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How can your non-physical business compete for the SERPs with storefront businesses when the odds seem stacked against you?<\/p>\n
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Two things.<\/p>\n
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One<\/strong> \u2014 identify your specific business model. You’ll need that information to optimize your local search strategy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Two<\/strong> \u2014 capitalize on any local specialties, expertise, or connections your business has in your service areas and market those local nuances.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Let\u2019s explore how your business can succeed in local search even without a physical location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If your business is without a physical address, chances are your business model falls into one of these categories below:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unlike brick-and-mortar establishments with walk-in physical locations, service area businesses provide services to customers in a specific geographic area without a physical presence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This category includes services such as housekeeping, landscaping, painting, pest control, roofing, commercial cleaning, and plumbing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s possible to have a physical street address that acts as a headquarters or office, but the critical feature of SABs is that you provide your services on-site at the customer\u2019s location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Keep in mind that Google allows only one business profile per metropolitan area. For instance, if you operate a roofing company serving the greater Los Angeles area, including locations like Hollywood, Burbank, and Pasadena, you cannot create separate listings for each location.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Instead, you can only create one GBP for the entire LA metro area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you run a business out of your home and use that as your business address, you fall under this category.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your home address is your physical location, allowing you to serve nearby clients there. For example, a piano teacher, hairstylist, or babysitter can serve clients in their homes. You can also visit the client’s location to provide services like a dog walker, home-based therapist, or counselor.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Businesses in this category only operate remotely without face-to-face interactions with clients. They\u2019re not geographically limited to a specific region and can provide services nationwide without storefronts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example, you may have an eCommerce business in which you deliver products to customers’ locations<\/a> or offer virtual services such as being an online customer representative or virtual assistant. Because you can operate from anywhere, you never have physical interactions with your customers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, your non-physical business can still use local SEO to rank in local SERPs and influence the buying decisions of localized audiences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Competing for local visibility with storefront businesses might be tricky since Google favors physical proximity as a ranking signal. But ranking on local search isn\u2019t impossible for your non-physical business. You just need to tweak your local SEO strategy, and you\u2019re golden.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019ve identified your business model. Let’s discuss some tips you can apply to improve your local rankings and visibility.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google’s strict guidelines for Google Business Profile pages reveal:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This might seem counterintuitive for service businesses without physical locations as you don\u2019t have a \u201cpublic address\u201d to make contact. However, your business qualifies for a GBP listing, even if it\u2019s a SAB or home-based business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When setting up your listing, simply provide an address and instruct Google to hide it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As per Google\u2019s guidelines, listing and hiding your address is mandatory if you\u2019re a service area business that visits or delivers to clients at their location. If you\u2019re a hybrid home-based business like a plumber or housekeeper, Google also expects you to list and hide your address.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When configuring your GBP for this, don’t enter an address under the “Info” tab; the “business location” field should remain blank.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For regular SABs or home-based SABs, you must specify the area you serve by city, postal, or zip code. You can also have up to 20 service areas in one metro area, but they must be within 2-hour driving distance from your business address.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Suppose your service business has multiple locations with separate staff two hours apart and non-overlapping service areas. In that case, you can have another Google Business Profile listing catering to that area alone.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you don\u2019t mind your home address being public, it’s best to treat it as a brick-and-mortar business, including putting up public signage to verify the location. Avoid using P.O. boxes or virtual addresses because Google doesn\u2019t like any of that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How to Optimize Your Virtual Businesses for Local Visibility Without GBP:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the key factors<\/a> used to determine search results, Google says:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, even if your virtual business doesn\u2019t have a GBP listing, it can still compete for local visibility via organic SERPs. The key is to build specific landing pages that provide localized information for the cities or areas you’re targeting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to Google reps, 46 percent of searches<\/a> carry a local intent. Therefore, these pages should target long-tail keywords with strong local nuances to have a chance of being visible on the organic SERPs. We\u2019ll discuss this more in a bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Alternative platforms and directories like Yelp, Bing Places, Facebook Business Listings, and Apple Maps offer some opportunities for local SEO beyond Google.