• What Is Local SEO?
• The 3 Core Local SEO Ranking Factors
• Six Predictable Ranking Factor Trends in 2025
• Tactics To Improve Rankings and Master Local SEO
• Why Local SEO Is Harder When You’re Big
• Final Thoughts 

If your brand isn’t showing up in local searches, it’s not getting chosen. That’s the reality multi-location marketing teams face in 2025.

The SEO playbook has been dramatically rewritten in the past year, with AI and quality-focused algorithm updates transforming how local businesses compete for online visibility. Listings now need to be more optimized, content more helpful, and websites more user-friendly. 

We’re already seeing brands experience drops in organic traffic where AI Overviews replace traditional results, especially for top-of-funnel queries. That’s why adapting your local SEO strategy now isn’t optional—it’s essential.

In 2025, tricks to cheat search engines won’t work. Instead, brands will need to ensure that they look trustworthy, helpful, and easy to find—for both search engines and real people.

In this post, we’ll unpack the most critical local SEO ranking factors, what’s changed recently, and how brands like yours can take control of their local presence across hundreds—or even thousands—of locations. This is essential reading for anyone doing marketing for franchise brands or managing SEO across multiple locations.

What Is Local SEO?

Today’s customer journey starts and ends with search. Whether someone is looking for a haircut, a dentist, or a same-day courier, their decision-making is shaped by visibility, relevance, and reputation.

Local SEO is how you ensure your locations show up when someone Googles things like:

• “pharmacy near me”
• “best gym in [suburb]”
• “pizza delivery open now”

If your business isn’t being found by the service or product you offer, it likely means your local SEO setup is falling short. And the stakes are high: 28% of those local searches result in a purchase according to Google.

More enterprise brands are now treating local visibility as a conversion asset, not just a branding exercise. This is especially critical in multi-location marketing, where showing up locally equals being chosen.

That means local SEO doesn’t just affect marketing metrics—it impacts:

• Revenue (by driving high-intent, bottom-of-funnel traffic)
• Customer acquisition cost (by lowering dependency on paid ads)
• Operational alignment (by ensuring every location reflects up-to-date info and brand consistency)

If you’re not showing up where customers are searching, you’re giving business away to competitors, often just blocks away. 

The 3 Core Local SEO Ranking Factors

Understanding how local search rankings work is crucial for multi-location businesses, as it helps you optimize your Google listings and other online assets to improve visibility and attract more nearby customers. A big part of this is making sure you know what the top local search ranking factors are.

How exactly Google local ranking factors work is a closely guarded secret, but we have a pretty good idea of what the most important ones are.

There are three main local SEO ranking factors:

• Relevance
• Proximity
• Prominence 

Google weighs all of these factors together when determining when, where, and how high to rank local businesses in search results.

Six Predictable Ranking Factor Trends for Local SEO in 2025

Hyperlocal Relevance Beats Generic

Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all local SEO strategies. Google’s algorithms now take a granular approach to local search, rewarding businesses that demonstrate deep, authentic community connections at a hyperlocal level. 

How to build hyperlocal relevance at scale:

• Create location pages that include neighborhood-specific FAQs and community info.
• Publish locally tailored social content.
• Encourage franchisees or store managers to post real-time updates tied to events, seasons, or local promotions.

Pro tip: Centralizing your SEO strategy while giving locations flexibility to add hyperlocal flavor (via templated content or local post prompts) is the winning combo.

AI-Enhanced Search Intent

AI is fundamentally changing how people search—and how search engines respond.

Today, a typical user journey might look like this:
Ask a question → Get an AI-generated summary → Never click a link.
This shift means fewer website visits, fewer conversions, and declining ROI on generic content.

Even platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity now surface YouTube videos and source citations directly in results, cutting traditional SEO visibility in half.

What that means for local SEO:

Anticipate the journey, not just the query
Users don’t stop at “best daycare near me.” They keep searching:
about “daycare costs in my area” and “how to enroll in daycare”. Your content should follow that path.

Use structured data, FAQs, and hyperlocal insights
These help AI surface and understand your content more accurately and position it as the best match for user intent.

Use structured data, FAQs, and hyperlocal insights
These help AI surface and understand your content more accurately and position it as the best match for user intent.

Go where AI can’t
To stand out, brands must deliver what AI can’t summarize:

• Original insights
• Authentic local stories
• Clear POVs for niche audiences

Generic content is no longer a strategy—it’s noise.

Ongoing Google Business Profile (GBP) Optimization

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is no longer just a digital business card—it’s a dynamic, living representation of your brand. To truly make it work for you, it needs ongoing optimization and strategic management to attract engagement and generate leads.

According to Whitespark’s 2024 Local Ranking Factors Survey, GBP signals now account for over 32% of how well a business ranks in Google’s local pack—more than reviews, links, or even on-page content.

And with new features like AI-generated business descriptions rolling out, it’s more important than ever to keep your GBP listing polished, accurate, and up to date.

Pro tip: Optimize your service list to help customers quickly understand what you offer, what it costs, and how to take the next step. Google says this can boost your visibility and drive real business growth.

Reviews as a Critical Ranking Signal 

Reviews now make up 16% of local pack and finder rankings, according to Whitespark’s 2024 survey. But here’s the catch: it’s not just about how many you have.

Ben Fisher, Google Product Diamond Expert, shared during CMO Peer Talks session:
“Getting your first 10 reviews can give your rankings a solid lift—Google starts seeing your business as more trustworthy and relevant. Hitting the 100-review milestone? Expect another noticeable boost. But beyond that, piling on more reviews won’t necessarily move the needle.”

What matters more at that stage? Quality, relevance, and recency. Google’s ranking system now prioritizes fresh, well-written, and high-rated reviews that actually help people make decisions.

Key takeaway: Focus on review diversity—across platforms, types, and recency—rather than just accumulating more. This should be a key part of your marketing reporting dashboard.

Mobile-First Indexing 

In 2025, mobile optimization is about more than just looking good on a phone—it’s about speed, easy navigation, and content that fits on the go.

Mobile users want fast results, and Google’s mobile-first indexing means mobile sites rank higher. A one-second delay in loading can lower conversions by 20% (Google). Your site must load in under 3 seconds or you risk losing visitors and rankings.

Easy navigation is key. Sticky menus, big buttons, and simple design are expected. Poor navigation leads to more people leaving your site—hurting your rankings.

With mobile-first indexing, your mobile site is what counts most for SEO. If it’s slow or hard to use, your rankings will drop, even if the desktop version is fine. Mobile optimization is no longer optional—it’s a must.

User Experience (UX) Signals

Search engines are now so sophisticated that they can practically feel the user’s journey. Google uses machine learning and artificial intelligence (such as RankBrain, BERT, and MUM) to better understand context, user intent, and behavior patterns.

UX-related metrics like bounce rates, engagement, and interaction quality serve as indirect signals to Google about how users are interacting with a site. This aligns with the broader trend of search engines using behavioral metrics to gauge the quality and relevance of a site, especially for local businesses.

Tactics To Improve Rankings and Master Local SEO in 2025

Choose the Right GBP Category

Your Google Business Profile category is not just a small detail; it’s the number one ranking factor for your Google Search and Maps business listing. 

