Local SEO 2024 REACHING {67.9%} MORE CUSTOMERS USING GOOGLE MAPS -Part-2
Hey everyone! Ready to tap into a massive pool of potential customers you might be missing on Google Maps? In this video, we’re diving into a game-changing local SEO strategy to help your business get found in towns and cities 5, 10, or even 15-20 miles away from your physical location. Inspired by the insights of local SEO expert Darren Marian, this is Part 2 of our series, and we’re focusing on the fundamental steps to expand your service area and generate new leads using Google Maps. If you’re looking to increase your income, better support your family, and truly maximize your local reach in 2024, then keep watching – this is crucial information!
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Episode Transcript
The Foundation of Local SEO Expansion: Beyond Your Local Area
Imagine being able to attract customers from neighborhoods and cities you haven’t even been visible in before. The key to this lies in understanding the foundation of local SEO. As the speaker in the video emphasizes, to be found in a specific area that’s not your immediate vicinity, you need to establish clear signals for Google. This video breaks down the essential three-part strategy to achieve this:
- Part 1: Dedicated Service Area Pages on Your Website: You need specific pages on your website that clearly state you service particular towns and cities.
- Part 2: Optimizing Your Google Business Profile (GBP): Your GBP needs to reflect the services you offer and the areas you serve.
- Part 3: Building Local Reviews: Gathering reviews from customers located in your target service areas is vital.
This video will primarily focus on Part 1 and Part 2 of this powerful triangle, laying the groundwork for reaching more customers.
Part 1: Crafting Website Pages That Signal Your Service Areas
To get found in areas beyond your immediate location (e.g., 5, 10, or 15 miles away), the very first step is to create dedicated pages on your website for each of those areas. The speaker highlights the importance of this, noting that a client even asked for clarification multiple times, emphasizing that this is a crucial foundational element.
Think of it this way: if you want Google to recognize you as a service provider in “Clearwater,” you need a page titled something like “[Your Service] in Clearwater, FL”. This page should:
- Explicitly state the service you offer in that specific area.
- Showcase any work or projects you’ve done in that area. This could be through testimonials, case studies, or even just mentioning local landmarks in your content.
- While simply having these pages won’t guarantee top rankings, it’s an absolutely necessary first step. Without these pages, you’re essentially invisible to Google in those target locations.
Part 2: Supercharging Your Google Business Profile with Service Area Information
Creating website pages is only part of the equation. The second critical component is optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) to reflect your expanded service area. The speaker uses their own GBP as an example to illustrate this.
Here’s how you can optimize your GBP:
- Description: In your GBP description, be sure to clearly list the services you offer AND the areas you work in. For instance, if you’re a plumber, you would mention “plumbing services” and the specific towns or cities you serve.
- GBP Sections: Go through each section of your Google Business Profile and look for opportunities to “inject” what you do and where you do it. This might include services, products (if applicable), and even updates or events.
- Comprehensive Information: Ensure all your core business information is accurate and consistent. If you’re a plumber, list all the specific plumbing services you provide and the geographical areas where you offer them. Having this information clearly stated in your GBP reinforces the signals you’re sending with your website pages.
The Power of the “Triangle Method”: Website, GBP, and Reviews
The speaker introduces the concept of the “triangle method,” which underscores the interconnectedness of these three key elements for local SEO success. To truly rank in a specific area, you need to have consistent signals across:
- Your Website: Dedicated service area pages mentioning the location and services.
- Your Google Business Profile: Explicitly stating the service areas and services offered.
- Reviews: Obtaining reviews from customers who are physically located in those target areas and who mention the service and the location.
Without all three components working together, your efforts to rank in new areas will likely fall short.
The Importance of Localized Reviews: Getting Feedback from Your Target Areas
While website pages and GBP optimization are crucial first steps, reviews from customers in your target service areas provide powerful social proof and location signals to Google. The speaker emphasizes that a general review stating “great service” isn’t as impactful as a review that specifically mentions the service provided and the location.
To maximize the impact of your reviews:
- Encourage Location-Specific Details: When requesting reviews, you can “instruct” or “influence” your clients (without explicitly telling them what to write) to include the service they received and their general location. You could even provide them with an outline of key details to include.
- Proximity Matters: Ideally, the person leaving the review should have been physically located in the service area when they received your services. While slightly outside the area is okay, reviews mentioning local landmarks can further strengthen the location signal. For example, a review could say, “My house is two blocks south of the Logo Central Park Nature Preserve, and ABC Electric fixed my sink quickly and affordably”. This type of review provides valuable keywords and location context.
Tracking Your Progress: The Role of Local Falcon
To understand if your local SEO efforts are paying off and where you’re currently ranking (and not ranking), the speaker strongly recommends using a tool like Local Falcon. This tool provides a grid report that visually shows your ranking performance across different areas.
Think of Local Falcon as an “x-ray” for your local SEO campaign. It helps you:
- Identify Areas Where You’re Not Ranking: This allows you to focus your efforts on those specific locations.
- Measure the Impact of Your SEO Efforts: By running regular Local Falcon reports, you can see if your rankings improve after implementing website pages, GBP optimizations, and gaining local reviews.
- Hold Your SEO Team Accountable: The speaker advises even if you have an agency managing your SEO, you should be checking their work with a tool like Local Falcon and receiving grid reports.
Reporting and Client Communication: Focusing on What Matters
When working with clients (or evaluating your own SEO progress), the speaker emphasizes that reports should focus on what’s important to the client, such as website traffic, phone calls, and ranking improvements (demonstrated through grid reports). Avoid overwhelming clients with technical details like backlinks built.
The goal is to show tangible results, such as:
- Increased Phone Calls: Track the number of calls received month over month.
- Improved Rankings: Showcase “before and after” screenshots of your Local Falcon grid reports to demonstrate progress in your target areas.
- Website Traffic: Monitor website visits, especially to your service area pages.
The speaker also mentions using a “traffic light system” in their CRM to track progress, acknowledging that some services might be seasonal (e.g., air conditioning in winter). Reports should provide context and focus on relevant metrics for the current time of year.