local businesses online.

And when we say local business, we are talking about businesses with a physical presence.

Local SEO is search engine optimization for local marketing.

How does Google determine local search rankings?

[Discover how to win in local SEO] Instant access to the webinar →

Local SEO Myths

Many small local businesses still don’t believe in the power of SEO. The truth is that when you have a small marketing budget, you should consider SEO.

Let’s look at some myths that are holding back most businesses.

Myth #1: Organic search and local SEO are the same thing.

FACT: Organic SEO is based on the relevance of search terms. Local SEO, on the other hand, is based on location signals.

Myth #2: Reviews are “nice to have.”

FACT: Reviews are a “must have.”

[See What Google Feature Consumers Use Before Entering a Business] Instantly Access the Webinar →

Myth #3: The way consumers discover businesses hasn’t changed much in recent years.

FACT: The way consumers discover your business is changing. You also should.

Myth #4: Consumers want the “best” and are willing to travel to get it.

FACT: Consumers want “the best” and they want it close by.

Searches for “best burger” increased 400% year over year.

Searches for the type “Near me” or “close to” grew more than 900% in two years.

Myth #5: Print and online advertising drive in-person visits.

FACT: Local smartphone searches drive in-person visits.

A nice showcase will no longer be enough. When a consumer’s top priority is quality and convenience, your online reviews will speak 1,000 words.

[See what consumers are looking for besides convenience] Get instant access to the webinar →

Myth #6: Google prioritizes the highest ranked businesses, regardless of whether they are local or not.

FACT: Google prioritizes local businesses in local search results.

Now that we’ve debunked these myths, it’s time to optimize your local SEO.

6 Best Practices For Local Search

The following simple steps can help you make the most of your local search listings and attract better reviews. Make sure you have completed these best practices! The more qualified customers you attract, the better chance they have of a great experience.

1. Verify Your Location

Over 70% of all searches go through Google. That means Google will often list verified results higher than those they’re unsure about.

2. Add High-Quality Photos

Businesses with profiles that feature photos get 35% more clicks than profiles without images.

Additionally, photo listings receive 42% more requests for driving directions.

[See what your profile needs to include] Get instant access to the webinar →

Consider these best practices:

3. Keep Your Google Business Profile (GBP) Up-To-Date

did you know 31% of consumers report that they are more likely to check the GBP quote of a local business before visiting than before the pandemic.

Information needed for your GBP quote:

Screenshot of [Primary Children’s Hospital] search, Google, June 2022

[Find out how to be consistent with your listing] Get instant access to the webinar →

4. Use Keywords

Location keywords are powerful because 72% of consumers searching for a local business visit a business within 5 miles of their current location.

How to use keywords to your advantage:

5. Increase & Manage Your Online Reviews

Reviews influence consumers a lot. 88% say that reviews make a difference in their decision to try a new business.

Additionally, consumers are willing to travel further and spend more to patronize a higher-rated business.

[See the statistics] Instant access to the webinar →

How to increase the total number of reviews and the average rating:

With these local SEO best practices, you can refine your listing and attract more local customers. Reach them when and where they are looking for what they need.

By properly managing your local SEO, you increase the likelihood of attracting engaged customers who leave happy. When they do, don’t let the relationship end.

6. Respond To Reviews

With a reputation management platform, you can start engaging with reviewers to continue to improve your reputation.

[Learn the best way to respond to reviews] Instant access to the webinar →

[Slides] Local SEO: Top Ways To Get Higher Quality Reviews

Join Us For Our Next Webinar!

Small Business Marketing: How To Safely Try New Strategies

When it comes to your small business, how do you feel about taking risks? Learn how you can play it safe while taking risks by measuring the results of trying new marketing strategies.

Featured Image: Paulo Bobita/Search Engine Journal

Local SEO allows you to put important information about your site online, such as your business address and phone number. Additionally, you can highlight and promote the type of products or services you offer on your website using SEO techniques.

How do I clean up a Google review?

Google may remove reviews that violate Google’s policies. Important: Before requesting a review removal or deletion, please read our review policy…Flag a review on Google Search

• On your Android phone or tablet, go to Google.
• Find your business profile.
• Tap Reviews.
• Find the review you want to report.
• Tap More. Review report.

How can I remove Google reviews faster? Write a Genuine and Direct Response The next step in removing Google reviews posted by others is to write an honest response. Make your customers feel heard. Keep your answer short, but acknowledge your problem. It’s also great for responding to these reviews quickly.

Can you edit Google review delete?

Your review, rating, and details about a place appear on Google Maps and on your profile until you delete them. After your review is posted, you can edit it or change the rating and images you included.

Can Google reviews be altered?

Google may remove reviews that violate Google’s policies. Important: Before requesting to delete or remove a review, please read our review policy.

Can you delete a Google review once posted?

Google reviews aren’t forever: You can delete any review you’ve written. Removing a Google review you wrote is pretty simple, you just need to know where to start. For those of you who are business owners dealing with a fake or spam review, you can flag it for Google to remove.

Is local SEO profitable?

As small businesses struggle to get out of their first year of life, local SEO could be the key ingredient to making them not only viable, but profitable.

Is local SEO paid? For a single project focused on analysis, research, cleaning, and optimization, the average price for a local SEO project would range from $300 to $1500 with the average price around $750.

What is the benefit of local SEO?

Local SEO helps increase online visibility so new customers notice you. Optimizing Google Maps and Google My Business can lead to more direct calls, leads, and sales. Optimizing your website for localized terms means you’ll attract targeted traffic and better leads.

