Category Archives: Local SEO

Google Perspectives Impact on Search Results

How Perspectives Might Impact Local SEO

Using DataPins to Create EEAT Signals

Expertise

Experience

Authoritativeness

Trustworthiness

Last Word on Google Perspectives for SEO

Many small businesses confuse Local ranking factors with Local SEO signals. Ranking factors directly contribute to where your website and Google My Business listing rank on local search results. Google outlines distance, relevance, and prominence as the three primary ranking factors for Google Maps results (and Google Map 3-Pack)

Organic local results are based on those ranking factors, along with link authority, internal link context, on-page optimization, image optimization, and hundreds of other factors. 

Local SEO Signals vs. Ranking Factors

As Google often states in its public documents, there are signals at play that are not direct ranking factors. Instead, these signals indirectly dictate where you rank.

For example, distance (proximity) is a local ranking factor. Therefore, the closer a searcher is to your business’s verified address, the more likely you will appear on their search results for relevant keywords. 

Conversely, schema markup is not a ranking factor but a signal. Signals drive ranking factors and ultimately create a climate influencing your rankings, engagement, and overall success.

Essential Local SEO Signals

Below, DataPins outlines the seven essential signals for Local SEO in 2023.

1) Schema Markup

As Google has indicated, schema markup is not a ranking factor. However, it is one of the most important Local SEO signals in 2023. Unfortunately, many small businesses don’t grasp schema markup, which is understandable since it is its own language designed for search engine crawlers. 

2) EEAT

Google publicly states that EEAT is not a ranking factor. However, it’s clear that EEAT is an SEO signal that has become more important with each passing algorithm update. EEAT stands for expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. 

You might wonder how to encapsulate each of these qualities into a single acronym, and apps like DataPins do that for you. However, building relevant local links from other credible organizations is also essential to expand EEAT.

As AI-generated content becomes more accessible, EEAT will continue to influence the credibility of your content, website, and web presence in your local market. Therefore, it’s more vital than ever to demonstrate that your website is a credible source for its published information.

3) Geo-Coordinates

As a service area business, your primary address rarely tells the story of which areas you most frequently service. For example, roofers, plumbers, and HVAC technicians regularly travel to destinations between 5 and 50 millers from their verified business addresses. 

While proximity is a ranking factor, it can not accurately demonstrate everywhere your company does business. Creating signals of your work outside your main zip code occurs when you produce geo-coordinates. 

4) Branded Search

You might dismiss the idea of local consumers searching directly for your brand name. After all, the whole objective of SEO is to rank for industry-specific keywords like roofer near me, right? However, while service keywords are essential to your SEO strategy, branded search is a powerful Local SEO signal that can contribute to those rankings.

When search engines log regular searches of your brand name in a specific geolocation, it signals that your relevance in that area is credible and trustworthy. As a result, you may see a macro-level spike in your ability to rank for competitive keywords and variations.

5) Contextual Content

Once again, we aren’t talking about on-page optimization or keyword insertions; we are speaking about the context that demonstrates a local connection in your content. For example, images of local jobs from your recent roof repair are perfect for that roof repair service page. 

6) Social Proof

Social proof is an important SEO signal, but local companies often fail to produce the baseline requirements for this particular signal. For example, it’s not enough to take a screenshot of your customer review and paste it as an image on your testimonials page. Any tech-savvy marketer can doctor images which negates the credibility of the feedback.

You must pull verified reviews via API plugins to create social proof as an SEO signal. For example, your website should have a reviews slider that pulls reviews from Google, Yelp, and Facebook via API. You can also use schema check-ins with geo-coordinates for job-based social proof.

7) Original Images

While image optimization techniques like alt text and captions can contribute to website rankings, unique and original images send clear signals to search engines. Since many local contractors use stock photos on their business websites, unique and original pictures of your staff, equipment, and team differentiate your company.

You still want to apply the image optimization techniques to your original photos, but they will have an extra punch because of their uniqueness. Moreover, these kinds of images also contribute to the EEAT factor mentioned above. Therefore, it’s okay to upload these photos to your Google My Business listing and your website, and can even strengthen your signals by associating the two digital entities.

List of Essential Local SEO Signals for SABs

• Schema Markup
• EEAT
• Geo-Coordinates
• Branded Search
• Contextual Content
• Social Proof
• Original Images

Summary of Local SEO Signals for SABs

Getting caught up in direct “ranking factors” is easy when crafting your local SEO strategy. However, you’ll find that Local SEO signals often determine the difference between success and failure in a marketing campaign. 

This is especially true for service area businesses (SABs) that perform work in areas outside of their primary city. For example, consider roofers, plumbers, and HVAC companies traveling to nearby towns for various services. In these cases, SEO signals are essential to success.

