Google My Business SEO
Are you currently investing in GMB SEO (Local SEO)?
Well, if you own a small business, it may interest you to know that over half of people who make a local search end up visiting a store within 24 hours!
If you need more online or offline traffic to your business, it is imperative that you invest in Google My Business SEO (Google Maps SEO).
Have you claimed and optimized your GMB yet? If so, you have taken an important step toward increasing your local leads.
So how do you set up your GMB listing? And how DO you optimize it?
You can hire a professional such as Easy Street Marketing or you can try to do it yourself.
Here is what you will need to do!
Setting Up Your Google My Business Listing
In case you didn’t know, the GMB listing is completely free to claim.
These listings are a fantastic way to connect with local customers as they appear in Google maps and Google search.
The first step is to claim your listing
- Use an existing Gmail account or create a new one.
- Go to google.com/business and click “Manage Now”.
- Type in the name of your business. It should autocomplete.
- Fill in all details including phone number, business category etc.
- When finished, Google will send you a postcard with a code to the address of your business.
- When the postcard arrives, log back into Google My Business and enter the code from the postcard.
Viola, your business is claimed!
The second step is to optimize your GMB
Ok, you have verified the listing, now it is time to start SEO for the GMB:
Step 1: Completely fill out all info
Ensure you start here. Local searches deliver the most relevant results for the keyword typed in. For you to appear in relevant results, you MUST fill out your GMB profile completely.
Find as many categories as you can that apply to your business. Make sure your address, phone number and business hours are correct. For appointment links, use your contact page from your website. Add all products and services you offer. Fill out your description completely.
Add a few keywords naturally into your description. Have these same keywords on your website.
You may edit any item when needed including business hours. Just click the “Info” tab.
Remember, Google wants to deliver the most relevant geo-located business for search terms. Give them as much information as possible.
Step 2: You will want to add plenty of photos
Customers love pictures. Most prefer visuals to text.
Therefore, an easy way to drive traffic to your location is eye-catching photos.
So for better engagement with potential and current customers, add plenty of pictures. Ideas include the inside and outside of your building, your staff, or the products you sell.
Step 3: Take reviews seriously
Businesses today are review driven, no doubt. Therefore, your GMB SEO strategy should target reviews.
Most potential customers will search for reviews before clicking over to view your GMB or website to see if you are a good fit for their needs.
Don’t be afraid to ask your customers to leave a review if they are satisfied with your business. Don’t panic over a bad review. Every business will naturally have an occasional angry customer. The idea is to bury a negative review with several positives!
Don’t forget to answer each review with a paragraph and say thank you. Be sure to sprinkle in a few keywords in your answer.
Step 4: Post!
Google loves content.
A great feature that your GMB has is the posting feature. You can make a blog post of up to 300 words and include pictures, links, phone numbers and more.
See an example of a GMB Post.
Having a sale? Post about it!
Not only does it help you publicize events, products, and sales, it gives a Google My Business SEO ranking boost. Try to post a minimum of 3 times per week.
If you want your business to grow, you will need to invest in Google My Business SEO.
These steps will get you started but to dominate, you will need to build backlinks, optimize your website, build a free Google business site, build citations, and a host of other tasks.
Need some help?
Easy Street Marketing can take care of all the steps above and much more for you. Our team has a documented record of success ranking small businesses in the 3 pack of Google.
Check out some of our GMB results!
And you won’t believe how low the price is!
