According to Google, 67% of smartphone users are more likely to purchase from or visit a company whose mobile site is customized to their location. And over 70% of these users are searching with Google. With a correctly completed Google My Business (GMB) listing, your business is utilizing one of the best, free SEO strategies available. While different and separate from your business’s website, think of your GMB profile as a public identity or first impression for your customers. Your GMB is the perfect complement to your beautifully designed home services website. Searchers can get a quick overview of your company through your Google My Business profile. 

As a business owner, employing best practices can increase your local search visibility, display your company’s GMB before traditional website links, and increase the potential customers that could be walking through your doors. If this sounds enticing, the home services marketing experts at beMarketing are sharing how to improve your Google My Business rankings as well as tips to achieve digital success by leveraging a location based strategy for your home services business. 

What Is Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is an easy home services marketing tool that allows business owners to better manage their online presence across search engines by improving their odds of appearing first in a local Google search and Google maps. Google knowledge panels show important information about your business such as the address, hours, and customer reviews. When Google assigns local rankings, it considers three major characteristics:

  • Relevance – it’s important to be clear, concise, and accurate with your business’s details. Try incorporating local keywords to improve your Google My Business rankings. 
  • Distance – if no location is specified by the user, Google uses GPS locations to find the best match that’s closest to your location.
  • Prominence – Google results will often reflect the prominence of your business. Social media posts, customer reviews, and relevant blog posts linking back to your website can all help boost your prominence on a local search. 

How to Increase Your Local Rankings

If you find yourself wondering how to improve your Google My Business rankings, the busy bees of your favorite home services marketing agency are here to help! We’re sharing smart tips to help you better customize your GMB profile so you can achieve better results and local visibility. 

Ensure Information Is Accurate and Complete

Adding accurate hours of operation, services provided, or business categories can help potential customers verify the accuracy of your home services business. Not only that, your odds of appearing in a local search will increase. Ensure that the information available on your website directly matches your GMB profile. This provides a solid foundation for your local SEO. 

Verify Your Location

This is extremely important for appearing in search results. Your address should match the coordinates on Google maps and include your zip code. It’s also suggested to use a local number instead of a national or call center phone number. 

List Hours of Operation

Incorporating holiday hours as well as your daily operating hours is critical when completing your GMB profile. If Google can’t verify your hours of operation, your customers may be met with a warning from Google notifying them that your business might be closed. 

Manage and Respond to Reviews

Reviews are critical for your home services business and good reviews equal more customers! In fact, the average customer reads 10 reviews before fully trusting a business! Google My Business actively encourages businesses to request reviews from customers, as well as building a customer’s trust by replying to reviews. Good reviews also positively influence your business’s ability to appear in local search results.  

Add Posts with High-Quality Images

Yes, you can create content on your home services GMB profile! Your business can share a variety of things to your customers including posts with specific call-to-action buttons like Buy, Sign Up, or Get Offer. 

Ensure your digital presence is ready with these smart GMB tips! Boost your visibility and gain trust from new and existing customers by optimizing your Google My Business profile with our help. We understand that as a business owner you’re a busy bee—you’re communicating with new and potential customers, working on jobs, and providing excellent customer service. You may not have time to work on your businesses Google My Business ranking and that’s where we come in. Lucky for you, at the Hive, we are a home services marketing agency, providing everything you need from search engine optimization to branding, online reputation management and even helping you make better business decisions with our reporting and analytics tools. Let us help you build your home services brand, so the customer’s keep on coming, and coming and coming! Contact us today to get started.