Take A Deep Dive Into Google’s Local Pack
Can you imagine your local grocery store beating Walmart at anything? Of course not. Walmart is huge. It is a grocery GIANT. How can that small family-owned local grocery store win over an international big shot like Walmart? It can. In the search engine space.
Sounds impossible? It is not with the Local Pack.
When was the last time you picked up the Yellow Pages to look for a local business? Eons ago? Probably.
Customers now turn to search engines when looking for anything—even local businesses.
Need a plumber? Google. Electrician? Google. Florist for grandma’s birthday? Google.
And Google, the user pleaser that it is, does the job perfectly.
It effectively connects local customers with the businesses they need using the Local Pack, also known as the Map Pack.
And the Local Pack is exactly where your local grocery store can beat Walmart. If it manages to play its cards right.
Unpacking the Local Pack
Simply put, Local Pack is Google’s version of Yellow Pages. But, unlike those scrappy pages, the Local Pack is more than just a business listing. Yes, it gives users the information they need to contact a business. But for local businesses, the Local Pack can be a game changer.
How?
Local Pack Increases Local Visibility
If you run a service-based business or have a brick-and-mortar store, you want exposure to people who can actually engage with your business.
Gaining visibility with a customer base on the West Coast will be of little benefit when you are running, say, a roofing business in NJ. No one will come all the way across to NJ to buy your roofing services.
Safe to assume, you wouldn’t be too eager to drive all the way to the West Coast to serve a client either.
The Local Pack helps your business gain online visibility with the locals. It helps your business get to people who are not just interested in what you have to offer but are also close enough to actually drop by and get it from you.
Local Pack Brings More Foot Traffic
There’s this guy Jim. Jim is craving some sushi so he plans to take himself out for a sushi dinner.
But there’s a problem. He doesn’t know whether there is a sushi place in his area.
Jim happens to be a smart guy. He quickly jumps on Google and types “Sushi near me”. Google, matching Jim’s enthusiasm, brings up three sushi restaurants in his vicinity with all the information he might need presented in a neat little box.
Now, do you think Jim will go to one of the restaurants presented in the box or spend time looking for a different restaurant that he is not even sure exists?
He will go to one of the restaurants he found on Google.
This is how the Local Pack helps local businesses gain more foot traffic. It connects them with people in search of a nearby service, helping them bring more customers in the door.
Local Pack Helps Build Customer Trust
Securing a spot in the Local Pack helps your business reinforce its reputation and build the trust that drives sales.
Think about it yourself. Who will you trust more, a business you came across on Google’s Local Pack or one that you have never seen before? If all else is kept equal, you will most likely go to the one you saw in the Local Pack.
A business that appears in the Local Pack simply looks more reliable. And when you pair this inherent trust with the reviews Google features? That just gives unmatched reassurance to the customers.
Better Conversion Rates, More Sales
Increase exposure with an interested audience? Check.
Reinforced trust? Check.
Information on how to connect with the business? Double check.
The Local Pack has all the features your business needs to maximize its sales potential. So finding a spot here can promise increased sales and of course, better profit.
And speaking of its features, the Local Pack has many.
What’s In the Local Pack?
You want your business to appear in the Local Pack. Of course, you do. Who doesn’t? But before you can try and get your foot in the door here, you must understand all the Local Pack’s features so you can go in prepared to seize every opportunity that the Local Pack has to offer.
The Local Pack presents the three most relevant businesses along with some details using features like:
Business Information
The business information includes your typical details like the business name, address, contact number, a small description of the business (e.g. Mexican Restaurant or Plumbing Service), and the kind of service you offer, i.e. dine-in, takeout, curbside pickup.
This is your typical Yellow Pages stuff.
But Google doesn’t stop here. It takes it a step further and includes:
Map Display
Right next to the business information is a map from Google Maps. This map shows the pin location of each business that appears in the Local Pack. You can zoom in to see how close a business is to you or tap on the map to go to Google Maps and get directions.
Ratings and Reviews
This.
This is where it starts to get oh-so-better for local businesses.
The Local Pack features star ratings and reviews that appear right below the business’s name. Star ratings help customers decide if a business is worth their money.
And this is where you need to bring your A-game and shine.
The more good reviews a business has, the better, as customers will be more likely to shop with businesses that have a good reputation.
Local Ads
This is the latest addition to the Local Pack. Google recently introduced Local Ads. These ads show one business listing and appear above the rest of the options in the Local Pack.
