25 Mar A Complete Guide To Best Optimize Your GMB (Google My Business) Listings In 2022
If you are a modern business enthusiast, you must be aware of GMB, aka Google My Business. Now, GMB is getting popular with its new name, Google Business Profile. However, if you are looking for a detailed guide to optimize your business profile efficiently, then continue reading.
Definition Of Google My Business
To start with, Google My Business is a platform where you can different business owners can create or claim a listing for their business. It helps business owners in the growth of the businesses because it increases the business’s visibility, which can be accessed with Google search via Google Maps. In addition, customers can contact the business owners and make specific requests to them.
There are several ways to add your business to the GMB listing. It is very important to review the settings of your account regularly when you want to create a Google My Business profile because it will help business owners get more customers by making themselves visible online.
Importance Of Google My Business For Small Businesses
First, if your business is not listed on Google My Business, it will not appear in search results on Google Maps or local pack. If you want your business to grow, it is indeed a bad sign for you. Because your customers will not be able to find you on Maps, you will miss out on so many great opportunities. Instead, there are high chances that the existing information about your business will be far from reality in such cases.
Your contact and address information could all be wrong on Google Maps unless you optimize your GMB. As a small business in the market, you need to be grabbing every opportunity to succeed. Optimizing your Google My Business listing is just the perfect tool.
Complete Process of Opening Google My Business Profile
1. Create A Google My Business Account
First of all, if you have a website, it is necessary to create a profile for your business. Once you have a website for your business, it is now time to open the GMB account for your own business. To create the Google Business Profile, you will need to follow the steps given below:
- Go to google.com/business/ and click the “Get verified” tab on the top right corner of the page.
- Now, click on the “Get verified” button.
- Follow the given steps.
- After the verification process, you will be able to access your GMB account in another tab.
2. Update Business Profile
After creating your GMB profile, it is time to update your business profile accordingly. To make sure that every detail is correct, you should go through all of these steps:
- Click on the “My Profile” button at the bottom of any page while visiting your GMA account.
- Add a description for your business there, which will be automatically added to Google Maps.
- Add photos for your business.
Complete the provided information about your location in the given form. Then, if you get any suggestions or messages from Google, you should try to make the desired changes to the profile ASAP. As a result, it will help get more or less accurate information listed on Google Maps.
Note –According to Google’s policy, your business needs a physical address for listing. So no longer just a post office box will work for you. If you are a business operating from home, you can even hide the address information as per your preference.
Eight Most Effective Methods to Optimize Your Google My Business
Google My Business is the number one resource for ranking your business online. With this in mind, businesses need to consider their GMB listing as a potential marketing channel and learn how it can be used correctly by considering both local and global search results when optimizing their profile.
Many people may want to increase their business visibility, so they should be able to optimize their listings well. As a business looking to succeed, always keep a close eye on your business’s optimized data and current standing. Here are the eight best methods that you can use to optimize your business listing on Google My Business.
Review Your NAP (Name-Address-Phone Number) Information
One of the most important things you should always maintain is a proper NAP (Name-Address-Phone Number) listed on the GMB profile. Before including any new address or phone number in your NAP, you should find out whether it is already listed. You can go through the “Info tab” to check this basic information about your business.
First, check the name of your business and ensure that everything word and the alphabet is in the right place. While you are at it, check if it is the same on Yelp. The name of your business listed online must be the same as the name on your physical location. If there is any mismatch, go ahead and update the correct version.
Now, move on to the complete address of your business. Check if everything is in the right place, like the street listing as Drive and building numbers. Take proper time to go through your address and make modifications in case of any mistake. Additionally, people looking to hide their address can do so by clicking “Clear Address .”This will remove your address, and your personal information will remain safe.
At last, check the listed phone number. Your phone is a critical part, and you need to be sure it’s correct so that your customers can easily contact you. You can always change, remove or add multiple numbers per your requirements. For better results at managing your business listings, you can check out website.
Google will automatically recommend businesses already on their local pack by their name, address and phone numbers. However, all businesses will not be included in the local pack for your business location, and if that is the case, you need to make sure that your info is added to the GMB listing.
Add Category and Description Of Your Business
It is best to add a category that describes your business as closely as possible. On the other hand, descriptions are very important because they will help your customers understand your business and its services. And, of course, choose the right category for your business. You can follow these steps:
- Log in to your GMB account.
- Click on the “Manage Categories” button and select a category that matches the type of business you run.
- You can also add a new category from here by clicking on “Add new categories” and following the given step-by-step process.
- Is your business a retail store? Select the right category for your business, which is “retail.”
If you are a business serving in different cities and areas, update every city and area under your service. By offering your area and location of service, you will get better rankings from Google in every search related to your niche. Additionally, set the category of your business for better and faster search results.
Note – Based on the category of your business and the area you serve, you will get specific options for hiding your business address.
Actively Respond To Your Customer Reviews
Now, this is time to enhance your business profile with reviews from the customers. Google My Business allows you to see customer reviews for your business and respond to them. You can check out these reviews from your customers under the “Reviews” option.
Also, there is s specific for you to filter out these reviews by using “Haven’t Reviewed” options. When you get numerous positive reviews, these reviews will help you rank better in local searches for your business location. These reviews can also make a big difference in incoming traffic to your website.
