If you have a business with a physical location, Google My Business is your best ally in your quest to get new customers. The tool helps you optimize local SEO and appear in searches for people near you. As always happens in the world of SEO, the top positions in local searches are highly contested, so, if you want to get the most out of it, here are 10 tips to optimize the results.
1) Complete all of the information of your business
It may seem obvious, but the first step to optimizing Google My Business is to make sure that all potential customers are able to find everything they need. So you need to pay special attention to these sections of your profile:
- Business name
- Address
- Working hours
- Business phone number
- Website
- Services and products offered
- Business category
- Accessibility or additional attributes of your business (i.e., “home delivery”, “free Wi-Fi”, etc…)
- FAQ
2) Upload your best photos and videos
“One image is worth a thousand words”. You all know that. With Google My Business; it is not just completely true. Businesses that include photos in their listings receive 42% more driving directions’ requests and 35% more clicks to their websites. So it’s not just a thousand words….
To get started, you need a thumbnail (usually your company logo) and a large cover photo to display at the top of your profile. You also need to include quality photos of the interior of your enterprise and the products you offer. If you can also include videos, it will make your profile stand out even more.
3) Optimize descriptions
The phrase that appears immediately below your business name is chosen by Google, but you can customize the information that appears in the section “From the owner”. Here are some recommendations:
- Make full use of the 750 characters allowed, but concentrate the keywords in the first 250.
- Rephrase your website texts to offer a consistent brand image.
- Do not repeat information that already appears in your company profile.
- Highlight the unique aspects of your business.
4) Focus on your products and services
Including your products and services in your company profile improves your positioning in Google and provides quality information for your potential customers. When a user clicks on a product, a full description of the product appears. When adding products and services, you must include names, models, full and accurate descriptions, and, of course, the price. Make sure they are always up to date.
5) Get quality reviews
Star ratings are one of the most important aspects of attracting customers, so it pays to focus on getting excellent reviews. To do this, encourage your regular customers to leave feedback and make it as easy as possible, through a shortened link and a call to action on your website. Also, it’s always a good idea to respond to reviews quickly. Remember that you cannot offer discounts or gifts for reviews.
6) Review your questions and answers
The FAQ section is a super useful resource for connecting with current and potential customers. Responding to questions quickly and efficiently will help you get new customers.
Moderating this section frequently is critical, as any user can ask or answer. Activate alerts to keep up to date with news and try to respond yourself. Remember that you can also vote on your own questions and answers.
Besides resolving the issues of your clients, this section can also help you improve the positioning of your company, so do not forget to include keywords whenever relevant.
7) Post new content regularly
Publishing content regularly on your Google My Business increases conversions, improves positioning, increases the level of interaction and generates new leads. Therefore, do not stop updating your profile with new products, services, events, offers, etc…
8) Activate the messaging service
If you activate the messaging option in Google My Business, users will contact you directly. This will let them know you are available to them and consequently help you get more conversions.
To activate messaging, follow these steps:
- Select the messages tab in the control panel.
- Install the application on your phone through App Store or Google Play. The app will generate a different phone number from yours, so you don’t have to worry about privacy.
- Activate message alerts.
9) Check your stats frequently
The statistics section of the tool provides a lot of information about user interactions with your company profile:
- How users search for your business (i.e., directly searching for your business by name or address, discover your listing while searching for your product/service or search for brands related to your services).
- Where do users view your business on Google (Map or Search results).
- User actions (such as visiting your site, requesting directions, calling you, or chatting with you).
- Customer queries (what users are searching that leads them to find your business).
- Phone calls (classified by day of the week or time of day).
All of this information is very useful to optimize your Google My Business and improve your positioning, so check it frequently to see how you can continue to improve.
10) Optimize and update your profile
Optimization is a constant process for all online presence since the information must always be up-to-date. These are the fundamental aspects that you will have to review periodically:
- Update all company information. Pay special attention to working days, especially on holidays.
- Post new content and photos periodically. It is recommended that you do it at least once a week.
- Keep encouraging users to leave reviews and follow up on them.
- Respond to all new reviews and questions.
Always remember that like any other Google product, Google My Business is periodically updated with additional features, so stay up-to-date on what’s new to continue optimizing the online presence of your business. If you need good ideas for content management and creation, Rangval will fulfill your expectations.