You can check out DataPins: The Map Ranking App to start generating Local SEO signals simply by doing your day-to-day job.

Local SEO requires a specialized approach beyond “traditional” SEO methods. Many tactics used to optimize a national website do not apply to a local business. Conversely, many of the Local SEO hacks outlined in this post would not benefit a national website or global SEO campaign. 

Local SEO is unique in that it relies on two separate algorithms. The first algorithm is for Google Maps and the Google Map 3-Pack. The second algorithm is for organic results and specifically those with local and regional user intent. Therefore, a successful Local SEO strategy must account for both algorithms simultaneously.

Below, DataPins highlights the ten best Local SEO hacks for 2023.

1) Google My Business Landing Page

The best-kept secret in Local SEO is the GMB landing page hack. Every Google Business Profile includes a URL field that allows the manager to insert a website or web page. However, most people must realize that the connected page and its on-page SEO directly impact the Google Maps ranking for that business listing.

Google Maps scans the landing page and its content to understand better which services you offer. They will even showcase some of these services through local justifications. If you’ve ever seen a Google My Business listing that says “their website mentions,” you have seen a local justification. 

2) Schema Markup

Every local business website should utilize schema markup to help search engines understand your business. Think of schema markup as the language of search engines, and when your website is fluent, the search engines take notice. 

Various types of schema markup are beneficial to your local website, including LocalBusiness schema and GeoCoordintes schema. Other schema commonly found on local websites are OpeningHoursSpecification and serviceArea schema. You can check your website’s schema using Markup Validator.

3) Review Automation

It’s no secret that reviews remain a local ranking factor in 2023. Whitespark’s Local Ranking Factors Study found that review signals are still the third most influential ranking factor for Google Maps. As a result, it’s essential to generate as many reviews as possible for your business. 

The best way to achieve this is through review request automation via text and email. Several software tools are designed for this very purpose. For example, DataPins features email and SMS review request automation with the software.

4) Social Proof

With the emergence of AI-generated content, it becomes more challenging to distinguish legitimate businesses from imposters. One way to close the gap is to increase the value of social proof. For those unfamiliar with the term, social proof is an example of your business’s work. For example, photos of recent jobs and widgets that show reviews from verified sources like Google and Yelp are social proof.

Google’s algorithmic process for rewarding social proof is called EEAT. The acronym stands for expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. You can demonstrate experience and expertise with unique photos of recent jobs and original data and insights. Showcase verified reviews and testimonials to achieve authoritativeness and trustworthiness.

5) Pins

Pins are the best option if you want to publish all the required signals on your website in a single instance. Pins are map markers filled with data about your recent contracting jobs in the form of SEO signals. The DataPins tool was created to consolidate all the necessary Local SEO signals into a single digital entity.

For example, pins serve as visual social proof for website visitors AND schema markup, and on-page SEO for search engine crawlers. Instead of using various tools to check every Local SEO box, you can utilize one powerful tool to check all compartments simultaneously.

6) Location

It can be a bold move, but moving your business to a better location for SEO can quadruple your traffic. Google Maps’ algorithm uses proximity as one of its most impactful ranking factors. If your business is located on the outskirts of a city, you may not rank very often. If you move your address to a more central location, you can pick up more.

There’s no way to trick Google into thinking your address is in a different area than its actual location. For example, Google My Business listings using virtual addresses and PO boxes are regularly suspended, eliminating all rankings. Also, GMB verification requires business owners to receive a postcard at their address and enter the code into Google My Business before going live.

7) Super City Pages

While Google Maps is the most popular SERP position for local businesses because of the Local Map 3-Pack, companies should also pay attention to traditional organic results. For example, one way to gain traffic on the margins is to publish super city pages for each of your service areas. Unfortunately, most websites mass-produce redundant city pages that appear to search engines as low-quality doorway pages.

You can stand out to search engines with super city pages. These pages are superior versions of city pages and include specific pins for jobs completed in the page’s target city. For example, a water heater repair job in Altamonte Springs, FL, will appear on the Altomonte Springs city page. You can scale the pages to include each of your most serviced Florida cities.

8) Local Link Building

It’s no secret that links are an SEO ranking factor. But for local companies, link context matters more than authority. For example, it’s more beneficial to receive an inbound link from a nearby business website than from a national website with higher domain authority.

Keep in mind that one way that local and national links do not differ is spam. You should never seek out links from spammy websites, fake websites, or doorway pages. These types of links do more harm than good, or Google may completely ignore them.

One way to get local links is through local networking and partnerships. For example, sponsoring a local little league team might earn you a link from the organization’s website.

9) Industry Citations

Most local businesses pay a service like Whitespark or Yext for citations. But because your competitors are doing the same thing, it’s important to differentiate your company through industry citations. For example, roofers should submit citations to roofing-based directories, and the same for plumbers.

