Recently, various marketing experts have published thoughts and insights on findings in relation to local SEO. While all local businesses should be aware of these updates, they’re especially important for businesses whose services are completely dependent on their location. For example, painting companies, home contractors, residential plumbers, or commercial roofers have services that absolutely must be optimized for their location to bring in relevant leads.
To help you stay on top of current trends and news in the industry, here are three discoveries we think you should know about.
Local Packs Disappearing for Some Terms
On October 25, there began to be speculation that Google made some massive changes to search engine result pages (SERPs). Pete Meyers, who works at Moz, shared his insights on Twitter when he first noticed the changes. He continued to post on an ongoing basis with some detailed alterations he saw.
Our team has also been monitoring these shifts as well, and we’ve noticed various terms fall in and out of being in a local pack for searches. We will continue to keep an eye on this case and will post any further findings to our blog.
Case Study on Number of Reviews and Ranking
Sterling Sky Inc. recently published a new case study that shows evidence that suggests Google Business Profiles should strive to get at least 10 reviews on their profiles in order to rank in the local pack.
They conducted the study using a profile that had 3 reviews to start, and then were able to get 28 more reviews on the profile. At first, rankings climbed when the first few reviews were published, however they did not increase after reaching a certain point. To learn more details on this study, check out their full blog post.
Case Study on Receiving Reviews Regularly
A few days after publishing the above case study, Sterling Sky also released another study that looked at a business that started to lose rankings in the local pack after the Vicinity Update.
Upon further research, they discovered the business at one time was steadily having their employees engage in asking for reviews, and once they stopped the decline began. In the end, their team saw a direct correlation between increased rankings and recent reviews received on the Google Business Profile.
Need Help with Your Local Online Presence?
If you are looking to get ahead of your local competition in 2023 and beyond, allow our experts to give your business the push it needs. From content writing to combating spam to fixing outdated information, we can do it all, and we would love to become your dedicated local SEO partner. Contact our team to learn more.
