How to Expand Local SEO Ranking Areas

This one was one of the toughest. It took about 3 months to win another 3 local packs and climb to a few more first positions. One image shows the ranking area at the beginning of a local SEO campaign and the 2nd one shows it at the end after 3 months.

My conclusion: A GMB that already ranks 2nd in the map pack is way more difficult to rank 1st than ranking anywhere in the map pack when you start from scratch.

It´s actually pretty obvious... but this is the proof.

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Here is what I did to expand the ranking area:

✅ local citations

I researched all .edu and .gov websites where you can register and place your business information. Almost every town has it´s .gov website. In addition to that I added the business details to other (close) town sites as well. (it needs a bit of research but it´s definitely worth it)

As for .edu links (I haven't tried this strategy myself, but you can find local brand mentions all over their their pages) - you need to reach out to universities or research facilities after you have analyzed their content - maybe you find a spot where they could mention your business or link back to you.

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✅ local website content

• manual driving directions (NEWS) - naming roads, famous local brands, local recommendations, places, nice spots related to your industry
• naming close towns and linking to their gov websites
• Map embed
• Google plus code link
• tagging images/videos (meta info)

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✅ Other

• Video embed with business description on youtube (works as a citation as well)
• Schema for local businesses, social schema, AreasServed etc.
• city/area pages like www-business-de/locations/chicago
• title tag includes business name, town and state code
• a link to the state website in the footer
• mentioning typical search phrases on your web pages. industry + "service" or industry + "company" works well. BUT: It doesn't benefit your website if you implement "... near me" kinda stuff. Google doesn't perceive it as a normal search term.

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✅ Special "Hacks" ;)

This has worked for me but there is obviously no proof.

• Reviews and replies

You could prepare locally optimized "done for you" reviews for your customers that they can just drop into the review box - make sure you have a shared link ready. Add specific local keywords to your replies as well.

• Google My Business Posts

I'm pretty sure Google takes notice of your post content and if you mention a specific city again and again it will deliver indications to big G to associate this city with your service area.

• Google Ads

Running Google ads in your preferred "new" service area leads to more engagement (calls, directions, website visits etc.) and reviews from customers from this new area which is an indication that your business is active in that area. This could also give you some additional valuable insights about typical local search terms as well.

Any thoughts?