How To Optimize Google My Business: A Beginners Guide to Ranking Better

Around 70% of searches are being done using Google. 

This adds up to over 80,000 Google searches every second. And since a majority of people don’t go beyond the first page of their search results, your missing out on a lot of potential customers. 

How much you ask?

When you rank beyond the first page of Search Engine Rankings, you are losing 90% of your target market and not reaching your potential customers. 

This is where Google My Business comes in handy. And while there may be other ways for you to find yourself on that coveted first page of Google, Google My Business is a highly valuable, yet easy tool for you to use to your advantage.

If you don’t want to read through this whole thing, then here’s a video our very own, Cody Warren put together.

Create an Account and Claim Your Business

To get started, go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click Manage now. 

You will then be asked to put in the basic information about your business such as:

• Business category
• Location
• Service areas
• Contact details

Once you get all your information entered in, you will need to verify your account by getting a code sent to you that you submit to unlock all your Google My Business features. 

After your dashboard is accessible, you will not just want to do the bare minimum. You want to optimize that bad boy so you can get the most out of it. 

So how do you Optimize your Google My Business? Let’s dig in. 

Make sure that your information is accurate and is being updated regularly

This all starts with the basic core information of your business: 

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• Website
• Description
• Category

This information is going to give you a solid foundation for your local SEO. It should match up with the other information you have across the web, as inconsistency will negatively impact your rankings on search engines. 

Including keywords are going to be the next part of the equation to get the most out of your listing. When you incorporate important keywords and phrases, it will be extremely helpful to your business, as your Google My Business page will have your website linked directly listed inside it. 

Having your business hours accurate and up to date is another important thing for your Google My Business. One cool thing that Google offers with this is to customize your holiday and special event hours to keep people up-to-date and happy. 

Adding photos can be a real game-changer to your Google My Business. In fact, businesses with photos see 35% more clicks on their website and receive 42% more requests for driving directions to their place on Google Maps.

Some images you can add to your listing are:

• Logo: Throw your logo up so your customers can recognize your brand. 
• Cover Photo: You can set a cover photo on your profile that represents your business. 
• Additional Photos: Different photos that highlight the features of your business that customers may find useful for purchasing decisions. 

They also say to be sure that your photos are at least 720 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall, and should either be a JPG or PNG. 

Get Reviews from Customers and Clients

With 82% of consumers reading online reviews when looking at local businesses, getting reviews for your business is more important now than ever. In fact, the average consumer will read 10 reviews before they feel that they are able to trust a business. 

When you have positive reviews, 91% of consumers are more likely to use your business, while 82% say that they will be turned away from negative reviews. 

While bad reviews aren’t the best thing for your business, they can also present you with an opportunity. How is this? Because you are able to learn what you can do better as a business and have the opportunity to respond to those negative reviews and show you care about improving. 

Also, 45% of consumers said that they are more likely to visit a business that responds to their negative online reviews. But make sure that you’re not just responding to the negative ones. Responding to the positive reviews shows that you appreciate their positive feedback and their time to leave a positive mark on your business. 

• Ask your clients/customers in person if they are willing to leave a review for the quality work you have done for them.
• Send over a kindly-worded email asking for one
• Make it easy and send over the link to make a review
• Do good work so they give good feedback

Add Posts to Your Google My Business

When you post to Google My Business, you are able to connect directly with both current and potential customers by sharing timely information, new items, or events taking place. 

When making a Google My Business post, it is important that you choose the right format. Google gives you 4 options to choose from depending on your goal, here are your options: 

What’s New

This is the type of post you want to use for when there is something new going on with your business. You can include information about what makes your business different from the rest. Some features that can be included in this are photos and videos, descriptions, and action items. One cool feature with Google My Business is that in some areas, you can be provided with suggested posts that are made from your customer reviews. 

Events

Promote the events that are taking place at your business right on your Google listing. It’s a great way to give your audience updates on what is happening at your business and events you’re putting on or attending. For this post type, you need to set the start and end dates, and time. If there is no date and time selected, it will default to go for 24 hours on the date the post was made.  

Offers

The offers posts give you the chance to promote sales and special offers your business has. Similar to events, you need to put in a start and end date. You are able to upload photos and videos as well to amplify your message and bring more attention to it. Your offers appear on the top of your business profile on Google search and maps. 

Product

This is a great way for you to showcase the products and services you are offering that will show up on your products page. 

Conclusion

While there are many ways for people to come across your business, one can’t deny the power that Google My business has to offer. 

You are able to put your information directly in front of the eyes of your audience that are looking for your product or service. 

Google My Business will help your SEO and lets you engage with your customers through reviews and posts that you make. It is an incredibly valuable and free tool that will help to grow your business present information onto places your audience is already searching on.