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Updated ranking factors for local SEO.

If there is any constant in ranking factors for local SEO, it’s that Google, Bing and all the search engines will always have changes. While SEO best practices like monitoring reviews and keeping accurate citations with trusted listings management services will never go out of style, this is tech, so priorities will shift when new apps, integrations and advances emerge. It’s the mid 2020s, so let’s review what’s changed in local search so you can keep your technology and your clients up-to-date.

The Ranking Factors That Influence Local SEO

We usually receive annual updates to local SEO ranking factors in a report once due diligence, testing and professional surveys are completed. However, this information is based on data originally published in 2023, and minimally updated in late 2024 on the Moz blog.

Google Business Profile

The importance of a correctly managed Google Business Profile (GBP) cannot be overstated in local search results. While these verified business listings contain multiple pieces of information about the business, the three most important are as follows: choosing the most authoritative web page from a website for the main URL on the listing; selecting the most relevant categories (up to 10) for the business; and if possible, including a search term within the business title.

We often talk about how vital a verified and well-managed GBP is, and will continue to provide tips to give our agency partners the edge in local search.

Reviews

Reviews across multiple platforms and from various sources continue to impact Local Pack/Finder rankings. Reviews are a valuable trust signal and will always matter to consumers and search engines alike—staying on top of them is vital to a business’ online success.

Agency partners with active listings management accounts have access to Advice Local’s incredible free Review Monitoring Tool. This allows a bird’s-eye view of multiple review sites in one convenient dashboard, making it easy to pull reports and send information to clients. Client engagement with reviews (positive and negative) can encourage a continuous cycle of new reviews, as potential patrons see the business actively interact with past reviewers.

Gaining new written reviews through an owned website, Google Business Profile, and third-party websites (especially from sites and people with authority) is a relevant signal search that engines cannot ignore.

Citations

Real estate has location, location, location, and for local search it’s citations, citations, citations! No matter how often we talk about consistent, high-quality citations as a foundation for good local SEO, it will never be enough. When it comes to structured citations and clean NAP data, sending to relevant distribution channels can make a difference, as the quality and relevance of the platforms that list client businesses absolutely matters.

This is why ongoing listings management is truly necessary for the businesses that local marketers serve. Citations management has to be a strategic part of any local SEO plan.

On-Page Local Signals

Optimized, quality content that meets technical and grammatical standards is always going to help your website, and makes for a much better user experience. When it comes to local ranking factors, providing solid, authoritative information on locations pages is vital.

Location pages work in conjunction with GBP in search, making it easier for potential customers to find client businesses near them. Setting up these location pages with consistent, visible NAP data including service areas, featured products and services, along with having clear calls-to-action will set your location pages apart. When internal links are used well, this keeps customers on a site, and on a journey once they land there. Take care in creating these pages to see improvements in client rankings.

Off-Page Local Signals

As mentioned above, authority makes a difference. Websites and pages that meet the on-page factors listed above and that have great reviews are more likely to have authority. But off-page local signals coming into client sites from authoritative third-party links will affect rankings too.

Realize that link-building is still alive and well—and these links should be from entities relevant to the business or news sites. These links need anchor text that makes sense, hopefully including key search terms. These links should also come from diverse sources.

These are a few of the most important local search ranking factors that a business needs to consider. Keep in mind that every industry also has distinct factors affecting their rankings. Pinpointing which factors make the most impact on specific businesses is best accomplished by using tools like the suite available through Advice Local.

Best Ranking Factors for Local #SEO by @BernieColeman
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Get Your Clients’ Listings Optimized for Local Search

Get all the tools you need to move your clients’ rank higher in the local pack, maps and organic search. Advice Local’s all-in-one dashboard can improve your agency’s services today. Request a demo or call us at (214) 310-1356.

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Advice Local’s tips to reverse a Google Business Profile suspension.

As you know, Advice Local’s proprietary listing management services allow your clients to take control of their Google Business Profile and more. Despite efforts to maintain the guidelines for Google Business Profiles (GBP), keeping them functional, easy to use for online search and full of good information, profiles occasionally get suspended. While this restriction isn’t good news, by following these steps clients can restore their profiles.

Appealing a Google Business Profile Suspension

To begin, clients need to ensure their profiles adhere to Google’s Business Profile guidelines, then they’ll want to gather their proof. The time it takes to appeal a GBP suspension isn’t long, but preparation is key to increase the chances of success. Once the evidence submission form is open, users only have one hour (60 minutes) to submit all documentation, so having everything scanned and ready to go is important.