Here’s how to nail your GBP category selection:

• Primary category: Select the single most relevant category that precisely describes your core business. This should be the most accurate representation of what you do.
• Secondary categories: Add 2–3 highly relevant secondary categories that reflect additional services or specialties. These help you show up in more specific, intent-driven searches.
• Avoid overly broad categories: Avoid broad or redundant categories. If you’ve already chosen “Chinese restaurant,” you don’t need “restaurant.” Specificity = stronger rankings for qualified searches.

Pro tip: Switch categories seasonally. If your services change by season, consider updating your primary category accordingly. hjvb

For example:

• HVAC business → “Air Conditioning Contractor” in summer
• Switch to → “Heating Contractor” in winter
• Lawn care → “Snow Removal Service” during colder months

This dynamic approach keeps your profile aligned with seasonal search intent, and keeps you ahead of the competition.

Obsess Over Your Business Hours

Accuracy in business hours might seem trivial, but it’s crucial for local SEO and customer trust. Quick tips to rank (and convert) better in 2025: 

• Standard hours: Ensure your regular business hours are 100% accurate across all platforms and locations.
• Holiday hours: Make sure to update special hours for holidays, seasonal changes, or unexpected closures. Customers (and Google) notice.
• Consistency is key: Match your hours across Google Business Profile, your website, social media, and other online directories.
• Real-Time updates: Consider using tools or services that can help you manage and sync your business hours automatically.

Avoid adding keywords or city names to your GBP name

Your business name or city name won’t help ranking and could lead to suspension. Here’s why:

Google only permits legal business names: Google’s guidelines only allow you to use your registered business name, as it appears on official documents and signage, with no exceptions.

Keyword stuffing=spam: Do not add keywords, service types, or location names to your business name to artificially manipulate rankings, as this violates Google’s anti-spam policies.

Penalties are real: Google actively penalizes businesses that engage in name manipulation, which can result in reduced visibility or profile suspension.

Franchise GBP best practices:

Strategically Leverage Local Reviews

As we mentioned earlier, reviews are more than just social proof; they’re a significant ranking factor for SEO in 2025, with Google reviews being one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO. 

Here’s how to use reviews to your advantage:

• Focus on both quantity and quality: Encourage genuine, detailed reviews from real customers (providing a Google review link can help here).
• Respond to all reviews: Engage with both positive and negative feedback professionally. This can improve engagement signals for your GBP and potentially even turn a negative review into a positive one.
• Collect from other directories: Although Google reviews are the most important, you should also aim to collect reviews across other relevant platforms, such as Yelp, Tripadvisor, and industry-specific directories and review sites.

Create Locally Relevant Content with a Passion

Google wants to show people what actually helps them. If visitors stay, scroll, and click around your page, Google takes that as a thumbs-up and rewards you with better rankings. It’s not about long walls of text anymore. That’s old-school SEO. Short or long, your content just needs to work for your audience.

Here’s what to keep in mind when creating locally relevant content:

• Teach franchisees and teams: Coach your distributed teams the importance of creating hyperlocal content and being proactive on social. 
• Write about local events and news: Content that connects to community wins. Local pages on social media and Google posts is where multi-location marketing needs to shine.
• Provide neighborhood-specific information: Share insights, guides, or resources unique to your local area to drive hyperlocal traffic.

Build High-Quality Citations and Backlinks

Citation and backlink strategies for SEO in 2025 demand a strategic, quality-focused approach. Gone are the days when you could simply spam citations and backlinks to build authority and increase rankings. 

Here’s how to do citations right:

• Handpick high-quality citations: Prioritize locally-relevant directories and niche industry listings.
• Ensure NAP consistency: Consistency in Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) information across all platforms is still important.
• Build backlinks organically: Build local content marketing strategies and partnerships that naturally attract high-quality backlinks, rather than purchasing lots of low-quality ones.
• Get involved in the community: Actively participate in community events, local business associations, and chamber of commerce.

Meticulously Create Location Pages

Any multi-location business should have a unique page for each location. All of these pages provide prime opportunities to include localized keywords in content, plus location pages can be used as landing pages for GBP and other directory listings to improve relevance. 

Here’s what you need to remember:

• Separate pages for each location: For multi-location businesses, create a unique page for each physical location to improve local search visibility and tailor content to specific areas.
• Optimize with localized keywords: Use keywords relevant to your products, services, and the specific geographic areas you serve naturally within the content.
• Use location pages as GBP landing pages: Link each location’s GBP directly to its corresponding location page on your site to enhance relevance and user experience.
• Include comprehensive, helpful content: Detail offerings with clear descriptions, FAQs, pricing, and other valuable information to improve user engagement.
• Incorporate structured data: Add schema markup for products, services, and locations to help search engines better understand and display your content in local search results.

Why Local SEO Is Harder When You’re Big

Scaling local SEO across 50, 500, or 5,000 locations isn’t about SEO hacks—it’s about systems.

>> Manual updates? Too slow.

>> Individual logins per location? Nightmare.

>> Hoping franchisees follow guidelines? Risky.

At enterprise scale, complexity kills consistency. And consistency is exactly what Google—and your customers—expect across every location.

Disorganized local SEO is costing you more than you think

Outdated business hours and services on GBP

Duplicated or conflicting listings

Missed opportunities to respond to reviews

Disjointed social content that weakens brand credibility

To succeed at scale, you need:

A single source of truth for all location data

Automation to handle repetitive tasks

Brand-approved templates and guidelines

Clear visibility into local performance metrics

You need a marketing tech partner that brings everything together—tools, assets, workflows, and data—in one connected hub. One that uses AI to automate the heavy lifting and empowers franchisees with just the right level of autonomy.

PromoRepublic provides central teams with a data-driven solution: a multi-location marketing platform, AI-powered workflow automation, and a local marketing adoption program. It’s a single, connected system for brand and local execution—delivering visibility, flexibility, and automation at scale.

Joey’s Restaurants drives 121% more visits with PromoRepublic

Read the full case study here.

Final Thoughts

Getting found and chosen starts with being visible. The more complete, active, and consistent your profiles are, the better your chances of ranking higher and standing out on Google. Make sure your local teams have the tools to keep business info accurate, content fresh, and reviews flowing—it’s the fastest route to trust and traffic.

For those leading multi-location marketing or doing marketing for franchise brands, the path to being found (and chosen) starts with building trust, relevance, and consistent customer experience—everywhere.

PromoRepublic helps your locations get found by keeping business listings accurate, reviews flowing, and content fresh—everywhere your customers are searching. 

You get fresh, real-time data and clear benchmarks to compare results, location by location and against competitors. That means less guesswork and more confidence in your strategy

Want to get a free Local SEO report for your ten locations? 

Get your report

The post Top Local SEO Ranking Factors for Multi-Location Brands in 2025 (And What to Do About Them) appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.

To build a local SEO strategy and climb to the cherished first page of Google search results, companies optimize their websites, listings such as Google Business Profile (GBP), Yelp, Apple Maps, and social media marketing.

For multi-location businesses, in particular, setting up a local SEO strategy can make a big difference. If you want to become the go-to service provider in town, you must aim to get not only to the top of Google search rankings but also to local 3-pack. But with so many directories to manage and ranking factors to consider, one commonly overlooked element that holds incredible value for SEO is reviews.

