Are you on Google My Business? If so, you’re likely aware of the great advantages the platform brings for small business owners. If you’re new to Google My Business, here’s a quick overview to get you up to speed:
- Google My Business is Google’s platform that enables businesses to get listed on Google Maps
- It also allows businesses to customize their profile with photos, hours of operation, special operating hours, and more
- Your Google My Business profile serves as a review forum for customers to post reviews about your business
- Customers can easily access your information on Google My Business across all platforms, whether they’re using a desktop computer or a personal table
Just like any other platform that gives your brand exposure on the web, Google My Business needs to be optimized in order to maximize your results. Google My Business is relatively easy to use, but the average business owner may not be aware of optimization best practices.
If you’re signing up to Google My Business or you’re looking to tweak your page, this checklist will help get your profile better results in the search engines.
Tip #1: Make Sure Your Business Address is Correct
Having a typo in your address can spell big trouble if you aren’t careful. A wrong digit in your street address can lead to lost business, so ensuring that your address is correct is critical. Not to mention, Google likes to see that your citations match across the board online—from your website to your Google My Business page.
Consistency is also important when optimizing your Google My Business page. Google views “St” and “Street” as two separate citations, so you’ll want to be sure you’re using the same format no matter where you register your address online.
Tip #2: Manage Your Reviews
While managing your reviews may not necessarily get you higher search engine rankings on Google, it will certainly look positive in the eyes of your customers. Many business owners will go online to read any customer reviews left by their company, but few will respond.
Whether the customer reviews left on your Google My Business page are positive or negative, it’s best practice to respond in terms of brand reputation management. A quick thank you goes a long way to acknowledging customer reviews.
On the other side of the coin, there may eventually come a time when you have a negative customer review to deal with. Respond carefully and politely to your customer—now is not the time to argue or fight with your customer in the review section.
Tip #3: Post Content to Your Profile
Some business owners forget that Google My Business is part of a social platform. You can share updates and useful content for your customers to enjoy, just like you would on Facebook or Twitter. However, it’s important to remember that you don’t want to use Google My Business to solely plaster your promotions and specials.
Instead, plan to post helpful, relevant content to your profile. Write how-to and educational blog posts so your customers can learn something new. Google favors content that has a positive impact with user experience and provides value in one way or another.
If possible, try to update your Google My Business profile with helpful content at least once per week.
Tip #4: Check Your Business Category
This might sound like a no-brainer, but some business owners can’t find a good category fit for their business, so they just don’t select a category at all. If you need help selecting your category, Bigfoot Media can get you pointed in the right direction with our social media management services.
Tip #5: Check Your Business Hours
Another smart idea to optimize your Google My Business page is confirming your business hours. Your business hours can display right on the front page of Google when customers search for you by name. You’ll want to be sure that your hours are correct so customers know when you’re open for business.
Tip #6: Pay Attention to Your Insights Tool
The Insights tool inside the Google My Business dashboard gives an overview of how your optimization efforts are working on Google My Business. You can see how many views your Google My Business page has, number of clicks, and what content is the most popular on your profile.
This is helpful because you’ll have an idea of what content your customers like best on your Google My Business page. The more that you understand the needs of your customers, the easier it will be to update your Google My Business page with content that they’ll share.
How is Your Business Performing Online?
Have you checked your Google My Business page lately? If it’s outdated or you can’t find yours listed, Bigfoot Media can help. Get in touch today about our social media management services, search engine optimization services, and more.
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