According to Yell Business, reviews can also help improve communication and customer service. They give your business credibility and act as social proof, even for very new businesses. Online reviews also provide other customers with valuable company information, with first-hand insights that business owners may not have thought to share.

Reviews are also becoming more prominent as a content format in their own right. Star ratings are increasingly visible in search results, with review add-ons for Google Ads and ratings in local search via Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). Sometimes, snippets of actual reviews appear in results, making them a highly visible source of information and a frequent stop on the customer path to purchase.

In ranking terms, reviews are also important. The 2017 LocalSEO Guide ranking factors study pegged reviews as one of the most important local ranking factors. The number of good and bad reviews received was determined to play a part in local pack positioning, as was the speed and frequency of response.

Responding to reviews is a way of showing the world how much you care about the customer experience — as well as being a way to earn a few more local SEO brownie points. All reviews should be acknowledged promptly, but it’s particularly easy to succumb to temptation and respond to a negative review as soon as you see it. Before you give in to this impulse, it pays to be aware of the six core types of reviewer so you can formulate an appropriate, effective response to fit.

1. The First-time Reviewer

With only 63% of consumers having left a review for a local business, there are still plenty of shoppers out there who haven’t ever felt moved to review a business.

When you do encounter a first-time reviewer, keep in mind that if yours is the first review they’ve left, they clearly feel quite strongly about their experience (whether good or bad).

How to deal with the First-time Reviewer

You should take a first-time reviewer seriously and if good, appreciate that your service must have been outstanding to push them into leaving a review. Make sure to pass this feedback on to your team, and congratulate them on a job well done!

On the flip side, negative reviews must be delicately handled and considerable thought given to the response.  It’s unlikely that you will receive further interaction after the initial review, even when you do respond, but that shouldn’t impact how you proceed.

In the case of a negative review, ask yourself if there is any truth in the feedback and if changes need to be made internally to rectify the issue being flagged up. If valid, your response should outline the steps that will be taken to avoid this issue again in the future. And, if you disagree with the reviewer’s claims, politely and professionally provide your side of the story. This will help provide context to readers. 

2. The Serial Complainer

Serial complainers are the exact opposite of first-timers and will be prolific reviewers. They’ll have a long and storied history of leaving negative reviews and will likely review every business, product or service they use. They may well be incredibly picky and have unrealistically high standards or expectations of what they have actually paid for.

How to deal with the Serial Complainer

Tread carefully here, as the serial complainer has had lots of experience with other businesses just like yours. They are professionals at making you look bad. Your response will need to be very measured while also addressing the points made. Look at how other businesses have fared when dealing with them and avoid making the same mistakes.

Be aware that the serial complainer is very likely to continue the conversation and will respond back to your comments, often with additional complaints or disagreements. And if you can’t change their mind, don’t be too disheartened! 

3. The Direct Communicator

The direct communicator won’t mince words. They’ll get straight to the point and expect someone senior to take note. These are people who don’t direct their reviews to the world at large, but to you, the business owner.

If they’re negative, they’ll want to receive a very personal response and likely want to have the discussion on the public review site rather than over a private email conversation.

How to deal with the Direct Communicator

When dealing with a direct communicator, don’t be tempted to be similarly abrupt in your response.

Be clear but not overly wordy and don’t resort to a direct or confrontational style. Avoid making excuses too – the direct communicator values straight talk and expects swift action.

4. The Storyteller

The storyteller takes time to craft exceptionally detailed reviews.

They will share the smallest of details and paint a picture of their entire experience – typically including lots of information not directly related to the product or service being reviewed. You can recognize a storyteller by the length of the review. There’ll also be plenty of the reviewer’s own recommendations, suggestions, and advice.

How to deal with the Storyteller

If your storyteller is posting a negative account of their dealings with your business, take time to check and re-check your response before posting, as the storyteller will often be highly critical of replies which aren’t equally as thought out.

This doesn’t mean you should match the tone or length – don’t be tempted to add lots of background info if it doesn’t serve a purpose. Likewise, if they’re sarcastic and snide, don’t be tempted to match this tone, as it’ll likely backfire, and potentially damage onlookers’ opinions of your business.

5. The Sharpshooter

The sharpshooter pulls no punches. The review will be brief and to the point,  and perhaps poorly written or rushed. Don’t respond in kind to a sharpshooter or go too far the other way with a long-winded response.

How to deal with the Sharpshooter

When dealing with a review from a sharpshooter, be conscious that your reply should be concise but not short. Use succinct, clear sentences rather than wordy, elaborate ones to better reflect this type of reviewer’s communication style.

6. The Faker

Most businesses will have fallen victim to a fake review at least once. If you’re in that boat, you’ll agree that the faker is the worst kind of reviewer.

A faker has never used your business or purchased your product. Despite this, they have a grudge and delight in leaving one-star reviews with made-up complaints to damage your online reputation. They may be working on behalf of a competitor (or even be a competitor!) Do some research on them and see if they have links someone who would have beef with you. The review itself may also shed some light on this.

How to deal with the Faker

If you suspect a review is fake, check your customer records to determine if they have ever used your business.

Don’t be tempted to reply straight away if you think it’s fake. Instead, take a look at BrightLocal contributor Ben Fisher’s guide to getting fake reviews removed. In the meantime, focus on acquiring new positive, genuine reviews to push the fake one star down.