Some citation services have special packages that will target these industry directories. Other times, you may have to manually submit these citations or have someone on your team find new opportunities. NAP consistency remains important and is something you should consider when expanding your reach.

10) YouTube SERP Boosters

Google owns YouTube and will show video results from YouTube on some search queries. Because YouTube SEO is less competitive than Google, you might be able to rank your videos for keywords that your website would otherwise not rank for.

The process is straightforward. Perform keyword research (as you would for a website page), and create a video that covers the topic or service. Optimize the video title to include the target keyword and write a detailed description that also includes keywords, keyphrases, and related terms. Include a URL to the website page that targets this keyword.

Finally, add tags to your YouTube video and hit publish. Next, embed the published video on the website page that covers the term. Check back in a day or so to see if your video starts ranking on Google SERPs. Even if it doesn’t rank, you have built a digital connection to your website and validated your coverage of the keyword.

Summary of Local SEO Hacks for SABs

Use the hacks above to improve local rankings in your area. Even if you don’t have the resources to utilize every hack, any of them can impact your search visibility. Of course, you can invest in the software DataPins to handle each of these hacks with one tool.

Florida local SEO statistics reveal granular insights into how Florida businesses can benefit from search engine optimization in 2023. At DataPins, we know a thing or two about helping Floridians rank online.

Google implemented the Pigeon update in 2014. Over the past eight years, it has shifted how search engine optimization tactics work. The update allows local businesses to reach more consumers in their immediate area. But small companies have been slow to take advantage of it.

Business owners should reference these Florida local SEO statistics when allocating their marketing budget in 2023. The goal of this post is to impress upon Florida business owners the importance of local SEO and how it can benefit your bottom line. 

1) 78% of local searches lead to purchases

According to at least one study, 78% of local searches (searches wherein the user specifies a geographic location) lead to purchases. Likewise, someone looking for a service or business near them on their computer or mobile device will purchase with that business 78% of the time. 

Local searches commonly have purchasing intent. That’s why local SEO is so powerful. You are essentially putting your business in front of the eyes of pre-qualified leads. They are ready to purchase, so all you have to do is be available to them. 

2) Local queries have increased 34 times since 2011

One of the most common phrases for local searches is “near me.” People are constantly using this phrase to find local businesses and services. So, for example, someone might search for “pizza places near me” or “mechanics near me.” And according to Google, the frequency of “near me” searches has ballooned over the past few years. 

There are so many people doing “near me” searches as a means of finding local businesses and services. You have probably done one yourself!

3) Over 50% of “Near Me” Searchers Visit The Location

It’s all well and good to have your business visible online. But what percent of people who see your business on a local search will come in and visit your physical location? Well, according to Florida local SEO statistics, more than 50%. So over half of the people who find your business through a local search will visit your brick-and-mortar location. 

Getting people’s foot in the door is essential for most businesses. And from this statistic, we can see that local SEO can get people through the door. 

4) 62% of consumers disregard businesses with no online presence

What can happen if you don’t have an online presence or don’t optimize your site for local searches? According to one survey, 62% of consumers won’t even give a business the time of day if they cannot find information online. 

The fact of the matter is that the internet is the way that people do consumer research in 2023. Suppose a consumer can’t get the answers to their questions about your business by looking it up online. In that case, they are more than likely to purchase with one of your local competitors. 

Essentially, if you don’t optimize your site for local searches, you aren’t going to be visible to local consumers. 

5) 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations

Part of optimizing for local searches is getting reviews for your business. Here at Datapins, we provide an accessible software suite that helps you get more reviews and leverage your existing reviews to get more leads. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. The main point is that 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as in-person references. 

More than that, most consumers need to read at least one online review before making a purchase decision. Online reviews are an essential part of your off-site optimization – meaning there are ways to get more web traffic outside your website. Getting reviews and managing them will generate more leads. 

6) 86% of consumers report using Google Maps to find local businesses

Have you ever opened up the Google Maps app and typed in a category like restaurants, malls, or gas stations? We’re going to assume you answered “yes” to that question. We’re confident in that assumption because 86% of consumers report using Google Maps to find local businesses. 

When you search for anything in Google Maps, it will show you the closest matching results. And with so many consumers using the app to perform these kinds of searches, it’s clear to see how important local SEO is. For business owners, it’s a valuable tool that allows you to gain more leads through a service that people are already using. 

7) 46% of all Google searches include location

Google is a top global resource for information ranging from news to entertainment. However, despite its wide-ranging coverage, nearly half of all Google searches contain location information. As a result, the number of local searches that occur on Google is revealing for Florida businesses.

When Florida consumers need services from a roofing company or HVAC contractor, they primarily go to Google to find them. Whether it’s the Local Map 3-Pack or traditional organic results, the companies ranking in these spots will generate the most business.

