One of the handy ways to increase local visibility is through local search results. This involves optimizing your Google Places account based on a number of factors that are very important for securing a prime location in Google. The 3 most important factors Google uses to determine the best prime location are:
Relevance, authority, and distance.
The website must be attractive to the visitor; the information on the website must therefore be sufficiently interesting and relevant so that the visitor benefits from it (relevance).
With authority is meant to say, are you a specialist or a beginner? When you are known to a wider audience because you have been in the field for a number of years, you have higher authority than a starting entrepreneur. And finally, the distance. It is, of course, a local search query, that is why distance plays an important role. Suppose you search for: multimedia company Zutphen, then naturally you don't want to see a company from the Amsterdam area on your screen. Rather, a company in Zutphen or another nearby town.
Another way to create local awareness is through mobile applications. Below, I provide information about applications that may be of interest to you.
Google Hotpot
When you and your friends all have an account with Google Hotpot, you can add each other. If a friend wants to look something up and finds a good search result, they can indicate this. When you search for a similar keyword, this recommendation appears immediately. Companies that capitalize on this through good quality and service are therefore more likely to receive a recommendation. Read more about Google Hotpot.
foursquare
Currently still relatively unknown, but there is tremendous growth. Within one year, they went from 100.000 users to 6 million users worldwide. It is a handy application that companies can effectively capitalize on. The purpose of Foursquare is to allow you to log in at specific locations when you are there. This could be at a restaurant, a company, or anywhere else. People who follow you on Twitter or Foursquare, among others, can see where you are at that moment.
Foursquare uses badges. You can earn these badges by, for example, logging in at the same location a number of times. This also applies to users who check in at one location most often. They then receive a so-called 'Mayor Badge'. These badges thus create a sort of game. Naturally, everyone wants to be in possession of such a Mayor Badge.
For example, you can offer a specific bonus to people who log in frequently. In this way, you create a positive image with the customer, and because of this positive image, they will visit more often!
An example:
McDonald's is giving away a free Hamburger Menu when a customer checks in 5 times or more within a 3-week period. In this way, they encourage customers to visit more often.
Yelp
Another application that allows you to log in from wherever you are at that moment. It actually works the same way as Foursquare. However, Yelp goes a step further than Foursquare. Yelp not only features places where you can check in, but also provides reviews of shops, service providers, and nightclubs. Initially, this application was only available in the United States, but it is now expanding further into Europe. Recently, Yelp has also launched a number of new sites, including yelp.nl, yelp.be, and yelp.de, as well as for several other countries. A difference between Foursquare and Yelp is that Yelp has opted for a Leaderboard instead of awarding badges for certain milestones. This leaderboard means that the visitor who logs in the most at a specific business location appears at the top of the leaderboard.
As a company, you can of course also create an account on Yelp. When a customer buys something from you, they can leave a review. This, in turn, benefits your position in Google. Through the reviews on your Yelp account, Google sees that you are very active. This is one of the most important ways to generate a higher PageRank. A very interesting challenge for companies, in my opinion! Foursquare does not yet have a similar feature, but perhaps it won't be long before it does. Since these applications are becoming increasingly popular, it is a good opportunity for companies to generate more visitors.
How active are you with location-based applications? Leave a comment!