We’d love to hear your thoughts

What kinds of reviewers have you encountered and what tips do you have for responding? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments below.

Our guide to Google local search is jargon-free, up to date, explains everything in plain English, and is packed with easy-to-action tips.

We’ll touch on the essential local SEO tools you’ll need to make your life easier and provide you with a complete overview of which areas you need to focus on to make your business more visible to local customers. So, let’s get started!

The Basics: Why local search?

If you’re new to Google local search or have come over from traditional SEO, you may wonder where it’s come from and why it’s so important to local businesses everywhere. The answer to this question lies with a piece of tech that you likely have in your pocket, in your hands, or on your desk right now—your smartphone.

The widespread availability of mobile technology has seriously changed how we behave as consumers. We can now hop online at any time, from any location, and search for something we need or want. That means that anything from the nearest pizza place to the pet grooming parlor (plus any product or service you can think of in between) is just a few taps on your smartphone screen away.

Constant connectivity equals convenience, so more and more, everyday shoppers are heading to Google on their phones when they need to find something. According to BrightLocal’s own Local Consumer Review Survey, 21% of consumers go online to find a local business every day, 77% search for a local business at least once per week, and 91% look online for local businesses at least once a month.

It’s easy to see how appearing prominently on Google when local people search for your kind of service can be lucrative!

What is a ‘local search’? How does it differ from a normal search?

A local search is perhaps best described with an example:

You’re driving in town and have a flat tire. You pull out your smartphone, head to your web browser, and type ‘mechanic’ into Google.

Whether or not you add ‘near me’, you’re still performing a local search as you’re looking for a specific service in your local area.

Thanks to modern technology, and provided you’ve allowed for this in your privacy settings, Google can accurately pinpoint your location. It can use your Wi-Fi connection or GPS, for example, to get an idea of where you are and then return results for products, services, and merchants that are in close proximity to your location.

Without getting too technical, proximity between searcher and business is one of the three key pillars of local search (along with relevance and prominence) for businesses looking to get their web presence seen by the right people at the right time.

Google will calculate the distance from the search user to a local business when deciding how to rank search results. It knows that, more often than not, search users need a solution that is close to them—especially when searching on a mobile device.

Breaking Down Your Search

You may think there’s nothing much to decode when you type a few words into Google to hunt down a vital product or service. That’s actually not the case, though.

The words and phrases you type in before hitting ‘search’ are a good indicator to Google whether you need something local or a solution from further afield. Let’s look at some of the ways that Google works out if you’re looking for something local.

“Near Me” Searches

Let’s go back to that city drive and your flat tire.

Now, chances are, you don’t just type in mechanic, although that is possible. In your eagerness to return to the road with a fully inflated tire as soon as possible, you might tell Google you’re looking for a “mechanic near me”.

Right away, ‘near me’ triggers a local search, as you need assistance close to your physical location.

The same is true of your customers’ searches. Whether they’re looking for a pool cleaner or a cable guy, ‘near me’ flags up to Google that only a business close to the searcher’s current location will suffice.

This means that Google knows to present that user with service providers from their immediate area. If you’re a mechanic in that city, you’ll want to ensure that you have your local search visibility taken care of to be visible to that customer and stand a chance of winning that job.

Geo-targeted Searches

In some cases, rather than typing in “near me”, you may simply add your location to the end of the search to be assured that you’ll be served relevant results. For example, “mechanic brighton”.

It’s pretty clear to Google that this is a local search, and so to be useful, it needs to show you listings for mechanics in Brighton.

You’d also use geo-targeted searches if you were looking for a place in a specific location that isn’t near you, for example when planning a trip. It’s important to remember this because otherwise, it’s easy to think that ‘local search’ equals ‘near me search’.

Location-enabled Searches

If you have your location enabled on your phone, you can perform a local search without even realizing it. In most cases, if you simply type in ‘mechanic’, you’ll get local results simply because you have location services enabled on your phone (Google is clever enough to know that you’re probably not looking for a definition of a mechanic unless you specifically ask for one).

This can vary depending on the type of business searched for, though. Searches for popular business types like hotels, restaurants, and car dealerships are always likely to trigger a location-enabled search.

What is a local search result in Google?

As we’ve seen, there are several types of ways to make a local search on Google, and fittingly, there are multiple types of local search results, too.

Depending on the device used for the search and the type of search performed, a different type of local search result may be shown.

Here, we just want to share a few terms that pop up most often to describe local search results so you feel comfortable with each one when you carry out local searches, speak to a local SEO agency, or look for local SEO services.

Local Pack

The most common result you’ll see when making a local search for a business is the Local Pack, though Google is doing its best to make AI Overviews the de facto search result—more on this shortly.

The Local Pack is a section of Google’s search results that shows the top local businesses related to your query. Whenever your query has local intent, Google will show a set of local businesses that might answer your query.

You’ll see the Local Pack appear if you go to Google and type in your search query in the search bar. It will often have an image of a map above or beside it and then usually three suggested local businesses below or to the side, sometimes with snippets of reviews, opening times, justifications, and photos.

For local businesses, this is the ultimate goal in local SEO, as these three spots are generally consistent across mobile and desktop and are by far the most popular way of discovering local businesses on Google.

Google Maps

If you use Google Maps to perform a search, you’ll get local map results. This will show the location of businesses matching your search query on a map with options for filtering according to criteria such as ‘top rated’ or ‘open now’, or even business types like ‘restaurants’.

