Google local search queries are on the rise. As life and business pressure increase, the demand for local products and services goes up, as well. Frankly, nobody affords to wait until they receive a product they need or contract a service. While for individuals waiting is inconvenient, for businesses it is a strategic error. This is why B2B businesses need to be found with Google local searches.
What Kind of B2B Businesses Are Best Suited for Local Search Ranking?
Of course, not all B2B businesses are likely to benefit from local search ranking. If you offer specialised digital services or you serve a specific niche on the market, you want to find as many prospects as you can, irrespective of their location.
However, some companies that supply products and services to corporate clients are most likely to find customers close to their headquarters. These businesses are:
- Catering services
- Car rental/fleet management companies
- Cleaning services
- Professional services, such as: accounting, real estate, consultancy, maintenance, and repair services.
For these companies, the closer they are located to their prospects, the more likely they are to choose their services.
These being said, how can B2B businesses rank on Google’s local search results?
1. Get Your Google My Business Account
Google My Business is the zero starting point for ranking in local searches. This is the first place Google spiders checks to match your business address with a user’s location. This business listing created by Google is extremely rich in business categories, so you are most likely to find yours.
At present, out of all 2,395 business categories on Google My Business, half of them (1,270) are for B2B businesses. As a helpful tip, if your company is active in different categories (such as accountancy, audit and tax consultancy) you should create a listing for each category.
2. Make Your Full Contact Details Visible On Your Website
Up to the present, best practices stated that you should add your email and phone number on every page of your website. This allows prospects to contact you if they need further clarifications or want to schedule a meeting.
If you want to rank in Google local search results, you should also add your full business name and address to the other contact details. As Google spiders try to pinpoint your exact location, these details are very useful to get you on the top of search results on your local area.
3. Create Google Posts
Google Posts are available on your Google My Business profile. These are short and informative articles about your business: latest news, important announcements, etc. Google Posts must not be stuffed with keywords and salesy.
The exact specifications for Google Posts are:
- 58 characters for the title
- 1,500 characters for the title.
The first 100 characters of the posts are visible in previews, so this is where you should include the most useful and interesting details. The most popular types of content to share as Google Posts are:
- Announcements of upcoming events
- CSR news (donations to charities, participation at community activities)
- Mergers and acquisitions
- Opening new offices.
4. Ask Your Loyal Clients to Leave Reviews
Reviews and testimonials are everything in the B2B world. A corporate buyer will try to find peer reviews or other types of confirmation about your professionalism and expertise. In Google My Business, the reviews are displayed next to your profile, as well as the ranking your clients give your business.
Thus, you should encourage your most valued customers to leave reviews on your profile. For example, you should add your GMB link to your email address and to other types of electronic communication you have with your clients.
5. Add Your NAP Details on Local Business Directories
NAP (name, address and phone) are the key data Google needs to select your business as the best match for a user’s search intent and location. Apart from all the other ways in which you can confirm your business address, you should get listed on as many local business directories as possible.
Citations – your business name and contact details on other websites – are among the first sources of information for Google local search results. To make sure these citations are accurate, you should periodically review and update all these listings.