What is the Google 3-Pack?
The Google 3-Pack is kind of like an online popularity contest for businesses. You want your business to show up in the top three listings in search. For example, if you do a Google search on “seafood” within the KC Metro area, you will see three company listings.
This listing is consistent with how search results appear on your phone. Note of the star rating for each business – Google is rewarding these businesses for having several online reviews, and good ones at that. You’ll also notice that below the three options you have the option to click on “More places,” which then opens up all local options. The odds of a user clicking on more places when they already have three solid options to choose from is slim.
Now you can see how vital it has become to be in that 3-pack for your business to succeed. Without this, it’s much more challenging to get your business in front of potential customers.
How to get Listed by Google
Start by Optimizing Your Google My Business Profile
If you want to stand out in Google’s ranking system, you must claim and optimize your Google My Business listing, just like the seafood restaurants have. Here’s what to include:
- Accurate business information: your business name, address, phone number, website (!), etc.
- Add useful images of your business – food, products and services you offer.
- Enter an informative company description with keywords for your business and links to pages on your website. For the seafood category, we would want to be sure and let our audience know the type of food offered, any amenities, like a bar or patio, kid friendly, etc.
Google Reviews
The first place to push online reviews is of course, on Google. Next up, encourage online reviews on other sites as well, like Yelp, and Yellow Pages, and Angie’s List, etc. (see Claim Aggregator Sites below to get started). Having the best star rating and several reviews not only increases your chance of reaching the top three of the local pack, but it also means your business has an excellent chance of a visit or purchase.
Claim Aggregator Sites
It’s essential to claim and update your business profiles on the available aggregator sites. This helps to increase results for your business on search, and allow different types of users to find you on different sites. Here are the most important to tackle first:
- Bing
- Yelp
- Trip Advisor
Send Customers to a Great Website
It’s imperative that you have a site that has an easy user experience and has meaningful content.This means that you should include blogs, videos, articles, images, and information that potential customers will find helpful. You want to keep customers on your site for as long as you can in order to motivate them to buy your products and services or make a reservation.
Google monitors interactions with your site, so the more your site converts new customers, the more Google will increase the site ranking in organic search results, and push you into the much sought after 3-pack.
The moral of the story is: Don’t lose business because you haven’t taken the time to ensure your online listings are current and solid.