Local Finder

If you click a listing in the Local Pack or scroll through the list of businesses on Google Maps, you’ll get what are called ‘Local Finder’ results. The Local Finder is the source of truth for all local listings on Google.

Wherever you see listings for a particular search term in a particular location, the Local Finder results are what’s being pulled. BrightLocal tracks these positions in our Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid.

Google AI Overviews

Getting back to general browser results, today you might find an AI Overview result in response to your local search query. These responses are generated by Google’s Gemini LLM (“AI” is entirely a misnomer—and a deliberate one: there is no “intelligence” going on here, merely pattern recognition and prediction, and the same is true of other LLMs like ChatGPT).

In this local search result type, Gemini does its best to discern what sort of result the user is searching for and pulls from authoritative guides and online sources to compile a response that’s conversational in tone.

The sources themselves are hidden behind ‘link’ icons and in the right-hand box (which I’ve already opened in the screenshot above).

These results are experimental and vary wildly from day to day and from search to search. It’s safe to say that until Google has stabilized Gemini and implemented it fully and consistently, you can’t rely on AI Overviews appearing for any given search, be that local or otherwise.

“Find Results On”

This may vary depending on where in the world you are searching from, but thanks to Google’s ongoing legal issues in the EU (the governing bodies of which want to see Google stop ‘self-preferencing’ in its products) the search giant has had to compromise and place links to other directories prominently in search results.

This is why you might see ‘Find Results On’ above even the Local Pack in your search results. The prominence of these directories in local search results (and in organic results) further highlights the importance of getting your business featured in all the right directories.

Get Citations Done Fast... and Own Your Listings Forever

No recurring fees. Complete Control. Super-low cost.

Get Started with Citation Builder _{Start Your Free Account}

Localized Organic Results

Localized organic results are a slightly different version of local search results. These results are shown in the main search area. They aren’t strictly business-related (so they likely won’t include specific local businesses unless they’re performing very well in local SEO for the search term you’ve used), but they do have a strong local connection via their content.

If the searcher is clearly looking for something local, the results will often consist of directory listings or ‘listicle’ style articles (such as “Top 10 Best X in Y”) and articles from local bloggers and newspapers.

Non-Google Local Search

As mentioned above, we’re now in an era where not everyone relies solely on Google to search the web. 

In fact, they might not even need to go to the traditional ‘web’ (as found via a browser). Search behavior has changed so much in recent years that it’s now perfectly normal for someone to, say, use ChatGPT to get restaurant recommendations and details, use Instagram to check out what the food looks like, and then find an impartial video review on YouTube or TikTok to make the final decision.

Our own Local Business Discovery and Trust Report found these to be the top apps for business discovery on social media:

1. Facebook (59% of consumers use Facebook to learn about businesses)
2. YouTube (49%)
3. Instagram (40%)
4. TikTok (32%)
5. Twitter/X (28%

Let’s take a brief tour of some of these to understand what a local search might look like.

Local Search on Facebook

Facebook is the #1 social media app for business discovery, so we have a dedicated guide to local search and Facebook. For now, let’s move on to some of the others on this list.

Local Search on Instagram

Instagram isn’t quite clever (or perhaps nosy) enough to use your location to prop up a generic search like ‘restaurant’ or ‘restaurant near me’ but if you include a place name, like ‘restaurant new york’, you’ll see posts related to that search, generally from super-popular Instagram accounts.

Another way to search for local businesses on Instagram is a clunky one, but it’s great for a more visual way to browse if you love Instagram.

1. Type a business name you know is in the area and industry you’re researching into the search bar and scroll over to ‘Places’:
   
   
2. Tap on the business name to see posts related to that ‘Place’.
   
3. Zoom out of the map and click ‘Search This Area’ to see a bunch of posts and reels related to your search. That’s where you’ll find similar business types.
   

This is a niche trick for Instagram business search, but it works and highlights the importance of having an updated and engaging Instagram presence that’s properly detailed, with opening times and the correct address.

Local Search on TikTok

TikTok works in much the same way for business discovery as Instagram, but with one key difference: TikTok actually gives businesses the equivalent of a directory listing.

Perform a business search or stumble across a business another way, and you’ll eventually land on the business’s own listing, which contains:

• reviews on TikTok
• reviews from other platforms like Google Maps
• a link to call the business
• a link to find the business on Apple Maps
• the full address, price range, and even…
• an estimate of how close to you the business is (no other platform does this!)

Where does TikTok get this information from? It doesn’t just aggregate it from other platforms, it actually requests business owners to submit and verify their business details via a dedicated form.

With a social media platform taking business discovery so seriously, you can see why Google’s not in the same position it used to be for local search.

Local Search on YouTube

Unlike some of the other platforms mentioned here, YouTube doesn’t need to keep track of your location and doesn’t tailor its search results based on it. Instead, to perform a local search on YouTube, you’ll need to add your location to the search term (e.g. restaurants brighton).

A local search on YouTube provides you with the same kind of results you’d get for a standard YouTube. It’ll likely be comprised of listicles from popular bloggers or review sites, peppered with sponsored posts from content creators or the businesses themselves.

Where YouTube really comes into its own is in individual product or business reviews. Depending on the sector, you could find a host of reviews to help you make a local business decision, or better yet, local experts who take the time to provide their unbiased reviews.

