If you’re a local service-based business interested in maximizing lead generation efforts, you know that your prospects and customers are spending an awful lot of time looking through Google Maps local results.
Whether folks are searching for a home renovation specialist, a local restaurant, or a reputable nearby hair salon, chances are they’re scrolling through Google and evaluating several competitors at the same time.
Local Competition
But when the competition can be so fierce, how can I ensure my local service business is ranking well on Google?
Well, generally speaking, there are 3 “buckets” you need to focus on:
- Your Google My Business listing
- Your reviews on Google (and across the web)
- Your website’s optimization and performance
How to Use This Checklist
This checklist touches on many key tactics that support the main focus areas above. In order to rank well locally and be found by your ideal customers, you need to ensure you’re showing up, collecting trustworthy customer reviews, and that your website is optimized for local search so Google has all the information it needs to include you in its local results.
Step 1: Accountability
First and foremost, you’re going to need to assign this checklist to someone. You can perform this self-evaluation on your own, sure, but you’re probably going to want to ask the individual who is most familiar with your website and marketing efforts—someone you trust to give you honest and accurate feedback. Mark today’s date and set a due date for completion.
Step 2: Research
Some of the items in this checklist will require a bit of research. For example, do you know what LocalBusiness Schema is? Did you know you can check for its presence by typing your URL into this link?
Step 3: Regroup and Plan
How’d you do? Are there a lot of empty checkboxes? Great! There are opportunities to improve. Think you’re doing pretty well and checked everything off? Great, let’s take a closer look and see if further improvements can be made.
Marketing is a Habit
Really, the entire point of this exercise is to reinforce the habit of constant evaluation and optimization. Remember, Local SEO and digital marketing in general is not a series of “things” you do and you’re done with.
It’s a habit. One that requires regular evaluation and adjustment. And once you get into that habit, you’re on your way to local search domination!
Ready to Download the Checklist?
Click the image below for instant access to the free Local Search Self-Evaluation Checklist for Service Businesses. Feel free to download this PDF to your computer and share it with your team as well.
Enjoy!