The sponsored local business listing has all the same features. The only difference is, it appears with a little “sponsored” tag at the top.
Business Photos
The Local Pack displays photos when a visual look at the business may help the customer’s decision-making. So, you may find photos of local businesses like grocery stores, restaurants, florists, etc.
These are some of the features that appear in the Local Pack. Clicking on one of the listings on the Local Pack can reveal some more features like:
Website Link
This is what helps drive web traffic. After clicking on your business’s listing in the Local Pack, the users can then jump on to your website to learn more about your service and see how awesome your business really is.
So, appearing in the Local Pack does not only help you gain exposure. If you manage to nail it with your listing in the Map Pack, you might also get more traffic on your website.
Call-to-action or CTA Buttons
The Local Pack has all the features to help you drive more sales.
Besides letting you share what good things people have to say about your service in the reviews section, Local Pack also removes the friction between a customer learning about your business and then engaging with it by featuring some very convenient CTA buttons in the listings.
Google might give a nice CTA button to some business types right there in the Local Pack but for most businesses, CTA buttons appear when someone clicks on one of the Local Pack Listings. These buttons may prompt for any action depending on the type of business. For example, if you run a restaurant, the customers may find CTA buttons for directions, making a reservation, or calling.
Customer Reviews
The Local Pack features reviews and ratings, but that only tells the customers how many reviews you have and how the customers rate your business out of five.
If someone clicks on your Local Pack listing, they can find detailed comments from customers who have engaged with you.
This can be a make-or-break section, as good reviews can help you bring in more customers and bad ones can drive them away.
Service List
Google also allows you to tell the customers about the services you offer right from your local listing. The services tab appears at the top of the listing when someone clicks on your business in the Local Pack.
This section is where you can hone in on a lead and turn it from a cold lead into a hot lead and then eventually a customer.
Updates
The Google’s Local feed.
This is where businesses can engage with their customers and share cool new updates, exciting deals, and discounts, or behind the scenes of what’s happening during the day-to-day of your business.
The updates tab also appears in the top menu after someone clicks on your business from the Local Pack. This is an exciting space for you to tap into and show your customers you are a well-managed business that stays active and will respond to them promptly.
The Local Pack sure has some cool features but…
How Do You Secure A Spot Here?
Increased trust. Better visibility. More Sales. Who wouldn’t want to get in the Local Pack?
Google’s algorithm for the Local Pack is different from its algorithm for general searches. For the Local Pack, Google considers relevance, prominence, and distance as ranking factors. So, getting in may require a strategy that is a bit different from your typical SEO.
If your business is relevant to the searcher, in their vicinity, and well-reputed enough, you might win Google’s favor and find a spot in the Local Pack.
But before that, you will have to make sure your business is listed in Google’s directory. And for that, you will have to create your Google Business Profile.
If your business already exists on Google’s directories, you might want to claim it to make sure all the information that Google may display in the Map Pack is accurate and set to drive the impact you hope for (more visibility and leads).
As you are claiming or creating your Google Business Profile, make sure to include all the information and keep it as accurate as you can.
If you manage to do all of this tedious and time-consuming work, you may find a spot in the coveted Local Pack.
But why stop at the Local Pack when you can do so much more with local visibility?
Moving beyond the Local Pack and optimizing your online presence for local searches can help you gain a better, more meaningful edge and experience unprecedented success. You can become that local big shot who all other local businesses look up to and whose success they want to replicate.
But you will need a dedicated local SEO strategy for that.
Now, many people will tell you to just wing it and DIY your local SEO. But SEO is confusing, hard, and time-consuming. It can pull you in and snag all your time and attention so you have little left to spend on other areas of your business.
So instead of wearing another hat on top of all those you already wear, it might be better to just hire a local SEO expert near me and let experts do their job so you can do what you do best – focus on growing your business.
Landau Consulting, a New Jersey SEO agency near me, helps local businesses build a strong online presence and gain visibility with local and relevant audiences. With a team of SEO, content, and web development experts, Landau Consulting offers everything you need to transform your web presence and boost it to drive traffic and bring in more customers for your service-based or brick-and-mortar business.
You can learn more about Landau Consulting and its services at https://landauconsulting.com/ or reach out to them directly at https://landauconsulting.com/contact/. Enjoyed reading this infographic? Find more like this here: https://landauconsulting.com/blog.