Qualifying Evidence for Overturning a GBP Suspension

The following items can be used as evidence for a GBP Appeal.

  • Business license
  • Official business registration
  • Tax certificates
  • Utility bills (electricity, internet, etc.)

It’s a best practice to submit as much qualifying proof as possible. In this case more is absolutely better, because once that form is closed nothing else can be added. As always, make sure the business name and address on the documentation matches the NAP for the GBP.

Submitting the GBP Appeals Application and Evidence

When all the documentation is ready, open the GBP appeals tool and select the correct account and profile. Once inside, the client or account manager can see the restricted profile, the reason for the restriction, and a link to the policy violation. Knowing this helps in the reversal process.

If the prompt appears to submit evidence, Google highly recommends following this step to strengthen the appeal. When everything is complete, click Submit Appeal. And in case a prompt does not appear here for evidence, there is another step after submitting the appeal.

After the initial appeal information is complete, select Add Evidence. Remember, once the window is open you’ll only have 60 minutes to do so. Review the business data once again and check for any inconsistencies. Next, select Upload Documents then Choose File to select your evidence. There’s even space to provide more context based on the situation. After adding all evidence, select Submit. Then it’s time to wait for an email from Google with their decision (usually made within 3–5 business days). However, this short waiting period will not always apply, as the recent wait time is around 6 weeks for appeals filed directly by the business.

Current Advice Local agency partners with an active listings management service can submit a support ticket in the partner dashboard to get our team’s help with filing the appeal. For an additional fee, you can be assured that everything is being done correctly, also shortening the wait time. We’ve had great success getting these suspensions reversed much more quickly than when a business does it on their own.

Additional Information About the GBP Appeals Process

After Google reviews the appeal they are likely to require that the business do a video verification (in addition to submitting evidence). This is one more step that teams need to prepare for ahead of time. Review our tips on how to speed up GBP verification to get ready.

While waiting for a response, the status of the appeal can be tracked in the affected GBP. The status will read as one of the following:

  • Submitted.
  • Approved.
  • Not Approved.
  • Can’t Be Appealed.
  • Eligible for Appeal.

In the event of a rejected appeal, the team can submit further information for an additional review. This will allow one more chance to submit info not previously included—and this is why we suggest submitting as much evidence as possible with the initial appeal.

How to Deal With Issues After the GBP Is Reinstated

If you run into any issues after the GBP is reinstated by Google, the great news is that Advice Local is always here to support you as you help your clients. Our Enhanced Google Business Profile Tools give the control to maintain updates to the business and keep it from further suspensions. These include the power to auto-reject public edits, monitor reviews through the dashboard, keep listing data updated with GBP Sync, analyze profile authority and more.

These tools allow our business partners and their clients to stay on-track and up-to-date to avoid Google account and GBP guideline violations.

How to Get a #Google Business Profile Suspension Overturned by @BernieColeman #SEO #GBP
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Get Access to Our Enhanced Google Business Profile Tools Today

This is one of many listing management services offered by Advice Local. To learn more about all of our tools to keep your clients out of GBP suspension and keep ranking in the local pack, request a demo or give us a call today at (214) 310-1356.

The post How to Get a Google Business Profile Suspension Overturned appeared first on Advice Local.

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Speeding up the Google Business Profile verification process.

At Advice Local, we are all about providing our agency partners with the best tools to manage their clients’ Google Business Profile (GBP), and our enhanced Google Business Profile Tool is one of them. Once a client’s GBP is verified, you can utilize our solution to monitor it. For instance, our GBP tool keeps a client’s data synced to maintain NAP integrity over time, keeps out bad data with auto reject public edits and more.

Access to these incredible tools from one user-friendly dashboard is another reason to complete the Google Business Profile verification as quickly as possible. But first, let’s dive into the process.

Methods for Verifying a Local Business on Google Business Profile

If you have already created a Google Business Profile for the business, let’s dig into verification methods. If the business is not yet on Google, add it now. And if it hasn’t been claimed yet, take the time to do it. Claiming a business on Google is essential to manage the data and have favorable local search results.

1. Google Business Profile Video Verification

Video verification is the most common verification method Google requires. While the response is speedy, this method often demands that business owners record multiple items to prove their legitimacy. Businesses with a physical storefront, businesses that are service-based (or are what Google calls “hybrid”) can use this method.

