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Improving Homebuilder Local Search Listings on Google

About 63 percent of consumers use the Internet to gather information about local businesses. Since there are roughly 30 million small businesses in the U.S., it is critical that small businesses achieve and maintain a solid online presence – particularly with consumers in their local area. Local businesses cater to consumers within a certain geographic area, so their websites should be always optimized for local searches.

There are numerous ways to do this. However, some of the most oft-recommended methods include:

1. Claim your local search profile. This means claiming a listing on Google Places, Yahoo! Local and Bing Local that features your business name, address and phone number. It isn’t difficult, but the search companies may require you to complete a few verification steps. Sometimes, this includes a phone call, post card or other methods of corroboration to make sure your business truly resides at that address.

2. Get reviews. At the moment, Google no longer displays reviews from third party review sites like Yelp in their local search results. However, Yahoo! still does; therefore, you should still consider third party review sites important. Plus, you want customers to review you on Google as well. Ways to increase your reviews? Ask customers for them. Telling a satisfied customer, “If you ever review businesses online, I’d sure appreciate one from you,” just may work.

Don’t ignore negative reviews. Of course, not all reviews are guaranteed to be positive. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Getting only good reviews might give users the impression that you coaxed friends into posting a slew of positive reviews, and that’s not helpful either. If a negative one comes your way, don’t despair; instead, respond to the review directly and promise to try to resolve the matter.

3. Incorporate a photo. A single photo can go a long way to making your local listing look more professional. You don’t have to hire a professional to photograph your storefront. Just snap the image yourself.

4. Include everything that matters. The point of having local listings is so that consumers can find businesses more easily and contact them immediately. But failing to include your contact information defeats the purpose of having a local listing in the first place.
Don’t make this crucial mistake; instead, include your contact information and a link to your website.

These simple steps can help any homebuilding company improve their local search listings – and in the end, help increase the possibility of selling more homes.