For every local business, with a brick-and-mortar store or otherwise, it is important to have a Google My Business (GMB) account or the Google Business Profile. When your prospective customer is looking for the product or service you are selling, you must have an effective Google My Business account to rank higher on the search engine results page.
Most important part about Google My Business is that it is completely free. You can create a Google My Business profile for any type of business.
The GMB of your business will complement your website and will give your business a profile on Google.
If you are a local business, and you don’t have the Google My Business account now, then today is the right time to create one. Once you have created Google Business Profile, you must focus your energies on optimizing five sections in the profile.
Following are the 5 sections to focus on your Google My Business or the Google Business Profile. It would help you optimize your profile and rank higher in the local search results while your customers are looking for the product or service you are offering.
The most significant part of the GMB of a business is the info section. This is where you add all the details of your business. You must add every information that is relevant to your business and must not leave anything for guesswork.
You must create a good business description that includes all your important keywords. You must add your complete address, which will help Google to generate Google Maps location.
Also make sure that you add your opening and closing hours accurately to your GMB profile. This will give your customers the right information about when your business is open or closed.
Add your phone number in the info section of GMB and it will help your customers call you up for the purchase of your products and services.
If you are a professional service provider, you can also add the places and areas where you offer your services. This information will help Google to decide if it must show your information when someone is looking for your service from the place specified in your info section.
If you are a restaurant, then you can add your menu link as well as the reservation links in the info section. Customers can use these links to know more about your dishes and to book seats in your restaurant.
There are other options to fill in and make sure that you are not leaving behind any relevant section unfilled. It is often the information added in this section that forms the basis of Google’s listing of your business in the search results.
Adding the right business category for your business is another critical piece of information that you must add to Google Business Profile. There could be many categories, but there will be one category that best represents your business.
Adding the right business category will help Google to assign a place label to your business. As categories describe your business accurately, it can help you get connected with your customers.
At the space provided, start writing the name of your business category, then a dropdown will appear that helps you to choose the best available category for your business.
Reviews that your business receives are one of the key factors in deciding your position in Google search results. The more positive reviews you get, the more chances your business has to come on top of the results pages.
Moreover, how you respond to reviews is another important ranking factor. You must respond to all your reviews – even if they are negative reviews. Google understands that no business can get only positive reviews. Therefore, even if you get a negative review, instead of ignoring or removing it, reply to it.
As responses to negative reviews, you can acknowledge your shortcoming and tell the reviewer how you are planning to make sure it is rectified in the future.
Adding photos of your products or location is a wonderful way to attract your prospective customers to your business. Google Business Profile provides you opportunities to add your photos. Make sure you add your logo, a cover photo and other images that represent your business.
Google suggests adding many types of photos to your Google Business Profile including,
It is important for every business to add your business photos in Google My Business. If you don’t add them, then Google may opt for photos added by your customers, to represent your business in search results. There could be inappropriate photos added by your customers, which might put your business at a disadvantage.
Make sure you are following Google’s content policy while adding photos and videos to Google My Business.
Adding posts to your Google Business Profile is important as it is where you can communicate with your local customers. You can engage with your customers through images and videos.
You can communicate with them about your latest event or a product. Adding posts will help your customers to know accurate information about your products and services.
In the posts section, you can add texts, images, and videos. You can add updates about your products or services, latest offers, events as well as promote your business profiles.
Customers will engage with you through the posts in Google Business Profiles and may ask you questions about your products, offers, and services. You can answer the questions and engage effectively with your customers.
Local businesses must utilize the opportunities provided by Google Business Profile in creating and posting content that engages with their customers. It is the best tool for improving your business, particularly if you are a local business.
If you don’t know how to make use of Google Business Profile for your local business, contact me for local SEO services.
Contact me for one of the best local SEO consultants in Kerala.
0 Comments
Add a comment
By using form u agree with the message sorage, you can contact us directly now