During the pandemic, 57% of consumers purchased from a local business for the first time.  A major motivating factor in their decision was the availability of pandemic-friendly services like curbside pickup.  How did customers figure out which of their local businesses had what they needed?  They searched locally on Google. Multi-location local landing pages are more important than ever.

Google’s Local Pack is key for local businesses to be found online.  Displayed above organic search results, Google’s Local Pack is highly visual in its inclusion of map location, star ratings, and more.  For information about businesses in a local area, Google draws on Google My Business (GMB) listings.  According to MOZ, GMB listing detail is the most important factor in determining local pack rankings.  If a business wants to appear on the top of a search, they need to make sure their GMB profile is top-notch.

Optimizing Your Business

Optimizing a business’s GMB listing is simple.  There are 3 easy steps.  The first is to claim a business profile.  Once that has been done, complete every section of the profile thoroughly.  Include the business’s name, address, phone number, website, hours, category and attributes, and more.  The more detail in the profile, the more the search engine has to latch onto.  Finally, keep the listing updated.  Make it clear the business remains open and thriving with weekly posts, responses to reviews, or answers to questions from the public.  

For a local business with a single location, optimizing the GMB listing and linking it to their website is all that’s necessary for a good search result.  When it comes to multi-location businesses, however, local landing pages (LLPs) should also be utilized.   An LLP is a standalone page on the web created for a specific business location.  Having one allows business owners to link each landing page to a separate listing on GMB for even better search results.  In terms of content, LLPs should include all their important information in the first 2 screenfuls, as that is where customers spend 74% of their time.  Links should be used strategically for a short sales funnel, and trust elements like security seals and company awards ought to be prominently displayed. 

For an LLP headline, clarity, conciseness, and keyword use is as important here as it is for other websites.  Behind the scenes, geolocation meta tags matching NAP and GMB can confirm the business is where it claims to be.  Other features that improve local search rankings include: hyperlocal content, location photos, and location specific social media profiles.

Localization is an Asset

When you’re dealing with multiple locations in different languages, on-demand localization platform is a key asset.

“Working with Fortune 500 companies, we know that Voice Localization is an essential ingredient for their global growth, and they can’t blend locally without it. Now, we’re even better poised to serve the increasing demand for video and audio localization, with the best technology and the most professional voice-over artists available. We look forward to serving GM Voices’ long-term customers and leading LSPs at the highest industry standard. This acquisition is the first of many that will help us fulfill all of our customers’ localization needs.”
– Yair Tal, CEO of BLEND.

Mobile is Key

For all business websites, mobile features are gaining in importance.  84% of local searches are made on mobile devices.  As a result, a website unfriendly to mobile users is likely to frustrate customers.  Features that would improve a website’s mobile presence include floating call to action buttons, click-to-call phone numbers, and mobile-friendly coupons.  

Specifically in the pandemic, communicating safety procedures is more important than ever.  On both GMB and LLPs, listings should be updated to include what pandemic-friendly services are available when, with easy communication for customers.