There’s More To Search Rankings Than Just A Search Engine Results Page

Recently, the team at Google put out a guide that gave a few constructive recommendations on driving local search traffic for brick and mortar businesses. In essence, the report serves as a helpful reminder that customers are running searches in all kinds of ways – not just through Google.com’s search engine.

For restaurants, in particular, Google reported that “57% of dining consumers said they discovered food and beverage information during the pandemic via online ads.” If you’ve been on the fence about advertising with Google ads, they may indeed be worth your marketing dollars.

In an additional salient insight, Google revealed that their video subsidiary, YouTube, is a powerful platform for driving local sales. YouTube videos appear in response to a user’s search whether or not they are specifically on the hunt for video content. If the content is appropriate for a user who is scoping out local businesses, it can add credibility to a brand. Similarly, Google Maps has become a one-stop shop for users looking for a particular local service. To (literally) put your business “on the map,” be sure to set up a Google My Business account.

A new service allows businesses to set up a digital storefront, a healthy complement to a Google My Business account in growing local search traffic. Adding photos and other visual content to your business page on Google Maps and Google My Business helps customers relate to you on a personal level. Plus, images tend to stay in a person’s memory longer than text.

As ever, Google is an evolving ecosystem with layered in-roads for marketers and small businesses. If you are looking to boost your local SEO capabilities, ASTRALCOM is here to help with comprehensive digital marketing services.