However, when a company takes the time to thank happy customers, apologize to unsatisfied clients, and attempt to fix their problems, they’re viewed as customer-centric and trustworthy. And this positive attitude is essential for their online reputation management and – guess what? – rankings. Exactly! Let’s see how it works.

Do Google Reviews Help SEO?

When Google assesses a website, it measures what is called E-A-T: Expertise, Authority, and Trust. It’s not an update or an algorithm. It’s a principle.
Reviews play a crucial role in measuring that “T” in E-A-T. It works when a real customer leaves a review. Google perceives it as a reliability signal and gives a business a bump up.

That’s the foundation. Now we move to the 3 ranking pillars that impact local search results.

The 3 Major Local Ranking Factors

Relevance identifies how closely the query matches information about a local business. For relevance, the question is, “How relevant is this search term to my business?” And the answer is taken from business GBP listing data. So the best way to ensure that you’re in the game is to have a really strong GBP setup.

Proximity is what really defines the local algorithm. It utilizes a user’s location to choose the business that matches their query best. The closer a user is to a local business, the more likely it is that that business will appear in the local pack. The customer’s location is the only factor businesses can’t influence.

Prominence determines how popular a local business is offline. This factor is based on experiences real people have had with a business. And how do people usually express their good or bad experiences? They write online reviews! And Google bots read all this customer feedback and algorithms decide if a business is worth recommending.

On top of that, studies prove that Google reviews play a tremendous role in organic search ranking. Among 130+ factors that impact Google ranking, review signals are the second most important, growing in importance 5 years in a row.

Why are Google reviews important for SEO?

People search online before making in-store purchases. 74% of in-store shoppers said they searched for the closest store near them, locations, hours, directions, or contact information. All this data can be pulled from your Google Business Profile.

Consumers’ use of Google to evaluate local businesses has leapt from 63% in 2020 to 81% in 2021. People compare rankings and reviews to make more informed decisions. The percentage of people ‘never’ reading reviews has fallen from 13% to just 2% in two years. That means that 98% of people at least ‘occasionally’ read online reviews before buying from local businesses.

Like every other modern business, Google focuses on its customers’ needs. So, as long as people consider other customers’ reviews important, Google will keep them among the top ranking factors when crawling web pages to capture more information on the products and services you offer. That’s how a search engine ensures its search results are relevant and satisfactory for searchers. But how much influence do reviews have on SEO?

Reviews tell Google what your website is about. Having rich, detailed descriptions on all of your pages is one of the basic principles of SEO. Online reviews do the same thing. Not only do your Google reviews let the robots know what your site’s all about, but your customers can even fill in gaps that your website’s content may have missed. Google also evaluates customer review volume, recency, and diversity metrics when recommending businesses to the searcher.

Moz released a piece on what makes good SEO for local restaurants for those interested. They observed that eateries with less than 100 reviews had only a 1% chance of making it into the local 3-pack in the 50 major cities studied. Thus, customer opinions of all kinds are a powerful force that can improve your SEO efforts.

Good customer ratings drive more traffic. For many people who search online, reviews mean everything. Eventually, 57% of consumers will only use a business with 4 stars or more. If they see a solid star rating with lots of detailed reviews, they’re more likely to trust and click on your website. This added traffic signals to Google that your website is authoritative and thus worthy of a strong search ranking.

Local reviews build trust. Google trusts what other people say about you much more than what you say about yourself. Sure, you can put “Best massage in town” on your website — but when customers read the same opinion from people who dealt with your business, that counts much more in Google’s eyes. Such social proof transforms into greater visibility.

3 Reasons Why Responding to Google Reviews Helps with SEO

Okay, so we know that Google reviews are invaluable for SEO. Additionally, by putting effort into responding to those reviews, your business will get even better SEO results and customer trust. But why do reviews influence rankings? Why does Google care?

Review responses build trust with Google.
Responding to reviews does more than build trust with your audience: it builds trust with Google, too. When a customer writes an online review, whether good or bad, it tells Google that real people have interacted with a particular business. In turn, your responses prove to Google that your business is active, which is favorable for your SEO strategy and search ranking.

Google picks up keywords in your response.
Google essentially “reads” the reviews and keywords to better learn what the business does, aiming to determine its relevance to a specific user search. So if you’re a massage studio, and your 5-star reviews talk a lot about back pain relief, this should benefit your rankings for back-pain related searches in your area.

Another example: if your customer Peter gives you a great review after going to your massage studio, you can respond by saying, “Hi Peter, we’re glad that we could help alleviate your back pain. Our Harmony Studio Austin team appreciates your feedback!” Inserting a specific service or a company name with a location helps the algorithm show your listing to other potential customers looking for a similar experience. You can find more positive review response examples here and improve your review response rate.

Engagement signals increase Google’s rankings.
How much people engage with your Google Business Profile also affects your rankings. This includes swiping pictures, requesting directions, visiting your website, asking questions, and, of course, reading reviews.The amount of time a searcher spends looking at your listing is an indicator to Google. Obviously, if you have hundreds of reviews to filter through, this increases the possible time a user spends on your page, increasing your rankings. Needless to say, descriptive business responses prolong users’ engagement.

The Bottom Line

Local businesses that want more traffic from searches must improve their local rankings. This is where SEO can help. Companies improve their websites, listings, and social media pages to increase visibility but often overlook online reviews.

Studies have proven the effect reviews have on SEO, and Google has admitted the connection too. This is no surprise, as Google wants to show only the best companies to their users, and reviews are a reasonable differentiator. Google likes it when you interact positively with your customers and rewards your business with visibility.

Responding to all customer feedback online is an effective and cost-efficient way to improve your search rankings, especially if you’ve fallen behind your competitors.

When your review generation and management strategy is set up, it’s time to track your review performance. Try PromoRepublic, the best local marketing tool to uncover growth opportunities for locations and manage local SEO, listings, reviews, and social media posting and ads all in one place. Book a demo to see it in action.

The post Does Responding to Google Reviews Help with SEO? appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.

But an effective local SEO strategy can be an uphill battle for businesses with multiple locations. That’s where the best local SEO tools can step in and add some oil to your marketing machine.

What Is Local SEO and How Does It Work?

Many of you know that SEO stands for search engine optimization of web pages, which makes it easier for search engines to crawl, index, and understand your content. The goal is to show that content to a relevant audience and get more traffic to your website.

We bet you’ve also heard about local SEO, which is utilized for local queries. For instance, businesses with brick-and-mortar locations use it to maintain a steady flow of leads and high conversions. So how does it work?

It’s all about Google algorithms. If they determine you’re an established business, they’ll recommend your service to searchers.

But the SEO game is not a walk in the park. Search engines are getting smarter, moving SEO from manipulative tactics like keyword staffing to an art form that combines branding, content creation, and reputation management to capture highly-qualified visitors to your website.

Let’s zoom in to unveil the difference between the two strategies and decide where it is worth placing your effort.

Organic SEO vs. Local SEO

Imagine a pregnant woman researching strollers. She reads a few blog posts and decides to go to a physical store. She types “buy a stroller in Houston Texas,” and Google detects local intent so shows her the nearest and most trusted stores selling strollers in her area (within a two-mile radius).