What You Need to Know About GBP Video Verification

  • As an agency, unless you physically go to a client’s location, you will not be able to complete the verification for the business.
  • The video must be recorded from within the Google Business profile on a mobile device and be a continuous shot, as no editing is allowed.
  • The person recording will want to have all the documentation prepared in advance and have a plan for the shoot.
  • Address it like making a storyboard. Having all the proper information and required shots pre-planned will lead to faster verification.
  • Remember, this may need to be done twice, so keep track of what’s being done.

Verification requirements are based on the type of business but always cover three main categories.

  • Proof of Location
  • Existence
  • Management

Ways to show proof include recording storefront and street signage, the street address on the building’s exterior, nearby businesses or landmarks and entry areas. Additional proof can come from a showroom or dining area, work areas with desks or workstations, business cards displayed and so on. You can also provide proof through a business name on permanent fixtures such as tools or a work truck, a service location, access to official business documentation like permits, and management access to a point-of-sale system. For more details and to learn about Google’s categories, review their video verification help page.

After the video is recorded and submitted, Google typically responds within five days with a message indicating “successful” or “unsuccessful.” If the verification is not successful, the message will state why, and offer another chance to get it right.

2. Verify a Business’ GBP by Phone, Text or Email

Verification on Google Business Profile by phone, text or email remains a simple way to get the job done. From within the profile, a manager chooses to receive a PIN via phone call or text message. Once received, it’s just a matter of inputting the number.

Email is just as simple. From the profile, select email verification and follow the instructions provided within the response. Within a short time (up to five days) it’s complete and done!

What You Need to Know About This GBP Verification Process

  • This option is not available for all businesses.
  • If verifying by phone, Google will call the number listed within the GBP.
  • If verifying by text, Google will send the message to the number listed with the GBP.
  • If verifying by email, the email address needs to be a branded domain that matches the website URL listed on the GBP.

3. Get a GBP Verified With a Live Video Call to Google

Similar to video verification, managers will want to prepare before initiating the live video call. They’ll need to show proof of location, the business or equipment, and management.

  • From the profile, access the verification menu from a phone with a camera. Follow the listed steps to connect to an associate.
  • During the call they’ll ask for video proof that could include the area around the location (like other businesses and the street name), marketing materials, tools or equipment, and access to employee-only areas or information.
  • After the call, a waiting period of up to five days begins. At the end of that time, Google will notify the manager whether the verification was successful or not.

4. Google Business Profile Verification by Mail

If two weeks isn’t too long to wait, local business verification by mail is still available (and at times required).

  • From the Google Business Profile, request a postcard for GBP verification.
  • Make sure the mailing address is correct and request the code. Avoid making any address changes while waiting for a response, as processing time could be extended.
  • When the postcard arrives, simply input the code into the proper section on the correct profile.

Again, Google will respond within five days with a message indicating success or failure.

After Verification, Monitor Local Maps Rankings With Our Help

Once the business’ Google Business Profile has been verified you’ll want to continue monitoring it, and this includes tracking map rankings in Google Maps and the local finder. Advice Local’s Google Maps Local Rank Tracker tool can assist with this task.

How to Speed Up Google Business Profile Verification by @BernieColeman #SEO #GBP
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Help Clients Navigate the Google Business Profile Verification Process

Now that you know how to speed up the Google Business Profile verification process, it’s time to see more about how Advice Local can help you better service your local business clients. Call us at (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

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Local listings partner questions.

Choosing the right local listings partner is the best way to help your business clients increase their search visibility. Expert listing management services use real-time submissions to leading directories to ensure your clients’ business information stays accurate and consistent. But how can you be sure that a listings partner will deliver the results a business expects?

Top Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Local Listings Partner

Asking questions of a potential local listings company is the best way to determine a dependable partner from one that could put your agency’s reputation and client relationships at risk. At Advice Local, we recommend asking the following questions before settling on a partner.

Which directories and platforms are included in your network?

A comprehensive listings network should include high-quality local, national and niche-specific directories. Beyond directory platforms like Superpages and YP, business data should also be submitted to data aggregators, search engines, voice search platforms, GPS mapping apps and vertical directories.

How do you ensure business data accuracy?

Identifying how a company validates data is one of the most important questions to ask before hiring a citation builder. Inaccurate data can seriously harm a business’ chances of ranking for local search terms, so make sure listings are verified against a central database to guarantee consistency.

Do you use automated or manual business listing submissions?

