In this digital world, it’s crucial that your business takes advantage of online search engines to reach potential new customers. To help your business stand out from the masses online, the team at beMarketing develops SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategies to help improve search engine rankings. There are many different ways a business can utilize Google for their own benefit, but one of the most critical ways is through the platform Google My Business (GMB).
You may have never heard of Google My Business, but the chances are you’ve unknowingly interacted with it before. If you’ve ever done a search for a business and noticed their company profile pops up at the right of the page, that result can be credited to a powerful GMB listing. This is a crucial and often overlooked marketing resource that businesses should take advantage of, yet most teams don’t fully understand how to properly manage it. Thankfully, beMarketing provides unparalleled GMB Optimization Services for businesses in all industries and of all sizes. Here’s some advice from us on how to effectively use GMB.
Having Updated Your Profile Information
The first and most important thing to remember when building a GMB profile is to make sure the information you are providing is updated and accurate. This means having the right address, hours of operation, phone number, area of service, and anything else a potential customer would want to know upon searching. The more information you provide, the better.
Google has designed its algorithm to reward businesses with extremely detailed listings. Essentially, the more complete your profile is, the higher it ranks among other local listings. So, when creating your profile, make sure you select the right category for your business and include all of the relevant information needed in order to improve search engine ranking for your business.
Using the Right Keywords
Google runs on keywords, so it’s important to utilize them properly when handling SEO for your business. Much like how you would use targeted keywords to improve search engine rankings for your website, the same rule applies to your GMB listing. For the most part, these are pretty intuitive. If your business is a dentist’s office, for example, you want to make sure that you include phrases like “dentists”, “dental hygienists” or “dentistry” in your profile’s description to rank higher in those searches. This helps to target visitors with real intent who are actively searching.
Staying on Top of Reviews and Questions
Similar to sites like Yelp, users are able to leave reviews, provide experience anecdotes, or ask questions on your Google My Business page. While some businesses choose to ignore this sort of thing, we recommend engaging with anyone who says something on your profile. Whether reviews are negative or positive, engagement with patrons both strengthens your search ranking and shows new people who find your page that you care about your customers and their concerns. Plus, if someone is asking a question about your business, it helps to answer promptly to keep their interest as a potential customer.
Posting Consistently
In addition to the profile that shows up upon search, GMB also includes a social feed that can be utilized very effectively as well. This is a great way to bring attention to new things you want to highlight for your business. Have an upcoming event? Looking to hire more people? Have seasonal products you want to highlight? These can all be done by using GMB’s social feed.
If you keep these things in mind when building your GMB profile, you’ll easily see yourself start to rank higher than other local listings. SEO is a critical tool for any small business to have, and the most effective way to do it is by optimizing your GMB as well. Looking to improve your business’s online presence? Contact us today at beMarketing to see what we can do for you.