In addition, after collecting positive reviews from customers, that means it is a good time for you to respond to each review as it can increase your conversions by 19%. While replying to these customer feedbacks, try to add some trending keywords for your niche in these reviews. This will work well in Google’s algorithm to help you rank better.
Add Your Services And Products You Offer
Of course, you need to add some information about your services and products in Google My Business. With your business listing, you can easily help customers to find your business service or products so that they know what you are offering. You can easily add products and services to your business listing by clicking on the “Add a service or product” option.
Adding the services or products will give you better highlights in search results. This will help you get more customers over time. Just go to the “Products” segment and add some images of the products you deliver. Similarly, there is an option to add service-related information under the “Services” segment.
Pro Tip – While adding a product or service-related information, use key phrases commonly used by users.
Optimize Your Photos
You will need to upload a photo or images of your business. It is essential to accurately choose the right images that represent your business and its services. And yes, before adding a new photo, you should always check if the image you selected is not already there. Whether you choose a Logo or Cover image, make sure to select solid color images only.
Add photos of the front of your business, staff, and interior to create a sense of trust among your visitors. You should keep the photos in their original resolution format so that customers can easily interact with them. Add your “Cover” and “Logo” images by visiting the “Photos” options here.
Just select a color background and add an image of 250 x 250-pixel size for getting it done. For more specified results, you can use platforms like website for better results. The image quality should be good enough so that customers can face no problems accessing it on Google Maps or Google local pack.
Special Attributes Features For Better Specifications
Now it’s time to add some special attributes (like your opening hours, phone number, and location) that will help users accurately search your business. Open the “Info” tab and scroll down to locate attributes. There are many interesting options for you to add to be more specific about your services.
- Is the owner of your business is a black person?
- If the environment and staff at your business is LGBTQ+ friendly?
- Are gender-neutral bathrooms available at your office?
This is the place where you can add every specific about your business. Remember that you only share genuine and relevant information in this option.
Pro Tip: – You will get an option to add the opening hours of your business. If you have different times for different days, it is best to choose the right one. You should always keep changeable hours such as weekdays or weekends open regularly.
Apply Posting Feature To Use
It is time to use the “Posting” feature in the Google My Business account to help you post information at the right time. It is mainly used to notify customers about something unique and different. For example, you can write reviews or make a big announcement about your business. When something fresh is available, you will get an alert after posting.
Also, now you can easily respond promptly. To post anything you want, just visit the “Post” tab to start posting your tab. There, you will find a special blue button located on the right bottom corner of this screen. Go on to select the category from your post list and write every necessary aspect in the copy section.
Add relevant photos and hit the “Publish” button for posting them. Earlier, there was a limitation where these posts used to last only for seven days. Now, these posts do not expire as long as you offer specific dates and times for your events.
Updated Working Hours for COVID-19
The new normal is being actively aware of avoiding COVID-19. Now, timings of operation of every business have changed to avoid collecting sudden rush of customers. You can now easily update the working hours of your business using Google My Business.
Just turn into the “Info tab,” and you can start scrolling down to find attributes options. This is where you can different guidelines related to COVID-19 for your business. For example, wearing the mask, regular sanitization, compulsion of mask for staff, temperature check at entry, or anything you are doing to prevent COVID-19 spread can be added here.
If the government in your area or local authorities has made any guidelines for business, make sure to follow and mention them here. Businesses spread across multiple counties and states can add separate guidelines for different listings using a platform like website.
Benefits Of Having A Google My Business Profile
Google My Business is a platform that has helped millions of small businesses to get more business. You will get full access to many resources that can easily help you grow your business in the long run. There are several benefits of using Google My Business for your business services and products. These are as follows;
- A Universal Platform
With Google My Business, you can create a complete profile for yourself and show it always on the first page of search results. It is a platform where everyone can connect with customers, and it is available more regularly than any other social media platform. It is easy to manage your business profile on Google My Business across Google Maps and update every specific about your business.
- Reach Millions of Customers
It is a platform where millions of customers seek information on their business. You will get tons of visitors to your profile, and you can easily handle them anytime, wherever they want. If there is any promotion you are doing, Google My Business will be the best platform to promote it.
- Easy Updates
You can easily update anything about your business using the Google My Business account. It works as a hub that can be compared to a central point that helps you find different and recent updates related to your business specifically. If you have joined any special group or something, then it is time to share it with the world under your Google My Business account before anyone else.
- Share and Manage Business Resources
You can easily share the business resources with your customers or clients so that they can use them. You can also help them to find a way to use them. Sharing is the most important part of the Google My Business account because you can get thousands of visitors and make more money.
- Customize Your Business Profile
You can customize your account completely by adding images, text, and even small video clips of your business. You will get an opportunity to personalize your business profile at any time because it gets updated regularly. It is always available as an option because it has become easier to manage compared with other methods like a website or email marketing.
Google My Business is currently the easiest and guaranteed way to get results and build your business profile. The platform has helped millions of small businesses to grow their business in a better way. With these Google My Business optimization techniques at hand, you can improve your local SEO performance and overall growth in your business. In addition, you can build better domain authenticity with higher GMB rankings, better web design, and customer support.
What Else Can You Do?
Now, you have learned how to optimize your Google My Business; it’s time to move on to other crucial aspects for your business. You can find loads of information related to starting a successful online business on our website, for starters. You will also have some essential pointers and a brief guide on how to build a website for medium and small business owners.