Local SEO is one of the best investments a business owner can make. Whether operating from a large city like Orlando or a smaller town like Altamonte Springs, Local SEO for Floridians can be a game-changer for your small business in 2023.

Map Pack SEO is critical for local businesses in 2022. The Map Pack appears on top of search results for most local queries making it prime digital real estate for companies looking to generate local leads online. 

However, most people don’t know that Map Pack SEO is based on a separate Google algorithm. Therefore, improving your position on Google Maps requires different strategies than you would use for a website.

Here are seven tips to boost Map Pack rankings:

1) Optimize Your Google Business Profile

The first and most important thing you must do is get listed on Google Business Profile. If you don’t, you have no chance of ranking in the Google Map Pack. Getting set up is free though you will have to go through a verification process which you can get started here. 

Once you are listed, start loading up your profile with a concise description of your business, the areas you service, the services you offer, your hours of operation, and accurate contact information. Don’t forget to include a link to your main website. 

Once you have everything set up, don’t just leave your profile idle. Instead, try to update it as often as possible. For example, if your company just started servicing a new area, add it to your profile. In addition, people will be able to leave reviews of your business on your Google Business Profile, so be sure to respond to those reviews as much as possible. 

2) Add Local Content to Your Website

Standard SEO overlaps with Map Pack SEO via local website content. However, to utilize this method, you must include your website URL within your Google Business Profile under the website field.

Once you’ve connected your website to your Google Business Profile, it can begin influencing your Map Pack rankings via web content. For example, adding a local landing page or a service page can increase your rankings on Google Maps for related queries. This is because Google associates your website’s content with your Google Business Profile.

For example, let’s say you run a plumbing business in Akron, Ohio. Whenever someone searches for plumbers in Akron, Google will crawl websites associated with nearby map listings, searching for plumbing-related information.

3) Submit Citation Listings

Your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is like a digital ID for your local business. Citations help verify and disseminate that identification. Directories like Yelp and Angi and social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn create NAP citations for your local business.

Off-page citations are any mention of your business or website anywhere other than your own website. The more of these citations you have, the more signs you have pointing to your website. As a result, Google trusts your business listing and may rank it higher on the Map Pack.

4) Install DataPins

DataPins is a Local SEO tool that increases Map Pack rankings with schema markup, geo-coordinates, and user-generated content. In addition, DataPins publishes social proof on your local business website, which contributes to your Google Business Profile rankings.

The best part about DataPins is that it auto-generates local web content based on your job and location. So once you take a photo of your job and write a short caption via the mobile app, the software does the rest by publishing the pin to the correct page.

5) Publish City Pages

City pages are another way to boost Map Pack rankings in 2022. One of the most challenging things to do is rank on Google Maps outside your primary service area. Using local landing pages combined with DataPins, you give yourself a chance.

Let’s say you operate a roofing company in Fort Worth, Texas. Showing up on the Map Pack in Fort Worth is relatively straightforward. However, showing up in nearby cities like Southlake and Grapevine requires publishing individual city pages.

The key to creating successful city pages is writing unique and locally-driven content. Unfortunately, most websites use duplicate content for their city pages and swap out the city name. Google’s algorithm is far too sophisticated to provide you credit for duplicate content pages.

6) Build Local Links

Local links also influence Map Pack rankings for local businesses. As a result, many companies wonder whether they should build links to their Google Business Profile or their website. Of course, the answer is your website.

We’ve already outlined how Google can associate your website URL with your Google Business Listing. As a result, the links pointing to your website will also influence your Google Maps rankings. 

Aside from the apparent SEO benefit, building links to your website ensures that you own the digital property. For example, if you were to build links to your profile that were suspended, those links would be rendered useless.

7) Be Aware of Your Map Marker

The most overlooked Map Pack SEO ranking factor is your map marker. Spoiler alert, Google Maps is an actual interactive map with markers for every business listing. Even service area businesses with hidden addresses have a map marker on Google Maps’ internal mapping system.

As a result, your physical location will directly influence your rankings. If your office address is in a prime location of a central metropolitan area, your listing will receive many more impressions than a business located on the outskirts. Google’s proximity ranking factor is very significant.

While you can’t manipulate your map marker, you always have the option to move your office to a better location. Once you re-verify your business via postcard, Google will move your map marker to your new location. 

8) Get More Google Reviews

Last but not least, get as many Google reviews as possible. Use a tool like DataPins to automate review requests through SMS and email reminders. In addition, ask all of your customers personally after finishing a job. The majority of consumers will submit feedback if requested multiple times.

The number of reviews on your profile absolutely influences rankings. For example, searching for seattle hvac company will show you that nobody with fewer than 100 reviews ranks on the Map 3-Pack. While review frequency is important, always make sure the feedback is legitimate.

