Do you recall thumbing through the “yellow pages” when trying to locate a company? Although it was beneficial, it was difficult to look through a big stack of pages. With the introduction of search engines and the Internet, searching became more efficient and businesses started using different strategies for advertising. Today, the concept of a Google My Business Listing has undergone a digital transformation.
Let’s kick things off by giving you three statistics about Google My Business Listing before getting into any details.
- 3.5 billion daily searches in Google, 46%, i.e., 1.6 billion, have local intent.
- 78% of local searches on mobile results in offline purchases.
- 72% of customers who look online for businesses visit stores within five miles of their search location.
It is clear that business owners are searching for local businesses on the internet before going out. Thus, in order to be visible in both Google searches and maps, your company must implement a plan using Google My Business.
But why sweat searching? Below are strategies and techniques to maximize the effectiveness of Google My Business and recommended steps to follow. So, read on.
Google My Business Tricks
Verify Your Business
In order to begin, it is essential for you to have a GMB account in order to access and enhance your Google My Business Listing. Your Google my business account is distinct from your Google my business listing. If you don’t already have an account, set one up on www.google.com/business or log in. In the subsequent action, provide basic info such as the name of the company, type of business, where it’s located, and contact info. It is important to complete these fields with as little omissions as feasible to receive a higher score.
You must confirm your details after inputting all the necessary information. Google offers a few alternatives to do so. You have the option to verify via postal mail, email communication, or over the telephone.
You will get a communication from Google at your business address within a two-week period once the post has been verified. You must enter a 5-digit authentication code to continue using the Google My Business Listing when you have chosen the verify location option.
Enter details in every section of your Google my business account
Once the check is finished, you can begin to optimize your Google My Business profiles once you have completed each area. Do not hesitate to provide Google with any and all business information that might assist it in showing your website first in search results. Having more data can be advantageous in boosting your rankings and connecting you to potential customers.
Consider you are a cafe business. You need to give Google data on the atmosphere in your establishment, your food, menu, videos and photos, tags, any extras, places in your service area, and nearby landmarks, etc. This will draw people in and make it more likely that Google will show your place first.
Basically, you must complete all the sections because Google ranks you on the basis of three factors:
The business’s closeness to the person searching is implied in the title of “Proximity”.
If someone does a localized search for cafes near them, but your business is a bookstore, your company won’t appear as part of the results since it isn’t connected to the search query.
Google looks at how well known your company is and how many people suggest your services.
Select the right Business category and subcategories
To show up in local search results, it’s important to pick the most pertinent category since Google My Business provides a subsequent list based on your selection of primary class. Therefore, make the right choice.
For example, if you are a store owner, adding reviews can help draw in customers and place you ahead of the competition. Having your business appear in discovery searches is significant, since such searches make up 84 percent of all views of business listings.
Tick on apposite attributes
Once you decide on a group, Google will show you a series of characteristics that you can pick from if it is relevant to your business. Google supplies in-depth specifics to assist people in getting a better comprehension of your business to help them make a well-educated decision on whether to come to you based on the accurate data.
You could offer choices such as eating in, having it delivered, or taking it away if you are a restaurant business. Decreasing the potential for negative reviews is possible because customers can be aware of everything before they make a purchase.
Write a proper business description
The initial segment that shows up below your company name is created by Google automatically. You are not allowed to make edits to it. You will be glad to learn that you can provide a more detailed explanation of your words in the review section, in the “From the Business” section. In order to create an improved description, it is necessary to have a few considerations in mind. Here are they:
- The character limit is 750, of which your first 250 characters are the most crucial. So make sure to cover all the necessary information here.
- Further, consider Google My Business description SEO in mind. It pertains to adding 1 or 2 highly targeted keywords. Note that GMB SEO does not mean you need to overwhelm your description with extra keywords. Keep the density in check.
- Next, do not cover the attributes you mentioned earlier while setting up the account. Use it to creatively speak about your business such that it can attract visitors.
- Do not add links to your website here.
Add your products and/or services
A company that does not provide any goods or services has nothing to offer. Hence, people nor Google wants to visit you. It is strongly suggested that this area be utilized in order to achieve better positions in search engine results pages.
Include the product/service name, a brief explanation of it, and the cost when completing this section. When someone searches and clicks on a specific product, the details about it are displayed. It is possible that Google could place links for your merchandise in the category section.
Add Photos to Your Posts
Creating an engaging image of your business is of paramount importance. This should be a file in either JPG or PNG format, with a size between 10KB and 5MB. The minimum resolution is 720 px by 720 px.
Add Other Visuals
Don’t stop with a picture. Incorporate your business emblem, supplement with extra pictures of the interior, or even include a brief movie. The file must not be larger than 100 MB and should have a resolution of at least 720p. Keep its length to under 30 seconds.
Choose the Right CTA
Check out the variety of buttons Google includes. You can create a way to easily book an appointment or send a text message. Depending on the organization you work for, you could possibly have a “Service” option. Here, you can use those same keywords again to explain what you offer. Give people as many different avenues as possible to interact with your business in a convenient way.