ChatGPT (and other non-Google LLMs)

Finally, we come to LLMs like ChatGPT, and LLM-powered search engines like Perplexity and Arc Search. What all these have in common is that they’re less ‘search engines’ and more ‘answer engines’. By this, I mean that they’re designed to provide clear answers to questions, rather than a host of results for the user to browse around and use to come to their own conclusions.

They’re designed for conversational activity, so you can start a local search with a simple question like ‘where is a good coffee shop in brixton’, and then refine the results conversationally, without having to repeat the question, like so: “which of these is close to t a train station”. This sort of conversation is what LLM providers mean when they say things like “it can help you plan an entire trip”.

As you can see in the screenshot above, ChatGPT answers local business questions with a map and a carousel of businesses it’s highlighted as suitable for the search term. Want to know which sources it used to decide on this list? Just click ‘Sources’ at the bottom, and ChatGPT will provide you with the list of top sources (usually business websites, authoritative blogs, directories, or local news sources) that it used.

Where do LLMs get the bulk of their information from? The training data used (and how up-to-date it is) is different depending on the LLM you choose, but by far the most popular, ChatGPT, primarily uses Microsoft Bing as its search engine, leveraging its data to provide up-to-date information when searching the web through the “ChatGPT Search” feature. This is because OpenAI, the developers of ChatGPT, have a partnership with Microsoft, which owns Bing.

Uncovering ChatGPT Search Sources

Learn More

What about other search engines?

While they’re not nearly as popular as Google, there are a multitude of niche or localized search engines available, from industry stalwarts like Yahoo! and Bing to others like Baidu and Yandex. Take a look at our guide to alternative search engines to learn how local search works on those platforms.

Conclusion

Now that you know the differences and commonalities between local search types and local search results, you can dive further into learning what affects these things.

Whatever you do, always be testing and learning. There’s no such thing as set-it-and-forget-it in SEO, and local search is no different. Even citations have to be updated sometimes!

Not only can this help you identify potential issues and address them promptly to minimize their impact, but it also enables you to respond quickly to all reviews left for your local business. 

This is important for two reasons. Firstly, businesses that respond to reviews tend to perform better in local search. And secondly, because today’s consumers actively check for review responses from business owners. 

How do you monitor reviews?

Monitoring your online reviews simply means you’re going to keep tabs on customer feedback left for you on relevant platforms like Google, Yelp, or Facebook. You can do this manually by checking each review platform individually or by using review monitoring tools.

The first step to monitoring online reviews for your business is to make a list of review sites. This should include both general review sites and industry-specific review sites relevant to your business. If you’re in the hotel or restaurant business, that could mean Tripadvisor. If you’re a tradesperson, that could be Angi. If you’re a contractor, Houzz. You get the idea.

If you’re unsure which review platforms are most relevant to you, you could ask your customers which ones they use. 

You can also add competitors into the mix here and piggyback off their activities. Find out which review platforms they’re most active on—do they have certain badges on their sites, such as a badge from TripAdvisor or Trustpilot? When you search for the company name, which review sites appear at the top of the results page?

As you build your list of sites to monitor, keep a record of any important sites that you don’t already appear on. You’ll need to initiate the review generation process on these platforms.

Manual review monitoring vs. review monitoring tools

When it comes to online review monitoring, you have two options—use a review monitoring tool like BrightLocal’s Reputation Manager or do it manually. 

Manual review monitoring is more time-consuming and runs the risk of reviews being missed. To reduce that possibility, ensure that:

• Your email address is registered with the review platform
• You’ve opted in to receive an alert each time a new review is published. Consider setting up a dedicated email folder for review alerts. 

A review monitoring tool is a more efficient and effective way to keep track of your online reviews.

It’ll do the time-consuming task of checking for new reviews for you. This removes the risk of reviews being missed and enables you to respond promptly. This means you’ll be able to take action quickly in the event of a negative review appearing. Many even offer the opportunity to respond immediately in the tool.

Tools usually allow you to monitor all your review platforms in one centralized location, too.

Whichever route you choose, be sure to keep a log of the frequency of reviews, the volume of negative versus positive reviews, and any action taken as a result of each review. If the rate at which you’re earning new reviews slows down, then further action will be needed to understand why that’s the case.

Understanding trends in your reviews

If you’re manually undertaking review monitoring, you’ll need to carry out an additional task to then make sense of your data. To understand the sentiment and identify common themes, you’ll first need to consolidate the text of the reviews together in one central location, such as a shared Google doc. 

Once you’ve done this, you can use a word cloud generator (Google has a free app here) to help you make sense of the data. The word cloud will show you common words and phrases that have been used. This will give you insight into which products, services, and themes are being discussed most frequently.

Look out for phrases such as ‘fast delivery’, ‘helpful’, ‘good customer service’, and individual product names. This will clue you in as to what people are liking, buying, and wanting more of.

You may also notice that there’s a correlation between these attributes and the reviews in a prominent position on your Google Business Profile. Google takes note when people regularly mention a particular element of service, such as ‘fast delivery’ or ‘outdoor dining’, and will add this as a highlight to your GBP on mobile devices.

How to use BrightLocal for online review monitoring 

If you’re looking for a streamlined way to track reviews across multiple platforms or for multiple business locations, BrightLocal’s Monitor Reviews is a strong option (if we do say so ourselves!) 

