From time to time, we’ll go ahead and curate some of the most recent and significant news about local marketing, so you don’t have to. If you have any links you’d like to add, please share them in the comments below.
Let’s jump in!
Get on the mic: Local marketing expert says now is the perfect time for businesses to start a podcast.
Do you have a podcast? Have you thought about starting one? Local marketing expert Ryan Alford says that now is the perfect time for your business to start a podcast? Why? He believes that the industry is still growing and that the value is there for lead generation. This article dives into the argument and provides resources for those who are thinking of diving in.
The Importance of a Google Maps Marketing Strategy (+How to Create One That Works)
We’ve sounded this alarm for a long while, but sometimes it’s great to see a different perspective. Check out LOCALIQ’s comprehensive guide to enacting a Google Maps marketing strategy, which could undoubtedly help your business generate leads and new business. We know a little something about this topic as well. 😉
Localogy and Soci Quantify Local Marketing Benchmarks.
The third annual Localized Marketing Benchmark Report (LMBR) was released. As explained on localogy.com, “The report quantifies localized marketing success by calculating scores for 276 multi-location businesses, and an overall benchmark. Scores are based on marketing performance across 19 search and social marketing criteria.” You’ll note that localized search marketing scoring criteria include completeness of profile, claimed listings rate, reviews per location, review response rate, location posts and more, all areas where we have some expertise. Please look at the basis of the report to understand why what we preach is so important to practice.
Google Maps Highlighting Businesses That Have Posted Recently.
Google’s work here is super interesting, as they are running a test to show when businesses have updated their listing with a post. Doing so indicates that Google is starting to emphasize the importance of Google Posts within the Google My Business platform. Our experience shows clients who do post consistently have a greater likelihood of getting more views and actions from their GMB listing over time. With Google experimenting with bringing attention to these fresh posts, perhaps we’ll see that growth sooner.
Google My Business: Phone Numbers Not Allowed In Google Posts.
So Google has come out and clarified its position on “phone stuffing. Their Google Posts Content Policy now includes this explanation: “To avoid the risk of abuse, we do not allow your post content to include a phone number. You can make your phone number available on your Business Profile or website. Instead, you can attach a “Call now” button to your post that uses your verified Business Profile phone number.” This move is likely a response to pressure Google has received to explain why more posts are getting rejected than normal. To recap, don’t write a number in your text or hide it in a photo. Just use the “Call now” call to action button to generate phone calls from your posts.