Automated submissions are fast, though you can run into problems with some platforms. In contrast, manual submissions offer accuracy (but with a slower, more resource-heavy approach). At Advice Local we combine the best of both methods by using a hybrid submission process.

Can you provide white-labeled reporting for business clients?

White-labeled reporting lets agencies and local marketers provide professional analytics under their own brand. This data is crucial for communicating the value of the service to clients, helping secure long-term business relationships.

Do you offer add-on services that complement listing management?

Accessing a range of local presence management tools from a single dashboard can simplify your agency’s operations. While primarily you might need listings distribution, a range of add-on services could make your agency more attractive to new clients. For more on this check out our post on what a local listings partner can do for you.

Are dedicated Google Business Listing services available?

Google Business Profile (GBP) is usually considered the most important directory for search visibility. Consequently, the best services will include tools to improve GBP monitoring and management. At Advice Local we have several solutions including GBP Sync to ensure consistent data, and GBP Auto-Rejection to prevent bad data caused by public edits.

Can you help me secure new local listings clients?

Attracting new clients to your business listing services is a consistent challenge for agencies. Options such as Advice Local’s Listing Management Sales Tool can help. Simply embed the website widget and secure new leads when they request a comprehensive visibility report.

How can I track my clients’ search engine rankings?

Tracking search engine rankings is necessary to check that your citation building process is working. An accurate rank tracker tool automates this process for agencies, while also demonstrating the effectiveness of the service to client businesses. Among our local SEO software and agency tools, you’ll find a local rankings tool for Google organic results and Maps.

What Questions to Ask a Local Business #Listings Service by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Partner With a First-Rate Local Listings Partner

Advice Local has partnered with digital agencies and local marketers nationwide to provide results-driven listing management services. Speak with our team to access our business listings services, review monitoring tools and other top-rated SEO products. Contact us at (214) 310-1356 or request a demo today.

The post What Questions to Ask a Local Business Listings Service appeared first on Advice Local.

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Local listings partner services.

Partnering with a local listings company is one of the most reliable ways to help your business clients get found online. But how can you tell if the local SEO software and agency tools you’re investing in are producing results, or holding you back? The reality is that not all listing management providers are the same. If your local listings partner is failing to innovate, using outdated methods and submitting to low-quality platforms, it might be time for a change.

What Local Listing Management Features Do We Offer to Partners?

At Advice Local we focus on relentlessly optimizing our core local listing management service, while adding new, cutting-edge tools to help agency partners secure new clients and deliver superior results. Let’s look at the features you should expect from a top listing management company.

Listing Management Services to Maximize Local Visibility

Up-to-date, accurate data is critical for local businesses to maintain search visibility. We use real-time submissions to stay on top of business listings, incorporating a hybrid approach of APIs and some manual submissions where appropriate.

Our Data Amplifier Network has been curated over many years and includes only high-quality trusted directories, search engines, GPS platforms, voice assistants and more. Business listings are claimed, created and optimized to prevent inaccurate or outdated information and build a powerful local presence.

Local Rank Tracking for Google Maps and Organic Search

Tracking local rankings is crucial for monitoring the effectiveness of an SEO campaign over many months. Advice Local partners get the first keyword tracked for free (based on the primary GBP category), with the option to purchase nine additional keywords.

While many tracking tools focus on organic search, we focus on tracking Google Maps results, including hyperlocal tracking for precise locations within the target area. It might be time to shop for business listing management providers if your existing provider doesn’t offer these additional features.

Review Monitoring for Brand Reputation Management

Checking reviews has become an integral part of the buying process for many customers. Businesses therefore need an effective way to monitor customer sentiment and respond quickly to feedback. In response we’ve included a free high-quality review monitoring tool for active partners.

Agencies can check clients’ reviews on major platforms like Google and Yelp, with access to notifications, overall ratings and recency scores. This direct access to vital information will help you manage your brand reputation from a central dashboard.

Listing Sales Tool for Agency Websites

Getting new leads is one of the prime challenges for digital agencies. Our free business listings sales tool is built to simplify the process and secure new leads directly from your own website.

Simply customize the sales widget to suit your site, then add it on your homepage (or every page of your website). When a business completes the visibility report form, the data is sent to your Advice Local partner dashboard for a follow-up sales call.

Advanced Google Business Profile Tools

For most businesses, Google Business Profile (GBP) is the most important listing platform. Consequently, we developed Enhanced GBP Tools for agencies, allowing you to sync GBP data with a central database to ensure accuracy (for no additional cost). You can also auto-reject public edits to your clients’ Google Business Profiles with our tool for free.

