Up to 97 percent of all consumers are searching online for local businesses. If you are trying to attract local traffic, then you need to do everything possible to ensure you are visible.
One of the best ways to ensure you are seen by local searchers is by optimizing your Google My Business Posts. Do you know how to do this? If not, you’re in the right place.
Keep reading to learn some helpful tips to ensure you are found on Google My Business in 2019.
Understanding Google My Business
Before diving into how to optimize Google My Business, it’s important to ensure you understand what it is, and what it has to offer.
GMB is a free and easy-to-use tool that helps businesses in managing their online presence, and the appearance in Google Maps and Google Search.
If you have done a search for a particular business, you are probably going to see their Google My Business “knowledge panel.” This is a card that includes important information that customers want to know about a local business. Also, it’s what shows up first in Google search results.
If you are searching via mobile, it’s usually the top result before the actual organic results. If you are using a desktop computer, then it’s going to show up to the right of the paid and organic search results. The knowledge card shows searchers quite a bit of information, which includes:
- Business name and type
- Address
- Hours of operation
- Link to website
- Phone number
- Link to Google maps
- Images
- Reviews
- Popular times to visit
- Overall star rating
- Related searches
And, that’s not all. Just a quick glance can tell a searcher quite a bit about a business and if they should actually visit the site. Now that you know how important Google My Business is, it’s time to learn how to optimize it.
Complete the Business Information and Add a Description
If you have a local business, you need to make sure that your business name, the address, phone number and hours of operation are correct.
Have you ever experienced the frustration of looking at a local business ad, seeing that it was open, and then drive there just to discover the business was actually closed? How did you feel about the company after that? Already starting on a bad foot, right?
Chances are you turned to their competitor. And, if you really like the idea of justice, then you may have called the company to let them know what happened.
As a result, it’s time for you to double check all of this “boring” information on your Google My Business page. Make sure you have consistent information across all of your channels. This is all important based on a new feature announcement made back in March of 2018.
Add a Business Description
In the past with GMB, the most effective way to let google searchers know about your business was by using the Category list. However, with this, there were more than 2,300 options.
However, this isn’t always going to provide enough information to a searcher. This is especially true if you are in a niche business. There are some situations where a specific business category may not be available.
If this is the case, there’s no need to worry. The issue has been solved by Google adding a section for descriptions.
With the availability of the description feature, you can add 750 characters, which is approximately 250 characters before the “read more” separator. This gives you the opportunity to describe your value, services, products or anything else that you want to communicate to your audience.
When creating your description, it’s important to make use of every character you have available by creating a description that’s 730 to 750 characters long. Each word, phrase, and sentence tell your buyer more about you.
An added bonus is that the descriptions are going to help improve your Google rank.
Use Better and More Images
Google is pretty transparent about what works and what doesn’t. For example, they have said that businesses that post photos are going to receive up to 42 percent more requests for driving directions, along with 35 percent more clicks to their website than ones that don’t have images.
Don’t you want searchers to visit your location, over your competitors? If so, you have to add quality images – and lots of them.
If you sell any type of product, you need to highlight it on your GMB listing. If you are offering a service, such as home remodeling or landscaping, then you need to show off the work you can do with your friends.
In addition to posting your own pictures, you also need to encourage visitors and customers to upload images, too. After all, images from customers are often more impactful than your own images.
Google My Business Posts: Optimize Your Efforts for the Best Results
If you want to attract local searchers, then you have to optimize your Google My Business posts. The tips here should help you get started.
With a new year starting, now is the time to make changes to ensure that your business shows up on top – regardless of how strong the competition may be.
Do you need help with your Google My Business listings? If so, we are ready to help. Our team has worked in this realm for many years and can provide you the solutions you are looking for.
More information about our services and how we can help optimize your Google My Business listings can be found by contacting us.
