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Google My Business: 5 Tips To Improve Your Search Ranking & Visibility
Posted on October 11, 2016

5 tips for accelerating your google search ranking with google my business

This week we’re focusing on your Google My Business listing and why it’s ESSENTIAL for your local search ranking and visibility. Notice how I mention “local listing”. Google search engine results pages (SERPS) are location-based (assuming that you have location services on), and will show relevance based on where you are located.

Because Google wants to serve up the most relevant results to its users, only the most thorough business listings that have the most “action” will be displayed. We will now go over some basic steps you should be taking when setting up your listing.

1. What is Google My Business?

Google My Business is a listing platform for companies. Millions of businesses, large and small have their own profile, which ultimately helps their search ranking. This leads to winning more customers.


what is google my business

2. How Can I Get A Listing?

To setup your own Google My Business listing, go to the Google My Business site and click “Start Now”. The setup will guide you through setting up your own page. Google even published a helpful video to get you started:




Setting up your listing will accomplish a number of things like:

  • Aiding in showing up in search results
  • Helping you show up on the Google maps results
  • Uses your location and your customer’s location to help you rank better in local searches
  • Gives your customers the opportunity to review your site with the powerful Google review system

These are just a few of the powerful benefits to opening a Google My Business listing. And if you’re wondering what it costs, it’s totally free!


google reviews

3. What Can I Manage From My Business Page?

In short, pretty much everything! All of your business’ information can be changed and updated from the Google My Business Dashboard (as seen below).


google my business dashboard example

You can do the following from your dashboard:

  • Update your listing information which automatically updates in Google search and Google Maps
  • Manage and respond to all reviews from customers
  • View Google insights, which lets you check out your page’s analytics, and also learn how a visitor found you
  • See how many people have visited your website from your Google My Business listing
  • See the people who have have requested driving directions to your business
  • See how often people see your business listing in Google search results (SERPS)
  • Manage your AdWords Express from your profile

4. How Can I Verify My Listing?

Verifying your listing is extremely important to both Google and to the success of your ranking. Google must be able to verify that you are the resident of your location, and that you own the business.

There are two main ways to verify your business: by postcard or by phone.

From Google:

“Google wants to understand that you’re the verified representative from the company. That is why they send a postcard to the address that gives a code to input,” said Nathan Barber, digital analyst at digitaladvertisingWorks (now Hotel Marketing Works). “With the code verified, you are able to have full control over the listing. The verification boosts your chances of ranking for local services that you offer in your business area.”

Follow the prompts from Google to find the method that is right for you. Then you’ll be all set!



NOTE: If someone has already claimed your business on Google, there may be additional steps to take to ensure a proper listing. Google also has a helpful video on this.


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5. What Information Should I Include On My Page?


  • Consistent Business Name, Address & Phone Number
  • This seems obvious, but you want to make sure your business name remains consistent across all parts of your listing, as well as addresses and phone numbers.

  • Unique Business Description
  • Make sure your ‘about’ section is unique to your Google My Business profile. This means do not copy/paste straight from your website.

  • Correct Business Category
  • It’s extremely important to select the correct business category. This ensures that your business will be found via the phrases that your potential customers are searching for. If you find that it is difficult to pinpoint a category, then simply look at your competitors and see which category the most successful ones are in.

  • Add Images & Other Engaging Content
  • This is very important to the visibility of your listing. Users want to be able to not just read about your business, but also see and hear what you are about. You want to make sure your images and video are high-quality, and each contain a unique description.

  • Include & Be Careful When Choosing Keywords
  • You will want to choose your keywords wisely when setting up your listing. A good rule of thumb is to choose the keywords and phrases that you know your customers are typing in while searching.


Additional Tips:

  • Reviews: Reviews help the quality of your business listing, and may even improve your ranking. Make sure to ask all of your satisfied customers to go online and review you on Google as well as Facebook–the Facebook rating will show up on your Google business listing. You will notice the stars next to a business on Google Search. These will only show when your business listing has aged and you receive quality reviews.
  • Duplicate Listings: Make sure that you do not have any duplicate listings on Google. This will hurt your ranking and visibility overall, as Google views duplicate content unfavorably. These listings include those that were made in the past, old addresses, different versions of your name, etc. It is recommended to contact Google My Business support to clear up these issues.
  • How to get good reviews on Google: Just ask for them! An unsatisifed customer is more likely to go and leave a bad review on their own, than a satisfied one leaving a good review on their own. But remember, NEVER pay someone for a good Google review–it is highly against Google policy (also Yelp’s).

    • In Summary:

      It’s incredibly beneficial to get a Google My Business listing for both your customers and for your search ranking and visibility. And we believe that taking action on the recommended steps above will put you ahead of most of the competition in your area.

      As an element of our SEO services, we help our clients get these listings set up, and optimize them according to best practices. If you need help with setting up a page, give us a call.

WRITTEN BY

Seth Zindler

CATEGORY

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