Google is always shaking things up and some changes that will be coming down the pipe in the near future could impact your business.
At the SMX Advanced Local Workshop held on June 22, Google announced and confirmed that ads will be coming to the local 3 pack that we are familiar with. In this workshop Google talked about the ad placement. Which has left businesses with a lot of unanswered questions.
So the biggest question is what does this mean for the many local businesses that have worked hard to gain placement in the coveted 3 pack?
Let's see if we can help answer some of these questions...
Before we dive into the changes let's take a step back and make sure everyone understands what the local 3 pack is and some of the recent changes/transformations we have seen.
Google's Local Pack
Google's local pack is a group of search results that have local intent. So for example if you search for a plumber you don't want a list of plumbers in another State or City. Google recognizes certain business types as local and created a section of the search results specifically for local. It currently looks like this:
Previously Google's local pack had 10 listings and about a year ago there were 7 local listings:
Now Google is looking at making another major change that would reduce the number of local listings from 3 to just 2 as the first placement is replaced with an ad. It might look something like this:
Google has been testing this new ad placement for a couple of months now but in their tests they have kept the 3 local organic listings and just placed the ad on top.
How Does This Impact Your Business?
If Google reduces the local pack to 2 listings from 3 it will mean that you have less chance of ranking organically in the local pack. As I see it this means local businesses will have basically 2 options...
1. Put more work and time into ranking in the top 2 positions
- Go back to your Google My Business Page and make sure that you have completed your profile to 100%. Check your categories and select all that are relevant - you can add up to 5. Check your description and include keywords that consumers would be looking for, but be careful not to overdo it.
- Make sure that the NAP (name, address and phone#) are on your website. Specifically on the page you are linking to from the Google My Business Page. The NAP should be exactly as it is on Google My Business page. If Google lists it as "123 Market St" don't use "123 Market Street". Check all your directory listings to make sure the NAP is exactly the same as well.
- Get your business NAP listed on as many directories as you can.
For more information about using local directories for improved rankings read this article: The 3 Best Ways To Drive New Customers To Your Door http://ift.tt/29H0iH6
2. Pay For An Ad
Alternatively you can pay for a listing in the #1 ad spot of the local pack. This would be done through Google Adwords. If you're not familiar with Adwords you can read more about setting up your first campaign.
If you're not familiar with Adwords you may find it difficult, complicated and time consuming. If you don't setup your ad correctly it can be an expensive endeavor. Although once you've learned how to set it up so that your campaigns are working efficiently you may find ads to be a great way to drive more business. If you need help running an ads campaign you can turn to Social Climb's Small Business Marketing Program.
In Summary
The new local pack has not gone live yet but now is a good time to start preparing for the changes coming, especially if your business relies on the local pack for most of your leads and sales. Follow the basic guides we laid out in this article and contact us if you have more questions. Note: that until Google implements their new local search results, it is subject to change. As we learn more about the new Google local search we will keep you posted.
Read More Here: Launch of Google’s New Ads in Local Pack – How It Could Impact Your Business
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