Want to see for yourself? Then try out our listing management and local SEO software demo. You’ll get to analyze GBP insights and check that your client’s authority, reputation and influence have been optimized correctly.

What Has Your Local #Listings Partner Done for You Lately by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Try Our Top-Rated Local Listings Services Today

For the best listing management services, review monitoring tools and rank tracking solutions, speak with the team at Advice Local. We help businesses increase their search visibility and reach more customers. Contact us at (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

The post What Has Your Local Listings Partner Done for You Lately appeared first on Advice Local.

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Enterprise listing management company.

Managing local business listings at scale is a challenge for digital agencies and marketers supporting SMBs and multi-location brands. Maintaining accurate, consistent information across hundreds of directories, search engines and platforms requires robust local SEO software customized for the needs of channel partners. So, how can you meet client expectations without building these tools yourself? The answer is to partner with a technology company that offers an enterprise solution for comprehensive listing management.

Why Enterprise Solutions Matter for Brand Listing Management

Before looking at the tools and services available for Advice Local’s partners, it’s important to understand why enterprise solutions are so crucial for channel partners working to manage business listings for brands.

A successful large-scale listing management project involves creating, optimizing and managing listings covering hundreds of platforms. To perform this task across multiple locations for many brands requires significant data handling and integrated systems.

Additionally, while multi-location brands may require consistency across every site, Google has shifted to prioritizing the hyperlocal experience. Consequently, effective enterprise solutions must be flexible enough to maintain brand consistency while allowing for location-specific optimizations that increase local relevance.

Our Enterprise Solutions for Local Listing Management

Advice Local’s enterprise listing management solutions have been designed around the needs of digital agencies and local marketers who require a robust, scalable platform powered by real-time data syndication and API integration. For a snapshot of our main services, check out this comparison chart for local listing management citation services.

How Our API Supports Enterprise Listing Management

The Advice Local API is the core of the enterprise listing management solution, offering a range of tools to streamline processes and scale effortlessly alongside your agency.

  • Real-time updates across directories, search engines, voice search platforms and mapping apps.
  • Sync updates to name, address and phone number (NAP) details to prevent bad data syndication.
  • Develop custom API endpoints to meet specific enterprise needs, such as custom reporting or keyword tracking.
  • Generate location-based performance reports to track visibility, accuracy and engagement metrics.
  • Compare data across locations, providing actionable insights for growth and optimization.

API integration is the perfect option for partners of all sizes, whether you’re managing a small number of SMBs or enterprises with locations nationwide. Channel partners can monitor and manage data from multiple branches of a business and automate processes for hundreds of SMB clients.

Integrating Listing Data Into Partner Dashboards

As digital agencies scale up, organization and efficiency take on even greater importance. Advice Local’s enterprise listing management solution has made these factors key to our approach, with a centralized dashboard (and user-friendly interface) providing all the data you need. Through custom API endpoints, partners can track listing accuracy, visibility and other crucial metrics across their entire client portfolio. For partners managing multiple clients and locations, this streamlined usability frees up valuable time and resources in their daily operations.

A Hybrid Approach to Listing Management

Our hybrid approach combines automated API and manual submissions to deliver the highest accuracy and optimization standards. Across our extensive Data Amplifier Network of quality data aggregators, mapping apps, voice search tools and search engines, we identify the most appropriate data distribution method for each platform and develop systems for optimal speed and accuracy.

Comprehensive Listing Management Capabilities

A reliable enterprise listing management service needs to syndicate business data to a wide range of platforms without sacrificing quality. Advice Local has spent years developing a comprehensive network and consistently tests the quality of each platform.

  • Data Aggregators – Major aggregators like Foursquare and Localeze extend reach across numerous platforms.
  • Data Accelerators – Data distribution via established search engines and high-level directory platforms like Yelp and DexKnows.
  • Voice Search – Ensures businesses are discoverable via conversational queries on voice assistants.
  • Mapping Apps – Distributes data to GPS platforms like Apple Maps and Waze for navigation services.

Creating, monitoring and optimizing client listings across these and many other platforms requires advanced software and a platform that can cope with large-scale operations—and this is just one reason to trust Advice Local with your enterprise-level listing management.

