If you’ve done some research into Local SEO then you’ve probably already heard of terms like entity SEO for your Google Business profile but what does that even mean? This guide will clarify what entity SEO really is and how you can use it to your advantage.

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What is Entity Local SEO And How Does It Affect Your Google Business Profile?

Entity Local SEO is all about making sure your business is recognized as a legitimate entity by Google. Google defines an entity as anything singular, well-defined and unique. For example; a landscaping business, their website, GBP and social accounts act as one entity to Google.

think of it as the specific details that make your business stand out to Google. When it comes to Local SEO for your Google Business Profile, this means Google looks for consistency, relevance and prominence to rank your entity properly.

The best marketing strategy for any construction company is local seo

The Key Elements of Entity Local SEO

When you’re working on Entity Local SEO for Google Business, you need to think about three main factors that contribute with how well Google sees your business as an entity: consistency, relevance and prominence.

Each of these factors play a role in how Google ranks your business and decides whether to show your profile when someone looks for services like yours. The more you work on them, the more your improve your businesses chances of becoming an entity to Google.

A basic overview of how these 3 factors affect Entity SEO:

Consistency: Make sure your business details are the same everywhere. Your name, address, and phone number (NAP Data). Google looks at how consistent this data is when evaluating if your business is an entity or not. That’s why variations in your data hurts your entity efforts.

Relevance: This means checking the information on your profile matches up with the search terms people are using. One way you can work on this is by having a good and consistent local keyword strategy that targets the most common search terms people use to find your business.

Prominence: This comes down to how well known your business is in the area. Google measures prominence by the amount of interaction your business generates online through reviews clicks to your GBP. Google Also checks how many citation listings your business has.

A flowchart illustrating the process of building local citations, starting with GMB and local directories

Now let’s take a look at some steps you can take that all have various effects of improving the 3 factors above:

Step 1: Nail Down Your NAP Information

When it comes to Local SEO for Google Business, one of the first things to get right is your NAP Name, Address, and Phone number. This info needs to be exactly the same across every map listing platform and business directory website your business is listed on.

When ever you make an effort to build map listing citations (Local SEO Backlinks), make sure you keep this NAP consistency present. For example; if your gonna make a Yelp listing for your business, then make sure all the information is exactly the same as your GBP listing.

Also make sure your business main category on GBP and your sub categories are targeting your niche keywords. Also check to make sure your Google Business attributes and highlights are also doing the same.

Important: Kindly note that one of the most important parts of optimizing your GBP for driving directions is to pin your business address correctly on GBP. Make sure you have your exact address is displaying on your profile or this mistake may have many negative repercussions.

How to create a Yelp For Business map listing citation for free

Step 2: Use Your Relevant And Target Keywords Throughout Your GBP

Another huge part of optimizing for entity Local SEO is making sure your business description targets the same keywords as your website and these keywords are retargeted throughout your GBP.

If you want Google to understand your business, you’ve got to use the words your potential customers are using when they look for similar products or services to yours like from your competitors on GBP.

Quick Tip: Add these keywords naturally into your business description, service offerings, and even your Google posts. Even go as far as to try and add your target keywords to your review responses.

To do some basic keyword research as displayed in the image below, a good free tool to start out with is Google Keyword Planner. Try to focus on finding keywords related to your niche.

A screenshot of Google Keyword Planner showing a list of local keywords relevant to a specific business.

Step 3: Get Keyword Focused Reviews

Reviews are a huge aspect of Local SEO for Google Business, and they play a big role in building your entity’s prominence. The more reviews you get, especially ones that mention your location and some your target keywords then stronger your business appears as a local entity.

When people mention your city or neighborhood in their reviews or even your target keywords. It then give more data to Google which helps reinforces your business as an entity in that area to Google.

Review Tip: When you’re trying to get more reviews on Google Maps, don’t just ask your clients to leave reviews. Also ask them to mention one keyword related to your location and one keyword related to your niche.

Getting Google Reviews for your construction company to improve local SEO

Step 4: Making GBP Update Posts Consistently For More Profile Activity

For entity Local SEO, regular activity on your Google Business Profile shows Google that your business is active and as a result, more relevant compared to other less active profiles on GBP.

One of the best ways to keep things fresh is by posting updates on GBP regularly. Share things like changes to the business, special offers or holiday special deals. Aim to do 1 update post a week.

Timesaving Tip: If you wanna make update posts in bulk then consider scheduling your GBP update posts in advance and in mass.

BrightLocals Update Posts Scheduler for GBP

Step 5: Build At least 5 Map Listings or Business Directory Citations Per Month

Another important aspect of Entity Local SEO is building citations from trusted local directories. Citations can be in the form of business directory listings or from map listing websites.

The more citations you build and the more websites have your address and NAP data listed as an entity. Then the better your case for proving to Google that your business is an entity.

Pro tip: always prioritize building local citations first, then niche relevant citations. Finally on global directory listing websites, following this order is more natural for SEO.

Also make sure to not only have consistent NAP in your citations but to also remove any and all duplicate citation listings which confuse your entity strategy.

dealing with duplicate directory listings and duplicate citations and it's effects on Local SEO

Step 6: Embed Google Maps on Your Website For Better Entity Consistency

Don’t just place your targeted keywords in your about page on your website, its a good start but it isn’t enough. Making sure to also check that you have embed your Google Maps location to your contact or about page is just as important.

For great entity Local SEO, you want to show that your GBP and website are linking to each other. This tells google that these to elements are part of one entity. The more interlinking the better.

Pro Tip: Also don’t forget to link your social media accounts on your GBP. Also make sure to have links to your website or GBP on your social pages for better interlinking. Doing all this will have a big impact.

Adding your Instagram and Facebook and other social media accounts to your Google Business Profile

Step 7: Having A Well Populated Q&A Section On GBP With Target Keywords

Your Google Business Profile’s Q&A section is an area in your GBO where interested leads often review if they are considering buying products or services from your business. If you have no questions or answers with a an empty Q&A section, this harms your GBP activity.

Remember, the more activity on your GBP then the easier it is to improve our entity SEO strategy. The good news is that you don’t have to wait for questions to come in. You can create your own questions and answers.

Q&A Tip: When creating questions, think about what you would ask if you where an interested lead. Also make sure to make your answers in-depth. Finally, use your target niche and area based keywords in your Q&As.

updates posts and using Q&As for Google Business profile for Seasonal Businesses

Step 8: Track Your Performance And Analytics Using your GBP Insights

To see how well your Entity Local SEO strategy is working, you can check your GBP Analytics from your Google Business Profile Dashboard. It’s a good place to check and see if you are on the right track.

It’s a great place to know if your ROI (return on income) from SEO is profitable. A good way to check this is to see how many calls were made to your business this month. The more leads generated the better you can assume your ROI form your SEO strategy is.

Check these insights at least 1 time per month to have an idea of what’s happening with your GBP and your local search engine optimization strategy. Good luck becoming an entity!

A bar chart showing the distribution of customer actions, with a focus on calls and direction requests

Need Help Ranking Your GBP Higher?

If you are still in need of any assistance or help with ranking your GBP higher or looking to grow your organic search results. Then I highly recommend you book a free consultation with the writer of this article, Ramzy, CEO & Founder of Vortex Ranker by clicking here.