Google My Business listings have become very common nowadays, as they are great for awareness and local SEO. however, to have the best impact on your rankings and conversions you need to ensure that your GMB listing is fully optimised.
Before we go any further, let’s make sure that those a little less ‘in the know’, understand ‘What is Google My Business?’.
For those businesses who already have a listing, let’s jump into our list of 5 quick wins to get the most out of your GMB Listing!
One of the first and most important things for any Google My Business listing is to ensure that your NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number) are accurate as possible.
Be sure that customers get consistent information about your brand’s name, hours, location, phone number – everything! When it comes to accuracy and conversions, consistency is key! So, remember that all marketing material (online and offline), website, social media pages, your physical location are all stating the same, accurate information. If not, customers may get confused (not good for business) and Google may not rank you as highly.
This might sound like an obvious one, but it’s surprising to see just how many businesses do not identify themselves in the right Google My Business category.
Your primary business category is the only one that is publicly displayed on your listing, so be sure to use the most relevant category. If you’re not sure what to display, you can always try one or more of the following:
- Ask your customers what category they would list you in
- Perform competitor research in Google
- Sign up to Google My Business Management services, and let DigitUX use our specialist Local SEO tools to do the hard yards for you
According to local SEO experts, the primary GMB category is the number one local pack ranking factor.
Your Google My Business listing gives you the opportunity to write a 750-character description of your business – so we urge you – make the most of this!
Your description is also one of the first things that a customer will see, so you should make it count by writing a relevant and unique description specifically to your business. It should also include what you offer, your competitive advantages, background information and anything else of high importance to customers.
You can even refer to this article for a full list of Google My Business description guidelines.
Tip: do not jump into pricing, keyword stuffing or sales pitches within your description. You’ll just end up turning business away and Google may identify your spammy behaviour.
If you have a Google My Business listing, then be sure to upload real and authentic business images!
We cannot stress the importance of high-quality images enough, with images often being one of the first things that draws customers eyes to your listing.
When it comes to images, Google suggests the following:
- At least 3 strong interior photos
- At least 3 strong exterior photos (even at different times of the day)
- Product or service photos
- One image of common areas of your business i.e., reception
- At least 3 management and team photos
Further to these images, you should also encourage customers to upload their own photos of your business to enhance authenticity. You can even incentivise this to increase the chances of a customer doing so.
Businesses with more than 100 images get 520% more calls than the average business
Reviews have become super important to businesses and Google My Business is a very popular way for customers to share (quite publicly) how they feel about your business.
Google reviews are also another top local ranking factor for businesses, so it’s very important to get lots of positive reviews.
According to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. Furthermore, only 48% of consumers would use a business with a rating of less than 4 stars.
Of course, there are many ways that you can promote leaving a Google review to customers. First off though, if you can strive to promote reviews that will come back positive rather than negative, this would be an ideal starting point.
- Include a ‘leave a review’ link in your Invoice
- Add a QR code to your business marketing material
- Email customers after a recent transaction with your business
- Offer incentives or discounts for a review
- SMS a review link to customers, thanking them for their business
We can help!
If you’d like to get the most out of your Google My Business listing, check out our GMB Services, or get in touch!