How to get in the Google 3 pack. You might have already heard about Google snack pack and how appearing on this valuable Google search results space is valuable in giving your business a boost. But do you know that while many businesses are aware of what Google 3 pack is, not all are maximizing their potential to appear in the local 3 pack?
You can’t pay Google to appear in the local 3 pack. Your business will just show up on this list if your search engine optimization strategies are effective. It’s your prize for your efforts.
Having a solid plan with the goal of putting your business in the local pack will help you get more website traffic and actual visitors to your storefront.
In this guide, we’ll help you understand what Google snack pack is and what strategies can effectively put you in this highly valued spot.
What is Google Snack Pack
The Google 3 pack is a pack of three local businesses that Google considers as the most relevant to a particular search query. So when you search for an establishment and use the keywords +your location” or “near me,” Google will generate a list of potential businesses that fit what the user is looking for.
The top 3 businesses that appear on the list are what you call the Google Local 3 pack, or more popularly known as Google 3 pack or local pack.
Local businesses compete to improve their organic rankings and be included in the local pack, so it’s just a matter of whose strategies are more effective.
However some may find this process too expensive or time consuming due to how competitive it has become over recent years with SEO agencies popping up everywhere promising quick fixes for raising your rank higher than ever before!
The GMB Crush Extension X can help you by improving your listing within hours rather than days without any outrageous fees which will save both money and frustration when trying other methods first hand!
We will give you insights into how effective your strategies are in relation to what your competitors are already doing. From there, you can strategize to get ahead of other businesses in the local pack competition.
Why It Matters to Appear in the Google Snack Pack
Getting one of the spots in the local 3 pack is critical for your business as it impacts your overall business operation particularly on the side of local marketing. This is the reason why many local SEO and digital marketing campaigns focus on boosting a business’s position in the Google 3 pack.
Fifty-six percent of people who visit a local establishment say that they first did a Google search using their mobile browser to know where to go. Also, 44 percent of those who use Google search before visiting a brick and mortar location say that they use maps and other mapping software to help them find a business that fits their needs. Since the Google 3 pack already contains the information they need about your business, you are effectively influencing their decision to choose you.If your Google My Business listing appears on the maps and Google local 3 pack, you have a bigger chance of getting more foot traffic. In fact, more than 50 percent of local searches result in physical store visits and 76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours and 28% of those searches result in a purchase.
3 Effective Ways to Ensure Domination on Google Snack Pack
1. Optimize your Google My Business profile
Your Google My Business profile is the primary source of information about your local business.
That’s why it’s vital for your business health to fully optimize your listing for local SEO or local search.
Having an optimized Google My Business listing will greatly improve your online presence. This in turn helps your target consumers easily find relevant and critical information about your entity.
There are many best practices and tips for optimizing your Google My Business to improve your online presence and boost your ranking in local searches but among the most impacting are the following:
Keep your business information including your address and phone number complete, engaging, and up to date.
Imagine a potential customer searching the net for a product or service.
What information is relevant to their decision to choose you? You should be able to address this in your listing.
Don’t forget to include complete information about the nature of your business, your list of products or services, hours of operation, and updated business address and phone number among others.
When it comes to location, make sure it’s verified on Google Maps. Also, don’t forget to add posts in your profile on a regular basis.
Add quality photos that reflect your brand.
An image tells so much about your business, so make sure that each photo you attach speaks the brand you want to represent. Adding photos regularly tells Google that your listing is up-to-date and this can positively impact your ranking.
Aside from that, photos can drive more engagement. According to Google, 42 percent of those searching for a business near them are likely to request driving directions if the Google My Business profile has photos.
Manage and respond to Google reviews in a timely manner.
Reviews reflect the level of satisfaction your customers have for your product or service. Always aim for a 5-star rating. And to attain this, it entails consistency in what you deliver. But more than that, you also need to respond to your consumers’ reviews as they convey a message that you care about what your customers say. This in turn could help generate more good reviews from your customers.
Choose the right primary and secondary categories.
Do you know that a whopping 84 percent of Google My Business listing views come from discovery searches? Discovery searches are when users search for a product or searches or category terms and your business profile appears in the search results.
Categories can make your listing more specific. This is especially useful if your business name doesn’t contain the type of service you offer. For instance, “Sarah’s Express”, or “Emi’s Place.” Your category will give your target consumers an idea of what your business is about.
Do you still have unanswered questions about which categories to add and in what order? Our Google My Business Audit tool can help, with just a few clicks.
Google My Business greatly impacts local search and in particular, Google local pack.
Make it your top priority to have an optimized listing.
2. Create a mobile-friendly site
Google puts a high priority on user experience. In fact, in 2015, it released the “mobile-friendly update” and sites that meet this attribute received a massive boost in rankings. With more than 50 percent of internet traffic coming from mobile users, your local business will have a better chance of ranking in the local search and be included in the top three results if it is mobile-friendly.
Of course, this is easier said than done. It requires a lot of best practices to make it happen but you could start with these simple tips:
- Make site speed a priority
- Keep your web design simple
- Don’t use pop-ups and text-blocking ads
- Make your website responsive and easy to navigate
- Make sure that your pages adapt to the screens of your users
- Regularly test if all the text, images, videos and animations load flawlessly
- Perform regular mobile testing
3. Use GMB Crush
We know that optimizing Google My Business listings to be included in Google’s 3 pack can be a time-consuming and tedious process. For many startups, it may be too much of a task. So instead of worrying about local SEO, you could use GMB Crush to take care of this job for you so that you can focus on other important aspects of running your business.
GMB Crush simplifies local SEO. What we do is that we conduct an audit of other Google My Business listings that are considered your competitors. We give that information back to you in easy to understand reports through your GMB Crush Dashboard.
We provide information such as how other listings wrote their Google listing description, what categories they use, how many Google posts they have in the last 90 days, and more.
Those are vital information that can help you make the right decision to move forward with your local SEO strategies and improve your ranking.
The bottom line is, we are here to improve your online presence and give you better chances of ranking in the Google 3 pack.
Final Thoughts
Being included in Google’s snack pack is crucial for your business’ success. This is the goal of your competitors and you should make it your goal too!
There are many winning strategies that can help get your business a spot in the local 3 pack. However, in all these strategies, you can easily get confused about where to start or what to do next.
If you are in this dilemma, GMB Crush can help you.
While many businesses spend a significant amount of money on local marketing, digital marketing, search engine optimization and social media campaigns, you’ll only spend a fraction of what they are spending.
With our audit tool, you know specifically what strategies work for your competitors that you can emulate. You’ll also be able to see what current strategies you have that need a boost.
It is something that can help you create a winning game plan right? 🙂
Happy Crush!
SEO Lover, my motto is Action Over Words.
