The Loop is community area 32 on the City of Chicago’s official list of 77, and by the City’s own boundaries it borders three others: the Near North Side, the Near West Side and the Near South Side. For a business based there, that small, crowded map shapes almost every marketing decision. Many competitors sit within a short walk, and Google’s local results weigh how far each one is from the person searching. This page covers what a Loop business should ask of a marketing plan.
Marketing Company Chicago is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Distance does a lot of the work
Google says local results are mainly based on relevance, distance and popularity. In a dense area, distance can separate businesses that are otherwise alike. A searcher at one end of the Loop may see a different short list than a searcher a few blocks away. No one can pay Google for a better local ranking, so the work goes into relevance: a complete profile, the most specific category, and pages on your site that match what people search for.
- Pick the most specific category. Google asks for as few categories as possible and the most specific one that fits.
- Fill in everything. Hours, services, photos and a website link, kept current.
- Keep your real name. No neighborhood or keyword added to the business name on Google.
- One profile per location. If you have a second office in a neighboring community area, it gets its own profile, not a duplicate of the first.
Ads for a small area
Google Ads lets an advertiser target a city or a radius around a point, which suits a business whose customers come to its door. The broad Presence or Interest option reaches people in the targeted area and also people showing interest in it. For a Loop business that can cut both ways: it can reach people planning a visit downtown, and it can also spend money on people who will never come. A careful agency decides this setting campaign by campaign and tells you why.
Because the area is small, the ads and the page they land on should say where you are in plain words: the street, the nearest cross street, how to get in. Landing page experience is one of the three parts of Google’s Quality Score, and a page that answers a downtown visitor’s practical questions is a more useful page.
Your address and your service area
Some downtown businesses also travel to customers: an IT firm visiting offices, a caterer delivering, a cleaning company. Google lets a business that serves customers at its address and also travels to them enter both its address and its service area. Keep the Loop address on the profile and add the community areas you travel to, such as the Near North Side or the Near West Side.
Shared and virtual offices
Google says a service-area business cannot list a virtual office unless it is staffed during business hours. If you work from a shared space downtown, check that it meets that rule before using it as your address.
Pages that are really about the Loop
If your site has a page for the Loop, it should be about the Loop: how to find you, which buildings or streets you serve, what is different about working downtown. Google’s spam policies call pages targeted at specific regions that funnel users to one page doorway abuse, and a page that would read the same with any neighborhood’s name swapped in is exactly that.
What to ask a marketing agency about a Loop business
- How will you handle distance in the map results when competitors are a block away?
- Which location setting will my ads use, and why?
- What will my landing page say about finding the business?
- Is my address set up correctly, with service areas added if I travel?
- What is your experience with businesses in downtown Chicago?
Running a business in the Loop? Tell us what you need and an independent marketing agency can prepare a written proposal.
For the map side in more depth, see local SEO Chicago. For running the ads, see Chicago PPC management. The neighboring Near North Side and West Town and Near West Side pages cover the areas next door.
Questions people ask
Is the Loop an official Chicago community area?
Yes. The Loop is community area 32 on the City of Chicago’s list of 77 community areas.
Which community areas border the Loop?
By the City’s community-area boundaries, the Near North Side, the Near West Side and the Near South Side.
Can I pay to show up first on Maps downtown?
No. Google says there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking.
Should I add ‘Loop’ to my business name on Google?
Only if it is part of your real-world name. Google says not to add keywords to the business name.