What is a Local SEO Profile? And Why Do I Need One?

Ok my friends, if you own a local business (meaning you have a physical location or a service-based business around your community) then you know how important Google My Business is to your success. After all, when you create a Google My Business profile, you increase your chances of being found when people look for your business, products, or services on Google Search and Maps.

But, what if I told you that your online success hinges on more than just Google My Business? In fact, you need to make sure your business information is consistent ALL OVER THE INTERNET. Yes, all caps for dramatic effect, but this is super important. You see, when considering your business over others, Google looks at 3 considerations:

  • Prominence

  • Proximity

  • Relevance

These are known as local search factors, and they’re insanely important. (Learn more about the search factors on Google.) For right now, let’s explore Prominence:

Prominence refers to how well-known your business is. Some places are more prominent in the offline world, like a museum or landmark hotel or well-known store chain, so they will be more prominent in local search results.

Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business from across the web (like links, articles, and directories). These different pieces of information make up your Local SEO Profile!

What is a Local SEO Profile?

It is mission critical that you have a consistent Local SEO Profile.

I want you to think of your Local SEO Profile like a dating profile. I know quite a bit about these because I’m helping one of my close family members get back out in the dating scene. When you think of a dating profile, it contains all the information you’d want a prospective suitor to see, so they can consider sending you a message (and potentially setting up a date.) You talk about yourself, your height, your build, your interests, and on and on.

Well, think about this… If you saw someone on one dating app and loved what they had to say, then you saw that same person on a different dating site with a completely profile, wouldn’t you be confused? In fact, wouldn’t you be so confused that you wouldn’t even consider messaging them because you don’t know which one is the “real” person. That’s exactly how search engines like Google work.

When Google sees your business information on a site like Google My Business, it thinks “Wow! This is a great [retail, home service, real estate] business. But if Googlebot goes to another site and sees a completely different business name or address or phone number, then it becomes confused and doesn’t want to date you as much as it once did.

Building a Local SEO Profile for Your Business

So what goes into a Local SEO profile? Well, quite a bit actually…

  • Business Name

  • Address

  • Phone Number

  • Business Description (up to 750 characters)

  • Website Link

  • Social Media Links

  • Photos/Images

  • Videos

  • Products/Services

  • Brands

  • Payment Types Accepted and more

Here’s an example of a Local SEO Profile for our Get Found Pro client, Marcellus Heath, a realtor in Jacksonville, FL.

What do I do with my Local SEO profile?

Once you build your Local SEO profile, it’s then on you to publish out that same profile all over the internet (on business directories, listing sites, and voice assistants) Examples of business directories include:

  • Google My Business

  • Apple Maps

  • Bing

  • Yelp

  • Citysearch

  • Better Business Bureau

Examples of listing sites include:

  • 2FindLocal

  • ChamberofCommerce.com

  • Dexknows

  • TripAdvisor

  • Zillow

  • Mapquest

  • MerchantCircle and more

Voice assistants include:

  • Amazon Echo (Alexa)

  • Apple’s Siri

  • Google Assistant

Expert Tip: Check to see if your Local SEO Profile is published around the web. Use our Local SEO Report.

Why do I need a Local SEO Profile?

To be bluntly honest, if you don’t have accurate and consistent information about your business published everywhere, then search engines will consider other businesses over yours. As I say, “If you confuse them, you lose them.” Where every sale matters, you simply can’t ignore your Local SEO Profile.

Need help? We’ve created Get Found Pro, an all-in-one program dedicated to helping you succeed in Local Search.

BJC