Add Q&A Section
Google also offers a Questions and Answers section. People who read your material can put forth their inquiries, giving you the opportunity to communicate with them by providing answers.
This presents a chance for your firm to be distinctive. In fact, 25% of locations have unanswered questions listed. Be the company that responds promptly.
Why do you need to optimize your Google Business Profile?
People need reasons to visit you. You can use your Google My Business Profile to communicate honestly and earnestly with potential customers, encouraging them to come to your establishment. It helps you surpass your competitors. Let’s understand this deeply.
Allows you to engage with prospects
Google is a leader in the search industry, boasting the largest portion of the market. They are delivering precise responses to queries almost instantly. In order to be adored by patrons, you need to resolve their inquiries, and having a GMB account affords you the capability to do exactly that!
Power your rankings
Google evaluates both the quantity and veracity of information when ranking your Google My Business profile. Every time you change your Google My Business listing, this helps to prompt Google to increase your rank and help you get more attention because you earned it.
Get more footfall and conversions
A well-managed GMB profile can make it easier for customers to discover you in their searches, ask you questions, receive responses, see your address, browse images, view videos, read reviews, and other associated activities. You don’t have to sit around and wait for them to come to you to be changed over; you can change them on your website as well.
Tips for Making Your Listing a Success
Reviews
Your listing has the ability to have reviews posted, just like many other websites. Begin by talking to several contented customers and asking for their opinions. It may shock you to find out how many people are willing to write a review when asked – nearly three-fourths of customers oblige.
Come up with a method for obtaining more feedback, such as making contact with previous patrons or establishing an email correspondence with new customers.
Getting the reviews posted is the first part. The next part is responding to these. Thank each reviewer for their feedback by posting a few lines. You can also address any concerns here. This visible interaction is beneficial to your online reputation.
Nearly all customers look over local business ratings, so take advantage of this chance to communicate with your patrons.
Posts
One study stated that only a small portion, 17.5%, of companies had recently produced a post on their list. On social media, a week can feel like an eternity. GBP is quite akin to a social media site; however, it’s specifically tailored for companies.
Stay up to date with your posts on the other platforms. Arrange a particular date or time when you will be updating your list. You can upload images, provide helpful advice, announce current offers, or share other useful content with your customers.
You could make things less complicated by utilizing a Google Business Profile organizing application like SocialPilot. This tool enables you to compose numerous posts and plan them to be released at distinct times. Posts regarding a special deal for the holidays or a summer bargain during June are possibilities.
Form the posts at the moment, place them in your list of tasks to be completed, and shift focus to other duties. If you need to alter the dates of your posts, it is easy to modify them inside your social media planner.
If you spot articles or images that your customers have posted on their social media platforms, you can leverage them in your forthcoming posts with the help of SocialPilot’s browser extension. You can utilize the extension to make and fix a post for that material.
Creating a schedule and adhering to it allows your fans to become accustomed to when to anticipate your updates, but that is not the only benefit. Using social media accounts is an essential tool to help increase awareness of your business and foster a sense of customer loyalty. Additionally, they are a simple and economical form of communicating with customers. Producing beneficial material that your clients relish will advance your SEO ranking and bring more people to your website.
Nonetheless, this task can take up a lot of your time if done daily. When you assign tasks to an application that organizes and publishes them autonomously, you are saving yourself valuable time.
Experiment with various pictures, symbols, and forms of posts and analyze what your ideal clients enjoy most.
Analytics
If you don’t take the time to study the information provided by your social media marketing, you won’t be able to get the most out of it.
This doesn’t need to be complicated. Every social platform presents its own unique information, which also applies to GBP. Software like SocialPilot is used to keep track of multiple metrics to monitor the success of your profile.
Do people who use your services usually interact with your website or just open the map immediately? Did they post reviews on competitors’ services? How did they first find you online?
Questions and their answers are useful in gaining insight into the customer experience. More importantly, they also highlight areas that need improvement. By looking at the information included in SocialPilot’s reports from Google Business Profile, you can modify your posts promptly.
Curious? Take a look at this illustration of a Google Business Profile analytics report to figure out the kinds of knowledge you can garner.
Ben Fisher, an expert in search engine optimization, looked into Google Business Profile and studied the findings from 2,000 businesses.
He concluded with the assertion that Google Business Profile is an incredibly effective way of improving a company’s local search engine optimization and increasing its visibility on the internet. Claiming your Google Business Profile should be one of the initial steps for local businesses to strengthen their presence on the web.
Conclusion
If you employ Google Business Profile in a strategic manner, it can result in an abundant amount of clients and customers. Putting in your details is easy, and then you ask to be verified. Once you have the code, you can put your listing out there.
By incorporating posts, pictures, and keywords into your Google Business Profile listing, your organization can improve their standing and be successful in local promotion. Employing a scheduling program, such as SocialPilot, renders the task all the more straightforward.
By taking a few straightforward measures, you can refine your GBP listing and dedicate more time to connecting with your customers.
