Business Name + City Name and Keyword in Google Maps Listing

[silverweb]

Hi, I hope you all are doing well.

I have a couple of questions that I am trying to figure out. One of the clients has a business called "AW Furnishing," and they want to rank at the top of Google Maps.

I just realized their business name doesn't include any keywords like "blinds" or "curtains." They do have a dedicated service location page for that area, but they are not targeting anything on the home page that I think makes sense as they have dedicated pages for each location but want to rank for one location for now.


The questions are:

Since other competitors are using "blinds" + the city name with the business name, should I also go ahead and add "city name" + "blinds" to the business name like this: "AW Furnishing Blinds Melbourne"?

-: We linked their dedicated location page to their map listing a few days ago. Should I wait to see any changes in the ranking?

-: When it comes to building citations, should I use their location page instead of the homepage?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Hi @silverweb! Here in the United States, you can register an alternate or alias business name, commonly referred to as a DBA (Doing Business As), in my state of Tennessee it is called a Fictitious Name. In the States, registering a DBA is normally very inexpensive, under $100. In Australia it looks like they "were" referred to as a Trading Name. Doing a quick google search, it seems that Australia is doing away with Trading Names and now requires you to register all variations of a business name, article here.

Depending on the level of competition in your cities, especially on the Local Pack, it could be extremely beneficial to include the city and the word "blinds" in the GBP name but I'd strongly encourage you to register that alternate name to satisfy Google's guidelines. We've used registered alternate/alias names for several years and they have been very impactful to our client's overall SEO strategies.

Regarding your GBP and the dedicated location pages, that is definitely best practice. Just make sure you have unique, helpful and optimized content for each city, here are a couple great tutorials by @JoyHawkins and @Claire Carlile :

How to Create Unique and Helpful Service Area Pages for Local Businesses - Sterling Sky Inc

This blog piece is for the local businesses out there who have trouble getting traffic to their service area pages or looking to make them rank higher for location-specific searches. Take these tips and apply them to your most important service area pages and test the impact.

www.sterlingsky.ca

How to Optimize Location Pages

Want to create powerful, SEO-optimized location pages for your website? Then look no further!

academy.brightlocal.com

I would also use the location pages for your citation building.

Lastly, Joy recently posted a great short and helpful Youtube video about the impact of using alternate/alias names.

 

[silverweb]

Hi @silverweb! Here in the United States, you can register an alternate or alias business name, commonly referred to as a DBA (Doing Business As), in my state of Tennessee it is called a Fictitious Name. In the States, registering a DBA is normally very inexpensive, under $100. In Australia it looks like they "were" referred to as a Trading Name. Doing a quick google search, it seems that Australia is doing away with Trading Names and now requires you to register all variations of a business name, article here.

Depending on the level of competition in your cities, especially on the Local Pack, it could be extremely beneficial to include the city and the word "blinds" in the GBP name but I'd strongly encourage you to register that alternate name to satisfy Google's guidelines. We've used registered alternate/alias names for several years and they have been very impactful to our client's overall SEO strategies.

Regarding your GBP and the dedicated location pages, that is definitely best practice. Just make sure you have unique, helpful and optimized content for each city, here are a couple great tutorials by @JoyHawkins and @Claire Carlile :

How to Create Unique and Helpful Service Area Pages for Local Businesses - Sterling Sky Inc

This blog piece is for the local businesses out there who have trouble getting traffic to their service area pages or looking to make them rank higher for location-specific searches. Take these tips and apply them to your most important service area pages and test the impact.

www.sterlingsky.ca

How to Optimize Location Pages

Want to create powerful, SEO-optimized location pages for your website? Then look no further!

academy.brightlocal.com

I would also use the location pages for your citation building.

Lastly, Joy recently posted a great short and helpful Youtube video about the impact of using alternate/alias names.

Thank you so much @JeffClevelandTN

Appreciate your detailed response and the resources you provided. I really like reading @JoyHawkins articles.

And thanks for the solution to registering an alternative business name. Since my client has one business location, should I ask him to register for e.g. AW Furnishing - Curtains & Blinds + city name?