Google generates a personalized list of three local companies that best match her search query – the Local 3-pack – and puts them at the top of the page to help her get a fast answer to her request.

Every business can be listed if it’s located within the search area (distance), is relevant (business category), and is trusted (prominence). The first two factors revolve totally around GMP listing data. At the same time, prominence (or reputation) is a result of your customer reviews and ranking.

Organic SEO has less to do with location but works well with less specific search queries, often showing up in business directories like Yelp or TripAdvisor. Your ‘plum cake’ search can lead you to a local cafe website having a recipe page (including a plum cake) aimed at capturing traffic.

Showing up on the first page of those results is critical because 75% of people won’t ever go to the second page. But being listed in the Local Pack helps local consumers find their way to your store, increasing your sales. Leading marketers who decide where to focus their efforts utilize local search marketing tools to grow their visibility and conduct research on competitors.

Top Local Search Ranking Factors in 2022

Studies reveal that search ranking factors differ for local organic results and the Local Pack. The top factors impacting your Local Pack visibility are your GBP (Google Business Profile) and review management, contributing over 50% to your chances of being found.

But suppose you’re trying to rank higher in organic local results. In that case, your company website must be well-organized and cited by other established websites. For the best results, multi-location brands should try to rank locally as well as organically.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

Apart from the fact that local SEO promotes your business 24/7, there are a bunch of reasons for businesses to invest in building a holistic SEO strategy. Here are some of them:

Local SEO helps your business stand out – even if you don’t have a website. When Google algorithms detect that search intent is local, Map Pack results will appear on the first page of the search results. These results are largely informed by your GBP listing, so having a website is not obligatory.

Local SEO offers a unique opportunity to reach ready-to-buy consumers. Every month there are more than 10.3 billion Google searches, with 78% of U.S. internet users researching products and services online. 76% of people who search for a product or service nearby visit a business within a day. This happens because SEO helps customers with an immediate need to find a supplier.

The conversion rate from local SEO is 7 times higher than from a website. Essentially, SEO gives you a chance to reach potential customers in the very last stage of the buying cycle. They’ve already decided what product they want. All they need is someone to sell it to them. The average conversion rate for websites from all sources of traffic is around 2%, and that’s for good websites. But SEO-driven traffic converts at up to 14.6%.

Marketers approach local SEO strategies differently, from optimizing content using local keywords to generating reviews. If you’re serious about boosting your local SEO, we recommend doing your research and picking up some local SEO marketing software to help you out along the way.

11 Top Local SEO Tools

Want to get ahead in the SEO game? These tools help you find out where a fix is needed, what your competitors are doing, and how you can outdo them.

But before we start, let’s turn to the basics. Fundamental and must-have free local SEO tools that most businesses with any online presence should begin with are Google Analytics and Google Search Console. They can help, for instance, to 1) spot trends or errors, 2) tag landing page URLs in local listings, and 3) slice data to get the whole local performance picture.

When your business is ready for a tech upgrade, here are 11 local SEO platforms that can take the weight off your team’s shoulders. Check them out.

1. PromoRepublic

PromoRepublic is a unified local marketing platform that helps franchise and multi-location businesses convert searches on Google and impressions on social to in-store sales.

With PromoRepublic’s insights and digital marketing tools, it’s easy to uncover growth opportunities for locations and manage local SEO, listings, reviews, and social media posting & ads all in one place.

The benefits and features of the Local SEO product:

• One of the easiest listing management tools to build citations and keep location data consistent across business directories. Rather than managing your listings one by one across all units, consistent location data is synced with 130+ directories automatically.
• A comprehensive local search ranking tool to oversee how your locations rank for specific keywords in Google.
• Robust Google Business Profile reporting makes it easy to track results like views, clicks, and rating performance from a single dashboard.
• A single or custom view of incoming GBP review streams for monitoring and replying to your customer feedback for every location.
• Posting & scheduling to the ‘What’s new?’ section of Google Business Profile to increase visibility on Google Search and Google Maps.

PromoRepublic has pricing plans for small businesses, marketing agencies, and multi-location businesses, including franchises and other brands with a distributed workforce. PromoRepublic offers a unified, complete solution to cover all digital marketing needs and help increase local business visibility in search. Book a demo to see it in action.

2. Local SEO by Semrush

Semrush is an industry heavyweight with over a decade of experience used by large companies to optimize their local search efforts.

• Semrush performs easy site checks on how well your business ranks in your target city. The local SEO audit tools are very simple to use, and it outputs a really-easy-to follow set of instructions for improving your performance in search results.
• Gives ideas for keyword targeting and compares it to competitors’ efforts. Semrush provides a lot of data relating not just to SEO, but to PPC too. Great if you want a tool that covers both areas.
• Provides a local SEO listing management module that utilizes local rankings, tracking, and other areas like local heatmaps. Customer review management costs extra.

Semrush pricing starts at $119.95 per month for one user. The high price is understandable, as you’re not just paying for functionality, you’re paying for access to tons of data. A 17% discount is available if you pay upfront for a year, and there’s also a 7-day trial.

3. Moz Local

A local SEO automation tool that offers keyword research, rank tracking, backlink analysis, and business listing management. It has a cheaper price tag and is very popular among online marketers.

Here are some of its key features:

• Creates and manages your local listings on Google, Facebook, and other sites to help consumers find and choose your business.
• Manages reviews and monitors review sentiment, common keywords in reviews, and customer feedback over time.
• Provides reporting to help you understand how to improve your profiles and identify which listings need attention.

Unlike Semrush, Moz’s entry-level plan is inexpensive, and its standard free trial is considerably longer than Semrush’s – 7 days vs 30 days.

4. Ahrefs

A data-driven local SEO platform for website audit and optimization, competitor analysis, keyword search, and tracking your ranking progress. Ahrefs’ proprietary data is what makes the tool unique.

• Backlink analysis is Ahrefs’ bread and butter feature. Advanced tech is crawling the web 24/7 and backlinks are updated every 15 minutes. Quality data is what the tool is known for.
• Keyword Explorer gives you tons of data on each keyword across Google, YouTube, Amazon, Bing, Yahoo, and Baidu.
• Content Explorer is a mini version of BuzzSumo designed to show you content that gets lots of social shares.
• Some help with PPC campaigns is included. You can see which ads and keywords generate the most traffic, and which landing pages the most paid visitors end upon.

When you purchase an annual plan, you save 20%. However, before you make an annual commitment, it’s recommended to take their 7 days trial which costs only $7. The Standard Plan is the minimum you should aim for if you need features such as broken pages and daily brand monitoring.

5. Mangools

This 5-in-1 local SEO checker provides a set of beginner-friendly tools including keyword research, SERP analysis, rank tracking, link tracking, and SEO metrics and insights.

• Provides a simple keyword position tracker with daily rank tracking updates. A really enjoyable and easy experience for finding new keywords.
• Monitors the SEO authority of your site including top content, backlinks, and competitors.
• Lacks reporting features and research data; is not as in-depth as other tools.
• Has a simply brilliant UI, and you can kickstart your SEO efforts without having to read or watch any tutorials.
• Has capped results, its biggest drawback. As such, to unlock the tool’s full potential, you’ll need to sign up for Mangools’ Agency Plan.

