The Most Important Thing You Can Do to Show up in Search Results

More Important than a Website

I create websites for a living and I love it, but when someone asks me what the most important thing to do to get your business to show up in search results is, my answer isn’t to create a website. Your number one priority should be to claim and complete all of your local listings.

Don’t get me wrong, a website is crucial to your online presence, but if you don’t have a Google My Business page these days, you might as well forget showing up in search results. That’s because when people search for any kind of local business, like hair salon, restaurant, or attorney, the first 3 search results from Google are pulled from the Google My Business pages. If you don’t have a page, you can’t be at the top, period.

Google My Business is Just the First Step

Just having a Google My Business page, isn’t all you need to get your business in the search results, though. Once you’re in that 3-pack of results the first thing people notice is your reviews. It’s hard to say how much influence Google gives these reviews, but the more you have, the more likely you are to be near the top.  If your business has a lot of competition, reviews make your business stand out.

A Google My Business page isn’t the only thing that you need to show up in the search results, but it’s an important part of a very large puzzle. You can’t finish if you don’t have all the pieces!

If you want to learn more, read this article by Rebecca Gill of Web Savvy Marketing on the “Benefits of Customer Reviews you can’t Ignore.” It’s well worth your time. While you’re there, check out some of the other great blog posts about SEO and Marketing.