Monitor Reviews pulls in reviews from more than 80 review sites, including the big ones like Google, Yelp, Facebook, Tripadvisor, and Angi, as well as industry-specific platforms, all in one handy dashboard. 

This means you can see every new review without hopping between multiple websites, as well as respond to reviews and showcase the top ones on your website, all using BrightLocal. 

Here’s how to get started: 

1. Sign up or log in

Log in to your BrightLocal account, or start a 14-day free trial if you’re new here (welcome!) Then choose the business location or create a new one. Connect your Google and Facebook listings, and BrightLocal will start finding your reviews in the background.

2. Choose the review sources to track

Click Actions → Edit Report Settings to add the additional review sites you want to monitor. You’ll need the listing URLs for each site.

3. Set up alerts

While in the Reputation report settings, choose how often you want the report to run and how often we should email you with your review insights—daily, weekly, monthly, or only when new reviews are found. This ensures you never miss important feedback.

4. Spot trends with Review Insights

Use the Review Insights overview to dig into your review data and see where you need to improve. You can:

• Track review growth over time and spot spikes
• See your average star rating across all review sites
• Check the distribution of star ratings
• View the split of rating per review site to know which sites to focus on

5. View and respond in Reviews → Manage Reviews

After analyzing the data, jump into the full reviews in Reviews → Manage Reviews. Here you can:

• View all your reviews in one place
• Filter by star rating, review site, timeframe, or reviews that haven’t been responded to
• Respond directly to reviews (learn how here)

For more advice on mastering online review monitoring with BrightLocal, enroll in our free Academy course: Level Up Your Local SEO with BrightLocal.

How do I monitor Google reviews?

Monitoring Google reviews can be done either manually or by using an online review monitoring tool. Manually monitoring involves checking Google Business Profile (GBP) for new review alerts. You’ll also be notified via email when a new review is shared, with this notification going to the email address used to manage the GBP account. 

To access reviews, log into GBP and select ‘Reviews’ from the left-hand navigation.

How do I track negative reviews?

You can perform online review monitoring to identify negative reviews as they appear. This can be achieved by using a review monitoring tool or by manually checking the review platforms associated with your business. 

It’s important that negative reviews are quickly addressed to prevent damage to your reputation, so an automated tool is often the best bet. You can find our tips for how to handle negative reviews here.

Track Your Reviews in Real-time

Good or bad, monitoring online reviews doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Whether you track them manually or use an online review monitoring tool, you can see feedback as it comes in, respond quickly, and spot trends to help build reviews across the platforms that your customers use. Here’s to five stars! 

Want to learn how to navigate corporate and become a preferred vendor?

Or are you just itching to understand what drives the hard-working (often surprisingly small) teams at the heart of franchise management?

In Local Search at Scale: Trials & Triumphs, a series of video interviews in partnership with Steady Demand, Ben Fisher takes to the mic to ask a guest about managing local search (and everything else besides) at scale within the USA’s biggest franchises.

These are the unsung heroes, the boots on the ground keeping everything moving. You won’t find flash-in-the-pan strategies or the latest fads in marketing—just inspiring stories about the people who really make things happen in the franchise and enterprise world.

In this episode, Ben speaks with Georgia Rei, ‘Queen’ of the Mr Duct Cleaner leadership team. Mr Duct Cleaner is a growing US franchise specializing in air duct cleaning, HVAC, and mold removal.

Watch to learn:

• The sorts of spammy tactics that will get you nowhere when approaching a franchisor

• The importance of understanding emotions and crafting effective messages in marketing

• The best ways to contact a franchisor (and what to avoid)

• The importance of referrals when it comes to winning new business

• and much more!

About Georgia Rei

Queen at Mr Duct Cleaner

Georgia is the ‘Queen’ of Mr Duct Cleaner (watch the episode to find out why!). Georgia’s background is in economics, family business, finance, and leadership development. She is experienced in strategic planning and team development. She successfully ran the first SBA loan diaper service and grew it into a commercial laundry operation. She taught economics, investment, finance, money and banking, sales, and marketing at several colleges and Universities.

Watch the Video

Liked this video? Join us over on BrightLocal’s YouTube channel and subscribe today to be first in line when the next episode drops!

Want more Ben Fisher? Check out his original series of articles on enterprise local SEO, Local Search at Scale, which covers everything from dealing with decision-makers to understanding where budgets are most impactful.

Want to learn how to navigate corporate and become a preferred vendor?

Or are you just itching to understand what drives the hard-working (often surprisingly small) teams at the heart of franchise management?

In Local Search at Scale: Trials & Triumphs, a series of video interviews in partnership with Steady Demand, Ben Fisher takes to the mic to ask a guest about managing local search (and everything else besides) at scale within the USA’s biggest franchises.

These are the unsung heroes, the boots on the ground keeping everything moving. You won’t find flash-in-the-pan strategies or the latest fads in marketing—just inspiring stories about the people who really make things happen in the franchise and enterprise world.

In this episode, Ben speaks with Premium Service Brands‘ David Raymond, an experienced Chief Operations Officer more than familiar with the highs and lows of franchise management and marketing.

Watch to learn:

• The mindset of a franchisee, and how understanding this can help you work with them

• How to learn your franchisees’ unique challenges and needs

• The power of active listening in vendor relationships

• Top tips that potential vendors need to know when speaking to potential franchisor clients

• How to use data to back up the value of local search marketing

• How to leverage technology to ensure scalability and exponential growth

• and much more!