Unlike SEMrush, Moz, and Ahrefs, Mangools’ SEO software is affordable for bloggers and small businesses.

6. SE Ranking

This local search software provides a complete set of SEO tools perfect for small business owners, SEO pros, and agencies.

• Website rank tracking capability is SE Ranking’s key feature and lets you see exactly how your website is performing on SERP. This functionality is very well developed and is among the best in class.
• Very easy to set up: you can set everything up in just a few minutes.
• SE Ranking is not overwhelming compared to other SEO software. Its UI is very easy to use for people new to SEO since short explanations of its features accompany users along the way.
• The white-label feature lets you use SE Ranking to create your own SEO service.

Excellent value for money given its features and functionality. Moreover, its pricing structure lets you find the sweet spot for the power and functionality you need.

7. BrightLocal

A powerful local SEO tool that allows agencies and brands to improve local rankings, manage reviews, and generate more traffic and leads from local searches.

• Has a local search grid that was added in 2021 to show where your business is ranking on a granular level.
• Tracks keywords in Google & Bing with a simple rank tracker that visualizes rank in local SEO reports.
• Provides a local SEO citation tool for tracking and reporting.
• Allows managers to respond to GMB and social reviews in one view.
• Helps streamline review generation via its “Get Reviews” builder, which can be bought separately.

BrightLocal monthly plans start at $29 per month. Annual billing includes 2 free months. You’ll need the Multi-Business Plan for $49 per month for white-label reports.

8. Nightwatch

An advanced SEO rank tracker tool with daily keyword updates, keyword segmentation features, website audits, backlink monitoring, and automated local SEO reporting.

• One of the most accurate rank tracker tools on the market.
• Local SEO audit tools discover broken webpages, links, and missing metadata, segment your audit findings by URL and compare historic data.
• Extensive keyword filtering options provide the ability to quickly organize and segment keywords into distinct groups and save custom views.
• Customized reports. You can include the most important data in reports and schedule report delivery.

Nightwatch provides 3 fixed plans and custom enterprise plans for larger volume use. Annual billing offers savings of up to 40%.

9. Synup

Local SEO software that allows you to see how your business is doing on the most important local directories, search engines, and review sites.

• Local listing management across all main listings (up to 40). Voice search optimization included.
• Interaction monitoring allows you to get instant notifications when customers leave a review or social comment. You can respond to reviews from within the tool.
• Mobile app for adding or removing locations on the go as you grow.
• Help with customer behavior analysis and development of a more accurate customer persona.

Synup users have reported that for SMBs with a single location model, the pricing package is $30/location/device with an annual commitment. However, to get a more comprehensive quote, your business is required to get in touch with Synup’s sales team.

10. Yext

A suite of AI-powered search solutions that offers organizations a modern way to optimize their first- and third-party search experiences.

Yext provides the tools for:

• Listing management: Integration with a large set of maps, apps, search engines, and social networks, so your locations perform better in search.
• SEO-ready landing pages: Pages provide brands with all the tools they need to design custom sites that scale, drive traffic, and boost conversions.
• Review management: respond to reviews using a number of intelligent response methods, and generate first-party reviews for your locations, people, products, and more.

Depending on your business situation, this software can be a good choice, especially if you’re looking for a quick way to push out your business information to online directories. However, once your subscription ends, you may find listings disappear for good.

11. Serpstat

Serpstat is a complete SEO tool that covers the main aspects of the matter: keyword analysis, competitors, and backlink analysis.

• A local SEO ranking tool that updates daily and makes it easy to see how your site’s rankings are trending over time
• Besides the regular keyword selection, Serpstat offers search suggestions, related keywords, competitive keyword research, and more. Their keywords database parallels the database of major SEO companies like Ahrefs and SE Ranking.
• The SEO audit tool is fast, easily finds and fixes issues, and is thorough.
• Solid PPC analysis: If you rely on PPC ads to drive traffic to your website, you’ll probably get a ton of value out of the PPC tool suite.

Like most tools, Serpstat’s pricing depends on how much data you need and how many websites you manage. Overall, Serpstat is cheaper than Moz, Ahrefs, or Semrush. And if you run an agency or want an enterprise-level tool, Serpstat is also on the more affordable side.

Conclusion

Since almost every buyer experience begins with a search, it’s critical to be seen by local customers at the moment of a buying decision. The conversion rate of traffic driven in such a way is significantly higher, making local SEO worth the investment.

Whether or not your business will make its best showing in local search depends on your local SEO strategy. It takes a cohesive plan seasoned with a combination of marketing tools to drive a meaningful lift for a business. If you want to get ahead in the SEO game and rank higher, choose a technology partner offering local SEO tools that fit your business needs.

PromoRepublic can become a game-changer in your local SEO tactic. The platform helps grow your findability in local search, offer insights on your local landscape, improve your online reputation, and increase your local sales. Visit our website to find out more about PromoRepublic. Book a demo if you’re ready to take your local SEO to the next level right now.

The post 11 Best Local SEO Tools to Dominate Local Search Rankings in 2022 appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.

When users do a local search on their iPhones or iPads or use Siri for the same purpose, the top result will be from Apple Maps. To put it short, with over 113 million Apple users in the US, you just can’t ignore this audience.

Learn how to claim and optimize your Apple Maps business listing to gain more local traffic, boost sales, and earn more revenue.

What Is Apple Maps Listing and Why Is It Important?

Apple Maps is an in-built search, maps, and navigation program on Apple devices. By being listed on Apple Maps, you make it easier for ardent iPhone and iPad fans to reach your business.

Whether you are a small restaurant or a large real estate agency, claiming your Apple Maps business listing will be beneficial in a number of ways. Here they are:

• Positive impact on your online visibility. According to SEO Tribunal, 97% of consumers learn about a local business via the Internet. That means, that by not adding your business to Apple Maps, you lose a chance to acquire new clients.
• Providing accurate information about your business. Getting listed in this online local directory helps you share accurate up-to-date business details such as opening hours, address, the list of services, etc. with your potential customers, which positively impacts customer loyalty and contributes to your company’s credibility. According to SEO Tribunal, 88% of local searches on mobile result in either a visit or a phone call. That’s why keeping your business details up to date is critical for better customer acquisition.
• Building trust with your audience. For 49% of consumers, reviews appear to be as significant as personal recommendations when making their purchase decisions. By having your business on Apple Maps, you get an opportunity to establish trust with your customers due to the in-built rating system and existing integrations with Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Foursquare.

Eager to know how to develop and implement an effective Yelp strategy to generate more sales and revenue? Read our blog post on 12 best practices to generate 5-star Yelp business reviews.

How to Get Listed on Apple Maps [Step-by-Step Instructions]

Now that we’ve explained the importance of claiming your business on Apple’s directory, let’s see what steps you should follow to actually get listed there.

Apple Places on Maps and Apple Business Register Explained

To claim your business on Apple Maps, you should first have your company information on a self-service portal Apple Places on Maps (known previously as Apple Maps Connect). You can claim your business place if it hasn’t been added before. However, it’s likely Apple already has information about your company from other sources.

It’s highly recommended that you claim your own listing to ensure the information gathered by Apple is relevant and complete. That’s critical because Siri relies on those details to provide users with information on the company’s location, phone number, and more.

