Small Business Tax Center
Small Business Ideas, Grants &
Plans to Start & Run a Business:

Small Business Grants
CyberSchmooz
Network in Cyberschmooz Community Ask Questions Questions and Answers Share Tips Small Business Ideas List Your Business Business Advice from Idea Cafe Experts Coffee Talk with Experts Starting A Business Business Plan Biz Planning | Sample Plans Small Business Ideas Idea Name Your Biz Name Plan Your Biz Plan Financing $ Starting a Business Do It! Running your Business Marketing Tips Promotional Merchandise Marketing Tips Marketing | Sales | Customers Human Resources HR | Employees | Contractors Legal Forms & Tax Information Legal | Biz Forms Managing a Business Managing | Operations
Financing Resources Financing Your Business E Commerce & Webhosting eCommerce Take Out Info Trade Publications FREE Trade Publications Business Books Biz Books Your Own Business Small Business News Small Biz News Gen X Biz Gen X Biz Work at Home Work @ Home Business Information The Fridge - Biz Info on Ice Destress Send Awards Send Awards & Greetings Yoga At Your Desk Yoga @ Your Desk Fun Guide Guide to Find FUN Online About Idea Cafe Press Idea Cafe has received Idea Cafe in the News Idea Cafe's Kudos Kudos for Idea Cafe Advertise on Idea Cafe Advertise on Idea Cafe Privacy Policy Privacy Policy Contact Idea Cafe Contact Idea Cafe Link to Idea Cafe Link to/from Idea Cafe Join Idea Cafe
Search Idea Cafe Site Directory Site Map Online directory to business resources Biz Web Guide



Expert Answers to Biz Questions

Listen in! Pick up some expert advice to a reader's question that we selected from CyberSchmooz.

color business bar

Local SEO Misconceptions About Google My Business That Should Not Exist

 

When it comes to local SEO, there are many different misconceptions that exist. This is completely normal since local SEO is rather new when compared with everything else in the industry. If you want the best possible results, you need to be aware of what you could do wrong. This is why you want to avoid the following, based on research done by professionals involved in SEO in Sydney. These are all misconceptions associated with Google My Business, which is a big part of local SEO right now. Use them to not waste time with bad results.

 

Suite Numbers As Ranking Factor

In many cases, business owners think that suite number influences local ranking. This is why they insist on adding the suite number in Google My Business or even add something extra to it to make it seem unique. Google ignores the suite numbers and if you add one that does not exist, like adding an extra “A” to the listing, you can even end up with problems as Google might remove the listing.

You do want to add the suite number if it exists since it is very important for customers, but it does not actually have an impact on local SEO rankings.

 

Ranking Is Penalized When Guidelines Are Broken

When you break the guidelines in Google My Business, there are two things that can happen:

  • A soft suspension is issued and you cannot manage the business through your account for some time.
  • A hard suspension is issued. In this case the listing is removed, together with map listings, reviews and images. If this happens, there is zero ranking anywhere.

What has to be understood is that when the soft suspension happens, rankings are not influenced. Rankings for local results are influenced on Yelp as it does penalize the business that is breaking guidelines.

 

Service Area As Ranking Factor

There are many business owners that think service area is an important ranking factor as they get extra points because they service more regions. This is not actually the case. If you service 20 cities, rankings will not be influenced in any of them simply because they are serviced. The locations that you rank in will be influenced by address location, together with the user’s searched city.

 

If Ranking Issues Appear, You Have To Contact Support

There is a support team that Google My Business has. It is available through email, chat, phone, a forum, Facebook and Twitter. These are services that are quite useful and you want to contact support in the event that there are problems with the GMB listing. This does not mean that you should contact if there are ranking issues.

Those that will answer the support lines do not work as SEO experts. They usually have no clue how the Google algorithm works. You will not get any result as you ask support since knowledge is low and ranking is not actually a support-worthy issue. In the event that there are ranking problems, you need to identify what happened yourself.

Google      

Small Business Tax CenterIdea Cafe HomeSign UpBiz Grant CenterCyberSchmoozCoffee Talk with ExpertsPeople in Biz ProfilesStarting Your BizBiz PlanningRunning Your BizFREE Trade PublicationsMarketingFinancing Your BizHuman ResourcesLegal & Biz FormsManaging Your BizeCommerceYou and Your BizGen XWork@HomeThe FridgeDe-StressSend an AwardSend an eGreetingYoga @ Your DeskWeb GuideIdea Cafe in the NewsAbout Idea CafeAdvertise on Idea CafeContact UsPrivacy PolicySite MapSmall Biz News

Copyright 1995-2024, Idea Cafe Inc. Downloads are for personal use only, not for resale to others, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission from Idea Cafe Inc.

DISCLAIMER: We hope whatever you find on this site is helpful, but be cautioned that it may not apply to your own situation, or be totally current at any given time. Idea Cafe Inc. and all of its current and past experts, sponsors, advertisers, agents, contractors and advisors disclaim all warranties with regard to anything found anywhere on this family of websites, quoted from, or sent from Idea Cafe. and its related sites, publications and companies. We also take no responsibility for comments published by others on these pages.

TRADEMARKS: The following are Registered Trademarks or Servicemarks of DevStart, Inc.: Idea Cafe®, Online Coffee Break®, The Small Business Gathering Place®, Take out Info®, Biz Bar & Grill®, Complaint-O-Meter®, A Fun Approach to Serious Business™, CyberSchmooz™, and BizCafe™.