Location, location, location… the one thing that’s tough to change about a business, for better or worse! According to a 2021 survey, your Google Business Profile listing accounts for up to 25% of your local ranking in Google search. And your physical address plays a huge part in that.

For example, if you’re located in a suburb for a city-specific search, it can be more challenging to rank well. Out of town customers looking for flowers may search “flower Columbus Ohio” rather than “flowers Bexley Ohio”. Even if they know the recipient address is Bexley, they associate it with Columbus and are likely to search citywide.

Google has made some changes recently that widen the scope of search results shown, but if you want to pop up on the Google Maps Pack or first page, focus first on improving your ranking in your specific town or suburb.

The good news is that Google values proximity to the local searcher. Google reported in 2021 that there has been a 500% increase in “near me” searches. So if you’re in a populated area you may have more SEO competition, but you’re also more likely to to pop up in proximity searches.

So how can you move to the top of your in-town search results?

All the strategies covered in this series - usability, content, and keywords - are going to make a difference. But there are a few things you can do to really highlight your location.

1) Partner with other small business buddies to collaborate on a “local favorites” list, with everyone linking to and from each other sites. Surely you have a favorite cafe, antique store, or shoe store in your neighborhood? Do they have high quality websites? Create a “Our [town name] pick” list on your website with active links to each of the businesses, and back to yours. Don’t include their address or confusing keywords, but give a review of their customer service or small business heart.

2) Create a page or blog post series showcasing your town - the one your physical address is in. What is your favorite thing about it, or a fun activity you enjoy? Writing a blog series showcasing your location is an easy way to naturally include location specific keywords in long form content without “padding” it so much that Google flags you for keyword stuffing.

3) Name a few products after your location. Using the Ohio example - the “Bexley Bouquet” could have a product description talking about Bexley, and flowers, and delivery. Or the “Bexley Gift Box” could include a collection of locally made products or gifts cards - plus some goodies from your store of course.

How can you optimize your site for delivery areas outside your physical zip code??

Whether you are rural or in the middle of the suburban jungle, this is applicable to you if you deliver. Remember - Google will rank your shop higher for searches done in your town/zipcode because that’s where your map location is. Outside of opening a second location in another town, there’s nothing you can do about that. But if you want to pop up a little higher in the results list in searches done for surrounding towns, you need to be intentional about including those towns into your website in various ways.

There are a few ways to do this, and I’m going to share two ideas with you.

1) Add a page to your site called "delivery areas" or "service areas" - something to that effect. List out each town that you deliver to, a fun fact about that town and a full paragraph description of some products and services you provide to each town. If you can add some links to those products that would be great! Don't copy/paste town description content or it's going to hurt you.

2) Make a blog post or a page for each town serviced. If you’re adding pages I'd have "delivery areas" or whatever you choose to title it as a top or side bar navigation menu item, with dropdown options. Just like you would for “occasions”. So let's say you hover over "delivery areas" and it displays 8 towns. Each town would have its own page.

Otherwise, just plug away at writing a short blog post about each town. Make a list of the towns you want to feature and when you get back from delivering there, write about your day. You can write a description about each town, what products and services you provide to that town, and link to the top 3 most popular website products that the town of "____" loves to order for delivery. Maybe you frequent a wedding venue in that town and you write a few posts featuring them and include photos of the florals you provided at that location.

3) Focus on getting specific reviews from customers that have ordered a delivery made to that town. You may have to chase these down but it'll be worth it. Just let them know that you are working on your SEO as a small local business and you’d appreciate honest feedback including the name of the town delivered to. For example, “I ordered flowers to be delivered to my mom in Bexley and they were beautiful”. You cannot pay for reviews or offer incentives, but I find that being upfront about trying to make my small business more “findable” for future customers is pretty well received, especially by returning customers that I already have a good relationship with. Of course, make sure that review is going to be positive by knocking it out of the park - and sending a genuine thank you note via email.

Think of your search engine optimization strategy as being several parts that make a whole. You want your customers to be able to find you easily, and then use your website easily. Making adjustments to your site flow, content and keywords can all move you toward your goal of being easily found - plus they make your site shoppable and more enjoyable for your customers.

Your action task this week is to pick one area of your SEO strategy and make a plan to improve it. (If you haven’t optimized your Google Profile yet, start here (Google profile checklist.) Need help knowing where to begin or making a plan? A website and SEO is a large part of my marketing audit services.