Apple’s Business Register is an analog of Google My Business service designed to allow business owners to manage how their company is presented in Apple’s ecosystem and provide role-based access to their brand’s information.

Want to know how the Google My Business service can improve the visibility of your multi-location company? Read our guide on managing your Google My Business profile to generate a steady flow of reviews, boost customer loyalty, and skyrocket your business.

Now let’s see how to claim your business on Apple Maps in 3 easy steps.

Step 1. Ensure You Have Your Apple ID

Having an Apple ID allows you to enjoy all Apple services. To create your Apple ID, you need to provide some basic information like your name, birthday, and email address. If you already have your business-associated Apple ID, then just sign in.

Step 2. Add Your Location on Apple Maps

You can enter your business name to check whether Apple has any information about your company. If yes, claim this place by clicking the corresponding button. If not, choose the “Add a missing place” option and enter your business details like your company name, phone number, and status (open/closed).

Also, you need to choose your business category (or suggest one if it’s not on the list) and specify whether you accept payments with Apple Pay.

Step 3. Verify Your Company With Apple Business Register

This step includes verification of your company by phone to ensure you’re a legitimate business representative. During this automated call on the phone number you indicated, you’ll be provided a four-digit PIN code to enter.

Congrats! You’re now listed on Apple Maps.

Optimizing Your Apple Maps Business Listing

When your business listing is already there, you might want to get it corrected or updated. Change necessary details about your company:

• opening hours;
• display name;
• address;
• place status;
• links to your company’s website, social media networks, and your official app if you have any in the App Store.

Provide as much information as possible so your listing is better optimized and has more chances to be given preference in search results.

New listings should show up within about a week after Apple’s approval process. And if they need anything else from you, they’ll contact you through the email address associated with your Apple ID.

Ratings on Apple Maps: How They Work

Apple users can rate places on the Apple Maps app. The in-built rating system works alongside existing integrations with Tripadvisor, Yelp, and Foursquare. It uses a thumbs up and thumbs down system to rate the overall quality of the company.

Users can’t leave any written feedback. However, they can add their own photos of places that will be displayed alongside reviews provided by the above-mentioned review platforms.

Reviews are an important part of your reputation management. Learn how to enhance your reputation management in 6 simple steps.

The Bottom Line

Adding a listing for businesses with one location is pretty simple. However, claiming and keeping up-to-date an Apple Maps business listing for multi-location brands can be overwhelming and challenging. Working with platforms like PromoRepublic will make it easier to manage brand data and effectively optimize your local online presence across the network of 130+ global-local search platforms like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Trustpilot, etc. Forget about manually filling in data. Content disseminates automatically, ensuring consistency.

Apart from managing all your listings in one place, PromoRepublic allows you to monitor and respond to customer feedback left on any of the 130+ review sites. Finally, the platform lets you oversee what’s happening with your online listings across all locations via performance dashboards.

Book a demo with our expert to see how PromoRepublic can help your business drive local engagement and bring new customers to your business.

The post The Whys and Hows of Your Apple Maps Business Listing [Step-by-Step Instructions] appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.

Keep on reading to learn how to use and optimize Google Business Profile for multiple locations, generate free Google Reviews, use them in your marketing, and track your performance.

Contents:

• How to Set Up Google My Business for Multiple Locations
• 5 Proven Strategies to Get Free Google Reviews
• Leveraging Prominent Reviews in Your Marketing Materials
• How to Evaluate Your Google Business Profile Performance
• Final Thoughts

How to Set Up Google My Business for Multiple Locations

Step #1 – Create a Business Group

The first step to managing multiple locations under one Business Profile account is to create a business group. Business groups allow you to sort locations within your organization under a group, make updates, or share access to several profiles simultaneously.

To set up a business group and start adding locations:

• Sign in to your Google Business Profile Manager;
• Click Businesses at the top left side;
• If you have several companies under your profile, use the search bar to find the target organization. If you haven’t claimed any company, click the Add Business tab at the middle right of the screen and follow the prompts to do so;
• Select the Create group option and enter;
• Enter the name of your group and click Create;
• Next, select the business group you just created. Click Add location and follow the prompts to complete the process.

Step #2 – Update Information About Your Locations

Entering detailed, accurate information about your business improves your chances of appearing in relevant searches.

But for businesses with multiple locations, filling in information one at a time can be time-consuming. That’s where bulk uploading comes in.

The bulk uploading system allows you to update all business information for several locations at scale. To own a bulk verified account, you must have 10 or more locations. Once that’s in place, follow these simple steps to start bulk uploading.

Step #3 – Add High-Quality Photos for Each Location

Appealing visuals help shoppers to determine whether your business offers what they are searching for. Ideally, ‌add location-specific photos that showcase the offerings of each of your stores. If you have a bulk-verified Google Business Profile, you can upload several images at once through a spreadsheet.

Once you’ve uploaded the pictures, consider updating them at least once a month.

Step #4 – Start Leveraging Google Business Profile Posts

GBP posts allow you to communicate with potential buyers through your Google business listing and drive traffic with keyword-optimized posts. You can share the latest news, promote offers, publicize special events, and highlight products or services.

However, this feature doesn’t support bulk posting. You’d still need to make posts from each location, spending more time than you should. To scale the process, consider using social media scheduling tools to post to several locations all at once.

Step #5 – Set Up a Review Management Process

Online review management involves tracking, responding to, and encouraging customer reviews. For individual businesses, it is a straightforward process. But for multi-location organizations that rely on several platforms such as GBP reviews and Facebook, tracking all reviews manually is extremely difficult. The result? Missed reviews, costly marketing efforts, and poor customer service. That’s why you should invest in an online reputation management tool to streamline the process.

The ideal review management software—not only allows you to gather reviews efficiently—but also helps you ‌boost your SEO rankings through timely responses. For instance, PromoRepublic’s Inbox for Google My Business helps multi-location companies manage incoming communication from different channels in one place. You can respond to GBP reviews, Facebook comments, direct messages, and reviews from one platform, saving you more time and operational costs.

5 Proven Strategies to Get Free Google Reviews

1. Ask for Reviews

Do you think that asking for Google My Business reviews directly is futile? Think again. You might be surprised at the number of customers that’ll be willing to leave one. So, why not try? You can start by asking via emails after delivering a product or service. Or after helping a customer resolve an issue. Other places to ask for reviews include social media posts and private messages, in-app prompts, in-store, or SMS.

Here are some general-purpose templates for requesting free reviews:

Template #1

Subject line: How was your experience?

Dear [Customer name],

Thank you for choosing us to [handle a specific service]! We enjoyed serving you.

Could you take a moment to share your experience with us via the link below? Your feedback will help us improve our services for you and other customers like you.

[Insert Link]

Template #2

Hi [Customer name],

Happy with our services? Please help other customers find us by leaving us a Google review here [Insert link].

Thanks!

Template #3

Dear [Customer name],

Thanks for shopping with us! Now that you’ve received your [items], we hope they give you great pleasure as your patronage brought to us!

Did our services meet your expectations? Help us ‌continue providing you with the best service by leaving us a quick Google review.

