If you’re looking to dominate your local market, it’s essential to optimize your Google My Business listing. This will help your business show up in relevant search results for people who are looking for businesses in their area. In this article, we’ll discuss five tips for optimizing your Google My Business listing for local SEO!
1. Get the Name and Address Right!
The first step in optimizing your Google My Business listing is making sure that the business name and address matches your other listings across directories. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many local directory listings we find that don’t have the correct name and address.
[Looking for new franchise marketing ideas for your franchisors? Check this out!]
Keep in mind that consistency is key. If you’re spelling out Suite on your listings, then don’t change it to an abbreviation of Ste. on your Google listing. This will throw off the search algorithm as being incorrect.
Also, avoid stuffing your company name with what you feel are essential keywords. We see a lot of businesses even change their business listing name to an exact search term just to help them show up in searches. First, this looks absolutely desperate and unprofessional. Second, doing this is against Google’s terms of use, so it will likely get you kicked off the platform. Use your actual business name on your Google listing.
There are TONS of directories online that you can submit your business to, and there is great software out there that can help you get your business on hundreds of them. If you’re looking for help with this, just let us know!
2. Add Any Relevant Cities in Your Area
Remember that your target customers may not always live in very close proximity to your place of business. Instead, they may look up your business category and enter a city name in addition to that in order to find you. It’s important that your listing has all the potential service areas that make sense for your business so that you have a better chance of showing up where it counts.
When it comes to the “near me” searches, keep in mind that these listings show up based on where the person is located. All businesses on the map that are in the closest proximity to the person doing the search will show up first regardless of the cities you have listed. To help improve your “near me” ranking, make sure that you have the right address listed, and that you also have a fully optimized Google My Business listing that features you on Google maps. Not doing so will mean that your business won’t have a chance of showing up in the “near me” searches.
3. Add Images of Your Business
Adding images to your Google listing will help it appear more attractive and appealing in the search results. This can be a great way to increase conversions on your site by having people click through from their local search results page rather than scrolling past them looking for something better!
When adding images, make sure that you’re uploading high-quality photos of the interior or exterior of your business location so visitors get an idea of what they’ll see when walking into this establishment from outside. People often research businesses before they visit. They are looking for reviews and appearance above all when it comes to choosing the business they’re going to. Because of this, be sure to use the most professional, inviting images possible.
Additionally, you can choose which image to feature as your cover image, so be sure to choose a picture of the outside of your business. This will help people more easily find you when navigating with Google maps. You can also add a description to each image, placing keywords and your business name in the details to help with rankings as well.
4. Write a Description that Uses Keywords and Locations
If you are a dentist, you should say that in your description. If you’re offering a certain kind of food, you should say that too. Remember that keywords are king for search, so you should litter keywords throughout your listing. Also, it’s a good idea to mention primary service city locations in your description as well to help your listing pop up for those terms.
Remember that you have a very limited space to work with in the overview description box of your Google listing. Here you should briefly mention your brand statement, key offerings, and the cities you most often service. This will help boost your listing in searches when people are looking for those keywords.
You can also fully fill out your services in Google. Don’t get too creative with the service names here. Instead, list exactly what the service is you’re offering. You can also add a description to that service with additional keywords.
5. Post Several Times a Week on Your Listing
If you weren’t aware, Google My Business allows you to post updates on your listing very similar to a social media account. Google search values the most recent and relevant news, so make it a priority to have someone at your company be in charge of posting on your listing several times a week to help make your listing relevant.
Having trouble figuring out what you should post? This doesn’t have to be complicated! Keeping it simple is the best practice for Google. Have a team member post 2 to 3 times per week on your listing with the latest deals, coupons, hours of operation, or whatever other relevant business information your customers might appreciate. This kind of update helps tell Google that you’re still a very active business that’s welcoming customers at your location.
If you found these tips helpful and are looking for a more in-depth guide to optimizing your Google My Business page to boost your local online presence, visit our website to download our free 35-page Google My Business Guide!
