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Why every local business needs an up-to-date Google Local listing

The other day I idly typed “copywriter melbourne” into Google (as you do). Here’s what turned up:

copywritermelbourneserp

Yep, that’s me, the third link on the page. Pretty good, huh? Here’s what’s even better: this took almost no effort on my part. I only have a stub of a website at the moment, this blog aside. (My real website is launching very soon, by the way, and just between you and me, it’s looking good.) I haven’t gone beyond the most rudimentary forms of search engine optimisation. And I’ve been in business for a shorter time than most of my competitors.

In fact, I feel a bit sheepish about placing higher on the page than experienced copywriters who’ve obviously put a great deal of effort into SEO. How did I do it?

To cut a long story short, I did two things:

  1. I listed my business with Google Local.
  2. I happened to have an office close to Melbourne CBD.

This listing, you see, isn’t a “normal” search result. In regular “organic” searches – the kind the SEO industry is built around – I’m pretty much where you expect me to be (nowhere, more or less).

But when searchers type in something that Google recognises as a location, Google thinks “aha, this person is looking for something in their local area”, and so the first thing it displays is a map showing businesses that have registered themselves as being located there. Those organic results that everyone works so hard for get relegated to second place.

It probably wasn’t Google’s intention, but this is particularly good for business like mine that are located close to a CBD. Even though people searching for “copywriter melbourne” are probably looking for copywriters in the greater Melbourne area, Google starts at the CBD and works outwards. Which is rotten luck for all the copywriters in Frankston.

Here’s the call to action.

If you have a business with any kind of address, even your house, you probably can’t do much to change your physical location (not at short notice, anyway!), but you can take care of getting listed right now. Go to Google Local, and list yourself. It’s easy, and free. Go on, do it now. I’ll still be here when you get back.

Done? Good. Because what I haven’t told you yet is that for some of you, it’s just become even more important to have an up-to-date Google Local listing. You see, Google has just started serving up these local results some of the time even when searchers don’t type in a location! (They do this by making a guess about where you are based on your IP address. Hope that doesn’t feel too creepy.)

Now, this change will mainly affect businesses that are genuinely local – florists, dentists, pizza shops, and so on. [Edit: for businesses that aren't clearly local, like copywriters, the situation is less clear - see the comment from Glenn Murray below.] If you’re one of those local businesses, having a Google Local listing is now more important that being listed in any other directory, online or off. It’s the easiest, cheapest SEO boost you can possibly imagine. Hopefully you don’t need any more encouragement, because you took my advice two paragraphs ago, but I’m just saying.

What’s going to be interesting over the next few months is seeing businesses start gaming the system. I can see businesses registering under fake addresses in popular locations. I can see “public-spirited” competitors reporting those fake addresses to Google. I can see new businesses springing up to provide “legitimate” virtual addresses. Isn’t it funny how, in our virtualised world, a simple change on Google’s part suddenly makes actual locations important again?

Posted by Angus Gordon at 5:21 pm on April 14th, 2009. Read comments (4) and join in... »
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4 comments.

  1. Very nicely observed.

    Posted by plasmo on April 14th, 2009.

  2. Nice post mate. It's worth noting, though, that Google doesn't serve local results for ALL searches. As you've noted, it definitely serves them when a location is part of the query (as in your example). But it only SOMETIMES serves them if the query doesn't include a location. From what I've read (and heard from @theGypsy), the longer the query, the more likely it is to return local business results. But my own testing shows some inconsistent results. For example, when I search for “seo copywriting”, I get local results. But when I search for “seo copywriter”, I don't. Interestingly, this flies in the face of logic as, typically, people searching for “seo copywriter” are more likely to be looking for an actual copywriter, and would, therefore, be more likely to want local results.

    Posted by Glenn Murray on April 14th, 2009.

  3. @plasmo – thanks, that means a lot coming from a search engine geek! ;)

    @Glenn – thanks for the clarification. I meant something along those lines when I said “this change will only affect businesses that are genuinely local” but I didn't make it very clear…and I realise from your examples that my assumptions weren't quite right anyway. I'll edit.

    Posted by Angus Gordon on April 14th, 2009.

  4. firstly congratulation for appearing on the first page especially if you didn't do much to make it there. honestly this google feature is saving me time when i do my searches. and this way, it gives small and just starting local businesses an equal opportunity from those big players on their industry or niche.

    Posted by Google Local Searches on October 2nd, 2009.

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How does something like this become good web writing?

Cut out the fat.

Break it up.

Plug in the keywords.

Add the links.

The call to action.

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Writing content for the world wide web web content is different from writing for brochures, magazines, or other print media. Good web copywriters know what web users need (the reasons they use the web, what they are looking for, and their habits), and how to help them get it. Here's what they do. There are five main elements of effective web writing.

1: Keep it web content short and relevant

First, Most web users don't have a lot of time and are doing several things at once - checking their email, updating their Facebook status, browsing newspaper sites, and maybe even working. Your target audience needs to know you're exactly what they're looking for...right away.

So the best thing to do is to write web content in short, punchy sentences. Write directly to the customer, as if you're talking to one person. And cut out anything that's extraneous, any words or phrases you don't need.

2: Lay it out for people who skim

Second, On the web people tend to skim, and they get intimidated by big, uninterrupted blocks of text. Use signposting methods such as

to break up the page and also to make your readers focus on your main points so that they are unmissable.

3: Use keywords strategically

Third, Although you're mainly writing for people, you have another audience: that audience is search engines. To make search engines such as Google love you, it's necessary to use keywords strategically, in web content but preferably without making your text read awkwardly.

4: Use links in web content to help people navigate

Fourth, well-written Web content should make it easier for people to find their way around a website. Use hyper links liberally, and make sure you always think about what's useful to readers when you decide on a label for them.

Finally, you should always try to 5: Include a call to action

Tell readers what you want them to do next. You'll be quite surprised how often they go ahead and do it.

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