When it comes to search engine use and new customers finding your business, we all know that Google is Master of the Universe, it is significant to comprehend how vital your Google My Business listings are to ranking higher in Google search results.
Verifying and claim a Google My Business listing for every location of your business is the first and most necessary step to local SEO. This is an easy way to make sure your business shows up in local search engine results. Making perfect use of your Google My Business listing assists you in ranking higher in results, above competition who don’t have a local SEO strategy.
In the past year, Google has added a handful of features to help you further promote your business while giving more information to your potential customers. Learning how to optimize these features gives your business increased visibility online and exposure to more local customers.
Here are 6 tips to optimize your google my business listing:
1) Make sure Business Name, Address, and Phone (NAP) are Correct on All listings:
Google desires your name on Google My Business to reflect your real-world business name as it is used on your storefront and is known by your customers. Take note that they do not permit you to add extra information to your name in this field like location, taglines, special characters or URLs. Keep in mind that it is crucial that your NAP not only be correct on Google My Business but consistent across the Web, so ensure you are monitoring and managing your business listings.
2) Select a relevant, specific category:
The category you choose will help Google decide which searches your local listing belongs in. You have to select from the list of available categories; you can’t make your own. If there is not a particular category that describes what your business is, settle on a more general one that still describes it appropriately.
3) Utilize the options newly added in Knowledge Graph:
You may find some options such as Google posts, Q&As, call & message that has been recently added in the knowledge graph, fill it to complete your Google My Business profile and help you to reach out maximum users. When done, your listing will have valuable primary data, which will make it easier for potential customers to find more information about your company.
For instance, in google posts option, you can posts articles, blogs, offers, events, products, etc. where you can give the link of your site and direct the audience. In the Q&As section, you can ask questions of your customers, and you as a company or even other customers can respond to those questions. In the call and message option, you can posts a customer friendly welcome message and the contact details, which enables your customers to contact you via phone call or messages directly.
4) Load quality, high-resolution images:
Images help your listing to stand out and give potential customers a glimpse of what to expect. Ensure you use high-quality images that make your business look good and show off your products
5) Ensure your information matches everywhere else:
One thing Google’s algorithm looks at to verify the legitimacy of a listing is a consistency in how it’s listed across different websites. While that seems simple enough- your address is the same each time you enter it somewhere- it’s easy for little differences to slip in. For instance, perhaps you wrote out the Road part of the street name one time and shortened it to Rd another time.
6) Encourage reviews:
You will notice that the local businesses listed in the map snippet of a local search usually have star ratings next to their name. Google desires to offer the most helpful information to its users, and they need to find the nearby business that seems the best. It benefits your business to have a high star rating, in both cases.
7) Ensure your website and content is optimized:
All the common SEO advice, which assists strengthen the authority of your site in the eyes of Google matters here too. Therefore, do not focus on optimizing your local listing to exclusive of optimizing your websites too.
A reliable website that’s optimized for both your customers and search engines will be that much more likely to make it into the list of the top three in a local Google search.
Abhijit Mandavkar is a Digital Marketing Manager. He plans and coordinates marketing activities of ValueHits, a full-service Digital Marketing Agency based in Mumbai, India. With his experience and expert knowledge in the field, he identifies potential customers and develops marketing campaigns. Also, he is efficient enough to meet the client’s requirements and well-organized in handling multiple tasks.