Local Search for Home Care Agencies...What Matters.

In the home care business, we want consumers to find local home care offices both from the desktop computer and from their mobile devices while they are on the go. The recommendations for desktop searches vs mobile searches have some similarities, but there are also some key differences.

Google as of late gave some overhauled direction on how it decides an organization’s local positioning… and in case you’re targeting a particular geographic zone (and most of our home care agencies ARE doing this), it is data that ought not be missed.

Google basically just overhauled its “HELP SECTION” for Google My Business, a tutorial that gives bits of knowledge into how local businesses can enhance their local rankings.

NAP data must be correct.  NAP= Name, Address, Phone Number, Hours of Operation, and Category (Home Health Care) for all home care businesses across all devices.

For a Mobile Search:

• Is Your Local Home Care Agency Relevant to the Searchers Needs? Above all else, Google needs to know that your local listing matches what a customer is searching for. Make sure your NAP data is correct.
• I’m the consumer. I’m at a local hospital, or I’m in my car. How close is your business to me right now? Proximity matters.  Closest businesses show up on my phone, tablet, ipad first.  On the off chance that consumers don’t indicate an area, Google will give an estimate.

Although “proximity and relevance”  are critical to the way you will see search results for you local business, there is another local home care SEO signal that matters.

Unmistakable quality or “Prominence”:  “Authority” matters in the digital realm, and how well-known a business or location is, or its prominence, can also provide a strong signal to the search engine. Some places are more “well known” in the offline world than others and Google’s results attempt to show this in local ranking.

Some locations, (famous museums, landmark hotels, or well-known store brands that are familiar to many people) are likely to be prominent in local search results Google indicated, but prominence is also based on information they already have about a business from across the Web (like links, articles and directories).

Relevance, proximity and prominence provide Google with signals that will be used to rank a home care business for a specific local search, but there are still others that must be addressed – and they play a bigger role in the success of a home care business than just achieving a top ranking for a local search.

Google also confirmed that reviews and testimonials are factors in local search ranking. It has been suggested that review signals are important, and while it is unknown the degree to which customer reviews/ratings influence ranking, today’s local home care agencies are doing everything they can to use this factor to their advantage.

Need help with your home care website, or just need relevant unique content? Call us at LTC Expert Publications 888-404-1513

Source: http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2016/04/04/local-seo-guidance-from-google.aspx?source=print

• About
• Latest Posts

Valerie VanBooven RN BSN

Co-Owner, Author at LTC Expert Publications

Valerie VanBooven, Managing Partner/ Co-Owner of LTC Expert Publications

Valerie’s motto and favorite saying is: “Impact is not created by big budgets, impact is created by innovative marketing ideas!”

Valerie is a Registered Nurse and the author of three books, Aging Answers (2003), The Senior Solution (2007) and Priceless Caregiving (2009). Her adventure in internet marketing began as a self-promotion experiment and ended up becoming a full time marketing consulting business for the elder care market.

Valerie has appeared on national television (Today Show), has hosted her own local radio show, and has been interviewed for dozens of publications and radio shows across the country regarding her business and the business of elder care.

She fast became the foremost authority in driving sales via the internet, seminars, and e-mail for senior service providers and elder care entrepreneurs.While Valerie’s best known for her expertise in marketing, her students share that her biggest impact comes from her ability to make things happen quickly, even on a small budget.

Google Verified Author

Latest posts by Valerie VanBooven RN BSN (see all)

• Local Search for Home Care Agencies…What Matters. - May 7, 2016
• LTC Expert Publications Welcomes New Home Care Clients from Across the U.S. - April 13, 2016
• LTCEP Clients: Get the Most BANG Out of Home Care Reviews with SeniorServiceReviews.com - April 12, 2016

Images:

The images are downsized due to limited space here. The original dimensions may differ.
Click on the image to open it on a new tab.