25 Google Business Hacks for Better Visibility

Google Business is beautiful.

The leads will flow if you can dominate it as a local service provider.

But you check it one day… and suddenly… a shittier competitor above you on the map for a money-making keyword.

The birds stop chirping, and the record scratches.

WTF.

I hate it, you hate it—and every self-respecting marketer should be fighting against it.

It’s just plain wrong for a low-quality competitor to show up above you on Google Maps—that’s why I put this list of “25 Google My Business Hacks for Better Visibility” together for you.

1. Use the messaging feature to text with customers or potential customers (make it easy for them to communicate with you).
2. Add a picture with people for your first image to make your company more relatable (people want to work with people).
3. Add at least 3 pictures for each category on the backend: Interior / Exterior / Team.
4. Make sure your hours are filled in (and just make sure everything Google asks for is filled in).
5. Add your top menu items, or the whole thing, with pricing (people want to know what to expect if you’re “too expensive” or “not healthy enough.” Make it easy for them to self select before calling you or showing up).
6. Post regularly to take up more real estate on Google and show what’s going on (people want to work with a relevant company and on top of their game).
7. Ask for reviews from real-life customers (people want to know they can trust your company). According to Moz 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
8. Get your keywords in reviews – Take your review ask to the next level by asking them to get more specific… 
9. Always respond to every review—positive & negative.
10. Ask your own questions! Just ask from a different account. Google allows a Question & Answer section on your GMB listing and you can use this to ask common questions in the sales process… to yourself. To seed the pot, and make sure they are relevant and useful to your best prospects.
11. Use Schema metadata on your website to show your social media profiles on your GMB listing.
12. Use an appointment scheduler like Calendly or ScheduleOnce to allow people to book consultations with you directly if that works with your business model. Google allows an Appointments link in your GMB listing.
13. Use a site like geoimgr.com/ to geotag photos, giving Google more data to increase rankings
14. Use the full 750-character limit for a well-written business description, including key benefits of your service and a few good keywords.
15. Select all business categories and services available that are related to your business.
16. For more locally-focused companies, submit every area code of the service area you service in the “service areas” section.
17. Use GMB posts to advertise an event, important business updates, special offers, or boiled-down blog posts
18. Use Local Falcon to identify how you’re currently showing up, and track keywords over time – to see how you’re showing up in maps and at different proximities.
19. NAP Listings – Local Directory Listings – Your name, address, and phone number should be consistent all over the internet. Creating hundreds of directory listings on different websites where this is all consistent will often algorithmically affect your ranking on Google Maps.
20. It’s not ideal to have multiple phone numbers representing your business. Try to get those local citations fixed up ASAP. But in the meantime, add ‘additional phone numbers’ with those out there floating around on the web for a quick fix.
21. Make sure all of your local directory listings / NAP listings get indexed! You can create a page on your website that lists out every link (and submit to index on Search Console). You can also use a tool like Omega Indexer to get them all submitted to Google.
22. Use Google Map Citations, Driving Directions, and other ways to manipulate and increase your presence on maps. There are plenty of ways being advertised out there. Here’s a video describing using Google custom maps to rank higher on Google maps.
23. If spammy competitors are stuffing keywords into their GMB name, do Google (and everyone else) a favor and report the real name of the business by clicking “suggest an edit.” If you’re a local guide your edit may be accepted quicker.
24. Make sure your site backs up the locations you want to rank for. So, if you want to be shown for “Cherry Hill Roofer,” make sure there is a page on the site that is about that. If you want to show on the map for “Best Remodeler in Denton,” perhaps you could have a list of the top remodelers in Denton. Yes, this can affect your presence on Google maps!
25.  Find the categories your competitor who’s doing well on maps is using and consider changing your category to reflect that new info.

I don’t know about you – but I’m doubling down on Google My Business over the next 3 months.

I’m sick of our competitors taking every conceivable advantage while we wait in the wings.

Who’s with me?

If you’re making a commitment to go hard on Google My Business the next 3 months – leave a comment with the thing on this list you’ll do today.