{"id":14081,"date":"2022-07-29T18:32:17","date_gmt":"2022-07-29T18:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woobound.com\/?p=14081"},"modified":"2023-08-14T23:59:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T04:59:13","slug":"is-adding-near-me-to-your-business-name-a-good-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woobound.com\/is-adding-near-me-to-your-business-name-a-good-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Adding \u201cNear Me\u201d to Your Business Name a Good Idea?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>You may have seen this picture by now, floating around on every social platform there is\u2026 This picture is the beginning of the story I\u2019m about to share with you. Adding \u201cNear Me\u201d to Your Business Name a Good Idea.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/dentist-near-me-woobound-marketing-christian-arriola-768x1024-1.jpeg\" alt=\"dentist-near-me-woobound-marketing-christian-arriola\" class=\"wp-image-14082\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>It was a few months ago that I was visiting my parents in El Paso, TX that I ran into this dental office. SEO runs in my veins, so it\u2019s common for me to look around to see what other businesses are in every shopping center. However, I never thought I would see a business go as far as adding the words \u201cnear me\u201d to their business name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I snapped this picture to share it with my closes 2 SEO friends; we had a good laugh. A few days later, I hosted a Global SEO training on 2022 ranking factors and I added this picture to my deck\u2026 People were cracking up!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I decided to post this on LinkedIn. I considered this picture to be funny but kind of \u201cgeeky\u201d, but still went for it. This was my original post:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>&#8220;Talk about Google Maps hack! I was recently in El Paso, TX, and ran into this while picking up my food order\u2026 And yes, they are ranking at the top of results on Google Maps in the area!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Come on, I\u2019m an SEO, of course, I was gonna take a picture!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Although this may seem spammy, Google Guidelines are clear. Google says your<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/google-business-profile-review-management-for-car-dealers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> Google Business Profile <\/a><\/strong>should match your legal business name. So when their legal name is \u201cDentist near me\u201d or \u201cVietnamese Restaurant\u201d or \u201cChris Used Cars\u201d, then it\u2019s ok to use your main keyword in your Google Business Profile.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Having the main keyword in your name often helps with rankings\u2026 But if it\u2019s not part of the legal name, then I wouldn\u2019t suggest doing it. There can be penalties coming from Google if they find this to be just a ranking tactic and not accurate legal name.<\/em>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This post went live on Thursday morning, and I forgot about it\u2026 I never expected more than 10 likes, to be quite honest. This was a simple photo to use in my SEO training decks. At the time of this writing, the post sits at near 30,000 impressions, 369 likes, 58 comments, and 27 shares. However, the picture itself went viral!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The \u201cDentist Near Me\u201d Post Went Viral!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s right\u2026 My geeky photo went viral! People were liking, commenting, and sharing the post\u2026 The picture made it back to me from friends who were sending me messages, slacks, and DMs asking if that was my photo.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/SEOs-break-the-internet-1024x576-1.png\" alt=\"SEOs-break-the-internet\" class=\"wp-image-14083\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/SEOs-break-the-internet-1024x576-1.png 1024w, https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/SEOs-break-the-internet-1024x576-1-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"654\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/genius-dentist-near-me-reddit-post-1-1.png\" alt=\"Adding \u201cNear Me\u201d to Your Business Name a Good Idea\" class=\"wp-image-14085\" srcset=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/genius-dentist-near-me-reddit-post-1-1.png 654w, https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/genius-dentist-near-me-reddit-post-1-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/genius-dentist-near-me-reddit-post-1-1-72x72.png 72w, https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/genius-dentist-near-me-reddit-post-1-1-120x120.png 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 654px) 100vw, 654px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The SEO community went wild sharing this picture everywhere and wondering if this was real or just a photoshopped picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"679\" height=\"854\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Business-Name-Keyword-Near-Me-Might-Not-Be-A-Great-Idea-SE-Round-Table.png\" alt=\"Keyword Near me\n\" class=\"wp-image-14086\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20220430043442\/https:\/\/www.seroundtable.com\/naming-your-business-keyword-near-me-32808.html\">Original Article by Barry Schwartz<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But is it a Good Idea to Add \u201cNear Me\u201d Keywords?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I know my original post covered the fact that is not technically spam because it\u2019s done in a way that follows Google\u2019s guidelines. But this still feels like a short-term hack to rank in the nearby area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think our goal as SEOs and marketers in general, is to build long-term brands from a strategic angle. We shouldn\u2019t be looking for short-term hacks that may appear good now, but leave you at risk of future Google updates. Google updates its algorithm hundreds of times per year, trying to raise the bar for quality and strategy over quick map hacks. I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if a new local update gets released that prohibits or penalizes \u201cNear me\u201d words on Google profile names\u2026 And that would be the end of your positioning! What would be left for your business?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I highly believe and agree with many comments I read online. Our goal as SEOs is to build a brand for the long run. Be creative with your name, yes, but work towards a long-term positioning that is not at risk of getting penalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"529\" height=\"117\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Not-sure-if-this-is-the-type-of-business-I-want-to-entrust-my-health-with.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14087\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Trevor Nadeau:&nbsp;<\/strong>Not sure if this is the type of business I want to entrust my health with\u2026.is \u201cheart surgeon near me\u201d next?<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"528\" height=\"163\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Kit-Moore-CPA-CA-CMA.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14088\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Kit Moore, CPA, CA, CMA:&nbsp;<\/strong>I\u2019ll buy Nike\u2019s any day over Kids Indoor Shoes Near Me. I\u2019ve seen this SEO problem before \u2013 usually from a green marketing grad with no professional skills.<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"526\" height=\"127\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Amazing.-The-dentist-must-be-an-SEO.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14090\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Jeff Collins:<\/strong>&nbsp;Amazing. The dentist must be an SEO<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"527\" height=\"118\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Not-black-hat.-Brilliant..png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14091\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong>Kristopher Jones:&nbsp;<\/strong>Not black hat. Brilliant.<br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Does Google Think?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>John Mueller, Google also commented on this practice on Twitter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"538\" height=\"266\" src=\"https:\/\/woobound.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/john-mueller-dentist-near-me.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14092\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>I kinda wonder if it works against them, because of how easily search engines change \u201cnear me\u201d into just a location, making it really hard for people to search for them by name. For a local business, probably not a problem though, and the cute name likely helps marketing too.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s Next?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll continue to document and update this page as the momentum continues\u2026 Stay tuned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You may have seen this picture by now, floating around on every social platform there is\u2026 This picture is the beginning of the story I\u2019m about to share with you. Adding \u201cNear Me\u201d to Your Business Name a Good Idea. It was a few months ago that I was visiting my parents in El Paso, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14082,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[80,79],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Adding Near Me to Your Business Name a Good Idea?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Increase local reach: Learn about the effectiveness of adding &#039;Near Me&#039; to your business name. 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