What changes when your business is in Lexington
My address doesn't change how Google treats your business. Yours does. Here's what I plan around for a Lexington client.
Google starts from your address
Google says local results come down mainly to relevance, distance and how well-known a business is. Distance means how far your business is from the person searching. So a customer searching in Lexington tends to see Lexington businesses.
That makes your Google Business Profile the front door. Your address, your categories and your reviews do that work. I set up and manage the profile as part of Pro.
“Lexington, KY” every time
There are Lexingtons in Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia and many other states. I write “Lexington, KY” into your page titles, your contact page and your Google profile. Nobody has to guess which one you mean.
Lexington is the whole county. The towns around it aren't.
Lexington and Fayette County have been one government since 1974, so “Lexington” covers the whole county. Georgetown, Nicholasville, Versailles, Winchester, Paris and Richmond are separate towns in separate counties. A customer in Georgetown may search for Georgetown, not Lexington.
If you serve those towns, your Google profile can list up to 20 service areas, within about two hours' drive of your base. I set up the ones you really serve and name them on your site where it's true.
The growth line
In 1958 Lexington drew a line to keep new development off the farmland around the city. CivicLex says it was the first city in the country to do that. About 97% of Fayette County lives inside the line.
So if your customers live outside Lexington, most of them live in the towns around it. That's why the service-area list matters.
Race weeks and game days
Keeneland races every April and October. University of Kentucky home games draw big crowds on fall weekends. Visitors search on their phones for food, drinks, shops and places to stay.
If your hours or menu are wrong on Google that week, they may pick the next place. Send me the changes ahead of time. Most edits are done within two business days, often sooner.