Table of Contents
Introduction:
I am frequently asked: How can my business appear listed in the results of the Google map (Google Local) that appears for certain searches?.
The funny thing is that this is asked “in passing”, since despite the fact that more than 40% of the searches carried out have a local focus, there are still many companies that do not include local search within their SEO efforts to obtain qualified traffic in their Webs.
Local search has been gaining more importance thanks to its presence in universal search, these Google results that are not restricted to the 10 most relevant websites to the terms searched, but also show images, news … and, if applicable, related to a business, establishment, service, etc. “Local” results are also displayed through the Google Maps service.
And how to appear there? … For all those who are starting, below I give 7 basic and practical tips so that they optimize their presence in Google Local and can start the positioning process in it.
1.-Register your company in the Local Business Center.
First thing: Take control of your presence on Google Maps by registering your company in the Local Business Center. In this way, you can ensure that the information that appears about your company is correct and you will have the possibility to optimize it.
Even if your company already has a presence even though you have not created it (which can happen since Google Maps feeds on data providers such as yellow pages sites, local directories, etc.) it is best that you edit it yourself and optimize, to avoid errors and poor positioning.
Similarly, by registering with the Local Business Center you transmit more “trust” to Google, which is a factor related to positioning, due to a large amount of spam that exists.
2.-You must have a physical presence (office, facilities, etc.) in the geographic area for which you want to position yourself.
When you register at the Local Business Center, you must indicate the location of the business. If you have a Marketing Agency in Rovaniemi and another in SEO agency in Helsinki, you will have to create both and locate them at the address where they are located in these cities.
Of course: if you want to appear for the search for “restaurant in Helsinki” you will not be able to appear with the restaurant in Barcelona that you have registered in this other location.
3.-Use relevant keywords in the title of your Business.
When registering your business in the Local Business Center, use the relevant and descriptive terms by which you want to be found in the title, which is concise and attractive to the user at the same time.
4.-Categorize your Business correctly.
The Local Business Center allows you to choose up to 5 categories to be related to your business:
select them or customize them to be those by which you want your business to be found.
5.-Get quotes or mentions from data providers.
The citations or mentions here have the role of the links in the traditional search. These provide a “reference”, a vote of “confidence” towards your business. Quotes or mentions do not necessarily include links to your website, but they must show the name of your business along with its address, telephone number, or both. Data providers are those websites that “feed” Google Maps, such as local directories, the online yellow pages, social opinion networks, and so on. that may change about country or region.
In Finland, some of the providers are:
http://www.business-yellowpages.com/finland
https://www.yenino.com/fi
https://laakariliitto.com/
Make sure you create an optimized and consistent presence, with the correct data, on all the websites that are data providers for the searches you want to rank for. To do this, perform test searches and identify the data providers that appear (usually shown at the end of the list) for searches related to your business or service.
6.-Encourage the opinions of your business.
#Hashtags are an important feature of Instagram, so you should know how to use them correctly in your publications. Be strategic with the tags you want to use. Studies and statistics show that using between 3 and 5 hashtags is optimal for this social network.
Your hashtags should represent the video or photo (don’t put irrelevant tags to reach more people). I recommend using descriptive two-word tags to represent your post. For example, #webdeveloping, #creative, #seo.
Contrary to what you might believe, using hashtags already in millions of posts reduces the chances that your photo will stand out and attract more followers. If you use more descriptive tags, your image will be seen by more people searching for specific hashtags.
7.-Use the contact page of your website as URL to register in the Local Business Center.
When registering each of your premises or companies in the Local Business Center, enter the contact page URL and not the Home Page, which could seem the most attractive and relevant.
This is especially recommended when you have multiple stores. The ideal is to create a specific contact page within your site, where the information about their address and telephone number is displayed.
The contact page will be an ideal “landing page” for your presence in Google Maps since the local data (address, telephone, etc.) has greater relevance.
With these basic tips, you can create an optimized presence in Google Local and start positioning in local searches.
EN 
FI 
SV 
ES
Thanks for the tips about keywords.