About David Raymond

Chief Operations Officer at Premium Service Brands

David Raymond currently owns a ProLift Garage Doors franchise and just finished up a 5-year term as the Chief Operations Officer at Premium Service Brands. Prior to his time at Premium Service Brands, David served as a Franchise Business Consultant with College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving where he cut his teeth in franchising.

David’s experience running a large, multi-state garage door company headquartered in Florida was incredibly valuable to the home service-based franchisors and the franchisees he worked with and supported. However, David attributes most of his leadership lessons to the United States Marine Corps, where he served two separate enlistments as an M1A1 Tank Crewman and Commander.

Watch the Video

Liked this video? Join us over on BrightLocal’s YouTube channel and subscribe today to be first in line when the next episode drops!

Want more Ben Fisher? Check out his original series of articles on enterprise local SEO, Local Search at Scale, which covers everything from dealing with decision-makers to understanding where budgets are most impactful.

You might be thinking: “Why respond? They’re happy customers!”

Think again…

Recent research from BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey shows that:

• 88% of consumers are “likely” to use a business that responds to all reviews, positive and negative.
• 59% of consumers expect to see a response to their review within two days of the review being left.

So… how can you respond to all reviews, leaving happy customers satisfied and addressing the concerns of less-than-happy ones, all within the time period they prefer, and still have time to crack on with the work that gets you these customers in the first place?

Simple. Become a superhero.

Our new Review Reply Templates feature in Monitor Reviews (with added AI!) will revolutionize how you respond to Google reviews and Facebook recommendations with BrightLocal and turn you into a Review Response Superhero. By setting your own response templates to common responses, you’ll leave every satisfied customer even more satisfied when you respond.

How does it work?

Create a Template

Review Reply Templates couldn’t be easier to get started with. Just create a template that fits your tone of voice and select which review ratings you want to apply it to. Agency customers can even link templates to clients, allowing them to manage all review responses in one place.

Select Your Template

Then, when you’re sipping your morning coffee and reviewing the plaudits and praise (and the rest), just select the template that works best for the review, adjust if needed, and hit ‘Use’.

What’s this about AI?

Want to make your responses even more tailored and less “templatey”? With the magic of our ‘Generate AI Response’ button, a response is created that speaks specifically to what the customer review mentions, and you barely have to lift a finger.

Didn’t love the first iteration? Easy, just click ‘Generate AI Response’ again. You can generate up to three responses per review.

Where do I start?

Reputation Manager users and ‘Grow’ plan customers can get started right away! Just head into BrightLocal and get ready to work some review response magic. Need a helping hand? Head over to our dedicated Help Center guide on this awesome new feature. 

While many aspects of listings management are the same across each of those four platforms, they do differ in some areas. Understanding the quirks of each local listing service can be a real timesaver. Plus, this insight can help you to feel confident that you’ve optimized each listing for maximum visibility, SEO benefit, and usefulness.

To help you build a clear picture of best practice across Google Maps, Apple Maps, Bing, and Facebook, we’ve compiled a list of the most commonly asked questions for each. Read on for the answers. 

How should I craft a business description?

Our Business Listing Trust Report found that 94% of local consumers have turned to a business information site to find information about a local business within the last 12 months. The business description will be one of the first things local consumers see—and if they are new to you, it could be the first impression they have of your business.

Your business description tells the reader about your business. Think of it as an elevator pitch. It outlines what you do and the products or services you offer. Right away this tells the consumer if you’re a potential match for their needs. The description may also confirm your niche, any areas that you specialize in, and any awards or industry accreditations that you hold.

Within your summary, you may also share something of your business history, such as the year you were established, or how long you have been serving the local community. 

Google

Your Google Business Description is a space to share meaningful information about your business with Google local search users. It forms part of your wider Google Business Profile and is accessible via the Local Pack and Map listings.

The first thing to know about crafting a strong Google Business description is that you only have 750 characters to work with. That means your text should be clear, descriptive, and succinct.

Your description shouldn’t contain details of current promotions or sales, nor should it refer to prices. Instead, this space should tell the reader about your business history, your unique selling points and the products and services you offer. No links are permitted and your description must abide by Google’s guidelines, which include no harmful or offensive content.

You should aim to include keywords in your description which reflect your service and location. As ever, avoid keyword stuffing and write for a human, not a search engine. 

Apple Maps

You’ll need to create an Apple Business Connect listing for your business information to show up on Apple Maps, Apple Wallet, Siri, Safari, and other Apple properties. Business information is collated under a ‘place card’. The max character count for the business description is 500 characters.

Apple recently upgraded how listings are managed to allow businesses to provide a wider range of text-based information, including a brief about section. You should aim to include at least a primary keyword in this field to enhance your search visibility.

You’ll also need to confirm basic details such as the company name, website, opening hours and services to create your listing. You can add photos and logos, share detail of promotions and special offers, choose a category, and add a link to your business app in the App Store. One quirk of Apple Maps is that you can reposition your business pin to better reflect your physical location—so be sure to check that you’re happy with where it’s placed.

Bing

If you already have a Google Business Profile description you’re happy with, you can import that information directly to Bing Places. If not, once you have claimed your business listing on Bing, you’ll need to manually input your details. Whether you choose to import your Google Business Profile info or create a new listing, your details will then appear on Bing Maps and in search results.