Once it is approved, it would be secure to use in GMB as a business name?

Thanks again

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

And thanks for the solution to registering an alternative business name. Since my client has one business location, should I ask him to register for e.g. AW Furnishing - Curtains & Blinds + city name?

Once it is approved, it would be secure to use in GMB as a business name?

You are most welcome! Yes, to both questions. You might want to consider removing the "-", I try to steer clear of GBP/GMB names that give the appearance of being keyword stuffed. I personally think that "AW Furnishing Curtains & Blinds Melbourne" w/o the hyphen looks more natural. My rule of thumb is how would that name look on business signage. Again, that is my personal preference.

If you have time and think about it, please report back how the business ranks on the map pack after the changes. If you aren't using one yet, I'd suggest using a map ranking tool, often call a grid reporting tool. We use Brightlocal and many others on this forum use Places Scout.

Good luck!

 

[silverweb]

Thank you, my friend.

I also prefer not to have "-" in the business name. I'll go with your suggestion.

Sure, I'll keep posting about the changes in rankings after the change. I also use Bright Local's grid reporting tool.

Will try out Places Scout too.

 

[silverweb]

You are most welcome! Yes, to both questions. You might want to consider removing the "-", I try to steer clear of GBP/GMB names that give the appearance of being keyword stuffed. I personally think that "AW Furnishing Curtains & Blinds Melbourne" w/o the hyphen looks more natural. My rule of thumb is how would that name look on business signage. Again, that is my personal preference.

If you have time and think about it, please report back how the business ranks on the map pack after the changes. If you aren't using one yet, I'd suggest using a map ranking tool, often call a grid reporting tool. We use Brightlocal and many others on this forum use Places Scout.

Good luck!

@JeffClevelandTN Hey my friend,
I hope you are doing great. Just wanted to let you know I had one more client who runs a driving school business. He wanted to rank higher on the map with the terms "driving school Darwin" and "driving lessons Darwin." He has the keyword "driving school" in the business name, "1 aa driving school." I got his site designed and added keywords in the title tag, and in the content, and embedded a map on the Contact Us page. However, he was missing "Darwin" in the Map Listing, while the competitors had it.


Then I told him to register a business name, "1 aa driving school Darwin," with the city name as you suggested. Once the site launched, we added the city name to the business name. Guess what? "Driving School Darwin," which was in 6th place, went up to the 1st position overnight. A client told me it's in the number 2 spot in some places. And "driving lessons Darwin," which was not anywhere, is now number 2 on the maps. That is amazing to know, isn't it? We haven't done this for the blinds site, and I am definitely following the same approach. I'll keep you updated. I thank you for teaching me this method. "

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

@silverweb, thanks for providing your success feedback. Glad it worked for your client!

BTW, that would be a little bit of a spammy name here in the USA "1 AA Driving School". Just curious how did they decide upon that name? Was it a legacy business name when the phone book was their primary source of referrals?

 

[silverweb]

@silverweb, thanks for providing your success feedback. Glad it worked for your client!

BTW, that would be a little bit of a spammy name here in the USA "1 AA Driving School". Just curious how did they decide upon that name? Was it a legacy business name when the phone book was their primary source of referrals?

Hi @JeffClevelandTN,

Thanks for the reply.

The actual name is "1st Attempt Driving School." I avoided mentioning the real business name. I have no idea how they came up with that name. They came to me two weeks ago. When I looked at their profile, I found that they were using the website "fadriving.com," which was half-built and not attractive at all. I thought it would not be good for them to use this site, so I told them to buy a new domain identical to their business name.

The website was designed, optimized, and linked to GMB. Since they have 270 reviews on Google, I am sure a mixture of factors worked for them.

I don't think it is a legacy business name. It might have been attractive to them, which is why they chose that name.

Thanks again, I'll follow the same approach for the blinds site and will keep you posted on how I go.

 

[silverweb]

Hey @JeffClevelandTN,

I hope you are doing great!