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These directories help to boost your online visibility<\/a> by allowing you to create business profiles with less stringent rules than Google.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can reach potential local customers actively searching for services on these directories. What\u2019s more, with consistent NAP (Name, Address and Phone number) information online, you get to build online credibility and generate leads for your business.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Creating city-specific landing pages should be part of your content strategy for local search, regardless of your business model.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Use a simple landing page builder like Leadpages<\/a> or Instapage<\/a> to build something dynamic. These service pages should contain dedicated information about the services you offer in that area, as well as local testimonials and region-specific exclusive offers when and where they apply.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also, avoid duplicating content across these service pages. Instead, insert relevant locations into each landing page, personalizing it for the user, e.g., \u2018California housekeeping,\u2019 \u2018Chicago piano lesson tutor.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taylor Group Plumbing in Manhattan uses the SAB landing page tactic to increase local visibility on the SERPs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: Taylor Group Plumbing<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Each page looks similar, but they all target different locations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That aside, don’t neglect to build blogs and local links, too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis helps Google form an easy-to-understand connection with the area where you want to source clients from,\u201d says Patrick Herbert, Director of a local SEO service agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This strategy is beneficial if you\u2019re trying to rank your new service business on local search. \u201cGoogle will see those pages, links, and blog posts about a place and respond by ranking your website in those places.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Incorporating industry and location-based keywords into your content helps amplify your visibility in search results.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For example, if you run a dog-walking service in Manhattan, you can write a blog titled \u201cTop Tips for Choosing a Reliable Dog Walker in Manhattan.” This title references the location and your value proposition.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The key is to \u201cadd unique local flair or flavor to your content to boost relevance and authority,\u201d says Salvatore Surra, Director of SEO and Content at SeamlessAI<\/a>. He used the same tactic to help a business rank in a competitive market.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to him, this business geared most of its marketing toward its industry, not the location(s) it was servicing. \u201cMy first suggestion was to create location+industry specific content and optimize some of the main landing pages towards the area they were in.\u201d This made them a topical authority on the service area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Taylor Group Plumbing also does this well:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: Taylor Group Plumbing<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n All their blogs focus on industry customer pain points, but they also include location-based keywords to keep information anchored to their service areas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n To conduct local keyword research<\/a>, list the general terms people search for your kind of business, e.g., pet sitter, dog walker, etc. Then, add the customer pain points: \u201cmid-day dog walker,\u201d \u201cdog walker for holidays.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next, add location keyword modifiers like \u201cnearby,” \u201cnear me,\u201d and \u201clocal.\u201d and location-specific names to the list.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This will give you a list of local keywords to play around with for that service area. Feed these keywords into an SEO research tool like SE Ranking or SEMrush to get relevant keywords for your blog or landing page.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nBut First, Identify Your Business Model.<\/h2>\n
Service Area Business (SAB)<\/h3>\n
Home-Based Business<\/h3>\n
Virtual Business<\/h3>\n
5 Tips to Make Your Non-Physical Business Visible on Local Search<\/h2>\n
1. Properly Configure Your Google Business Profile<\/h3>\n
\u201c…to qualify for a Google My Business listing, a business must make in-person contact with customers during its stated hours.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Business-Location-and-Areas-Settings-on-Google.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Adding-Business-Location-on-Google.png\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWe use your country and location to deliver content relevant for your area.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/h4>\n
2. Consider Alternative Directories<\/h3>\n
3. Create Service (Landing) Pages and Local Blogs<\/h3>\n
![\"Homepage](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taylor-Group-Homepage-Banner.gif\")
<\/p>\n4. Create Content With Industry and Location-Based Keywords<\/h3>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Taylor-Group-Local-Content-Example.png\")
<\/p>\nHow to Target Local Keywords for Your Virtual Business<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Keyword-Magic-Tool-Example-for-Local-SEO.png\")
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![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/keyword.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Keyword-Suggestions-for-Local-SEO.png\")
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