[Insert Link]

2. Add Your GBP Links to Your Marketing Channels

Customers interact with your businesses through various mediums. Adding your Google profile link could help you get in front of your existing users and receive more free reviews.

Most times, your GBP listing link may include an endless string of odd characters. To create a cleaner look, use link shorteners to customize yours. And then, use them at strategic points of your marketing channels. This includes your website, email signature, and print materials.

3. Optimize Your GBP Listing

Google My Business optimization services help you improve your chances of appearing in relevant searches. When done right, Local SEO for multiple locations will help you rank at the top 3 listings of the search engine results page. These top listings are known as the Google 3-pack. They appear as maps results, featuring Google map reviews drawn from your GBP listing.

Here are some tactics you can use to improve your local rankings:

• Start by evaluating where your business stands among competition;
• Claim your listings in all locations;
• Enter accurate information such as business name, categories, services, business description, addresses, operational hours, etc.;
• Make quality posts;
• Encourage high-quality reviews and ratings;
• Garner locally relevant links and backlinks to boost visibility;
• Focus on building a social media presence.

4. Don’t Forget to Respond to Reviews

In brand reputation management, your response matters. It shows that you’re listening and also value their feedback.

Your response time matters as well—not just in positive reviews—but most importantly, in negative reviews where the customer is unsatisfied.

For speedy response, choose a review management software like PromoRepublic that allows you to manage all your business listings from one place. Also, create templates that’ll serve as a guide for responding to reviews.

Here are some templates that highlight how to respond to Google reviews.

Example of a positive review response:

Dear [Customer Name],

Thank you for taking the time to leave us an outstanding review!

We’re ecstatic to hear that our services helped you [the result the customer mentioned]. We appreciate your business and hope to see you again!

Thanks!
[Staff Name]

Example of a negative review response:

Dear [Customer Name]

Thank you for your feedback.

We are sorry to hear that your experience with us didn’t your expectations. Reviews like yours give us a chance to do better and we’d love to make this right if you give us another chance.

Please reach out to us at [contact details] with your concerns, challenges, or suggestions.

All the best,
[Staff name]

5. Meet Customers’ Expectations

Okay, this one might be obvious, but satisfied customers are your greatest ambassadors. When you go beyond and above for your buyers, they’ll be happy with your business. They will be more likely to leave you a free 5-star google review or higher ratings that’ll help you attract more buyers.

Leveraging Prominent Reviews in Your Marketing Materials

Once you have a stream of positive reviews, it’s time to amplify them. Promoting customer reviews serves two main purposes. For one, it establishes credibility for prospects. Today, 77% of consumers always read reviews when considering local businesses. Incorporating these assets in your local online marketing could help you stand out as a top choice.

But keep in mind that customers can spot false information from a mile away. Luckily, GBP does not allow anonymous google reviews which are prone to manipulation. So, you’d only need to set up ways to weed out fake google reviews.

Another benefit of using reviews in your marketing is that it may encourage reluctant customers to share theirs. This could help improve your rankings and brand reputation.

Here are some ways to leverage reviews in your marketing materials:

• Embed Google review widgets on your homepage;
• Share on social media;
• Include them in your landing pages and pricing packages;
• Highlight them in your case studies;
• Showcase them in your promotional videos;
• Include them in your email signature.

How to Evaluate Your Google Business Profile Performance

One way to analyze your performance is through Google’s service known as Insights. This tool provides you with data on how customers interact with your GBP listing. However, it has some critical limitations.

For one, it is prone to data glitches. For instance, some users commonly report missing Google profile activity and photo data. When this happens, you may lose key insights that could you optimize performance.

Also, It doesn’t pull in reviews from other platforms. If you are active on other review platforms like Yelp or Facebook, it becomes a challenge to have a bird’s-eye view on your overall online reputation. Thus, tracking reviews from these sources may take time and more resources.

So what’s a better option?

An online reputation management software. An efficient and reliable tool such as PromoRepublic, allows you to access advanced insights into your GBP performance. Not only can you manage Google business accounts, but you can also get Facebook reviews insights. A remarkable feature called Review Performance Analytics within our software takes it even a step further.

It helps you monitor customer satisfaction, the speed at which local teams or customer care approach online reviews, and how the volume of reviews changes over time.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to multi-location marketing, one of the best free tools to help save time and money is the Google Business Profile. Once you set it up, dig into the tactics mentioned to generate a steady stream of quality reviews. But that’s not where it ends. Don’t forget to leverage the top-quality reviews in your marketing channels. And most importantly, track your performance using a reputation management tool, such as PromoRepublic, that gives you an accurate insight into your GBP listing, Facebook, and others all in one place.

To check the value of our Review Performance Analytics first-hand, book a demo now with one of our marketing experts.

The post Google My Business for Multiple Locations: 5 Ideas for Getting Free Google Reviews appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.

Yelp Page Activation to Get the Most Out of Your Account

It will help if you re-evaluate how your business appears on Yelp before embarking on generating reviews. That said, you need to activate your Yelp page in order to get the most from your Yelp marketing strategy. Here is how you can do it:

Step #1 – Claim Your Yelp Business Profile

Business owners can claim a business on Yelp by undergoing the site’s verification process. Fulfilling this gives you access to a suite of free tools that can help enhance your business’s visibility on Yelp. Moreover, claimed businesses can respond to funny reviews on Yelp via a public comment or direct message, update photos, and enrich the page with a biography.

Step #2 – Make It Easy for Potential Customers to Find You

Consumers want to know the business location and when exactly to access your products and services. After claiming your business profile, complete it by filling out as much information as possible about your company to optimize the chances of someone finding your profile on Yelp. That said, add your company’s physical address, website URL, and a detailed description of the services you provide. It will also help if you give up-to-date business information, such as closures, operating hours, and mobile phone numbers.

Don’t forget to leverage relevant keywords to optimize your Yelp profile for more visibility on the Internet.

Step #3 – Leverage the Yelp Business App

Yelp Business App gives you the right tools at your disposal to engage customers on the go. With the convenience of all these tools on your phone, you can get data about your user views, customer leads, and other activity on your Yelp Business Page through real-time insights. Moreover, if you run paid ads on Yelp as part of your Yelp marketing strategy, you get insights into the total number of Ad clicks to complement your overall Yelp marketing strategies.

Step #4 – Consider Using Yelp Enhanced Business Profile Features

You can also leverage Yelp enhanced business features to increase the functionality of your page. These features include an additional CTA button for customers to engage with your business directly, an enhanced photo gallery for easy product updates, and Yelp deals for exclusive offers, such as discounts.

Once done with the above steps, your Yelp page is optimized to appear in the first-page search results. Now, it’s time to get as many 5-star reviews as possible to create a positive brand sentiment.

12 Proven Tactics That Will Give You the Best Yelp Reviews

According to Harvard Business School, a 1-star increase on Yelp could lead to a 5-9% increase in business revenue. But are Yelp reviews reliable? Yes, because they are your brand’s advocates. Happy customers will likely influence new ones to buy from your brand.

Below you can learn about 12 proven tactics that will help you get started with the first positive reviews on Yelp.

1. Get Initial Reviews From Your Network

First, you’ll need to get initial reviews within your existing network as a foundation. You can ask your friends, family, and staff members to give honest reviews on your Yelp profile. While doing this, be on the watch out for customers who often talk about your business and invite them to leave their reviews on the page as well.