I just wanted to let you know that I made changes to the blinds business name, from "AW Furnishing" to "AW Furnishing Curtains & Blinds Hoppers Crossing" on the 3rd of Oct. My friend told me that his business moved from #16 to #3 or #4 in local map packs in just a day. That's amazing. Thanks again for the solution.

Since everyone wants to be number 1 in the local pack, he wants to get up there too. Should I start building local citations for his linked location service page? Will that be good enough to make him number 1?

I also noticed he hasn't added the "started" date of his business in GMB. The business is not that old; will it make any difference? Regarding schema markups, I did that through GTM for his location page. Is there any other way to add that to the site? Should it be different on every page?

Looking forward to your comments.

Thank you so much.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

Thanks for sharing the update, I'm glad it has improved so significantly. I would highly suggest using a ranking tool, that is often called a "local grid report". There are several options from different vendors. I personally use Brightlocal's tool, but many other users on this forum recommend Places Scout and Local Falcon. Brightlocal has a free trial and the others might too.

These tools will show how a business ranks over a geographic area that you specify in distance increments. Your map ranking can change significantly for someone searching a mile/kilometer from the business when compared to another search just 1/2 mile or kilometer further away.

There are many factors that affect how a GBP will rank on the local pack. The most significant factor is typically the distance from where the search is being done. Obviously, if a person searches for "blinds" a block away from a business that sells/installs blinds, that business will probably rank very highly on the local pack.

However, there are a number of other import factors. I would now suggest focusing on fully optimizing your GBP, here are two excellent resources (thanks to @JoyHawkins and @Claire Carlile).

Google Business Profile with Joy Hawkins | Local Search Clinic

Join this month’s Local Search Clinic with host Claire Carlile and guest Joy Hawkins to answer your questions on Google Business Profile.

www.brightlocal.com

Do Services in Google Business Profiles Impact Ranking? - Sterling Sky Inc

Wondering if the services menu in Google My Business impacts ranking? Does adding services to a Google My Business listing increase ranking for keywords related to the service? See what we found when testing this on a couple different business listings.

www.sterlingsky.ca

The 2nd link about adding the proper "pre-defined" services to your GBP can potentially have a huge impact.

I would not dismiss working on your citations, but try optimizing your GBP first and measure how impactful those changes are by using a grid reporting tool. If you decide to go the citations route, be sure to look at Brightlocal and Whitespark.

Cheers!

 

[silverweb]

thank you @JeffClevelandTN for the resources.

Do custom services also make an impact?

Is there a way to see your competitor's services?

Cheers

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

You are welcome! There haven't been any major case studies, that I'm aware of, that demonstrate how/if custom services impact ranking. However, anecdotally, we've seen that they can be a signaling factor and worst case, they would not hurt your ranking. Please take a look at this thread with info posted by another forum member @JS Girard: Custom services as ranking signal | Google Business Profile (GBP) & Google Maps

We use the GMB Everywhere plugin for analyzing GBP profiles. You may be able to get by with their free version, registration required, if you are only needing to look at one or two competitors.

 

[silverweb]

Hey @JeffClevelandTN

I hope you are doing great.

I added the city name to my 'curtains' client's business name, and we registered that as a trade name here in Australia. The rankings for 'blinds Hoppers Crossing' jumped right after doing this. 'Curtains Hoppers Crossing' moved to #5, and 'Blinds Hoppers Crossing' is around 12.

The one thing I forgot to mention is that there are two businesses in one building; please see the image and address. The second one is my client's, and the other one belongs to his friend.

They both were using 'blinds shop' as the primary category, but I changed it to 'curtains shop' for my client's two days ago to avoid filtering. Since his friend's profile is not well-optimized, they are still ranking above him. Do you think Google is filtering it? Is it hurting our rankings?

Even though I've linked a dedicated landing location page, added UTM code tracking, introduced additional categories, and built strong citations for that page, do you think our efforts are benefiting his friend's business too?

What more could I do to push him to the top and avoid filtering? Should I wait for a few more days? Also, does the age of the Google Business Profile make a difference as there are some businesses without any reviews and websites linked to their profiles are ranking higher?