The following post outlines how to optimize your Google My Business cover photo. Remember that Google My Bsuiness is now called Google Business Profile, but the same steps apply. Most local businesses understand the importance of an optimized Google Business Profile listing and want to take every step to enhance their profile in 2023. A strong cover photo can help achieve this.

Why are Google Business Cover Photos Important?

The quality, size, and message that your Google Business Profile cover photo sends will impact how many people click on your business profile. Google Business Profile listings appear on the local map pack. The map pack is typically the top result people see when searching for a local business, product, or service.

Steps to Optimize Your GBP Cover Photo

It’s not so much that your cover photo is crucial as it is your Google Business Profile is essential. Your GBP listing is hugely important to your search engine rankings because Google will prioritize its own services as often as possible. 

As a result, a Google Maps listing will appear on the first page of a Search Engine Result Page(s) (SERP). The Google Map Pack is the most frequently indexed SERP feature, as it appears on the first page of 30% of all SERPs. Furthermore, Map-Packs appear above regular organic listings.

Below, we outline ways to optimize your Google My Business cover photo.

Image Dimensions

First thing first: you must have a good image size for your photo. It used to be that Google would require a 16:9 aspect ratio image for your Google Business Profile cover photo. While that is not the case anymore, and they offer more leeway, they implemented that requirement for a reason: it’s a good size aspect ratio for the sizes of images displayed on GBP listings. 

If you want to know the ideal image size for your GBP cover photo, it’s 1024 x 576. While you can upload other sizes like 854 x 480, 1024 x 576 is a good size because it’s small enough not to slow down your listing loading time but not too small to be a poor resolution. 

Remember that the searcher will see only a small image when your listing comes up, so choose a good one while remembering that they can see more photos if they click through. While you will probably need to play around with the dimensions of your picture to land on the perfect size, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Load Time Affects Rankings: You never want your image to slow down your listing’s loading time. Remember that Google recommends a load time of 3 seconds or faster, so make sure your picture is not so big that it loads slowly.
• Quality Matters: You should always have an HD image as your Google My Business cover photo. Poor quality, blurry, fuzzy, or off-center images speak of unprofessionalism or carelessness. 
• Storefront Images: If you have a storefront business, it may be helpful to make your storefront your cover photo as it will quickly let people know what your storefront looks like if they are physically searching for it. 

File Format

Google also gives you a choice of which format or file type of image to upload. For example, you can choose between PNG or JPG. Here is a brief breakdown of the pros and cons of both:

• PNG: PNG images tend to be a higher resolution, but their file sizes are larger. The bigger size makes them look good but can cause them to load slowly. 
• JPG: JPG images can be compressed, so the file sizes tend to be smaller and load quicker. 

The quality of a JPG can be compromised by compression. However, by and large, they still offer an adequate resolution for a Google Business Profile cover photo, so our overall recommendation would be JPG. 

File Size

You will need to stay within the file size parameters of 10kb and 5MB, but this shouldn’t be too much of a problem if you stay within the 480 x 270 and 2120 x 1192 resolution range.

Image Guidelines

Also, you should ensure that your Google Business Profile cover photo is devoid of filters that drastically alter the appearance of your image. Google doesn’t like business owners misrepresenting their stores, products, or services with doctored photos. 

Of course, it can be tricky to know how much photo alteration is too much, but as a general rule of thumb, you should stick to only tweaking saturation levels and brightness. 

If you go overboard with the doctoring or upload an image that doesn’t comply with Google’s requirements, they may replace your image with their own selection.

By using DataPins, you can consistently upload new unique photos to your GBP listing.

Google Maps SEO can be confusing for local businesses since it’s based on a separate algorithm from Google’s organic search results. The Google Maps algorithm uses three primary ranking factors: proximity, relevance, and prominence. In the following guide, DataPins will outline Google Maps ranking factors and showcase a Local SEO tool that can increase your rankings, impressions, and click-through rate.

Google Maps Search Engine Optimization Basics

You must take care of some basic things before you even have a chance to rank on Google Maps. For example, you must claim and verify your Google Business Profile so that Google acknowledges your business as legitimate and allows you to manage a live business listing on their platform. Let’s take a look at the Google Maps SEO basics below:

Google Business Profile

To rank on Google Maps, you need a Google Business Profile. You may know GBP by its former name (Google My Business). Setting up a Google Business Profile is easy and free if you have an actual office address.

You can verify your GBP through a postcard that Google mails to your listed address. Once verified, you can begin to optimize your listing to improve its ranking on Google Maps. 

