How to Completely Optimize and Promote Your Google My Business Page

Creating a Google My Business page is a surefire way to build a wide local audience and boost sales. But setting up your profile is only half the trick; you also need to optimize and promote it to ensure consistent growth. In this blog, we’ll help you do just that.

Contents

• How to Completely Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
  1. Don’t Leave Any Section Unfilled
  2. Share Engaging Posts on a Weekly Basis
  3. Use High-Ranking Keywords
  4. Answer Pending Questions
  5. Post High-Quality Audiovisual Content
  6. Engage With Customer Reviews
  7. Set Up Messaging
  8. Leverage Special Attributes
• How to Promote Your Google My Business Page
• Wrapping Up!

2020 has been a tough year for local businesses. If you’ve been struggling to achieve your KPI targets, you’re among the millions of businesses that are in the same boat. As we eagerly look forward to 2021, one thing’s for sure: the digital space will continue to be a big game changer.

Internet use has skyrocketed like never before due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The kicker? Local businesses have been presented with a fresh opportunity to sustain business growth: Google My Business.

Here’s how Search Berg’s local SEO and Google Maps optimization services have helped clients:

If you’ve claimed your free GMB profile, you’re on the right track. Make sure you follow that up with stellar optimization and promotion. Want to learn how to use Google My Business to optimize for local search? Here’s a guide to help you get started!

How to Completely Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

Don’t Leave Any Section Unfilled

As one of the best practices for Google My Business optimization, detailing works like a charm. Start by ensuring NAP (name, address, and phone number) accuracy and consistency. Your Google My Business profile should feature the same NAP that’s on your website, social media pages, business card, and online listings.

Make sure there’s no inconsistency. Each hyphen, asterisk, and number should be consistent across the board. This is a great way to add a touch of legitimacy to your listing, which will help you make your way to one of the coveted ranks of the Google 3-Pack.

Once you’ve taken care of the basics, take a quick look at your profile. Are there any unfilled sections? In many cases, businesses fill out the basics and leave the details for later. If you’ve resorted to the same approach, undo the damage, stat.

Your Google My Business profile should be accurately filled out. Focus on these details:

• Website
• Business hours
• Category
• Description
• Attributes
• Questions and answers
• Reviews

What is the correct description of a Google My Business page? Highlight your USPs and experience. You’ll work within certain constraints. Make sure you don’t exceed 750 characters.

Some details are consumer-generated, including questions and answers and reviews. But don’t wait for your audience to take care of them. Instead, adopt a proactive approach and prompt customers to leave reviews (more on this later).

Here’s a glimpse of a meticulously completed Google My Business listing:

Google’s algorithm expertly crawls, indexes, and ranks listings based on the accuracy, consistency, quality, and comprehensiveness of the information provided.

If your profile features information that checks off these boxes, you have a better shot at appearing among the top search results for local searches. Over time, this optimization trick will help you engage and convert more local customers, resulting in bigger and better sales. This is how you optimize your Google My Business page!

Share Engaging Posts on a Weekly Basis

Consistency is inarguably one of the best Google My Business tricks you’ll stumble across. While you may have filled out your profile like a seasoned pro, posting every once in a while will take a toll on your rankings. Instead, make sure you share engaging, unique, and value-added posts on a weekly basis.

Include a CTA (call-to-action) toward the end of each post to prompt action. You can also post about special discounts, clearance sales, and ongoing offers to redirect your target audience to your site.

Sharing content more frequently will help you boost your online presence and stand out from the crowd—both literally and figuratively.

Google doesn’t accept posts that are longer than 300 words, so stick to the word limit. Strike the perfect balance between brevity and value to ensure each post packs a powerful punch. Remember, there are no bounds here. You can choose to post about anything: a new product/service launch, a milestone, behind-the-scenes footage, exclusive offers, etc.

Use High-Ranking Keywords

Using keywords is part and parcel of targeting a local audience. If your keyword research strategy is subpar, take active measures to turn things around.

Start by identifying industry-specific keywords like “legal support,” “plumbing services,” “interior design,” etc. Based on your industry, shortlist 5–10 relevant keywords with high search volume. In addition, research location-specific keywords based on where you offer your products/services.

Once you’ve covered these two key bases, compile a list of relevant trending keywords. Are there certain holidays, events, or pop culture references that are trending in your area? Think “Christmas,” “Valentine’s Day,” “Super Bowl,” and the like.

Anything and everything that’s a hot trend goes! And if it’s relevant to your industry, you’ve struck gold. For instance, sharing a Ken Bone-themed post to promote red shirts would’ve been a genius move for apparel stores in 2016.

Once you have a set of winning keywords, use them on your profile and in your posts. But don’t go overboard. Keyword stuffing can put you at risk of getting penalized by Google. The right balance will help you target a wide local audience and boost your listing.

It’s also important to note that Google highlights relevant keywords in reviews. Here’s an example:

Sounds like something that cannot be leveraged, right? Well, not quite. Requesting specific reviews is a great way to give Google exactly what it needs to rank your listing in the Google 3-Pack.