Your business description should accurately describe what customers can expect from your service. Bing suggests listing the services you offer, providing driving directions and outlining any affiliations, awards, or specialities.

Like Google, Bing’s local algorithm is based on relevance, distance, and popularity. That means you should aim to include keywords in your description to tick the relevance box. While research shows that adding keywords into your business name can increase search visibility and traffic, Bing warns that adding the location to the business name or keyword stuffing would trigger a spam filter and see the name automatically standardized.

Because Bing Places requires a physical business address, virtual office locations won’t be able to create a Bing Places listing. 

Facebook

Your Facebook Page provides two different sections in which to add your business description. The actual description field should be kept short and sweet at just one to two sentences. However, there is also a separate ‘About’ section where you can add supplementary details such as how long you have been in business, what you specialize in and your business values.

Your page information will be visible on Facebook but Page information is also indexed by Google so it could additionally appear in search results. 

Should I use phone tracking numbers or URLs in my listing?

Google

Google users can call your business from your listing on both Google Search and Google Maps. Google is currently trialing a feature called call history with certain businesses in the USA and Canada. Anyone placing a call to a business with call history enabled will be forwarded to a unique number for that business, which can later be tracked via Google Business Profile. Details of those calls are then kept for 45 days. 

Google doesn’t expressly forbid the use of call tracking numbers. It says that the phone number provided must connect to the individual business and shouldn’t redirect the user to anywhere other than your specific business location. You must also have direct control over the number, and it shouldn’t be a premium rate number.

It’s advisable to use the tracking number as the primary number and then your actual number as a secondary number. 

Apple Maps

Like Google, Apple Maps doesn’t specifically forbid the use of a phone tracking number or call tracking URL—it simply says the phone number should connect to the business location.

Even without a third-party tracking tool, the Insights portion of your Business Connect dashboard will provide some basic information in the form of the number of calls made to your business. Keep in mind this only tracks the calls made by those tapping on the number given in your listing, not those who manually dialed.   

Bing

Bing also doesn’t have any restrictions prohibiting the use of call tracking numbers or URLs. Like Google, it’s advisable to use the tracking number as the primary number and then your actual number as a secondary number. 

Facebook

There’s no rule against adding a call tracking number to your Facebook page. You can enter the call tracker as your business number in the profile or website URL to your Page profile. As an alternative, some call tracking tools can integrate directly with your Facebook Business account. If you’re coupling your organic Facebook Page with social media advertising, Facebook also offers its own call tracking solution with call ads.

How frequently should I update and optimize my listing?

Google

Your Google Business listing is likely the very first thing that local search users will come across on Google. It’s therefore important that it’s always up-to-date and optimized. You should update your listing as often as necessary to reflect any changes to your business offerings:

• Planning special opening hours due to a seasonal event? Update your listing.
• Changing your opening hours due to customer demand? Update your listing.
• Closed due to a private function? Update your listing.
• New products or services added to your offering? Update your listing.
• Different phone number? Update your listing.
• New service area now offered? Update your listing.
• New payment methods now accepted? Update your listing.
• Outdoor seating now available? Update your listing.
• Takeaway or curbside pick-up now available? Update your listing.

Optimization isn’t something that you can fit neatly into a box. Given the importance of your Google Business profile, it’s something that you’ll need to dedicate ongoing time and resources to. Each time a new review is received, you’ll want to quickly jump on and leave a response. Likewise, you should aim to upload new photos regularly and share a Post at least once a week, if not more frequently.

Apple Maps

This question is especially pertinent to Apple listings as Apple is known for the pride it takes in the accuracy of its Maps information.

It advises that your listing should be updated ‘often’ so that all location-related details remain accurate. That includes amending opening times if they change, along with sharing details of new special offers or promotions as they launch. Other tips include uploading seasonally appropriate images at regular intervals, for example during the holidays or at Easter.

If any of your ‘good to know’ information changes—such as the addition of new accepted payment methods—your Apple Maps listing should be updated right away. 

How to Optimize an Apple Maps Listing

Read More

Bing

As with Google and Apple Maps, you’ll need to update your Bing Places listing as soon as anything changes. That means any adjustments to business hours, payment options, services and so on should be reflected in your listing right away.

For optimization, in addition to keeping all business data current, you should be proactive about requesting reviews, responding to reviews across all review platforms (because Bing pulls in review data from sources such as TripAdvisor), and upload new images regularly. Don’t forget to add details of any special offers or promotions to Bing when updating your Apple Maps profile or creating a Google Business Post about the same.

How to Optimize a Bing Listing

Read More

Facebook

Almost half (48%) of local consumers turn to Facebook when they need local business information. That means you should update your listing as soon as anything changes within your business—ideally when you apply the updates to your Google, Apple Maps and Bing listings.

Once your initial page optimization has been dealt with (such as choosing your URL, filling in about information and uploading your logo and cover image), ongoing optimization will revolve around posting updates and building engagement. Aim to share new content (such as blog post snippets, curated content, video, and images) around two to five times per week. 

How do abbreviations affect NAP consistency?

We’ve already touched on this above, but it’s worth repeating that NAP consistency matters. Even knowing that, you may be unwittingly creating slightly different citations, simply by using street name abbreviations when creating new business listings. It’s all too easy to fall into the habit of using St. rather than writing out street in full, or Ave. instead of avenue. But does it matter?