Google Business Profile optimization is a direct ranking factor for Google Maps. So the first thing you have to do is register your business on Google. Already have a listing? Great! Here are some tips to optimize it:

• Get more Google reviews for your business
• Upload high-quality images relevant to your business
• Expand your listed service areas
• Update contact information, location listing, and business hours
• Describe your business in detail
• Links to your company website

Google Reviews

The most tangible currency for Google Maps SEO is Google Reviews. You can generate Google Reviews using automated software like DataPins, which requests reviews from customers via text and email. 

But, of course, you can also acquire reviews the old-fashion way by asking your customers in person. As a local business owner, you can train your technicians to request a review after completing their job.

The best strategy is to ask people in person and send automated requests. Applying both techniques simultaneously increases your chances of feedback by 147%. Here are some tips to generate reviews:

• Use DataPins to send automated review requests
• Ask customers in-person
• Train technicians to ask customers after completing jobs
• Add your Google Review link to your email signature
• Add your Google Review link to your website’s header

Google Maps Ranking Factors

We mentioned the three Google Maps ranking factors: proximity, relevance, and prominence. Of course, within these three factors are sub-factors that require a more in-depth understanding of Local SEO mechanics. Nevertheless, focusing on these three primary ranking factors is the fastest way to improve search visibility on Google Maps in 2022.

Proximity

The proximity factor considers the distance between the searcher and your listed (or hidden) business address. As a local business, you can’t do much to influence proximity unless you’re willing to move your location specifically for SEO purposes. 

In such cases, target the middle of a high-population city. Remember, Google Maps is literally an interactive map to accurately approximate your businesses’ distance to their online searchers. People in San Jose, CA, will see results within the corresponding map radius.

Relevance

The relevance factor considers your business’s relevance to the user’s search. For example, if you are a pool cleaner in Seattle, WA, the name of your company, domain name, and business type all influence relevance. 

In this example, a company named Joe’s Pool Cleaning Services with a domain name joespoolcleaning.com and a business type of pool cleaning service will meet every relevant factor that Google considers.

Prominence

Google reviews most directly impact the prominence ranking factor. However, other factors also contribute to a business’s prominence. For example, Google considers offline factors like brand recognition.

In addition to offline (real-world) factors, Google also looks at your reputation from across the web. For example, do a lot of people search for your brand name in general? Is your website visited regularly? These all contribute.

Google Maps SEO Tips for 2022

It’s easy to explain the three primary Google Maps ranking factors and ignore the subtle nuances that impact them. However, at DataPins, we believe in going the extra mile. Since most businesses already know about the three ranking factors, it’s important to dive deeper into the sub-factors that can increase your position in the Google Map 3-Pack for relevant local searches. Check out some Google Maps SEO tips below:

Target Local Intent

Local intent searches are among the most important driving forces behind Google Maps SEO. So what are local intent searches? A local intent search is any search engine query specifying a specific geographic location. 

For example, “bakery in Barstow,” “mechanic on St. Cloud,” or “computer repair near me.”  

You have probably searched with local intent. Local intent means looking for a business, service, or anything in a specific area. So why is local intent so important? It’s crucial because people doing searches with local intent are usually ready to purchase. 

They know what they want and are ready to find it and pay for it. It’s also important because 46% of queries entered into the Google search engine have local intent. That’s nearly half of the billions of people using Google every day.

Build Google Maps Backlinks

Building links to your company website or Google Business Profile can improve ranking. In general, you should start with local business directories. Maybe a local chamber of commerce, union, or professional network would be willing to link to your business’s site on theirs. 

You can also register on the Better Business Bureau and on social media sites like Facebook. You can also network with businesses that complement yours but don’t compete with them. For example, reach out to other companies like real estate agencies, renovation contractors, and property management companies if you own a window washing company. 

Ask if you can provide a guest post that provides value to their readers while inserting a link back to your website. Another option is sponsoring local community events, sports teams, and other regional endeavors.

Generate Consistent Reviews

We noted Google Reviews as an essential element of SEO for Google Maps. However, getting one or two reviews is not enough. The highest-ranking profiles generate a consistent stream of customer reviews.

The more reviews you have, the better. They don’t all have to be golden, either. Don’t worry about a few bad reviews if you maintain an aggregate rating between 4.2 and 4.5 stars. 

Anything higher seems suspicious, and anything lower makes your business look bad. The important thing is volume, so make sure you often ask for reviews, not just on Google but elsewhere.

The #1 Google Maps SEO Tool 

Various factors contribute to Google Maps SEO, but one tool simultaneously solves all of your problems. DataPins is a Google Maps SEO tool that provides an all-in-one solution for small businesses across the country.

DataPins serves as both a Local SEO tool and a Reputation Management platform. For Local SEO, DataPins produces schema pins each time a technician completes a job and tags it with the DataPins web app.

Each tagged job is automatically published on your corresponding website page, whether location or service. As a result, pins validate your service areas and services to Google. 

