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Google Business Profile Updates To Make For The Holidays

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The holidays are almost here, and as a businesses owner, we understand you want to do all you can to increase sales this season. By updating your Google Business Profile, your customers can easily find the information they may need. Unwired Web Solutions offers local SEO services that include making sure your company’s profile is up to date on Google. 

This holiday season, chances are your customers are using Google to find information about your business. They may be looking for your website, checking for extended holiday hours, or getting directions to your location. No matter the reason, your customer needs to find the information they are looking for; otherwise, they may go to your competitor. 

The peak holiday season is rapidly approaching, and for many businesses, it has already begun. ECommerce sales for November 2021 to January 2022 are forecasted to increase 11% – 15% this year over last year. With much of the world still locked down to some degree, many consumers are still opting to do their holiday shopping online. 

But it isn’t just online shops that need to worry about their online profile. With in-store shopping anticipated to rebound to a 33% share in 2021 from 28% in 2020, customers may be looking online before visiting a brick-and-mortar location. 

To keep up with sales this Christmas, businesses need to prepare their Google Business Profile (GBP), formerly Google Business Profile. By updating your information online, you can aid shoppers in their searches by presenting the most up-to-date, accurate, detailed information possible. 

Update Hours

If your business is extending hours over the holiday season, we recommend setting “Special Hours” in your Google Business Profile. Setting these special hours enables you to provide shoppers with the information they need to visit your shop. 

Use the “More Hours” section if your business plan to provide specific services at different times during the holiday season. For example, if you plan to be open an hour earlier for seniors this holiday season, you can set it in the “More Hours” rather than the “Special Hours.” 

It can be necessary for a business to close for a number of different reasons temporarily. Google recommends that if your company is closed for 7 or more days in a row or will be closed for an unknown period of time, you should mark your business as “Temporarily Closed.” 

Update Your Images

Businesses with more GBP photos have been shown to get more clicks, phone calls, and driving direction requests. For those with over 100 images, businesses were found to get 520% more calls compared to the average business. 

Providing many high-quality images will not only correlate to more conversions, but they can also provide the visual stimulation needed for a customer to consider your business. By acting as a digital representation of your brand, your images will be a digital storefront, accurately portraying the in-store shopping experience that your customers can expect this holiday season. 

Monitor Reviews

Often time, Google reviews can make or break a business. These reviews can also provide your customers with pertinent information about your business operations. 

Research shows that 50% of consumers feel more confident in a business when they see a brand actively responding to reviews. This gives the customer the feeling that the company cares about their wants and needs. 

This holiday season, have a team in place to respond to both positive and negative reviews to encourage customer loyalty. 

A Few Simple Steps

By taking these few simple steps this holiday season, you can help to ensure a profitable holiday season. Our team at Unwired Web Solutions offers many services to help your local business thrive all year long. From local SEO services to website design, and SEO analysis tools, we can help your business stand out online. Contact us today to learn more about our valuable services. 

Lesser-Known Local SEO Tips

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The end goal of local SEO is to rank higher in local searches and get more people to your site and through your door. But what if you are overlooking some simple tricks that can help bring more people in through the door?

As a local SEO company, our experts know how to drive potential customers to your business, whether online or a brick-and-mortar location. We understand that it isn’t just the large SEO strategies that work, but that every little bit helps when it comes to local SEO. Sometimes small tips and tricks make a big difference in online visibility. 

With more people searching online for local businesses than ever before, local SEO has never been more competitive than it is today. This means you need to stand out and rise in the rankings over your competition. 

Google Reviews are Important

While it may be intimidating to ask customers for reviews, it is necessary to acquire new ones. Your business needs ratings and reviews to help build trust in your brand to rank higher in local search, so try to encourage customers to go online and leave a review.  

With local businesses, Google will show potential customers your listing to people looking for things near them. The searchers will see results that include a map of business locations, plus listings for three businesses relevant to their particular search. Many small companies believe that just showing up on this map pack is enough, but by optimizing your own Google Business Profile with reviews, you can get one step ahead of your competition. 

