Priority?

[Digitaldar]

I am aiming to have a client be top of Google Maps for each service they offer.
They are in a suburb of a main city and would target individuals in that suburb, so that makes it slightly less competitive although there are a gazillion similar service providers around them
I have explained it to them as "you need to aim to be better than all competitors in all columns of this report" (I am using BrightLocal as a tool to guide us).

• Client will reach ideal photo count within a week or two
• Client is slowly getting more reviews; we talked about baking it into the overall process of doing business so this should help in the long run. Client is responding to reviews
• I identified a couple of relevant local sites with dofollow links and had the client reach out to be interviewed/listed by these sites; we talked about constantly looking for linking opportunities - vendors, service providers, colleagues, partners, etc. I will reiterate this on monthly calls so that it is always in the back of their mind --> goal here is to always be improving domain authority, which we cannot do overnight
• I have been working on citations - my original guide was to use BrightLocal key citations as a guide but I think I will now branch out and use the BrightLocal and Whitespark guides for Canadian citations. I did also engage Loganix to build several citations (and get them indexed).
• In addition to maps, we are working on content to help rank in the non map section of Google as well
• I added a question to GBP

It's been about 5-6 weeks since we started and so far I saw (for the first service) us go from greater than position 20 to position 1 to position 16. The other services haven't budged yet

Would your next steps (as the consultant) be:

• patience
• citations
• seed questions on GBP
• Add schema to the site
• Add FAQ to service pages
• ?

My service does not involve link building although I did do a link intersect and identified two local sites; I will continue to provide guidance on this front.
Client is handling photos and reviews. Oh and I adjust GBP categories as I work on each service. Client is adding Google Posts (getting several impressions; few clicks but that is ok), I've had them add services to GBP and Facebook... just in case

I like rules and sometimes SEO is a bit more of an art than a science

 

[JoyHawkins]

I'd focus hard on onsite optimization - it moves the needle better than anything else. Check for topics related to their core services and publish content about those things.

 

[ErinJones]

Piggybacking on Joy's suggestion above, I would incorporate a strong content strategy into your SEO plans. Helpful, relevant content -take a look at competitors' sites or similar brands in other locations and see what they've got for onsite content, and make sure you're not missing anything.

I know I'm biased, but I also highly recommend grabbing the recordings from the most recent LocalU event when they're available next week -there were some incredibly valuable sessions that focus on both GBP and content planning and strategy!

Attend LocalU Advanced Virtual - Local University

November 2, 2022 8:45am - 4:30pm ET

localu.org

 

[keyserholiday]

Photos and reviews on the GBP won’t move the needle at all. As Joy and Erin said, focus on the on-site optimization. Too many “gurus” preach GBP optimization, but they miss the market when the neglect looking at the website.

 

[Orlando Sydney]

Photos and reviews on the GBP won’t move the needle at all. As Joy and Erin said, focus on the on-site optimization. Too many “gurus” preach GBP optimization, but they miss the market when the neglect looking at the website.

What's your thoughts on the 'gurus' saying add GBP posts 3-5 times a week?

Looks a little excessive to me.

 

[JoyHawkins]

What's your thoughts on the 'gurus' saying add GBP posts 3-5 times a week?

Given how few clicks most posts get, and that they don't appear to impact ranking, I would say that time is better spent elsewhere.

 

[keyserholiday]

What's your thoughts on the 'gurus' saying add GBP posts 3-5 times a week?

Looks a little excessive to me.

I hate GBP posts and I hate wannabe Gurus more. I echo Joy, and I would focus my time and energy on things that will impact the business than using posts.

 

[Orlando Sydney]

Given how few clicks most posts get, and that they don't appear to impact ranking, I would say that time is better spent elsewhere.

Thank you. I just had a look over mine and there's reasonable amount of views but pointless for clicks. Hopefully good info also for the OP.

 

[Orlando Sydney]

I hate GBP posts and I hate wannabe Gurus more. I echo Joy, and I would focus my time and energy on things that will impact the business than using posts.

Thank you.

I'll keep to a couple a month to keep the images on the profile fresh.