White-Labeled Solutions for Channel Partners

When you partner with Advice Local, you can access top-rated local SEO software and agency tools while still maintaining your brand identity. From custom landing pages and website sales widgets to a white-labeled dashboard and reporting services, you can provide a cutting-edge listing management experience under your own brand.

What Enterprise #Listing Management Solutions Are Available by @BernieColeman #SEO
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Access the Leading Enterprise Listing Management Solution

At Advice Local, we develop customized enterprise-level solutions for channel partners to manage client listings at scale. Our flexible enterprise listing management solution and local SEO software is the preferred choice of digital agencies and local marketers across the country. Contact us at (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

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Local rank tracker infographic.

Every digital agency knows that tracking rank is the foundation of a successful local SEO campaign. An accurate local rank tracker takes the guesswork out of campaign management, helping you make smarter decisions and show clients the clear results they’re looking for. But how can you integrate a rank tracker into your SEO campaigns so it does more than simply monitor search visibility?

If your agency needs help monitoring and optimizing client performance, our infographic below explains why using a rank tracking tool is so important. Please consider sharing it with other local marketers on social media and your blog.

Rank Tracking Strategies for Local SEO Campaigns

Monitoring keyword performance on both Google Maps and organic search gives a clear insight into a business’ local visibility. Let’s examine a simple strategy to get the most from your tracking tool.

Define Local SEO Goals

Any local SEO campaign must start with some primary objectives to ensure it’s on-track. Your clients may want to boost website traffic, attain more leads, make more sales and other similar goals. As you start to increase search visibility, you can identify whether your campaign is delivering the anticipated outcomes.

Set Up Keywords and Locations

Local businesses typically rely on precise customer targeting based on specific keywords around the business. For example, a restaurant may get most of its business from searches for a type of food within a limited geographical area close by. In this context, digital agencies need a local rank tracker tool to monitor Google Maps results with precision.

Leverage Keyword Insights

Manually tracking keywords and assessing their performance against competing sites is a time-intensive process. In place of this, a successful SEO campaign should lean on a local rank tracker with at-a-glance performance indicators. For example, our tool uses a Grid Quality Score so you can instantly see how a keyword is performing.

Monitor Rankings Over an Extended Period

Local SEO will not be an instant process. Gradually, your efforts will help build trust and authority with Google, resulting in improved positions in Google Maps and organic search. Tracking results over many months gives a clear picture of the campaign’s success, and also informs clients of the continued progress.

Optimize Based on Hyperlocal Results

With Google delivering more precise search results based on specific queries and a person’s location, hyperlocal SEO matters more than ever. Unfortunately, manually searching for a business client within a broad area can often give a flawed picture of how well the SEO campaign is doing. A local rank tracker can offer pinpoint-accurate map results to improve hyperlocal targeting.

Provide Clear Reporting for Clients

Finally, your business clients will expect accurate reporting to track how their investment is working. A rank tracker will provide a detailed overview of SEO results that covers the progress you have achieved over time, and reveals the underperforming areas that will guide future efforts.

After seeing some of the ways to integrate a local rank tracker into your client’s SEO campaigns, it’s time to delve deeper into why your agency needs a dedicated tool. Browse the infographic below and share it across social media and your blog.

Why Your Agency Needs a Local Rank Tracker Infographic

Local rank tracker infographic.

How to Integrate a Rank Tracker Into Local #SEO Campaigns #Infographic by @BernieColeman
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Access Our Top-Rated Rank Tracking Tool for Agencies

For simple and accurate tracking of client search visibility, try the local rank tracker from Advice Local. We provide a comprehensive suite of SEO tools for monitoring and improving local presence, including listing management, rank tracking and more. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo today.

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Local rank trackers for agencies.

Anyone with experience running SEO campaigns will recognize the value of local rank trackers. With these indispensable tools, digital agencies and marketers no longer have to be in the dark about their clients’ search placements. And at Advice Local, we believe local rank trackers are so integral to a local SEO campaign that we created our own. This hyperlocal tracking solution enables agencies and local marketers to be even more aware of Google Maps and to organize search placement for their local business clients. This progression timeline allows you to also see how the placement changes over time.

The Value of Using a Local Rank Tracker

It’s easy to underestimate the benefits of local rank trackers for SEO. At first glance these products might appear simply to be time-saving tools, but the reality is far from it—local rank trackers are actually a crucial asset in an all-encompassing SEO campaign.

