Category Dominance
When it comes to local SEO - it's easy to obsess over individual keywords.
Especially the ones with the most search volume.
But here's the thing...
Google Business listings work at the category level.
You might have noticed how you can set business categories for your listing:
Each business category represents groups of keywords.
A quick example...
Bill sells car insurance in Houston.
So he adds Auto Insurance Agency to his listing:
Instead of *only* ranking for "car insurance in Houston"...
Google will rank Bill's listing for hundreds of keywords related to that business category.
Examples:
- car insurance quotes Houston
- best auto insurance Houston
- affordable car insurance Houston
- car insurance companies Houston
- best new vehicle insurance in Houston TX
Many of these are "long-tail keywords".
At an individual level, long-tail keywords have low search volumes.
But when you add them up...
Long-tail keywords lead to more traffic than popular keywords.
Most business owners only pay attention to a few keywords.
(Usually the ones with the most search volume.)
And they ignore everything else.
Because of this - they believe Google Business has limited potential:
But when you account for the hundreds of keywords in their business category - their real potential is much higher:
Shameless plug: Lean Local SEO shows you how to find all the keywords that your listing ranks for. Without convoluted keyword research.