Geography Matters for Local SEO

Your organization may have an international, national or regional constituent base, but to a prospective supporter or client your geographical location can be extremely relevant.
Google offers a free service, GoogleLocal, that provides organizations the opportunity to promote themselves on a local level. An organization with a physical address can set up a listing (or claim a preexisting Google Local listing), which entitles them to be placed on a google map, categorize their organization using up to 5 key word phrases, and provide generic information (hours, availability of parking or public transportation) or relevant customized information to listing visitors. It also accepts written reviews of your organization.

In addition to  prospective constituents benefiting from finding and learning about you via Google search, GoogleLocal provides your organization with a dashboard of valuable metrics, accessed via password protection, which shows you:

• how often your listing was viewed
• the search terms that led viewers to your listing
• how many listing viewers clicked for directions to your location
• how many listing viewers clicked through to your website

Another great measurement tool to add to your Search Engine Optimization toolkit.

To see a sample nonprofit Google Local Listing, do a google search for: museum 19103. You should see The Franklin Institute as the first listing. Click on the “more info” tab to see the details of this owner verified listing, with 102 reviews as of this writing.

Learn more about Google Local Business Center

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