Darren Shaw Profile picture
Mar 8, 2023 β€’ 11 tweets β€’ 5 min read β€’ Read on X
🚨 Big news in local SEO: the Services section of your Google Business Profile now impacts your rankings 🀯

New research from @SterlingSkyInc shows that selecting Google's predefined services can improve rankings.

Here's how to make the most of GBP Services 🧡

#localseo #seo Image
Until now, services have NOT been a ranking factor ❌

In fact, they were the #4 local SEO myth in the 2021 Local Search Ranking Factors survey.

But, Services were still valuable because they drove more conversions and they triggered eye-catching justifications πŸ‘€ Image
However, Sterling Sky's findings reveal a new local SEO tactic for improving rankings.

In this example, prior to adding "NJ DUI Attorney" to their GBP services, this business only ranked in their immediate area.

But after, they started ranking quite well in a wider radius. Image
Here's an even more extreme example.

Previously, this business was not ranking at all for "vampire facials", a pretty obscure term πŸ§›

But when they added the predefined service that Google was suggesting, BOOM πŸ’₯ look at that huge ranking boost. Image
Here's how you can apply this new tactic:

1. Go to your Profile and click the "Edit services" button.

This will take you to the Services section.

NOTE: If you have any pending services suggested by Google, you have to edit/accept those before you see the predefined services. Image
If you choose to accept any of the pending services, you should edit them, add pricing, and add descriptions.

2. After that, you get this magic button: "Add more services".

When you click on it, you'll see all the predefined services you can add to your Profile. Image
As you add all of these to your Profile, you are potentially improving your rankings for those terms (your mileage may vary depending on the term).

Click "Save" after you've selected the ones you want, and then add descriptions to them. Image
3. For some categories, you'll have the option to add custom services.

Type in any additional services that your business provides.

The jury is still out on whether adding custom services has any impact on rankings 🀷 Image
@JoyanneHawkins and her team are currently testing custom services, so keep an eye out for their follow-up.

But hey, you might as well add custom services because they definitely help with conversions, and may even help you rank for extra terms πŸ“ˆ
I recommend checking your GBP for new suggested services weekly.

Accept/edit/remove the ones that make sense, then choose the predefined ones in each category.

Add services = cast a wider net = rank for more terms = πŸ€‘

Plus, get additional "Provides" justifications πŸ”₯
πŸ“’ Shout out and a huge thank you to @JoyanneHawkins and the team at @SterlingSkyInc for giving us a new local search strategy to add to our tool belt.

Read their full post here:
sterlingsky.ca/services-in-go…

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More from @DarrenShaw_

Aug 21, 2023
Removing negative reviews is difficult, but you can make the most of them by responding properly. Here's how:

1️⃣ Empathize with the customer.

2️⃣ Thank the customer for their feedback.

3️⃣ Take the convo offline & offer a solution.

Let's take a closer look 🧡

#seo #localseo Image
1️⃣ Take a moment to say sorry.

It is important to empathize and let your customers know that you genuinely care about their experiences.

Remember, you're not only writing this response for the person that left the review, but also for potential customers reading your reviews. Image
2️⃣ Thank your customers.

Don’t forget to sincerely thank your customers for taking the time to write a review. This is a great way to establish a sense of trust and rapport with them. Image
Read 6 tweets
Jun 21, 2023
The master of link building @joncooperatx just dropped a clinic on how to get awesome local links πŸ‘€

Here are the main takeaways from his article 🧡

#localseo #seo #linkbuilding #links
1. Find out who's dominating your industry in the big cities.

Businesses that rank well organically in big cities are great to study because they have a LOT of competition.

Therefore, they have good links for you to analyze and learn from.
2. Get their link data from Ahrefs (or similar software) and export it into a spreadsheet.

Jon has some great guidance on how to format this sheet in his post (see the last tweet in this thread).
Read 13 tweets
May 25, 2023
The call data in your GBP Performance section is wrong.

Google only records calls when people tap the call button on mobile. Desktop calls aren't captured.

Solve this problem by using a call tracking number on your GBP.

Here's what you need to know 🧡

#localseo #seo Image
A call tracking number is a unique phone number that you can use on your GBP (or on any marketing campaigns).

It lets you see various metrics:
πŸ”Έ source (GBP, Ads, website, etc.)
πŸ”Έ caller's location
πŸ”Έ time of the call
πŸ”Έ duration of the call
Depending on your industry, calls may be the primary form of lead generation for your business.

As Google is trying to keep users on search result pages, tracking calls from your GBP is super valuable.

There's plenty of call-tracking software. We use @CallRail at @whitespark.
Read 8 tweets
May 18, 2023
Everyone knows that title tags are important for SEO, but I still see so many people doing them wrong.

Here are my tips for crafting the perfect title tag for local SEO 🧡

One of them is particularly controversial 🧐

#localseo #seo
Just in case you're not sure, title tags are the blue, clickable links that appear in the search results.

They are not the same as your headings. They are defined in the HTML source code of your website.

Most website platforms allow you to edit them for SEO. Image
If you put your mouse over your browser's tab, the title tag will show up.

It breaks my heart when I see a title tag that just says "Home" because for small businesses, the home page is the most important page to optimize. Image
Read 13 tweets
May 9, 2023
Google doesn't let you add or change the social media links on your Google Business Profile, but there are some sneaky ways to make it happen.

Here's how to do it 🧡

#localseo #seo Image
1. Add your socials to your website 🌐

The number one place that Google looks to make these connections is your website, so place the links in either the header or the footer.

πŸ”₯Tip: If you're linking with icons, add descriptive text to the alt attribute of the image ⬇️ Image
2. Add same-as schema markup to your GBP landing page.

Use a schema markup generator to create local business schema, and add a same-as link for each of your social media profiles.

I love @maxxeight's schema generator:
Read 8 tweets
May 4, 2023
Here's an incredibly powerful local SEO strategy that can get you local rankings around your entire city for your most valuable keyword πŸ’₯

It's a major competitive advantage because hardly anyone is doing this.

I'll break it down for you 🧡

#localseo #seo Image
I found a business that was ranking very well for "Invisalign" in a wide radius (see map in previous tweet), even though their Google Business Profile was hot garbage.

πŸ”Έ No reviews
πŸ”Έ Wrong primary category
πŸ”Έ No additional categories
πŸ”Έ No services
πŸ”Έ No keywords in biz name
So what's the deal? How are they ranking so well?

The deal, folks, is their website.

Almost every page, title, header, and paragraph had to do with their primary target keyword: INVISALIGN Image
Read 27 tweets

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