We all know that getting the most online exposure for your business is the name of the marketing game. But getting clients to notice you on local search results from major search engines may not be such an easy feat. Read on to find out how to make your company appear in Google’s “7 Pack.”
What Is The Google “7 Pack?”
The “7 pack” is a list of the top 7 businesses that show up on Google’s local mapped search results. So, for instance, if you were to type the words “Raleigh NC Real Estate Agent,” Google will then show a map of seven real estate agents for Raleigh, NC on the right hand side of the page, along with their contact information and mapped office location.
How Do I Increase My Chances Of Showing Up On Google Local?
There are several things you can do to show up in the “7 Pack” for more exposure. For starters, you must list your business in Google Places and have a business page on Google Plus. In addition, you must have a common NAP, or Name, Address, Phone Number. It is very important to have a consistent “NAP” when it comes to listing the same company name and contact information.
Having a presence on review and social media sites that allow you to add an address is a very good idea. Here are a few such websites:
- Bing Places for Business
- Yahoo Local Basic Listing – You can sign up for free.
- Foursquare – This is an excellent site to use since it is location based.
- Yelp (this one is very important if you want your business results to appear on “Siri”)
- CitySearch
- Yellow Pages
- Merchant Circle
If you’re wondering how to find these types of sites, just use Get Listed. This is a great tool to help you claim your business listings.
With all of these tools at your disposal, be sure that your business is not already listed as you don’t want to duplicated business listings.
Use The Following GPS Manufacturers To Round Out Your Marketing Efforts
When using listing databases, opting for the free version is just as effective when it comes to getting noticed on the “7 Pack.”
Using Reviews And Citations To Enhance Credibility
You probably already know the importance of a good online review. A citation works similarly, in that it indicates a positive reference that Google uses to validate your business. Here are a few sites that can help:
Need More Information About Google’s Local Search Results?
If you would like to learn more about what it takes to make the “7 Pack,” Google offers a great resource in this article.
In the top right corner is the Google “Contact Us” button. We highly recommend you use that feature if you are having any issues with your Google Places account. We have used their support services in the past and the folks at Google were most helpful!
Does your business appear in the seven pack?
Until our next post,
Brad
Thank you for your wisdom. Can I hire you to do this for me?
You sure can. I’ll follow up via email.