The right order: website, profile, reviews, content, ads

A lot of local marketing advice skips the order you should do things in. Businesses get told to run ads and post more, all at once, with no sense of what should come first. Money goes out, and it’s hard to tell what came back.

Good local business marketing goes in order: website, Google profile, reviews, content, and then ads. Done in that order, each step makes the next one work better.

The short version

We’d rarely start with ads. Make the website clear first, then fix up the Google Business Profile, then work on reviews and content. Ads come last, because paying for traffic doesn’t fix a weak page.

Why ads usually aren’t the first step

Ads are the easiest thing to turn on, so they feel like progress. But ads only bring traffic. They don’t make your site any clearer or more trustworthy. If the page is confusing and the profile only has a few old reviews, people click, look around and leave.

You end up with a report that shows plenty of clicks while the phone stays quiet.

The order, and what each step is for

1. Website. Your site has to be clear before you send anyone to it. A stranger should know within a few seconds what you do, where you do it and how to reach you. If they can’t, start here. This is website conversion optimization work, and it usually doesn’t mean a full redesign.
2. Google Business Profile. In local search, your profile often matters as much as the website. The categories, services, photos and details all shape how Google sees you, so Google Business Profile optimization is usually worth doing early.
3. Reviews. Reviews are proof from other people, which counts for more than anything you write about yourself. Ask for them regularly and reply to them. They won’t fix everything else, but they make every other step more convincing.
4. Content. Useful pages and posts answer the questions people have before they call. Content backs up your website and your profile, and longer isn’t better.
5. Ads. Now ads make sense. You’re paying to send people to a clear page and a solid profile with real reviews behind it, so your ad money has something to work with.

A simple example

Say a business in Springdale wants more leads and plans to start ads on Monday. That makes sense on the surface. But the homepage lists a long string of services with none of them up front, the profile is missing categories, and the last review is years old.

If they run ads first, they’re paying to send strangers into that mess. If they fix the page, fill out the profile, start getting reviews and add a couple of useful pages first, the same ad budget lands on something that can actually turn into calls.

How to tell where you are in the order

• If your page confuses a stranger in ten seconds, you are at step one.
• If the page is clear but you do not show up on Google Maps, look at the profile.
• If people are finding you but picking a competitor, check your reviews and photos.
• If all of that is solid and you want more volume, then ads earn their place.

When you can skip ahead

This is the usual order, and there are exceptions. If your website is clear, your profile is complete and your reviews are recent, you may be ready for ads sooner. The point of the order is to keep you from paying for traffic before your site and profile are ready for it.

Finding out which step you’re on

A Local Authority Audit looks at your website, profile and reviews together and tells you which step to work on before you spend more on traffic. Send us a note to get started.