If people can’t find you online, you are basically invisible. Don’t miss out on connecting with your customers this way!
How google shows local businesses
When you search for a term in Google like ‘Massage Therapist Vancouver’, the first listings will likely be in this order; sponsored posts, map pack listings, and then your natural search engine optimized results.
Sponsored posts require money, natural posts require time. That leaves the listing from the map pack, those are shown and prioritized in three ways.
- By proximity to the person searching
- By reputation from high quality reviews
- By how well the profile matches the term, which is influenced by how well optimized the profile is
Obviously Google won’t be showing you results from a location 6 hours away and 0 reviews. But if you are near to the searcher and have reviews, you’re in!
Let’s look at a real world example
You can see there are three profiles showing in the screenshot. Google is serving me with the top 3 it believes are most relevant to my search term. These profiles all have the same common things; proximity, reputation, and well optimized profiles.
How branding plays a role
If you have a great brand name, you will be easier to remember and search for. Think of a cleaning company called ‘ABC Cleaning’, yeah, not much is happening here. It sounds like a placeholder and could be so easily confused with a competitor. Now imagine a company called ‘Bright Nests Co’, there is now something that feels more cozy and memorable. The power of branding gives you the ability to be remembered and stand out.