Ever wondered how to optimize your listing so that you get more results from Google My Business? Follow these 6 tips:
SEE ALSO: Your Business in Local Search: The Importance of Google Plus
1. Verify Your Listing and Constantly Check on the Information
Frist, you have to let Google know your business actually exists. Once you’ve filled in all the information required to create an account (Whether you deliver goods and services from that particular location, contact details, and business category), you will be asked to verify your business. This is easy to do: just fill in the six digit code which will be sent via text.
But things do not end there!
One of the quirks of Google My Business is that ANYBODY can edit any part of your business info. Anybody. All they have to do is click “Suggest Edits” and they could potentially make changes ranging from changing your business hours or category to removing your business listing outright.
So you want to be constantly checking in to make sure all your info remains as it should be.
2. Be Consistent with Your Business NAP
Not that kind of "NAP." By NAP, we mean you want to make sure that your business’ Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent in the various directories in which your business is listed and on your website. The last thing you want is to present contrasting information to Google website crawlers when they come knocking.
To check the consistency of your contact details, do a Google search for your business so you can see what every listing looks like. It is not uncommon to discover some listings you did not submit yourself—as is common with businesses that have been operating for a few years. If you come across any incorrect info about your business, reach out and have it changed. You can also pay for a tool like YEXT to do this for you automatically and across the dozens of locations your contact info might live.
3. Google Loves Photos and Videos
If you can’t have professionally done photos, you can do well with an iPhone or an android device. This goes for videos as well. Gone are those days when the internet was only about plain black text; visuals are taking over the scene and there is hardly a better way for you to grab someone’s attention short of reaching out through the screen and grabbing them by the collar.
Adding photos and videos to your Google My Business listing is a great way to humanize your brand and give customers a behind-the-scenes tour of what goes on behind the scenes of your business.
For videos, Google recommends they be no longer than 30 seconds, are no more than 100MB in size, and be of 720p resolution or higher.
4. Add a Few Posts
This is a relatively new feature on Google My Business, but adding posts represent a great way to engage your browsers with updates about your business. The layout for this feature is actually similar to Facebook posts, so getting started should not be too much of a problem. Just remember to keep it short and interesting—let your business’ personality shine through!
5. Embed a Google Map on Your Website
Embedding your business’ Google listing on your contact page is a great way to bolster the search engine’s confidence that your business actually exists where you say it does.
And this is relatively easy to do: search your business name on Google Maps, click on three lines beside your business name in the search bar on the top left, then click on “Share or Embed Map”. Click on the Embed option in the pop-up and then copy the iframe code and paste it in your contact page.
6. Get Some Reviews
The more reviews you have, the more relevant your business appears. Google tends to favor businesses with reviews over those that don’t in its quest to provide searchers with the most relevant results possible.
In the end, a little patience and creativity will go a long way towards helping you get the best for your Google My Business listing. However, if you would appreciate being guided by an experienced hand, we would be happy to help. Reach out to us so we can help.
