Getting better rankings on any search engine, including Google, requires a deep understanding of search engine optimization (SEO) and how to utilize it best. However, to supercharge your visibility, a GMB optimization service is essential. If your business listing has not been getting the amount of traffic and conversions you believe it should, GMB optimization is most likely the issue.
The Google My Business platform makes it easy for your business to be found through local searches. By quickly calling attention to your best features and services, this service helps potential customers engage with your business, meaning a greater likelihood of conversions. Engagement from customers helps boost your local rankings on Google because it indicates that people are actively interacting with your business, at least online.
To ensure that your business benefits from this platform, optimize your Google My Business Profile page by following the below steps.
- Create a Google My Business Account
It’s crucial to remember that a Google Business Profile is different from a Google My Business account. The former is the business listing that highlights your key features and plays an important, supporting role to the latter. While your Google My Business account is a separate thing, it needs the Google Business Profile to build that crucial engagement with customers, leading to improved search engine results page (SERP) rankings locally.
Create a Google My Business account for your business by logging onto Google or Gmail. Ensure that such a business account is separate from any personal accounts you may have on Gmail. This My Business account becomes necessary when you request Google to connect it with your Google Business Profile.
- Fill in every section
The basics include name, address, website, phone, and hours. Other sections that require things like ‘products and services,’ ‘from the business,’ ‘categories and attributes,’ and ‘questions and answers’ may require a little more time and thought.
All this information is essential to helping Google rank your business higher in local searches. This has the added benefit of increasing engagement with potential customers every time they come across your page.
- Pay attention to the contact details
A big part of this involves consistency in the information you provide. This includes seemingly minor details like using “street” instead of “st” or “company” instead of “co.” Google’s algorithm assesses such details when determining your credibility. Ensure that the information is identical across all your online listings and physical addresses.
Indicate all your business and holiday working hours. This helps to avoid customer dissatisfaction by ensuring they always find someone to address their queries.
- Write your “From the Business” description
Always remember that the first description written under your Business Profile is something generated by Google. While they do a good job, it’s something you have little control over. Your “From the Business” description is where you get to give potential customers a quick but comprehensive summary of your products or services.
Ensure to utilize all the 750 characters allocated for this section. You can use information from your “mission statement” or “about us” page to paint a clearer picture for the customers. Avoid repeating things already mentioned in other parts of your page, especially those that are readily visible. Endeavor to use keywords and phrases in the first 250 words of your description. Ensure to avoid including any links in the description.
- Choose a category
Increased visibility is the object of all efforts to create and optimize GMB and your Google Business Profile. A vast majority of traffic to your online business profile will likely originate from people searching for a product, service, or a key term used in your line of business as opposed to searching for your business name directly. Being found becomes more difficult when your business name doesn’t give a clue about your services or products.
Always try to be as specific as possible with the category of service or product you provide. A restaurant that offers “Thai cuisine,” for example, is more likely to be found for such searches than one that simply offers “exotic cuisine.” Try to include any secondary categories that may apply to your business. In the above example, Thai cuisine is the primary service. “Thai cooking lessons” can be a secondary category.
- Select applicable attributes
Google will offer you a list of attributes based on your chosen categories. This is aimed at further describing your business to potential customers. Attributes are things like “free wi-fi” or any additional benefits of using your products or services. Google provides specific attribute lists like “popular with travelers” or “good for lunch meetings.” Such attributes help your Google My Business Platform to stand out more.
- Add photos or videos
As with most online campaigns, adding photos to your Google My Business accounts helps to increase visibility and engagement, with research suggesting that customers are more likely to request driving directions to your establishment if it has high-quality photos on the business profile. This setup means that customers can add photos as part of their review, thereby boosting your credibility. Google also monitors things like photos or videos added. Such things speak to engagement, meaning your account is active. This further helps your rankings.
As a general rule, try to add one new photograph every week. When adding a cover photo, look for something that best encapsulates what your business offers, thereby helping your overall brand image. You can include pictures of happy customers or the interior of your business premises as long as it adheres to Google’s photo guidelines.
Include geographical tags to highlight your business presence and relevance in a particular area, thereby helping local rankings.
- Get Google Reviews
Reviews are crucial to any business, especially when they come from Google because they add weight to your online presence and boost rankings. Business profiles with excellent reviews can also get displayed alongside the search results of a specific keyword.
Start by creating an easy-to-navigate review page on your site. To get started, ask your regular customers to leave reviews. Many customers are happy to do this if they are satisfied with your product or service. Explain to them that this is mutually beneficial; you get better rankings and exposure while potential customers who visit your business profile quickly know how to address their pain points.
Respond to customer reviews. This kind of engagement signals that your profile is active, hence improving your local rankings. Guard against “bribing” customers by using gifts in exchange for reviews, something Google does not permit.
- Add posts to your Google Business Profile
Posting regularly on your Google Business Profile signals engagement and helps to rank better. It also makes it more likely for customers to take action after visiting your profile because, unlike posts on social media platforms, customers that find your page through search engine queries are most likely looking for solutions to a problem.
You can post about upcoming events, promotions, new products, or anything that will help customers get information. Include a call-to-action statement and links for the customers to follow.
- Ask and answer questions
Answering questions from customers is good. This is especially true when such customers are on the fence about using your products or services. It’s crucial to optimize this section because anyone can post answers, in addition to asking questions. This can create a tricky situation whereby unverified facts are posted, thereby hurting your brand and credibility. You can minimize the risk of such occurrences by creating a list of frequently-asked-questions, answering, and upvoting them. Always keep keywords in mind, especially those that will likely help with your local rankings.
Setting up alerts is also a good way to know every time someone posts anything on your profile page.
- Add products and services
Your services and products may not seem obvious the first time someone visits your business profile page. This is especially an issue if your business has a nondescript name like “Service Express.” First-time visitors may not be fully aware of the nature and extent of your services. Include a product name and pricing while giving a fairly detailed description. This also helps Google to direct customers to your products and services from the category section.
- Set up Messaging
Messaging enables you to quickly engage with your customers. With many people using their smartphones to browse and shop online, this strategy will likely result in engagement, making it easier for customers to contact you. Privacy is not an issue because your phone number is not used. Instead, Google’s Allo application provides one for you.
Go to your Google My Business dashboard and select the “messaging” tab to activate this option.
- Maintain your Business Profile with a good Google My Business Strategy
Your Google My Business strategy should focus on giving good information about your business. Such information should include things from other sources that Google uses for information, including your main website and social media accounts. Stay on top of things by looking for new features that can help your account reach its full potential. Keep writing new posts and posting photos every week. Pay attention to the customer reviews that come in, taking the time to respond in a way that provides solutions to the customers.
In a nutshell, it’s difficult to account for every single factor that goes into helping your local rankings. Following the above steps will greatly set you on the right path.