Google Gives Personalized Results

Google returns location-based results for searches they deem to have geographical intent. These results factor in the user’s location, which could be a home address in the city, a mobile search from a local neighborhood, or from right outside the business’ location. In each of these cases, your client’s search placement will likely vary.

So, why not manually search for the primary keywords and get a rough idea of placement? Well, along with the searcher’s location, factors like browsing history and device also impact the results. For an accurate picture of your SEO efforts you will absolutely need a local rank tracker that gives precise location-specific results.

Get Results From Google Local Finder and Google Maps

Google Local Finder and Google Maps are both very important in local SEO. While they share similarities, Local Finder displays results based on the search query and location, and shows the business name, review score, plus other supporting information. In contrast, Maps has options for navigation and directions to help users find the business’ location.

Google’s three core local ranking factors of relevance, proximity and prominence come into play for Local Finder and Maps (see our Google Maps ranking facts for more on this). Knowing this, you’ll understand why you will need to optimize the client’s Google Business Profile (GBP), get reviews, then track results to see what’s working for them. Our local rank tracker lets you monitor how the business performs in the Local Finder and Maps in precise detail, according to specific location points.

Helps Business Clients Make Hyperlocal Decisions

The growth of mobile device usage and location-specific search results means local businesses need a hyperlocal SEO strategy to succeed. Today, the best agencies can offer pinpoint-accurate insights that allow businesses to reach targeted audiences in much the same way that paid ads can.

With our local rank tracker you can identify areas where further SEO actions may be necessary. The tool gives a score and recommendations, allowing you to optimize the GBP further. Or perhaps, the business owner will decide to open a new location based on your insights.

How to Access Our Local Rank Tracker

The good news for Advice Local partners is that our local rank tracker is available for all the Advice Local partners within your partner dashboard. You’ll be able to access the Local Rank Tracker for every business that has active listing management from your dashboard.

If you’re currently benefiting from our comprehensive listing management services, you’ll get one keyword to track (pulled from the primary category by default). You can also purchase nine additional keywords for each business if you would like. If you’re not currently tracking local listings for clients (or still searching manually), it’s time to add this much-needed tool to your arsenal.

Why Every Digital #Agency Needs a Local Rank Tracker Tool by @BernieColeman #SEO #GBP
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Try Our Local Rank Tracker Today

Advice Local develops top-rated local SEO tools and services for digital marketing agencies and local marketers. When you need help tracking local search visibility for your clients, our local rank tracker tool is the perfect choice. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now to learn about our all-encompassing local presence management solution.

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Advice Local Announces Free Local Rank Tracker Tool.

Today, Advice Local is excited to announce the addition of a Local Rank Tracker to their suite of local listing management tools available for agency and local marketing partners. With the inclusion of this tool into our dashboard we’re empowering our partners to provide even more data on local visibility to their customers, and more sales opportunities for their sales team.

Free Local Rank Tracker Available for All Agency Partners

The next time you log into your standard platform partner dashboard for any business with active listing management, you’ll see a Local Rank Tracker tab. By default, we automatically generate the Keyword Ranking Performance Grid for the business you selected in your partner dashboard based on the primary category listed on their Google Business Profile. This is included at no charge based on the business’ primary category, and agency partners can purchase up to 9 additional keywords as well.

For our enterprise partners and partners on other levels who do not see this option within your partner dashboard, please contact your account manager for more details and pricing information.

How Our Local Rank Tracker Tool Helps You

From your partner dashboard, you can view a business’ maps ranking, organic ranking and Grid Ranking Quality score for their primary category (shown as primary keyword) by clicking the Local Rank Tracker tab.

Specifics on the Free Version of the Local Rank Tracker

For agency partners utilizing the free version, the grid is based on a 5-mile radius around the business, and the grid is updated once each month. A date timeline selector is located under the grid, allowing you to select previous dates to show improvement over time.

Free local rank tacker grid example.

Example of Local Rank Tracker Tool for a Business – Free Version

Specifics on the Paid Version of the Local Rank Tracker

For agency partners that would like to track additional keywords, you can add up to 9 additional keywords for $15 per month per business. The grid is based on a 7-mile radius around the business and is updated weekly. The grid has a timeline selector, so the visibility of previous dates can be viewed.

Paid local rank tracker grid example.

Example of Local Rank Tracker Tool for a Business – Paid Version

Understanding the Organic Ranking Based on Keyword

The organic ranking will be displayed based on the primary and additional keywords for both the free and paid versions. It’s important to note that the organic ranking is based on the exact keyword phrase. This means there are cases where it could return “N/A” if the business is not ranking for a specific keyword.