After connecting your website to your Google Business Profile, you distribute these validations to your GBP and improve your rankings. Furthermore, you can connect reviews to pins for more social proof.

Learn more about DataPins today to improve Local SEO on Google Maps.

Multi-location website design presents various hurdles that require unique solutions. Businesses with multiple office locations often face extraneous challenges with their website, SEO, and digital marketing campaigns. As a result, DataPins produced a guide to help you maximize your efforts.

If you require a multi-location website, then allow us to congratulate you. It means that your business is expanding and that you are looking to the future and further growth. As a business owner, you already know that scaling comes with serious challenges. 

Not least of these challenges is coming up with an excellent multi-location website design. DataPins arms you with vital information to create a fantastic multiple-location website in the following guide.

You have to keep in mind certain aspects of your business to design an excellent multi-location website. You also have to keep your business goals at the forefront of your mind. So read along as we break down some of the most essential principles for multi-location website design.

Components of Multi-Location Web Design

When developing a multi-location website, it is critical to maintain a hyper-local approach. Several tenants of local SEO apply more significantly to multi-location businesses. Using these strategies virtually guarantees more tremendous success than otherwise possible.

Location Pages

You need a location page for each city you service and each of your office addresses. Frequently these two things overlap, and you can put your corresponding office address on the appropriate city page.

Still, you may also service nearby cities where you don’t have an office. In these cases, you still need to publish location pages to get businesses from those consumers. For example, if your office is in Orlando, FL, you can create an individual city page for Altamonte Springs, FL, and assign pins to the location.

Be careful when publishing hundreds of city pages with similar content, as it may trigger an algorithmic filter that dilutes your website’s overall rankings. Instead, the best strategy is to make each page as unique as possible.

DataPins

You might wonder how to diversify your location pages to satisfy search engines and their users. The answer is DataPins: a local SEO tool for contractors. 

DataPins allows contractors to drop pins at each job they perform and automatically publish them to the corresponding location page. The tool also sends review requests through email and text messages.

You’ll find that DataPins automates unique content by making sure only location-specific content appears on the appropriate pages. The tool serves as a curator of user-generated content, social proof, and reputation.

Google Business Profile

While your Google Business Profile listing is separate from your website, they are connected to your online marketing strategy. The highest-ranking business listings have a complete website with content for each location.

Each office address should have its own Google Business Profile listing, which you can verify via postcard. You should connect your main website to each one of your listings in the GBP website tab.

Include images of offices, information on which areas you service, operation hours, and services offered.

It is also essential to keep this information accurate and updated. NAP (Name, Address, and Phone Number) information must remain consistent between your multi-location website and your Google Business Profile.

Having inaccurate or inconsistent NAP info hurts your rankings. Also, Google prefers to display recently updated content when it’s available, so update your Google My Business listing often. 

Multi-Location Website Principles

Aside from hyper-local strategies, your website must follow general best practices to increase conversions and appeal to visitors. As you know, SEO is influenced by the user behavior on your website. Make an extra effort to present an ideal user experience to your target consumers.

Brand Consistency 

Multi-location website design requires a strong brand. Focus on consistent logos, color schemes, and slogans for every page on your website, even different location pages. 

The customer wants to feel that some effort went into the page about their location, like the homepage. In other words, copying and pasting text and images from one location page to another is never a good idea. Instead, the content should be personalized but still brand-consistent. 

One way to achieve this personalization is by including background images of local landmarks. You can also have a personalized quote from the regional office manager or a message to the specific community in question. 

Navigation

A good multi-location website design makes it easy for consumers to navigate the area pages quickly and easily. However, consider that not all of your visitors will be directed to the specific area page. Instead, organic traffic will land on your home page or a blog post.

For this reason, developing an overview page is a good idea. Think of an overview page like a transit hub where multiple people can get to where they need to go via a central location. Therefore, your overview page should have clear and prominent tabs for each area you serve. 

Consider embedding a map that displays all of your service locations. Include an option to click on each one and be directed to the corresponding page. 

URLs

With your different location pages, you have a unique and golden opportunity to make the user experience smooth for your visitors and to optimize for local SEO. Each location-specific page should have unique URLs containing the name of the city they correspond to. 

Make the URL format as consistent as possible too. This will make it easier for search engines to index your pages accurately on relevant searches. 

For instance, a remodeling contractor in Miami and Key West should have clean URLs like “/key-west” at the end instead of “/contractor-key-west.”

Content 

Content for each of your location pages must be relevant and accurate. For example, one of your locations in Pagosa Springs may be running a promotion that your other locations aren’t. So you have to ensure that the promotional content is only present on the relevant area page. 

Relevant content also extends to the unique location content that you publish on each page. For example, community events, messages, images, and services should be tailored to the appropriate location page. 