Google

Google’s algorithms are smart enough to understand abbreviations, so you don’t need to worry if you have accidentally used Apt. and apartment interchangeably, or have inputted Rd. instead of road, or Expy instead of expressway in some of your business listings. You can find a complete list of all abbreviations and variations that Google normalizes here.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps pulls business information from lots of different sources and in turn, is used by a range of other platforms. It’s therefore best to be consistent with your NAP and if you do abbreviate some part of your street name, continue with that format across all other listings. 

Bing

The Bing Maps API can handle abbreviations in street names—so, like Google, it’s smart enough to recognize Ave as avenue or St. as street. 

Facebook

You can use abbreviations when inputting NAP on Facebook. Just keep in mind that the information you input will form part of your wider online collection of citations so you should always aim for consistency.

Where do suggested edits and external edits come from?

In accurate information about your business can hinder your local search visibility. It can also damage your relationship with local consumers who are known to become frustrated when presented with inaccurate information online. That means any changes made to your business listings must be accurate. However, you may notice that sometimes, those changes are made without your input. The reason for that is some listings sites allow consumers to make or suggest edits to business listings, even if the consumer isn’t associated with that business. 

Google

Google search users can suggest edits to business listings directly from the search results. They can suggest changes to important details such as the business name, opening hours, contact information, web address and location. They can also suggest the business be marked as closed, is non-existent, no longer open to the public, a duplicate or report a legal problem.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps users can report an issue with any business listing on Maps by clicking ‘More’ on the listing. They can then report an incorrect name, address, website, or phone number, tell Apple the location on the map is wrong, or that the opening hours are incorrect. Users can also tell Apple that the business is closed, in the wrong category or that there are multiple issues with the listing. 

Bing

Bing search users can suggest an edit directly from the local business listing in search and maps. The edit option is identical to that presented on Google, with consumers able to mark the business as permanently closed or suggest changes to the business name, location, contact information, and opening hours. 

Facebook

The new Facebook Page experience doesn’t allow users to suggest edits. They can report an issue with your Page however, such as flagging your listing as being fake, a scam, or conducting unauthorized sales. While these won’t directly impact on your listing information, they could still be damaging to your business. 

Why do publishers change the business data I supplied on my listings, and how can I prevent this from happening? 

To keep their listings accurate, listings sites will gather information about local businesses from a range of sources. They may use that information to push updates to listings they believe to be incorrect.

Google

Google uses a wide range of sources, including licensed content and suggested edits submitted by consumers. It uses this data to update listings as it deems necessary and will do so at any time. Any updates will then show across Search, Maps and other Google properties. You will be notified if Google has updated your listing and can then choose to edit those updates, apply them, or discard and replace with your own information. 

Apple Maps

Like Google, Apple Maps collates business data from a range of sources—including places like Yelp and TripAdvisor. Traditionally, Apple Maps allowed business owners only very limited input (this has changed with the recent launch of Apple Business Connect) meaning it has historically been dependent on information gathered elsewhere.

If your information isn’t consistent across the web, information gathered from those other sources could find its way into your listing. An old phone number or street address on a forgotten Yelp listing could be added to your Apple Maps listing because that’s what Apple Maps is being told is accurate by Yelp. To avoid this issue, you’ll need to be on top of your citation management and ensure all listings contain up-to-date information. 

Take Control of Your Listings with Active Sync

Learn more

Bing

As with Google and Apple Maps, Bing crowdsources local business information from a range of sources. Your business may even be listed on Bing Maps before you claim it. As with other listings sites, Bing’s own data may conflict with your actual listing details, which may prompt changes to be made. If your listing does show incorrect information, you’ll need to ensure you have first claimed and verified your listing. You can then log in and correct any inaccuracies. Again, to prevent incorrect information being pushed to your profile, you’ll need to ensure that you regularly review your business information across all listings you’ve created. 

Facebook

Unlike the other platforms, Facebook actually trusts your data and doesn’t (to the best of our knowledge) make any changes itself.

Do I need to add EXIF data to my business photos?

Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) data provides useful meta data about each image—such as the time and date taken, location taken, and the camera used. 

Google

Adding EXIF data isn’t thought to help your Google rankings, but it can make it easier for you to search for and organize specific images. That could make it easier to manage your local business listings.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps does support EXIF data. It can use the location data from EXIF to pinpoint the location the photo was taken on a map. 

Bing

In its webmaster guidelines, Bing says it can extract information from images, so adding EXIF data to pictures uploaded to your site could theoretically help with your local search visibility. 

Facebook

Facebook has confirmed that it collects and processes EXIF data. This includes collecting data specifying the date the photo was taken, and the type of device used. While it doesn’t state that it uses location information, the fact that it can process EXIF data suggests that it could be a worthwhile addition. 

Conclusion

Your business listings are an invaluable asset to your local business. They have the power to boost your search visibility, aid in new-to-you consumer discovery and provide local consumers with the information they need to find, locate, and buy from you. 

With thousands of listings sites and directories out there, staying on top of the latest trends, new features and best practice thinking can be a time-consuming task. In this post, we’ve provided answers to some of the most frequently asked questions to help you keep on top of your local listing management tasks.

Got a question not covered here? Send it to us via Twitter, or ask in our Facebook group, The Local Pack.