If your focus is to target local consumers and boost your local search visibility, Google My Business listing is the best thing for you. If you haven’t yet, then you must take some time to optimize your Google My Business listing.
Why is Optimisation crucial for businesses?
Every business in this world needs a Google My Business listing. Why? Simply put, it offers all crucial business details to Google and your local consumers. It also provides a rich local search presence.
The details that you provide in your Google My Business profile are used in several different ways by the search engine. From populating the highly visible knowledge panel which appears to the right of the search results and to settling Google Maps, providing voice search results, and assisting with Google app search results.
Google My Business is a free, quick, and easy to use tool, and once it’s done, you can begin the Google My Business optimization process to improve your local search presence. To manage your Google My Business profile, you do not need any expertise or professional qualification.
Google My Business profile tells Google everything that it needs to know to accurately list your business in the right place at the right times and for the right keywords. GMB is of utmost importance if you aim to target local consumers and for your local listing.
How to Optimise Google My Business?
Make sure your NAP is accurate (NAP) - To ensure a strong foundation that basics need to be accurate. Here in GMB basic means Name, Address, and phone number. For GMB, this means a quick check that your business details are correct, totally up-to-date, and entirely consistent with your other local business citations.
Claim your Google My Business short name - Once you verify your Google My Business account, the next job on your Google My Business optimisation process is to claim your short name. It is a short or custom name, designed to make it easier for local search users to find your business. Your short name can be something either associated with your business name or the name that customers commonly use to refer to your business.
Write the perfect business description – Google allows you to add a 750-character description to your GMB profile as part of your Google My Business optimisation work. This text should describe your business in an engaging, authentic manner, but it shouldn’t reference things like sales or promotions and should not be stuffed with keywords or links. Treat it as your business listing.
Choose an appropriate category and sub-category – The category and sub-category you choose while optimising your Google My Business profile plays a vital role. Especially for your local search rankings. The category tells Google which searches your business could be relevant for.
Upload amazing photos - A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it could also be worth a few additional brownie points when optimizing your GMB listing.
Generate, monitor, and respond to reviews - For local businesses, the beauty of reviews is in the influence they have on the purchase process. Users are smart these days. Before making a purchase decision, a consumer reads an average of 10 online reviews before they feel they are able to trust a local business – so generating positive reviews can have a direct impact on sales.
Use Google Posts to boost conversions and showcase brand personality - There’s a feature within GMB called Posts, which is crucial to your Google My Business optimization efforts. Posts are essentially tiny blog posts that can be used to give a short news update, share an offer, publish details of an upcoming event, or showcase a product.
Add your social media profiles to your Google My Business profile - Part and parcel of optimizing a GMB profile are ensuring it is as complete and up-to-date as possible. As we have seen throughout, there are some serious search visibility benefits to be had if you complete your profile information, often update and make the most of the myriad GMB features.
Investigate GMB features specific to your industry and use them – Google offers a plethora of features for its users to facilitate them to easily use it to their potential. As the hub of Google’s local search and local business efforts, GMB is packed with features. Many features and tools are specific to various industries. Investigate the ones that could be of your use. For example, features like- make a call, book an appointment, etc.
Final thought!
Knowing why and how to optimize Google My Business brings in plenty of benefits for local business owners – with a promise of greater local search visibility, more reviews, and enhanced information for local consumers.