After that, send out a mass email to your current customers informing them of the new business listing on Yelp business reviews. You’ll be surprised how many of your customers will be willing to give detailed reviews highlighting their experiences. Also, echo the same message in your periodical newsletters to encourage more happy customers to leave reviews.

2. Ask Customers to Check In to Your Business

It looks unprofessional to solicit positive reviews from your customers directly. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t remind customers to check into your business on the Yelp app. If a customer includes a photo with their check-in information, Yelp will automatically send them an email within a day or so requesting them to leave a review. And they’ll gladly do so if you gave them an awesome experience.

3. Embed Yelp Badge on Your Website

There is a very high likelihood that the majority of consumers will interact with your website first before proceeding to compare Google reviews vs Yelp. That said, displaying a Yelp badge on your website can help drive traffic to your Yelp business profile. Moreover, Yelp review badges allow you to showcase existing Yelp reviews on your website.

4. Leverage Social Media By Sharing Positive Reviews

While soliciting for reviews directly is unprofessional, it’s not a crime to share some of the positive reviews with your audience. Social media sounds like a good platform for sharing reviews, thanks to the high number of active users. Besides driving sales, this move can encourage other happy customers to review your business too. Remember, the higher the number of positive reviews, the more your business looks credible and trustworthy.

5. Use Yelp Branding In-Store

It will help if you also target your physical in-store customers in a bid to get more Yelp reviewers on the page. That said, order a free window cling for Yelp in-store branding. Ensure that this window cling sits on a noticeable area, preferably at the entry and exit points of your local store. Alternatively, you can hang the window cling alongside wall menus.

6. Try Follow-Up Text Messages

Text messaging is gaining traction as a way of following up on consumer experiences. Besides a higher response rate of about 45%, 90% of consumers will likely open your text messages within three minutes of receipt. You can include a Yelp profile link in your follow-up text messages to encourage happy customers to leave positive reviews.

7. Leverage Receipts

Receipts work nearly the same way as follow-up texts. Consumers often love to confirm prices and discount rates later on receipts after purchasing products or services. If it’s a digital receipt, you can embed a Yelp badge on it and encourage the consumer to leave a comment. Alternatively, you can just include a short CTA, to prompt customers to talk about their experiences on Yelp.

8. Offer an Incentive

Yelp deals include discounts and you can take advantage of this to offer direct incentives to your customers. For instance, you can create a check-in offer for Yelp customers who can claim it via the site. Moreover, Yelp incentives also come with other benefits, such as driving orders on days that are typically slower, such as weekdays.

9. Run an Ad

Running an ad on Yelp places your business among the top listings in search results. Typically, first-responding businesses with actively running ads always appear first in search results as opposed to businesses in the sponsored ad sections. This gives you an upper hand in a highly competitive industry, positioning your business for better visibility and more positive Yelp reviews.

10. Post Regular Updates

Think of Yelp as a social media platform that allows you to share business updates with a more specific target audience. This is because the site has a feature that allows you to post critical updates and stay in touch with your consumers. Some of these updates may include new menu offerings, upgraded services, or logistical changes. Regular updates show your customers that you are active on the Yelp page and encourage them to leave more reviews or trust the existing ones.

11. Monitor Your Account and Respond to Existing Reviews

Although it can be tricky responding to bad Yelp reviews, doing so shows your customers that you care. It also builds trust with new prospects and positively affects your online reputation, knowing that your business owns up to its shortcomings.
Moreover, it’s common and understandable to experience a couple of unhappy customers who will leave bad reviews on Yelp. That said, you need to respond to both positive and negative reviews because nearly 89% of consumers are waiting to read your business’ response to its reviews. In that case, it will help if you don’t exude any anger in your responses.

12. Consider Utilizing Review Management Software

As your business picks up, you’ll start getting many reviews from multiple sites, some of them fronted by independent consumers. This can be pretty overwhelming, especially if you have a culture of tracking and responding to every review. It even gets more daunting if you are a national brand serving multiple locations.

Fortunately, you can leverage review management software to ensure brand image and response consistency across all locations. For example, PromoRepublic allows you to manage all your customer reviews and communication for every location via one dashboard.

Additionally, the platform helps monitor customer satisfaction and speed at which local teams or customer care approach online reviews via in-depth analytics.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Yelp Marketing And Reviews

How to embed Yelp reviews on your website?

Unlike a screenshot or copy-pasted reviews, embedded Yelp business reviews feature up-to-date rating and review count. You can embed positive reviews on your website in the following steps:

• Choose your recommended review on Yelp official site;
• Click review options;
• Select embed review and copy the embedding code;
• Paste the code at the right section of your website.

How to respond to a bad Yelp Review?

Knowing how to respond to Yelp reviews, whether positive or bad is critical. When it comes to negative reviews, you need to be brief, apologetic, and shoot straight to the point. After that, encourage the customer to pursue their concerns offline before resuming online conversation resolving the matter.

Can business owners delete Yelp reviews?

Many business owners would want to know how to remove negative Yelp reviews that unnecessarily tarnish brand image. Well, it’s possible to initiate the process with Yelp, especially if the subject review violates Yelp review guidelines. However, it’s not a guarantee that Yelp will remove the reviews.

Should you buy positive Yelp reviews?

Buying positive Yelp reviews is purely an aesthetic choice for business owners. However, you can buy one or two if your business is in a position to pay for Yelp reviews. But keep in mind there are many risks associated with buying yelp reviews as Yelp is not keen on the idea of people trying to cheat their system. If Yelp’s algorithm suspects a review is not genuine, it automatically hides it so that potential customers will not likely see it. Hence, buying reviews can easily turn into a complete waste of your money. It will help if you offer the best services or know how to get a bad review off Yelp so that you don’t worry about buying in the first place.

Why are some Yelp reviews not recommended?

Some Yelp business reviews may not be recommended if the platform suspects they are fake, biased, or unhelpful. To illustrate, roughly 25% of all user reviews are not recommended by the algorithm. Some of them are filtered simply because the reviewer is inexperienced, while Yelp aims to provide in-depth, throughout opinions for its users. However, customers can still search the Yelp filtered review and browse through them.

The Bottom Line

Yelp enables people to search for local businesses based on customer ratings and reviews. Despite myths that Yelp markering is only for restaurants, it covers a broad range of industry sectors such as beauty and fitness, travel and hotel, health and medical, home services, and many more.

As a brick-and-mortar business owner, you can use Yelp to showcase your products and services and connect with customers and prospects in your local area. To do so, you need a comprehensive Yelp marketing strategy that includes a step-by-step plan for generating a consistent flow of positive reviews.

In this article, we’ve reviewed 12 proven tactics to help you get those 5-start reviews coming in. Be aware that responding to customer reviews is as critical as generating them and can create a dialogue and show customers you value their feedback. If you have many locations to manage, consider using an online reputation software or a local marketing platform, such as PromoRepublic, to effectively manage communication in different areas via one dashboard. To see how it works, book a demo now.

The post Yelp Marketing: 12 Best Practices to Generate 5-Star Yelp Business Reviews appeared first on PromoRepublic Blog | Insights for Franchise & Multi-Location Marketers.