Google My Business is a free resource that Google offers to help business owners manage their search engine presence. SEO professionals use GMB listings as an essential component of a successful location-based marketing strategy.
The first step towards local SEO success is to create your Google My Business listing. GMB offers the most significant opportunity for brands to get local exposure, making it a powerful marketing tool for new and established businesses.
GMB provides searchers a list of businesses nearby that match their search terms. Users are given access to the most important details about your business, such as:
- Address
- Phone Number
- Hours
- Category
- GMB Reviews
Creating your GMB listing doesn’t just help increase your local search engine results. Still, it also generates a Google Maps location. This offers potential customers ease of access to your business information and increases your searchability. Since around 90% of organic searches come from Google, the GMB listing is a practical and vital component of your local SEO strategy.
So, how do you create a GMB listing correctly? How do you optimize your GMB listing to enhance your SEO strategy? Let’s explore the steps you need to take to leverage your GMB listing benefits to reach more customers.
Basics of Google My Business
Before you dive deeper into local SEO marketing, let’s cover the basics of Google My Business and the value it offers. The great news is that GMB is free to use. While this doesn’t replace your business’ website, it complements your brand’s online presence by giving you a public identity with a Google listing.
Your business’s most important information appears in Google Search and Google Maps thanks to GMB. Additionally, any third-party platform that uses Google Maps API will show your GMB listing on all devices.
If you’ve used Google tools before or your business has been around for a while, you probably already have a GMB listing. Although Google+ pages and Google Places for Business are no longer used or best practices to share your business information, both have been upgraded to GMB. Google My Business is now considered Google’s universal platform.
Starting Your Google My Business Listing
The first step to starting your GMB listing is to conduct a Google search online to determine whether your business already has a listing. Use Google’s in-platform My Business search feature to locate your business on GMB. If you already have a GMB listing, you simply need to claim it. You can then manage the information as if you started your GMB listing yourself.
In some cases, your GMB listing may have been claimed by another person. If that happens, you can follow steps to reclaim your business. If your business listing is not created, you can create one on your own pretty quickly.
While the GMB listing process’s longest step is verification, the overall process can be completed within a week. Follow these steps to create your GMB listing:
- Head over to the GMB website.
- Input your official business name.
- Add your primary business category. Choose the most relevant category that summarizes your business best. While this can be changed later, it is a critical component of optimization.
- Next, you will be asked to “add a location customers can visit.” This is a valuable component of your listing. If you have a brick-and-mortar location that customers can physically visit, click yes to add your address. You will also be able to add your business hours here.
- If your business operates as a service-area business, instead of a brick-and-mortar location, you should add your service area to the optional field that says “where do you serve your customers.” While viewers won’t see a specific business location in Google Maps, your business will still show up in relevant service areas searches.
- You will also be asked if you “also service customers outside of your location?” Click yes if you will physically deliver your goods or services to customers. Service area details can be changed at any time.
- Next, add your remaining contact information. This includes your phone number and current website URL.
- Once your primary contact information is added, click Finish to publish your GMB listing.
Your Google My Business listing has been created. Next, you will need to verify it to make it live and visible to internet searchers.
Verifying Your Google My Business Listing
Verification of GMB listings is done by traditional snail mail. It can take up to five business days to get your GMB listing verification card, even longer in recent times, thanks to COVID-19 delays. Verification is necessary because it proves to Google that you do represent the business as you claim.
Verifying your business is crucial for the visibility and performance of your GMB listing. Google won’t display your business or allow you to manage or edit your listing until your business is verified. Without verification, you can’t access page insights, analytical information, or business reviews.
Once you get your verification code postcard, follow the steps provided, and your GMB listing will officially go live.
Publishing Your Google My Business Listing 100%
When publishing your GMB listing, using all the resources offered can help you get the best results from your marketing efforts. Here are some crucial tips for optimizing your listing:
Enter Complete Data for Your Listing
Local search engine results favor the most relevant results for a search. Businesses with the most details and accurate information will rank higher in local searches. So, when it comes to your GMB listing, don’t leave anything to be guessed or assumed. Optimize your business in every way to communicate what you do, where you are, and how customers can contact you.
Include Keywords
Like traditional SEO practices, Google uses a variety of signals to serve search results. This includes relevant keywords and search phrases related to your GMB listing. This is important because your website should be listed directly within your GMB listing. Use keywords throughout your listing each time you post a Local Post to your audience, especially your business description.
Keep Business Operating Hours Accurate
Just as important as listing your business hours is updating them when they change. Google makes it easy to customize hours for holidays and special events. Keeping your hours updated doesn’t just keep your site accurate, but it also helps keep potential customers happy. In the age of COVID-19, GMB offers increased flexibility around hours and messaging for potential customers.
Add Photos
High-quality photos help your business listing perform well. Studies show that businesses with high-quality images in their listing receive 42% more requests from driving directions on Google Maps and 35% more click-throughs to their websites than those without.
Manage & Respond to Customer Reviews
Interacting with your customers is more critical now than ever. Responding to customer reviews illustrates that your business values its customers and the feedback they leave. Positive reviews have a positive effect on your business listing, but they also increase your visibility.
Responding to negative reviews can also help your business because potential customers will see that you listen to and value your customers, even when they aren’t happy! Creating a link customer can click on to write reviews for your business can help encourage GMB reviews.
Let Customers Message You
While it can be somewhat inconvenient, GMB enables messages to and from customers through the GMB app. This is another excellent resource for your GMB listing. To enable this option, go to your GMB app, click Customers, then Messages, and then Turn On.