For instance, if you run a restaurant, ask customers for feedback regarding your customer service, specific menu items, ambiance, etc. This will help you generate reviews that are right up Google’s alley.

The outcome? A listing that ranks higher and generates more local traffic in the long run. This is inarguably one of the best practices for Google My Business!

Answer Pending Questions

Questions and answers can make or break a Google My Business listing. Let’s say you’re looking for 24/7 packing and moving services in New York. If a business has specifically answered a question about 24/7 availability, it’ll show up among the top search results. You can easily browse through multiple listings and choose the right option based on the specific Q&As provided.

This neat trick helps customers save time and businesses attract the right audience. Make sure your Google My Business profile is replete with relevant Q&As. We suggest searching for industry-specific FAQs and listing your own Q&As accordingly.

In addition, make sure you answer relevant questions that are posted on your profile. However, avoid responding to each question. This will help you steer clear of repetition. You’ll also manage to weed out irrelevant questions.

Here are some examples to steer you in the right direction:

Post High-Quality Audiovisual Content

If your Google My Business profile doesn’t feature high-quality images and videos, you’ll struggle to make a winning impact on your audience. From the cover photo to the videos, the audiovisual content featured on your page should be a treat for your audience! You can also provide a 360-degree street view for a better look at your outlet.

Showcase your products/services, share company culture videos, and capture some behind-the-scenes footage to give your audience the ultimate experience before they get a chance to transact with you. The better the content, the better your chances of making great sales!

Sharing high-quality content will also help you improve brand identity and recall, resulting in enhanced audience retention in the long run. As always, update photos and videos on a bi-yearly basis. If certain images don’t reflect your business anymore, make sure you post a fresh batch of content and indicate the changes (renovations, etc.). This is a great way to popularize and promote your business on Google for free!

Engage With Customer Reviews

When it comes to optimizing your Google My Business page, leveraging reviews is your best bet. Reviews carry massive conversion potential. They add an air of legitimacy to your business, resulting in better engagement and sales.

Here’s how you can make the most of them. Start by requesting more reviews through your website, social media pages, and online listings. You can also create a specific page for reviews on your website. Hyperlink said page in the CTAs for your blogs, articles, and online posts. You can also send a link to your audience via email for better reach!

If you’re still struggling to generate plentiful positive reviews, incentivize customers by offering discounts. While this may sound a little over-the-top, it’s essential. Ensuring a steady stream of flattering reviews will help you snag a spot on the Google 3-Pack and skyrocket conversions.

Apart from going the extra mile to request reviews, we also recommend engaging with each review for better reach. Thank your audience for leaving positive reviews and promise to make amends with regard to negative reviews (make sure you follow through).

Over time, you can also begin to request specific reviews to highlight different aspects of your business. Keep industry-specific keywords in mind! Based on the search preferences of your target audience, request relevant reviews to help Google showcase your business.

Once you get the hang of this powerful strategy, it’ll become second nature to you. Not only will you marvel at the results, but you’ll also wonder why it took you so long to kick-start a strategy that’s so simple. This is how you use Google My Business to optimize for local search!

Set Up Messaging

Enabling messaging is a great way to make it easier for your audience to reach you. Customers can directly send you text messages and receive prompt replies to their queries. As you break down the barriers in business–customer communication, you’ll manage to facilitate more transactions.

In many cases, web users end up delaying a potential purchase because they’re in a state of limbo. No matter how specific your Q&As may be, you can’t cover all the bases. It’s very likely that certain web users will still require answers to unique queries. Setting up messaging will help you cover these gaps and make your listing more responsive.

Leverage Special Attributes

Based on your industry and business, you have the option of leveraging special attributes to make your business more discoverable. Here’s an example:

These attributes play a big role in allowing web users to choose the right business among a pool of relevant listings.

As a rule of thumb, make sure you get as specific as possible. If your outlet offers free Wi-Fi, include it as a special attribute on your Google My Business listing!

Featuring a set of highly-specific special attributes will help your listing stand out.

How to Promote Your Google My Business Page

While optimizing Google My Businessis important, it’s not the be-all and end-all of mastering local visibility.

In addition to optimization, make sure you have a razor-sharp focus on promotion.

Here are some of the best Google My Business promotion strategies to help you get off on the right foot:

• Start by creating and sharing a link to your listing (click here). Once you’ve set up a unique URL for your Google My Business listing, you can share it with your customers to request reviews or boost your profile.
• Make sure your website features links to your Google reviews and directions. This is a neat trick to help your listing get more traction!
• While you may feel tempted to experiment with spammy tactics, avoid them at all costs. You’ll risk getting penalized by Google. Instead, focus on organic growth.
• Google My Business frequently releases new tools. Explore the Google Marketing Kit to give your listing an edge.

Wrapping Up!

We’ve walked you through the top strategies to optimize your Google My Business page. We also covered some tips to help you promote your Google My Business page.

If you’re ready to start implementing these Google My Business tricks, we can help you change the game! Have questions about optimizing Google My Business? Call 855-444-4777 or fill out the form below and let’s create a customized plan that fits your unique requirements! We’re ready when you are! Let’s start reaping the benefits of the best practices for Google My Business.