Sorry to ask you a lot of questions. Looking forward to your valuable comments.

Thanks

 

[silverweb]

Hey @JeffClevelandTN

I hope you are doing great.

I added the city name to my 'curtains' client's business name, and we registered that as a trade name here in Australia. The rankings for 'blinds Hoppers Crossing' jumped right after doing this. 'Curtains Hoppers Crossing' moved to #5, and 'Blinds Hoppers Crossing' is around 12.

The one thing I forgot to mention is that there are two businesses in one building; please see the image and address. The second one is my client's, and the other one belongs to his friend.

They both were using 'blinds shop' as the primary category, but I changed it to 'curtains shop' for my client's two days ago to avoid filtering. Since his friend's profile is not well-optimized, they are still ranking above him. Do you think Google is filtering it? Is it hurting our rankings?

Even though I've linked a dedicated landing location page, added UTM code tracking, introduced additional categories, and built strong citations for that page, do you think our efforts are benefiting his friend's business too?

What more could I do to push him to the top and avoid filtering? Should I wait for a few more days? Also, does the age of the Google Business Profile make a difference as there are some businesses without any reviews and websites linked to their profiles are ranking higher?

Sorry to ask you a lot of questions. Looking forward to your valuable comments.

Thanks

@Colan Nielsen @JoyHawkins

Hi guys,

I hope you are doing great!

can you please give me any insights on this?

Would appreciate your comments

Thanks

 

[JoyHawkins]

They both were using 'blinds shop' as the primary category, but I changed it to 'curtains shop' for my client's two days ago to avoid filtering. Since his friend's profile is not well-optimized, they are still ranking above him. Do you think Google is filtering it? Is it hurting our rankings?

I'm not sure if changing the category would help here but it's worth a shot. To avoid the filter, you really don't want to be in the same building as a competitor. Even if you manage to become unfiltered, another algorithm could put you right back to where you were before. Is this a storefront or a service area business?

 

[silverweb]

Thanks, @JoyHawkins.

It's a storefront. The other company is not optimizing their GBP, website, and other factors, yet they still outrank us.

Additionally, there is another listing that ranks #2 in maps without a verified listing and no reviews which is bothering me but thats on different address.

So, could changing the address be the solution?

Thanks

 

[silverweb]

Hi @JoyHawkins @Colan Nielsen @JeffClevelandTN

I also learned that my client's business was verified without any additional verification. Since the other company already had a listing, when my client registered their profile on GBP, it got verified automatically.

They removed the '2' from '12 XXX St,' thinking that it would help them avoid the filter.

Can we try adding the same address, '2/12 XXX St,' to my client's listing and see if that makes any difference?

 

[JoyHawkins]

The filter has nothing to do with the address, it has to do with the pin location. If moving the business is an option, that is the best permanent long-term solution.

 

[JeffClevelandTN]

What more could I do to push him to the top and avoid filtering? Should I wait for a few more days? Also, does the age of the Google Business Profile make a difference as there are some businesses without any reviews and websites linked to their profiles are ranking higher?

In regards to your question about the age of the GBP and/or the age of the business itself, yes it can contribute significantly to the visibility. I've seen many times where even an unclaimed GBP that belongs to a business that has been around many years longer will outrank another GBP that is well optimized. For example, if there is a blinds business that has been around for 30 years and has great local brand recognition and awareness, many people will be searching for that business by name and that is a relevancy factor. Additionally, a business having been around much longer, will also most likely have a significantly higher amount true organic citations/backlinks.

 

[silverweb]

Great to hear from you, @JeffClevelandTN.

Yeah, I feel the same. They don't have any reviews, no linked website, or other optimizations. They also haven't claimed the GBP (Google Business Profile).

How long do you think I should wait after making the changes in GBP to see the impact?

I've done an audit through Bright Local, which tells me to add a physical address on the Contact Us page. However, I've already added the address on the Contact Us page and other landing pages linked to GBP.

What is the best way to add the map to the page?

Do you think adding a Google Maps API could make a difference?

Cheers.