Keyword grid rank quality score example.

Example of Organic Rankings for a Business

Understanding the Grid Ranking Quality Score

Over the years we’ve learned that local businesses find it easier to digest how well their business performs in search using a score. In response we developed the Grid Rank Quality score, so you can easily show your customers how their business visibility has improved over time in search results for their primary and additional keywords.

Grid rank quality score example.

Example of the Grid Rank Quality Score for a Business

As the various keywords are selected (just as with the grid) the score will change. To compare scores for a specific keyword across dates, you’ll simply select the dates on the timeline selector.

The Local Rank Tracker Upsale Opportunity for Agency Partners

As a leader in local search visibility, we know what it takes to help a local business place in search. So with all of the tools we make available for our agency partners, we prioritize providing data to help them demonstrate value to their customers for the services they provide, while at the same time helping increase sales.

When you showcase the score for the primary keywords to your customers they’ll inquire about rankings for additional keywords, opening the door for an upsell opportunity.

Advice Local Announces Free #LocalRankTracker Tool by @BernieColeman #SEO #GBP
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Find Out Why Agencies Choose Us for Business Listings Management

There are several local rank tracking tools out there, but how many give you the first keyword for free, and indefinitely? Partners choose us to take advantage of perks like this (and this is just one of the reasons!). To learn more about this tool and many others, call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo now.

 

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Google Business Profile visibility.

Securing and maintaining visibility in Google’s local rankings doesn’t happen by chance. As digital agencies already know, it takes expertise, ongoing management and advanced Google Business Profile tools to reach the all-important top local pack positions. But what happens when your clients’ rankings start to drop? Let’s look at some key optimization strategies for obtaining long-term Google Business Profile (GBP) visibility.

Google Business Profile Optimization Strategies for Long-Term Success

Claiming one of the top three local pack positions is one of the biggest challenges for an agency. And if a business loses a top Google ranking, you’ll want to do everything in your power to get it back. In both cases, the issue can usually be found within one or more of the following GBP optimization strategies.

Is the Business Information Accurate?

Local business searches typically focus on specific products or services within a defined location. Google responds by prioritizing results based on three key factors.

  • Proximity – the distance between the searcher and the business.
  • Relevance – how well the business matches the search query.
  • Prominence – the reputation and visibility of the business.

When you claim and monitor a Google Business Profile, you have the opportunity to precisely define almost every relevant factor. This optimization process covers everything from the name, address, phone number (NAP) and operating hours, to categories and the business description. Consequently, Google can identify your client’s website as the most useful for locally relevant queries.

Is the Business Trustworthy?

Google evaluates trust signals when determining whether to display a business. If your client has lost a prime local pack position, it’s possible that something is causing a lack of credibility. In this case, a good place to start is with an analysis of reputational health and authority. You could also check for inaccurate public edits that might have bypassed Google’s AI checks. Our Enhanced GBP Tools feature a Google Authority Score, GBP Sync to cross-reference a profile with our database, as well as a simple auto-rejection of public edits.

Are You Responding to Customers?

GBPs have various features where customer interaction could influence search visibility. For example, a series of poor reviews could significantly impact the click-through rate and lead eventually to a drop in rankings. In many cases, responding to reviews can resolve issues while demonstrating accessibility and a strong commitment to customer satisfaction. Engaging with questions and answers also helps develop a more customer-friendly profile.

Are You Using All the Available GBP Features?

GBPs provide a range of services to engage audiences and keep them active on a business’ profile. Google Posts lets you share updates, events and offers, keeping content fresh and relevant. Also, products, services and attributes give visitors far more information, allowing them to identify the appropriate business.

Do You Have a Reliable Listing Management Strategy?

Consistent, high-quality citations are crucial for building business authority and trust. However, creating listings is not a set-and-forget strategy. For a fast and accurate optimization strategy, agencies can use listing management services to build, monitor and manage a vast number of citations from a single location. This approach will ensure that business clients increase their prominence without risking the negative repercussions of inaccurate listing information.

Strategies for Long-Term Google Business Profile Visibility by @BernieColeman #SEO #GBP
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Leading Google Business Profile Tools for Digital Agencies

At Advice Local, we provide a comprehensive suite of GBP tools to help you manage business clients’ listings. From enhanced GBP tools to review monitoring, we have the local presence management solutions you need. Call (214) 310-1356 or request a demo.

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