If you’re a business owner, then you know that ranking high on Google is essential for success. In this article, we will discuss the Google Local 3 Pack and how you can rank your business higher in this coveted spot.
The Local 3 Pack is a special spot on the first page of Google that features local businesses. If you want to make sure that your business appears in this section, then follow these tips!
What Is Google 3-Pack?
A 7-pack would show up when someone did a Google search. Let’s say you are looking for a coffee shop near you for this article. You type “coffee shop” into Google, and it shows you seven businesses that match your search. If your business was one of the first seven, you had a better chance than anyone else of getting this person as a customer.
Google went from a 7-Pack of search results to a 3-Pack and added a map. If you search for a coffee shop, the top three results will show up, and the search engine will show you where they are on a map so you can decide if they are close enough.
You can also see how many stars each business has, where it is located, and if it is expensive, moderately priced, or cheap. Then, users can click on each business for more information, like the phone number, hours of operation, and reviews.
There is a small difference between a hotel and a motel when you are looking for one. The price and availability of each hotel will also be shown on the map. This is not the only thing people find when they search, but it is by far the most common.
Notably, Google’s Local 3-Pack uses a ranking algorithm that is built into the search engine. So, if you want your business to be one of the top three, you’ll have to do more than just put it on a map.
To get a higher rank, you must also make sure that Google users interact with your business a lot. If no one rates or comments on your listing, it might not show up at all! Let’s talk about what this means for your business and why you want to be highlighted.
How Can It Impact Your Business?
The Local Pack can help and hurt your business in different ways. Let’s say that in a search for a coffee shop, you come in tenth for some reason. That means that this person will think about nine other choices before choosing you. You can’t change some things, like where the other business is located.
But if you get a higher ranking, it will be great for your business and bring in a lot more money and customers.
Why You Want Your Business To Be Featured
You want your business to be in the Google Local 3-Pack so that more people will buy from you. If you rank higher, people will come to your store more often. Getting more customers will always lead to more money coming in. These new customers can leave reviews that will help your Google ranking as a whole.
If you want your business to do as well as possible, you need to be on Google.
Advertising And The Google 3-Pack
Google started letting ads show up in the Local Pack for the first time in 2016. About 35 percent of local packs now have ads for the businesses that were searched for.
You might want to use the fact that there is a lot of competition in your area to your advantage. Ads are shown to people in certain places, which increases the number of people who click on them.
How To Set Up A Campaign
Start by making sure you have a Google My Business page and a Google Ads account. You can’t move on until you have these two things. You need to add a location extension to your Google Ads account after you’ve done the steps above. This is for SERP ads, and it’s how Google tells users where a business is located.
After that, make sure that your information on Google My Business is up to date. Also, it’s important to make sure that all the information is correct at the time the update is made. When you make your next Google Ads campaign, you will have the option to target and bid by location. Choose this option. Use keywords about locations in your campaign, and you’re done!
Tips On Getting Your Business Featured
There are a few tips and tricks that can help you get your business on the Local Pack. It doesn’t have to be as hard or scary as it seems. Let’s look at the six best tips we found for getting your business mentioned.
Have A Google My Business Page
If you haven’t already, one of the first things you should do is make a Google My Business page. If you’re not sure if you have a business name or not, put it in the “Business Name” field.
If it’s there, you have the right to claim it. Don’t be surprised if your business already has a Google My Business account. These accounts are often made by pulling information from other online listings. You must claim the business so that everything can be checked out.
If your company’s name doesn’t show up when you type it into the business name field, make a Google My Business page. If you don’t have a website, customers won’t even know you exist. Not sure about you, but to me, that sounds like lost money.
Have A Verified Address
Your address must be checked if your business has a physical location. How else do you think people will find you? Fill out a Google My Business application to get a verification code that can be sent to your company’s store. Most of the time, this takes anywhere from three to five days.
Once you have the code, put it into your Google My Business account. You can also link all of your information through your Gmail account, which will automatically confirm your address.
Optimize Your Website For Local Search
Google says that there are three main things they look at when deciding where a site ranks locally. These are how important, close, and relevant your business is to what the user is looking for.
Because of this, your website needs to be useful and search engine-friendly. Your choice of keywords can have a big effect on this! Also, you have to make sure your business is within a certain number of miles of the person doing the search. Because you don’t have much say over where your business is, it’s important to include the address for each location.
Lastly, for your business to rank on the local pack, it needs to be pretty well-known. This can be hard for new businesses and startups, but don’t worry. If you keep going through the remaining steps, you’ll get there in the end.
Monitor Your Information
Once you are in the Google 3-Pack, you must keep an eye on the information that is shown. This is bad because other people can change your information.
They are just ideas, but they could change at any time. This can be used for things like your public name, NAP information, photos, location, business hours, and more. When anyone can change data in any way they want, it is important to keep an eye on it all the time.
Build Your Online Brand Via Social Media
It’s more important than ever to have a strong online presence. Your business is missing out on a huge audience if it doesn’t have a page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube. You might be surprised by how many people follow a business online. About 18.1 million people follow Starbucks on Instagram, while 3.12 million people follow Wendy’s on Twitter.
Because of this, it is very important to have a strong presence on social media. Even so, being on social media is not enough on its own. You need to make sure that your content is of high quality. All of the voices in your photos and videos must be clear and easy to hear.
Final Thoughts
The Google Local Three Pack is an important ranking factor for any business that wants to be visible in local search results. While there are many factors that go into ranking in the Local Three Pack, having a well-optimized Google My Business listing is critical.