🚨 Warning: This Email Contains Cute Animals

and local SEO knowledge

Author

Gabriela Aleksova
April 15, 2024

The local SEO tips never stop 🔥

By the time you receive this email, I’ll be away on vacation.

But don’t worry — I got you covered. Here are this week’s hot tips ⬇️

1. Local ranking factor you NEED to know: Opening hours

Ever since Joy Hawkins announced that rankings drop when your business is closed, I've seen more businesses set their opening hours to 24 hours.

This is the obvious solution to the problem and works just fine IF you really are open 24 hours.

But if you change your hours and are not actually open 24 hours, you are risking doing more harm than good to your business.

Once people notice that the information on your Profile is incorrect, you might lose customers instead of winning new ones. You could also receive negative reviews.

Now, you might not be able to set your hours to “open 24/7”, but could you extend your hours just a little 🤏 to improve your rankings and conversions?

Maybe!

Keep reading on Twitter or LinkedIn to find out how staying open for a couple more hours can massively improve your local SEO 📈

2. How to increase your rankings with GBP Attributes

Did you know that filling out the Attributes section on your Google Business Profile can help you rank in attribute-specific searches?

I explain in this video 👇️

@darrenshawseo

The attributes on your Google Business Profile can help your rankings. So, go to your Profile and if you see any attributes that apply to ... See more

3. And a warning about GBP Attributes…

I can't believe I have to say this, but...

DO NOT turn on attributes that don't actually apply to your business.

I just heard about a case where a business was getting slammed with bad reviews after turning on the "wheelchair accessible" attribute, when in fact their business was not wheelchair accessible.

You would think that this is common sense, but apparently it's not 🤷

Join the conversation on Twitter and LinkedIn!

4. Ep. 13 — How to Get Instant GBP Verification (My Theory)

Can we get Instant GBP Verification for Anne's new business and not have to do video verification?

We might be able to. I have a theory for what you need to do to achieve the instant GBP verification:

  1. Create your website.

  2. Connect your website to Google Search Console and Google Analytics using an aged/active Google account.

  3. Build citations in all the key places across the web.

  4. Wait for a month.

  5. NOW Create your Google Business Profile using that same Google account.

We discuss this and also laugh at ChatGPT's failed attempt to create a website in this new episode of Get RANKED on Google Maps 👇️

5. Have you met Whitespark’s four-legged employees?

Last Thursday was National Pet Day in Canada. Swipe to see the fur friends we can’t live (and work) without 🐕️

See the carousel on Instagram.

Aren’t these little guys the cutest? Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok so you don’t miss my next local SEO tip (or cute animal post)!

Did you know we have a referral program?

🤑 Refer to Whitespark and earn big!