A simple five-star rating isn’t what it used to be. There is more that goes into an online review presence now, which includes your response to customers. Be sure to keep track of the reviews on your GMB listing and respond when necessary. People generally want to support their local businesses, so you want to make it easy and convenient for them. 

Consistency is Key

Your business name, phone number, and address data should be consistent and present across all your profiles on the web. By ensuring that your phone number is clickable on your website, you make it easier for your customer to contact you. While most browsers will recognize and highlight phone numbers, you will want to ensure they are working correctly. It is quick and easy to insert a small amount of code on a website wherever your phone number shows up on your website. 

Keep in mind that if you use a Google trackable number, it should not affect your rankings as long as your actual number is listed as a secondary number in Google Business Profile. 

You will also want to make sure that your number is a textable business line. Surveys now show that most people prefer to text. Giving customers the ability to text your business can help to convert a higher percentage of prospects into customers. This can be achieved through either a GMB profile or your website chat feature. 

Make It Easy for Customers to Find You

You want your customers to know where you are located without them having to do a lot of searching. You can make it easier for them by including a Google Map of your locations right on your website. Many businesses opt for a map on their contact page so customers can easily see where they are located. 

The most important part of online marketing is making sure your customers and search engines know how to find you and that they can easily see if you are open for business. Claim every business profile and listing possible and for every location, you operate. Some of these can include Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Google, and various industry-specific sites. Just be sure always to keep all accounts current, including operating hours and contact details. 

The end goal of local SEO is to get more quality leads. But, getting reviews, updating online profiles, and setting up texting services can be a lot to handle for some business owners. That is where Unwired Web Solutions can help! We are a local SEO company with a team of experts who can optimize your business presence across all platforms. Contact us today for more details. 

Why Google Reviews Are So Important for Your Business

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For local businesses, getting customers to give you a review on Google should be a top priority. Getting reviews from customers has always been a significant exercise for business, but today more than ever, with Google Business Profile, the importance is greater than ever. In Google’s pursuit to deliver the most relevant results for local searches, they not only look at what your business does, but also how it is perceived. They do this by checking how many reviews you have and what your average customer rating is. Any SEO company will be able to tell you that in working with their clients, they will have seen this play out many times over the past few years. 

When a person scans the search results for a local product or service in Google, the business listings that include relevant customer reviews present greater credibility, and naturally receive more clicks. For example, if you have a 4.5 star rating, and 16 reviews and your competitor has less, it is strong social proof that your service or product is trustworthy. This means the quality of the reviews come into play when Google is ranking websites for local SEO.

Google Local Listing

Research shows that a growing percentage of shoppers are no longer visiting websites before making contact. Local consumers are now simply getting the information they need right from the Google Local Listing and calling directly. All of this is done based on the information they found within those local listings on Google. 

This concept is so important to understand and embrace as part of your marketing strategy. If your local listing is not optimized and not being managed on a regular basis, you are not taking advantage of one of the most powerful marketing tools available to local businesses. By regularly adding new photos, creating new posts, and responding to reviews, your business will stand out among the rest. 

Google Reviews

Google Ranking

Need another reason to be actively managing your Google Local Listings and focusing on reviews? Your website will no longer rank at the very top of Google even if you are doing an excellent job with your SEO and achieve a top ranking for your local area. This is because Google has positioned its Google Local Listings above organic results, just underneath Google ads. 

This means that even if your business is ranked #1 organically, it may not show up until the 8th or 9th position down the page. The top 3 to 4 positions are now reserved for Google ads and the next three go to local listings. This is why keeping your Google Local Listings up to date with relevant reviews is so important. 

Paying for Reviews

Never, under any circumstance pay for reviews. Although it may be tempting to offer incentives in exchange for reviews, it goes against Google’s terms of service. So, never advertise a free drink for showing a completed review, or a discounted service for a review. If you are caught offering these incentives, it may greatly harm your Google ranking.

Overall, the quality and quantity of reviews on Google is one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO. Remind customers that they can leave a review on Google and mention that it will help your local business grow. You may be surprised at how many people want to voice their opinion about your business. 

Here at Unwired Web Solutions, we are an SEO company that wants to see our customers thrive. Contact us today for information on our services and how we can help your business reach the top of Google search results.