Google My Business or GMB is a free, easy-to-use tool that helps organizations and businesses to manage and enhance their online presence and appearance across different search engines such as in Google Search and Google Maps.
Here are some of the techniques you can use to optimize your own GMB listing this 2020.
10 Ways To Customize Your Google My Business Listings
1# Complete Your Business Profile Information and Add a Description
The first step in optimizing your GMB page is creating a profile with comprehensive, accurate, and updated information.
You need to make sure to fill out all the necessary field including your
- Business name
- Business type
- Phone number
- Address
- Link to website
- Link to google maps
- Category
- Description
- Working hours
- Questions and answers
- Photos
- Reviews
- Overall star rating
- Favorite times to visit
- Related searches, and some additional fields depending on which industry you are in.
It will be much easier for potential clients to find and contact your company for transactions when you complete all the information that Google asks for.
Making your listing complete, also enables you to have a bigger chance to be recognized by Google and rank you in the results page.
2# Post Relevant Content on Your Google Posts Section
Through your Google Posts Section, you can post anything related to your business, such as your upcoming events, company announcements, blog articles, product promotions, holiday messages, and many more.
This section is one of the features of Google My Business Profile that allows you to engage with users directly in Search Engine Results Pages and on Google Map.
Make sure that you are posting relevant, high quality, and useful content on your GMB account because most people evaluate business online based on their recent posts.
Publishing high-quality articles also mean you can increase your SEO Outreach program so that your business’ organic visibility on search engines will increase.
3# Choose a Specific and Relevant Category
Category selection is necessary and can help Google decide which searches does your local listing belongs. You have to select your category from the list of groups available since you can’t create your own.
However, if no specific category fits your business on the list, you can choose a more general classification that best describes it.
You need to regularly check the updated category option for new opportunities that may explain your business.
4# Upload More and High-Resolution Photos
Image optimization is undoubtedly the most inexpensive way to get more mileage from your GMB listing.
Business with images tends to get 42% more requests for directions to their whereabouts and 35% more clicks to their websites compared to those businesses without pictures.
Use high-quality photos and add photos of your business logo to help customers identify your business, sales team, office, and anything that can effectively showcase your business to give potential clients a glance of what they can expect from your company. For a plus, you can also create a 360-view interactive tour of your business for potential customers.
5# Use a Local Contact Number
Keep your contact number consistent among your various listings. It is also essential to use a phone number with your local area code. That way, Google will detect that you’re definitely local.
Make sure also to put the phone number you used for your GMB listing in your homepage or any landing pages linked to your Google listing.
6# Monitor Your Google My Business Q and A Section
In your Google My Business Q and A Section, potential customers may ask questions about your business, and you can answer those queries.
This section is one of the great features for local search on Google that allows you to hear directly from the customers so that you can respond to them immediately.
Failure to monitor this section and not replying as a business may result in misinformation regarding your company, and worse, it can create a negative reputation.
Check: How to Build Good Business Reputation?
To prevent this from happening, you need to create a FAQs list to preempt customer’s Google My Business Q and A’s.
7# Manage and Respond to Customer Reviews
Google reviews from customers are really influential and good for your local business. Positive and conclusive reviews can gain more trust from customers and tend to get more engagements to potential clients. Online reviews can also influence search result rankings and click-through-rates.
This review section is still relevant even if you have a great business because potential customers still want to know your past transactions and dig in this section for your credibility.
Actively encourage your happy customers to give a review on Google and make it good practice for your business to respond calmly to reviews, especially the negative one and overly rude reviews.
Read this: How Important Are Customer Reviews For Online Marketing?
8# Booking Button Feature
If you have any business that relies on customers making appointments, Google’s Booking feature can really help your business stand out from the crowd. This feature makes it easier even to get new customers for they don’t have to leave Google to book an appointment with you.
If your Google account has the supported scheduling providers, the booking button is automatically added to your Google My Business listing.
9# Messaging
Messaging is a great way to interact with customers and potential customers and to connect directly with people interested in what you have to offer, and a great way to engage with people looking at your GMB listing. Messaging is only available to mobile web users right now and is not possible to a mobile app or desktop users.
People won’t also see the Messaging option in the Knowledge Panel on Google Maps, and the only way someone can message your business is if they perform a mobile web search on Chrome.
10# Services/Menus
If your business sell services like spa, nail salon, hair salon, copying company, or even a holistic center, the new Services list in Google My Business is a great new addition.
But this feature is only available for food and drink, health, beauty, and other business services that don’t have a third-party “menu” link.
Services list allows you to categorize and list out all the services that you offer and the prices, thus helping potential customers to see what you have to offer easily. Make sure to update your services and the prices if things change.
More Read:
- 5 Powerful Strategies to Improve Your Local SEO Rankings in 2020
- SEO and Social Media: How Your Competitors are Increasing Their Reach
- 5 Reasons to Use SEO and PPC Together
Author bio: Alex Lopez is a content writer who mostly writes a topic about SEO, the importance of outsourcing writers, content marketing, and home improvements. She is fond of dogs, and she has 2 of her own taking care of them 24/7. She likes to go outdoors with her friends, like going hiking or swimming at the beach.
