There are many businesses that offer local services and products but don’t have any physical location. In this condition, the very first question is how to optimize the business profile without having a physical storefront. Well, it doesn’t matter if you have a physical location or not, optimization is important to stay relevant in the business.
As the local search is getting robust day after day, it becomes crucial to dominate your niche and drive the maximum number of sales. In this article, we will have a look at how to leverage local SEO services and optimize the business without having a physical location.
Businesses that are offering services in their local area but don’t have physical locations are called service-area businesses. Google is constantly working towards providing more exposure opportunities for such business owners. Be it a plumbing business, a home bakery, freelancing, or dance class; all such types of activities come under a service area business.
Understand the concept of in-person contact
As per the latest Google algorithms, those local businesses that don’t have physical locations need to have any kind of in-person contact with customers. This is important for staying eligible for listing on Google Maps. However, during the pandemic, even if you are doing contact-less delivery and not getting a chance for in-person contact, you are still safe under Google’s SAB guidelines.
The main goal is here to make yourself more visible in your local area so that when you are listed on Google maps, your customers can rate you. This will help you in growing your visibility. Google is currently working on making these guidelines more clearly for all the business owners. If you don’t have an in-house team you can also go for local SEO services to get things done for you.
Hide your location for customers
Even if you don’t have a physical location where customers can visit, you still need to submit a location to Google for the legitimacy of the business. It can be your home address, warehouse, or your secondary home address. Once you add that address in the service area business listings of Google, you will get the option for hiding the physical location of your store.
By hiding your location for your customers, you are clearly defining that you are a local business but don’t have a physical location to visit. However, the stores that have physical locations will create a more robust impact on customers as it establishes trust. But, there is nothing wrong with running a home business or a delivery business without mentioning the address.
Setting up the service area correctly
As per the updated Google My Business guidelines, you need to enter all the zip codes or postal codes where your business serves. It’s important for Google and customers to know where they can access your services.
Suppose you are serving in three postal codes, you need to mention all three of them so that Google can help customers to reach you faster. You can enter up to twenty such areas to tell Google that you deliver your services in those areas. One thing to keep in mind that the areas should not be located very far away from each other as it will not be convenient for your customers. And add updated and correct details of all the locations so that customers can reach you without any hassle.
In the case of multiple locations
If you have multiple business offices that are located at a long distance from one another and fall under the non-overlapping service areas, then you are eligible for such listings. It’s highly recommended to have different phone numbers for different locations as it will be convenient for your customers.
The rule here is simple— if your two listings are located at a distance of two hours’ drive from one another, then you need to have different phone numbers. But, try to avoid creating multiple locations for your service area business and try to make it as simple as possible.
A website will help
One additional tip to get higher rankings without having addresses is to have your business website. As more than 60% of the people begin their search on mobile phones, it’s better to have a website. This is because it will give a better idea to potential customers what you offer. This thing will definitely give you an edge over the competitors.
Even if you don’t have an address to welcome your guest, focus on creating your presence using social media and local listing sites. These small things will help you a lot in improving your rankings among the competitors.
These were some tips to do local SEO for businesses without locations and thrive online. You can also opt for Local SEO Services to get everything done and dusted for your business. The most important thing while dealing with such listings is to make it easier for your customers to reach you.
