Any Business or brand today needs to be targeted by Google presence. The majority of businesses are aware that they must optimize their websites and Google Ads, but most are unaware that a third entity, their Google business listing, also has to be optimized. This effective listing is formally known as your Business Profile.
The Google Business Profile is a dynamic picture of your company that showcases your greatest qualities, Products and makes it easy for your consumers to find, learn about, and interact with you about your services right from the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). To make it possible, this article guides you to make your Business or Services to the next level.
What is Google My Business Profile?
A Google My Business Profile is a free service and Sub product of Google that provides more information about your Business to the users. In this, you can add your business photos, videos, working hours, the area where your services are available, the reservation service over the URLs, and the description.
Advantages of Google My Business Profile
The main advantage of Google My Profile is that it helps to increase the number of customers in your business.
Some of the advantages of using a Google My Business Profile are,
- Visual Maps: provide your business location that is directly accessed by Maps.
- Boost SEO: Google My Business boosts your SEO to another extent.
- Valuable Insights: Provides more valuable data about your business or services to online users.
- Maintain a Higher Ranking: Google My Business keeps your site ranking high and more stable.
- Increase the Overall engagement: It increases traffic to your business through the use of links and promotions.
How to Optimize Google My Business Profile for local SEO?
Optimizing the Google My Business Profile is the key to getting found in the Local Search. Compete with your niche business, winning more customers online to move your business to the next level. To do so, follow the steps to achieve
Create a Google My Business Account
To begin your Google My Business Profile, first, go to Google.com/business/, and sign in with your Google account. If you have already signed in just click on the Manage button and enter the business name to manage your Google My Business Profile.
Complete All Sections
The more thorough your Google Business Profile is, the more actions people are likely to take after finding your profile. And it results in a high rank in Local Search results. Here are some rules for setting priorities because there is a lot of information to present.
You need to finish the sections of your profile right away such as Name, Address, Phone, Website, and Working Hours.
These portions may require a little more attention and time because of their importance:
- Category and Characteristics
- Services and goods
- from the company
- Query and response
The portions such as Posts, reviews, and questions, and answers are processed while ongoing through the process.
Contact Information
Here there are some steps to optimize the contact information for your profile and it includes,
- Make sure that your business name and the name that appears on retail signs are the same. Or, to put it another way, exactly as it appears in reality. Google may punish you for adding location names (unless they are part of your brand name) or keywords.
- Ensure that your business name and address completely match all of your online postings. To do this, regularly use “st” instead of “street” or “co” instead of “company.” These contradictions are taken into account by Google’s algorithm when determining your credibility.
- Give both your normal business hours and any holidays. This promotes client traffic to your business and helps you avoid the possibility of someone visiting your establishment only to find it to be disappointing.
From the Business Description
The first thing to keep in mind is that you do not actually have control over the brief description that displays in your business profile immediately below your company name. Google creates this editorial summary to maintain consistency across the platform. However, Google does a decent job at coming up with descriptions, which is good for the business.
In your Google My Business account dashboard, in the “from the business” area, you have control over the description. This area usually comes below the reviews section of your profile, lower down.
To optimize the description of the Google My Business Account, some of the instructions to remember while making the description are,
- Use up to 750 characters and use key information within the first 250 characters.
- Use keywords that are related to your business to find your business by users.
- Avoid the use of any links or Html in the description.
Choose a Category
Choosing a category is the key to getting reach to more users and it is a major factor in optimizing Google My Business Profile.
- Discovered through discovery searches. Only a few views for business profiles on Google come from direct searches, while the other views come from discovery searches
- Highlight features unique to each category. Once you select a category, Google gives you access to category-specific features that enhance the effectiveness and appeal of your profile.
Add Attributes
Once you have chosen the category for your Business, Google will give you a list of attributes for your Google My Business Profile. It helps to describe your business. Attributes are not specific but it makes a lot of impact when working on a laptop or for a traveler.
Add Photos
The important reasons to add images to your business through the Google My Business Profile are,
- Ensure excellence: Anyone can upload images to your business profile, and you’ll find a variety of images on a quality base. Your profile will appear at its finest if you add your own fantastic images.
- Take action: Regularly adding photographs shows Google that you are updating and maintaining your profile, which benefits your ranking.
- Results that include photos: Google is getting better at recognizing images and has begun to include photographs in local results.
- Boost involvement: Customers are more likely to click on a business’s website and more likely to ask for driving directions if it includes photos in its Business Profile, according to Google.
Get Google Reviews
Google knows that reviews are the main influencer to reach the business to a high level. And so, it is considered the ranking factor in the Google Algorithm.
To Optimize the review for the Google My Business Profile,
- To get reviews, start with your most devoted, long-term consumers.
- Generating a review shortcut link make it as simple as possible for customers.
- Ask to leave a review! If requested most of the consumers will leave a review. Use email, text, and social media to do this.
- Remind customers that evaluations are helpful to others as well as you by enabling those who share their problems to find a solution and choose wise selections.
- Have a CTA for leaving a review on your website’s “Reviews” page.
- React to evaluation, this feedback encourages more consumers to leave their reviews about your service, tells potential customers a lot about your company, and it also helps you improve your local SEO.
Post to your Google Business Profile
Like Social Media Platforms uploads a post in your Business Profile regularly about the offers, events, announcements, and products.
The post that helps you to Optimize the Google Profile by,
- The action was taken by the Customers
- High Search Intent
- Customers can follow your Business Profile
Ask and Answers Questions
Answering your customers makes them choose your business. Make your profile also able to ask and answer questions in the chat section. This is because of
Add Products and Services
The addition of the products and services in the Business Profile describes your business to the user if your description does not explain clearly about your services. When you are adding the products and services to your Google My Business Profile, don’t forget to mention the name, description, and price for your services.
Set up Messaging
Searchers can now send a text message to your phone directly from your Google Business Profile using this capability. This is a good opportunity for clients to contact you because most smartphone buyers use their devices for local searches.
To activate messaging, choose the “Messaging” tab in your Google My Business dashboard. And set up messaging for Google My Business optimization.
Regarding Google My Business messaging, two points:
- You won’t need to worry about giving out your real phone number because you’ll be using Google’s Allo app.
- Remember to configure message alerts on your Google My Business dashboard.
Maintain your Business Profile
Update your Google My Business Profile regularly to increase your presence and to get more benefits and this includes,
- Updating information about your business and service
- Uploading the posts regularly
- Responding to the reviews
Conclusion
Through the above blog, you can get the necessary information that you need to make your business through the Google My Business Profile. Make your business or services through the Google My Business Profile and get more customers.