Still wondering why your local search page may be down on its luck? After reading a diagnostic chart surveying the successful factors for a page, there are plenty of ways to get back on your feet. Even though a few of them can seem straightforward, there’s a reason why they are at the top…some businesses keep missing those marks. For the time being, let’s focus on the 3rd most important factor: properly putting your business in the right category.
To better understand this, I need to go to Fantasy Island in search of a business starting from square one. How about…pets. Better yet, Pet Babysitters, Inc.! You’re an upstart company looking to corner the local pet-sitting market.
Now let’s get going to your first order of business: Google Local Listing Center. First and foremost, if you haven’t listed with Google, stop what you’re doing immediately and get your business on there! That’s one gigantic claim to leave dangling in the wind.
With that locked down, your next course of action is to scroll down to the categories. With a limit of 5 to choose from, you must carefully go through and choose the best possible categories for your business to show up in. Type as many words as you can to associate anything with pets, pet products, grooming services, etc. Depending on the variety of services your business possesses, being a pet babysitter can be narrowed into: “Dog Day Care”, “Pet Sitter”, “Dog Sitter”, “Pet Supply Store” and “Pet Groomer”. There are a few more that could be tagged along with it, but these are by far your strongest.
And while we’re at it, let’s go to the wonderful world of misguided pages! Here are a couple dreadful mistakes:
1. One and Done: Having one category or none at all is akin to putting blinders on. Simple as that.
2. Upon Further Review: You don’t look over your categories. For example, you were about to select “Dog Day Care” and instead you select the one above it, “Cremation Services”. Oops.
All in all, these errors can simply be avoided with a watchful eye. Making them as detailed as possible can ratchet up the percentage of clicks to your website. Rather than “just enough”, focus your thoughts on “not enough” and your doorbell may thank you for it later.
