Local SEO is crucial to all businesses with a physical presence, especially when it comes to targeting local area consumers. To consumers, this provides them with an opportunity to discover services or products close to them. Therefore, as a local business owner, this is an opportunity to reach out to these consumers.

But for this to happen, you must build online visibility for your business. Even better, there’s Google My Business (GMB). It’s a free online tool that you can use to manage your business online presence. But even so, you need more than just a GMB tool to triumph in local SEO. And this is where Google Local 3-packs come in. It’s valuable real estate for prospective consumers. But how do you rank on it? Read on to find out:

What’s Google Local 3-Pack?

This is Google’s technique of providing the top three contents on the SERP page after a local search. Oftentimes, the user’s location plays part in making the search result relevant to the given query. For example, a search query is “malls near me”. Google Local 3-pack will provide you with three malls near you in respect to your current location.

How to rank in Google Local 3-Packs

Following tips will help you get listed in Google local 3 packs –

• Provide Accurate NAP citations
• Earn more Positive Reviews
• Link Building
• On-Page Optimization
• Use Local Number
• Boost your social media presence
• Provide Accurate NAP citations

Ever knew that your clients might be seeking your services in other places besides your site and Google my Business? Well, don’t be surprised when you discover your business reviews on Trustpilot or TripAdvisor. As such, it’s important to have an online business profile.

As you prepare it, keep in mind that providing accurate NAP (Name Address, Phone Number) citations is essential. Also, you must ensure these pieces of information are consistent across all your online business profiles. And this is because the NAP is a critical ranking signal when it comes to the Google Local 3-pack. It represents essential business information that prospects can use to reach out.

What’s more, having more NAP citations is advantageous to your business. It builds up online authority for your business and helps Google discover the relevance of your business to customers.

Earn more Positive Reviews

According to a 2017 local survey, over 90% of consumers read reviews before sourcing products or services from a given business. As such, earning more positive reviews is a bonus point for your business. Further, it was also uncovered that over 65% of consumers rely on these reviews when choosing and trusting a company.

And did you know that Google also loves reviews? Yes, positive reviews are one of the major factors Google considers when ranking businesses on Local 3-pack. Therefore, the more reviews you have, the better for your business.

To earn reviews, consider the following points:

• Contact your customers through email seeking reviews for your product or services.
• Also, you can enlighten them that their reviews are vital to your business’s local SEO ranking.
• Also, it’s important to reach out to your customer immediately or after a day to seek review after completing the transaction. Waiting too long may not earn you the reviews.
• There’s also an option of transcribing your customer testimony as a review. However, you’ll need their approval first.
• Link Building

Link Building is an important part of boosting your business’s local SEO. And in this case, it plays a crucial role in enhancing your business probability of rankling in Google local 3-pack. To make this more effective, consider community involvement.

Further, through link building, you’ll enhance the geographical visibility of your business site. And this is through local site links. It can be local school homepage, or church homepage, among other local sites.

Luckily, you don’t need sites with domain authority to influence your business rank on the Local SEO 3-pack. Any local site will do. This is because they’re guaranteeing the location of your business to Google. Also, it shows that your business is trusted by these local institutions, as a result, its prominence is boosted further.

Good Read – How to Create an Effective SEO Strategy

On-Page Optimization

For better visibility on Google, you need to conduct on-page optimization. Since your goal is to rank in Google Local 3-pack, here are important factors to consider:

• Make your website more user friendly
• Have clickable business phone numbers to generate more calls from prospects
• Enhance your site loading speed
• Craft local content to enhance your business relevance during rank in Local 3-pack.
• Use Local Number

Toll-free numbers are best when dealing with clients nationwide. But, since your target is local listing on Google, consider using the local number on NAP citations. However, if the local directories support more than two numbers, then consider both toll-free and local phone numbers.

Boost your social media presence

Lastly, work on your business’s social media presence. It will help establish your business as an authority when it comes to local listing. With so many popular social media sites to work with, consider Facebook Business Page first. Among other social platforms, Facebook is the largest. As such, it has a higher probability of ranking better in local search results.

What’s more, people find it easy to reach out through the Facebook messenger app when they’re interested in specific businesses. As a result, work on building a compelling business profile for your brand on Facebook.

Also Check – Local SEO Tips for 2022

Conclusion

At the end of it all, local SEO has a special role to play in the growth and progress of brick-and-motor businesses. It’s one of the best ways to build brand awareness online. And thanks to Google’s local 3-pack, you can reach out to prospects in your area.

When your business ranks among others in Google Local 3-pack, the impact is significant. It’s an opportunity to tap on organic traffic with a higher potential to buy the product or hire your services. Therefore, if you want your business to scoop a significant share of this potential traffic, employ the above tips.