Once enabled, customers can message your business through your profile. You can set customized automated responses that welcome customers for incoming messages and help with responsiveness and visibility. For maximum performance and visibility results, it’s critical to keep response times under 24 hours. Keep this in mind when enabling messages, as failing to respond quickly can negatively impact your business listing. Additionally, businesses that take a long time to respond can deter customers.
Use Local Posts
Local Posts allows you to publish offers, events, products, and services directly to your Google Search and Maps. Posts let you engage with your audience and keep your presence fresh. They can be conveniently added on the go from your phone, tablet, or computer.
Google suggests making the most out of Local Posts by making sure you add high-quality posts. They should be free of spelling errors, broken characters, gibberish, and useless information. Google also recommends posts be respectful and non-offensive. The best posts include visuals and links to trusted websites. The higher quality of your posts, the more visibility you’ll get for your business.
Stay Connected During COVID-19
Google knows that 2020-2021 has been a time of surprises. The biggest surprise is our country’s shutdown and the aftermath of the change in our way of living. If your store operates differently due to COVID-19 restrictions, mandates, or safety guidelines, you need to keep your GMB listing to give customers the most accurate information.
New features make communicating with current and potential customers easier throughout the pandemic. In addition to customized business hours and Local Posts, you can also perform the following actions due to the COVID-19 changes to GMB listings:
- Make store temporarily closed
- Manage delivery options
- Add health attributes
- Add safety attributes
Use the Special Attributes
Newer GMB features allow business owners to highlight their diversity, such as black-owned or female-owned attributes. They also enable features like outdoor seating. Include any unique characteristics of your business in your GMB listing.
Use the Product Catalog
If you have products to highlight, GMB Product Editor is an excellent resource for your business. Most small to medium-sized businesses can showcase products. Larger businesses are required to use Local Inventory Ads to showcase their products. Including information about your products’ pricing, details, and photos will allow your customers to get a better idea of what you offer.
Product details also allow Google to understand your business better.
Photos & Videos for Your Google My Business Listing
Your logo is undoubtedly the most important piece of imagery in your GMB listing. Therefore, Google recommends you use a square-sized image of your logo to help customers identify your business. Other digital assets that help you connect with customers include:
Cover Photo
Your GMB cover photo should showcase your brand’s personality. The cover photo is a large image featured at the top of your business profile. Keep in mind that it is cropped to fit a 16:9 aspect ratio.
Interior Photos
Interior photos help customers understand the in-store experience they get at your business. It’s your chance to make a good impression. Not only does this help customers understand the limitations of your physical location, but it also helps them feel comfortable entering your store, especially during today’s current pandemic.
Video
One of the most popular forms of internet media, videos, are highly effective in telling your brand’s story and explaining your brand’s message in a way that would not otherwise be possible.
Additional Photos
Additional photos can be used to spotlight features of your business to help encourage purchasing decisions. Other photos are those used to summarize your business and what it can do for your customers. Additional images can include:
- Goods your business offers
- Services your business offers
- Your staff
- Your customers
- Available parking
- The exterior of your business
With all images, follow Google’s best practices, which include:
- Format: JPG or PNG
- Size: Between 10KB and 5 MB
- Minimum Resolution: 720px tall, 720px wide
- Quality: Photo should be in focus, well-lit, have no alterations or excessive use of filters. In essence, all images should represent reality.
Google also allows some businesses to offer a Virtual Tour. This can further enhance your brand’s visibility and draw traffic to your business with a 360º interactive experience.
Monitoring Your Google My Business Listing Insights
Google has made tremendous strides in the past few years. There is now an abundance of analytical data available for Google My Business listings.
Referred to as Insights, GMB offers businesses a new way to understand how customers interact with your listing. This includes:
- How do customers find your listing
- Where customers find you on Google
- What actions do customers take
- Direction requests made by customers
- Phone calls placed by customers
How Customers Find Your Listing
Google Insights shows how your customers find your listing in two types of searches:
- Direct Searches represent customers who specifically search for your business name or address.
- Discovery Searches represent customers who find your business through a category, product, or service search that shows your listing.
You will be able to view the total number of searches and how many searches came from each category listed above.
Where Customers Find You on Google
This section covers how many customers found you through Google Search or Google Maps. You’ll see the number of views your listing received from each product in the timeframe you selected on your Insights, including Listing on Search and Listing on Maps.
In GMB Insights, “views” are similar to “impressions” on other analytic platforms. Therefore, to see how many people found you on a particular product or a particular day can be seen by hovering over the graph’s appropriate segment on the Insights page.
Customer Actions
This section covers what customers did once they found your GMB listing. You’ll see Total Actions displayed, which gives you the total of each action your customer took:
- Visit your website
- Request directions
- Place a phone call
- View photos
GMB Insights will also show you a map that displays where people are when requesting directions to your business arranged by most common spots. It breaks the total number of direction requests down by city or neighborhood.
Phone Calls
This section shows when and how often customers called your business through your GMB listing. On your Insights, you’ll see the total number of calls divided by time frames. There is also a graph that gives you the ability to view trends by day, week, or time. This is an excellent resource for your marketing strategy to target when customers are most likely to see your GMB listing.
Photos
Finally, GMB allows you to examine how often your photos are viewed. You’ll see a photo views graph and a photo quantity graph. You can also view lines that compare your business’s photo data with that of companies similar to yours.
Now, you have all the information necessary to optimize your Google My Business listing completely. When completely optimized, your GMB listing can be a powerful resource for your local SEO marketing strategy.