Learn: 10 Essential Tips To Optimize Google My Business.
If you have a local business, you can improve your Google search ranking and attract customers by setting up a Google My Business (GMB) page.
A Google My Business account is a free online business listing that can be created with a few simple steps, and can increase your chances of appearing as a search result when a potential customer searches for a specific business, product, or service “near me.”
Once you have a GMB page, you can optimize your google my business listing to make sure you are using all the available features and benefits to connect with your customers, increase awareness of your business, and polish your reputation.
1. Create a Google My Business account
To create an account, head to Google.com/business and sign in with the regular Google/Gmail account you use for your business (as opposed to your personal Gmail, if you have one).
2. Complete every section
The completeness of your Google Business Profile not only helps Google to rank you higher SEO, but it also increases the number of actions customers take when they find your profile. This is a very important step to optimize google my business. These aspects of your profile should be completed right away:
- Name
- Address
- Phone
- Website
- Hours
- Category and Attributes
- Products and services
- From the business
- Questions and answers (Owner-generated queries)
These sections are ongoing and should be updated frequently:
- Posts
- Reviews
- Questions and answers (Consumer-generated)
3. Be meticulous with contact information
Here are the steps for optimizing the contact information in your Google Business Profile:
4. Choose a category
Google offers a set number of categories, so it’s important to choose the correct ones.
Here’s how to optimize Google My Business using categories:
- Be specific. If you’re a hair salon, choose “Hair Salon” and not just “Salon.” (there are over 3,000 categories so it’s worth the look).
- Choose secondary categories. Many businesses fall into multiple categories. Set your primary category to your chief offering (for example, “Grocery Store”) and then choose additional categories that apply, such as “Grocery Delivery Service” or “Gourmet Grocery Store.”
5. Select applicable attributes
As we just mentioned, once you choose a category, Google will give you a list of attributes you can check off to further describe your business.
6. Add photos
Uploading photos to your Business Profile through your Google My Business account dashboard is important it allows you to make sure your profile looks the best! By uploading photos your photos will show up in local results on Google thus creating engagement.
According to Google customers are 42% more likely to request driving directions to a business if its Business Profile has photos, and 35% more likely to click through to its website.
Follow these tips to use photos to optimize Google My Business Profile:
- Add at least one new photo every seven days.
- For your thumbnail photo, upload your logo.
- Be sure to include happy customers, interior and exterior views, and team photos.
- No stock photos, and no photos with special effects or branding. Google is trying to represent your business as it appears in the real world.
7. Get Google reviews
The quality and quantity of reviews on Google is one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO. And, when a person scans the search results for a local product or service in Google, the business listings that include customer reviews present greater credibility and, naturally, receive more clicks. 92% of customers are more likely to purchase after reading a trusted review.
8. Post to your Google Business Profile
Just like with other social media accounts, you can post to your Google Business Profile about announcements, offers, events, and products. Posts are created in your Google My Business dashboard and show up on the “Updates” section toward the bottom of your Business Profile. However, they might become more prominent based on the search query.
9. Add products and services
Adding products and services is especially helpful if your offerings are not made clear in your business name. Populating this section, not only can help optimize Google My Business but also adds content to your profile that can help it to rank for even more relevant searches. When adding products and services, including the name, description, and price (if applicable). The full description will show up once a searcher clicks on the product. Also, Google may link to your products from your category section.
10. Set up messaging
This feature gives searchers the option to send a text message to your phone directly from your Google Business Profile. With smartphone shoppers (92% of millennials) using their devices for local searches, this is a great opportunity for customers to get in touch with you. To enable messaging, select the “Messaging” tab in your Google My Business dashboard, and you have the option to install this via Google Play or the Apple App Store.
