Why local businesses struggle with Google rankings

If you’re running a local business, you may find it frustrating that you’re not showing up on Google when people search for your services in your area. The thing is, most local businesses make the same mistakes when it comes to their online presence and don’t even realise they’re doing it.

It may be that you’ve heard about Google My Business but you haven’t really done much with it beyond claiming the listing. This is where a lot of local businesses fall down because they don’t realise how important it is. If you’re not keeping it updated, adding photos regularly and responding to reviews, then you’re basically handing an advantage to your competitors who are doing these things.

The other issue is that if you’re up against businesses that have been around for years and have been working on their SEO properly, you’re starting from behind. This doesn’t mean you can’t catch up, but it does mean you need to be realistic about how long it’s going to take. You can’t just throw up a website and expect to be on the first page of Google within a few weeks.

If you’re serious about improving your local rankings, you need to look at your website and work out where the gaps are. It may be worth getting someone to do an audit rather than just guessing what needs fixing, particularly if you’ve been struggling for a while and nothing seems to be working.