How to Gain Customers from Your Local Listing (And what Google has to Say About it)

Over the years, Google has increasingly been adding more information to local listings. And while this can save time for those searching, it’s starting to backfire on website conversion.

When you have more info on your local listing, such as your phone number, directions and hours of operation, users have less of a reason to visit your website to find this info. And although this still means people are contacting you for your services, it also means they’re likely to move on to your competitors if the info they’re looking for isn’t front and center in your local listing.

So there’s a little bit of a catch-22 between your website and your local listing.

What’s better: leaving out details from your local listing so users are forced to visit your site to contact you, or having a more detailed local listing so people can contact you without visiting your website?

The answer is the latter of the two.

Google is making it easier for consumers to access business information within search results because it knows people want instant answers. In an effort to motivate companies to add more information to their local listings, Google is driving less people to that business’s actual website. So, if you still want to stand out from your competitors and motivate people to visit your website, you can use your local listing as another marketing tool.

Everything. Google allows business owners to put a great deal of information about their businesses into Google My Business (the platform that allows you to manage your local listing). Any and all information should be included in your local listing, including:

• Business name
  
• Address
  
• Phone number
  
• Hours of operation
  
• Menu (if you own a restaurant)
  
• Links to social media accounts
  
• Reviews (and links to other review sites)
  
• Photos
  

Since all businesses have the same opportunity to add an abundance on information, there’s really one way to stand out amongst your competition.

That being said, the best way to make your business stand out in local listings is with reviews. Star ratings are what immediately catch the attention of searchers, before they read anything else about your business. If you have a high volume of quality reviews, consumers are more likely to click on your listing.

Which business would you contact?

Most likely the one with a 4.8-star rating— Kresge Contracting.

Reviews are becoming more important than ever, and local listings are no exception. If you are having trouble getting more reviews, we have an easy five-step process you can follow to get clients to leave you a review , or a review builder service that will save you time by doing it for you.

With Google placing a bigger emphasis on local listings, it begs the question of whether that means websites are still necessary. With a variety of information already presented before consumers even visit your website, do you still need a website to get leads?

We asked ourselves this same question a few months ago, and the answer is still the same. Yes, you do still need a website, despite the fact that Google is promoting local listings more than ever. There are some things your website can accomplish that local listings—no matter how detailed—cannot, such as:

• SEO to optimize organic listings
  
• Detailed product and service descriptions
  
• Opportunity to porches and pay
  
• Request a phone call or send an email
  
• Opportunity for linking
  
• Brand establishment
  
• Authority
  

Having an updated website is still crucial to the success of your business. Just because local listings are becoming increasingly important to maintain, doesn’t mean websites are any less important. It’s all about incorporating a variety of strategies into your digital marketing mix.

Google is constantly changing what it deems important in ranking factors. From this most recent trend, we can see that local listings need to be a top priority for local businesses, as do reviews. If you aren’t sure where to start with local listing management or gaining more reviews, the experts at Locallogy can help you take control of your digital marketing strategy and stand out from your competitors.