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Essential Google My Business Optimizations to Get You Better Local Search Rank
You have spent countless hours working on your online presence – from perfecting your website to optimizing your social media channels – and you’ve finally achieved the number one spot on Google. Or maybe you just did it for the first time. Either way, you are enjoying the spotlight and the opportunity to bring in new customers. What you may not know is that you’re falling short of one vital part of your business – local search rank. With the ever-changing Google algorithm, it’s difficult to stay on top of local search rank and keep it from plummeting. And only businesses that have a strong presence with proper Google My Business optimization can stay on top of the game. To assist you with this, I’ve put together a list of the five most important Google My Business optimizations that you should make in order to improve your local search rank.
Don’t Leave Any Section
Make sure to fill out every section of your Google My Business page, including – but not limited to – the following: About: Don’t be afraid to add rich content to your bios – such as a compelling story about your business or a really detailed overview of your products and services. To keep it on point, try not to exceed the 25-word limit. Hours and Availability: Customers want to know if you’re open 24/7, so don’t forget to add a list of your business hours and if you’re available on certain holidays. Images: Your Google My Business page needs images to attract customers. Try to upload a large photo of your physical location, plus a photo of each product or service that you offer. Contact Information: Your Google My Business page should contain all of your contact information – from your physical address to your website address, email, and phone number. You never know when a potential customer will be in the market for your products or services, so keep this information handy. Locations: If you have multiple locations, make sure to create multiple listings with every location’s hours, photos, and contact information. Other Reviews and Links: Google not only considers what you say about your business but also what others say about it. Make sure that you have customer reviews on your page as well as links from other reputable sites such as Yelp or Better Business Bureau.
Fill Out the Review Request and Message from Message Popup
In order to get more reviews, you need to first better connect with your customers and them ask them for their reviews. But there’s more to it than just putting a link on your website and hoping that people click it. If you want more reviews, you have to ask for them – directly from your website or by creating an email campaign. To give customers a better idea of why they should leave a review for your business, you need to tell them. Tell them that you take pride in offering the best customer service or that you have the best products and services in your area. This will show people that you genuinely care about their opinion of your business, and it will also help convince them to leave a review for you. You can ask for reviews in several ways:
- Include an optional field on your contact form or contact us page that asks if the customer would like to leave a review.
- Create a standalone page on your website with a clear description of why you want reviews and include the contact form and email campaign on the page.
- Include the link to your Google My Business page on your website and in your email signature.
Select Applicable Attributes
To increase your local search rank, select all applicable attributes. Attributes such as “Accepts credit cards” or “Home Delivery” is unique to your business, so take advantage of them and make them stand out. Every Google My Business optimization that you include on your page will give you a better chance of getting your business on the first page of Google. And if you are still new to local search rank, these simple additions will help you get the most out of it.
Make Your Staff Profiles Stand Out:
Your employees are what makes your business unique, so let Google know by including photos of your staff members. In addition to photos, include detailed descriptions of your employees’ work history and what they specialize in. This will give Google a better understanding of your business and help you to get a higher local search rank.
Include Multiple Storefronts
Since you’ll be asked for a physical address, you might as well take advantage of it and add more storefronts if you have them. You can add any storefronts that you operate, such as a fulfillment center or a warehouse, along with your physical address.
This video was created by: Wes McDowell
