Marketing and advertising. These two terms are sometimes used interchangeably when thinking about your small business. Both are designed to do the same thing, in different ways. If your marketing is firing on all cylinders, you will likely maximize the efficacy of your advertising campaign. Study after study has shown that ads which are supported by consistent marketing, convert at a markedly higher rate than the advertising alone.

Google has taken this fact and built it straight into their algorithm, which impacts your rank as a small business. An example of this is Google’s instruction to marketers that they must heed certain criteria to ensure a solid rank for the business. Google can of course pull your company’s information from anywhere across the web, but will always start by analyzing their flagship property for your business, the Google Business Profile.

The most valuable keywords for your product or service(s) should be baked into your Google Business Profile in the same way you would write SEO copy to optimize your website. This is because Google uses these signals to determine your rank within search. Also, it is a combination of these factors which have a direct impact, and though they never share the specifics of exactly how, the following snippet from Google’s Help Center sheds some light:

“Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. A combination of these factors helps us find the best match for your search. For example, our algorithms might decide that a business that’s farther away from your location is more likely to have what you’re looking for than a business that’s closer, and therefore rank it higher in local results.”

Relevance is determined by how closely your potential customer’s search aligns with your business information. A well thought out description of key services added to your Google Business profile and greater web presence is a good first step.

Distance gets evaluated as part of search and rank, with Google measuring the potential customer’s proximity to your business. The closer they are to your location or service area, the better chance they will find you in a keyword search. 

Prominence is a popularity contest of sorts which Google uses to determine how well known your business is. Like major brand names, famous places and alike, the more times your business name is being used on line, whether in reviews, social posts, direct name searches, etc., the more prominence points you will get to impact your rank. 

There are many steps that you can take to help level-up your company in the ranks. Identifying some of these “signals” is the easy part, however completing the work and continuing to keep them updated with fresh info and content, requires discipline and knowhow.

Before you embark on a campaign designed to impact rank, whether on your own or with an agency or marketing partner, it’s important to know where you are starting from.

OMG has developed a powerful tool called the OMG Rank Grid. It gives you a street level view of your business rank, as seen by searchers across your service area. Running a few grids for your most valuable keywords and phrases is an eye opener for certain. This exercise can demonstrate where attention should be paid, in order to have the most impact. In many cases, the same company may appear #1 or #2 for one important service, but #10, #11 or worse for alternate services. 

This powerful technology uses real time Google data and quickly demonstrates how you appear to those seeking your services across town and beyond. 

You can’t manage what you don’t measure, so start with an OMG Rank Grid, a complimentary service from OMG National. 

Also, check out OMG’s Flagship Program, Local Marketing Essentials. This program is built to help you leverage your online presence, build your reputation and improve your social media strategy. We look forward to helping you maximize your marketing, helping you to get and to keep  more new customers.

– J Lubar