Is SEO marketing profitable?

Yes! SEO companies are profitable. From the perspective of owning an SEO business, one of the best parts of starting an SEO company is the recurring income. Delivering SEO results requires consistent action and by providing your clients with ongoing monthly SEO services, you are likely to make a solid profit.

Can SEO make you rich?

Yes, SEO can make you rich if you earn, save and invest.

How much can SEO business make?

How much do SEOs earn? The average SEO professional earned $81,103 in 2018, which is more than in 2017. Agencies and freelancers are paid an average of $1,779 per client each month, up $109 more in a year. Freelance and agency SEOs bill their clients an average of $119 per hour.

Is it worth investing in SEO?

SEO pays off if you have the right strategy and work with a partner who knows how to get results. About 93% of online experiences start with a search engine, and SEO’s lead closing rate is much higher than traditional marketing. Therefore, SEO provides an impressive return on investment (ROI).

Is local SEO still relevant?

According to one study, 33% of local search clicks go to local pack results, while 40% go to organic search results, so both are still highly relevant to improving your local online presence. .

Is local SEO dead?

It should be to increase the amount of business you get from the web. More clients, customers or patients, and therefore more sales. This is why local SEO as we know it is dead.

Is SEO worth it 2020?

The short answer is that SEO is very effective, not only in generating traffic, but also leads and sales. Don’t worry. The long answer includes research and data, not just empty statements. Most SEOs get too caught up in search specific metrics like SERP (search engine results page), rankings, and organic traffic.

Does SEO Still Work 2021?

So is SEO still a good investment in 2021 and beyond? Short answer: YES! SEO is more important than ever! It remains one of the most powerful digital marketing strategies that generate long-term results.

What is local SEO service?

Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps make your business more visible in local search results on Google. Any business that has a physical location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO.

Why do you need local SEO services? What is local SEO and why is local SEO important? Local SEO helps you optimize your website to rank better in search results and reach your local audience. By optimizing for your city and address, you help people find your business online and get them to visit offline.

How does local SEO work?

It is an SEO category that targets a specific location so that a business can be ranked in that area. An effective local SEO strategy allows a website to appear at the top of local search results or when a user expects results only from that area.

What does a local SEO company do?

Local search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making your business visible to geographically related searches, specifically within Google’s local package (or map listings). Local SEO helps your business: Increase your local online visibility. Outperform your local competitors.

How is local SEO different from SEO?

Here is the difference. While traditional SEO focuses on improving your site’s visibility on a national or global scale, local SEO allows you to capture local search territory to connect with search engines in your area.

What is local SEO and why is it so important?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an online strategy that can get your website displayed at the top of search engine results pages. If you want to attract and engage customers in your area, you will definitely need local SEO. This is where you optimize your site for local search results.

What is local SEO blog?

Local SEO is the practice of improving your online presence to get more business from local searches. These searches are done on many search engines, but local SEO focuses on optimizing for Google users.

What is the difference between SEO and local SEO? While traditional SEO focuses on improving your site’s visibility on a national or global scale, local SEO allows you to capture local search territory to connect with search engines in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.

Does blogging help local SEO?

Blogging is a great way to improve local SEO, attract new customers, and grow your business.

Can I do SEO on Blogger?

Formatting Blogspot Images for SEO We have already shared a detailed article on optimizing images for SEO and the basis of optimizing your image on BlogSpot is to add alt tags and title tags to each image. In WordPress, this could be easily achieved by using plugins, but in BlogSpot, this has to be done manually.

How good are blogs for SEO?

Blogging is good for SEO because it helps with a number of things that are important ranking factors. When you have a blog that is regularly updated with high-quality blog posts on topics relevant to your audience, it can make a big difference in your website’s overall search engine performance.

What does SEO blog mean?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is incredibly important to marketers. When you optimize your web pages, including your blog posts, you are making your website more visible to people who use search engines (such as Google) to find your product or service.

What is SEO in simple terms?

SEO stands for search engine optimization, which is a set of practices designed to improve the appearance and ranking of web pages in organic search results.

What is SEO and how it works?

Well, SEO stands for ‘Search Engine Optimization’, which is the process of getting traffic from free, organic, editorial, or natural search results on search engines. Its goal is to improve the position of your website on search results pages. Remember, the higher the website is, the more people will see it.

Why is my Google rating not going up?

The average rating is not updated in real time. So if you have a 1-star review and then you get a few 5-star reviews, your average rating will continue to show low for several days. It usually takes 3-7 days for the average rating to update once you receive new reviews.

Is 4.7 a good Google review? Not everyone agrees on the perfect range for a score, the widest suggested range is 3.7 to 4.9, but most other studies suggest a much narrower range, something like 4.2 to 4 ,6. If a business has a lot of reviews and a perfect 5.0 score, it’s human nature to suspect something isn’t right.

How long does it take for Google review to show up?

Generally, when someone posts a Google review to your business listing, it should appear publicly within 48 hours.

Why don’t my Google reviews show up?

Find out why a review is missing There are several reasons why reviews can be removed from the page. In most cases, missing reviews were removed for policy violations, such as spam or inappropriate content. We do not reinstate reviews that were removed for policy violations.

How long does it take for Google to post your review?

How long does it take for a new Google review to show up? Google doesn’t publish a time frame for how long after someone leaves a new review, it takes for it to appear. We have received notices that same day. Other times, Google has typically taken up to three days.