This will not only enhance the user experience for your website; it’s also good for SEO. Besides, no one likes finding out that a promotion they are excited about isn’t actually being offered in their area. 

Final Thoughts on Multi-Location Business Websites

Multi-location business websites present challenges that complicate the digital marketing campaign process. However, with the right tools, companies can optimize their multi-location website for excellent results. Using an experienced website designer, the DataPins tool, and a hyper-local content marketing strategy, your business website can reach all of your target customers throughout various towns and cities.

Many SEO experts have examined the myth of GPS photo tags influencing Google Maps rankings. Here’s the reality, it doesn’t work. However, don’t confuse GPS photo tags with other kinds of SEO techniques, such as schema markup — which can, in fact, influence rankings.

Local businesses have been trying to gain an edge since SEO’s inception, and many myths, legends, and fairytales have come along for the ride. Unfortunately, since Google doesn’t publicly release its algorithm, the industry has a history of guessing games, many of which lead people down a rabbit hole that wastes their time and resources.

What is Image Geo-Tagging?

Geo-tagging, also referred to as GPS photo tags, is the insertion of location information into the file data of any given image. The actual tags are the location information of the photo. 

For instance, one might geotag a photo by inputting latitude, longitude, and altitude information into the EXIF data of a given image. You can then add the geotagged photo to your Google Business Profile to feed Google more information about the picture and the physical location.

An SEO Alternative To Geo-Tagging

While geotags don’t work for SEO, as Google strips the EXIF data from the image as soon as it’s uploaded, another SEO technique influences rankings. Schema markup is not a new concept for those who’ve studied SEO. However, using schema markup for location-specific information is underutilized. New software called DataPins maximizes schema markup for city pages.

What are Schema Pins?

Schema pins are pieces of unique map data, in schema form, generated by the DataPins app. Just like with GPS photo tags, the basic principle is to create unique, location-oriented content for your website – or in the case of the emphasis of today’s post, your Google My Business page. The difference is that Schema Pins influence rankings. 

For example, let’s say you are a roofer and re-shingling a roof in Fort Worth. With the DataPins app, you can take a picture of the worksite, enter the location information, and have unique image and map content published to the relevant sections of your Google My Business page. It’s pretty much automatic and doesn’t require you to manipulate EXIF data. 

The Basic Principles

Both geotagging and schema pins aim to increase the relevance of your content to specific searches. The more relevant your content is to someone’s online query, the better your chances are of ranking on the first page. But, of course, the first page is always where you want to be. 

For example, let’s say someone searches for “roofers in Fort Worth.” Google will scan the internet for content related to roofers in Fort Worth. The unique content you have that pertains to “roofers in Fort Worth” increases your chances of ranking as one of the top search results. 

Both GPS photo tagging and schema pins generate unique content that is location-specific. The myth, however, is that GPS photo tags for Google Business Profile are more effective than schema pins. Here’s why that’s simply a myth.

GPS Photo Tagging Study

In one study conducted over one month, GPS photo tagging had a negligible effect on search engine rankings. The study targeted 16 different keywords and involved 18 unique posts, each with its own geotagged image. The study concluded that six keywords dropped in rankings (2 were actually displaced to the 51st position or lower), nine didn’t change at all, and only three improved rankings (likely unrelated).

In our humble opinion, gaining a ranking for 3 out of 16 keywords and sliding down on 6 is not an improvement. Hence, GPS photo tags for Google Business Profile aren’t effective. They don’t work at all.

The Schema Pins Study

On the other hand, Molberg Plumbing LLC used Schema Pins with notable success. The study data tracked organic search discovery rate, new online review submissions, and new content generation. The study was conducted over a year and involved a real-time Google Business Profile marketing strategy using Schema Pins.

The study concluded that the Schema Pins helped the company reach an organic search discovery rate between 84% and 87%. Customer reviews for the company also tripled across multiple platforms. Lastly, after a year of use, Schema Pins continually added fresh content to the Google My Business page of Molberg Plumbing LLC. 

While some still insist that GPS photo tags for Google My Business can help increase online exposure, there is no doubt that Schema Pins work. 

How Schema Pins Work

We have gone over how Schema Pins work to add fresh content to your website and Google Business Profile and how they can help you rank higher on location-specific searches. But Schema Pins are a massive boon to SEO because they help you get more customer reviews which are vitally important for SEO.

With the DataPins app, once a pin is added, a text is automatically sent to the customer with a link to a page to leave a review. This automated review request process was shown in the same study mentioned in the previous section to be more effective for getting customer reviews than other methods. 

Get Started with DataPins

DataPins is all about sustainability and scalability. It can help expand your business by increasing its digital footprint. The app is very user-friendly and automates many critical digital marketing processes. To learn more or get started with DataPins, give us a call or shoot us a message.