Everything You Should Know About Google My Business Optimisation

SEO

Google My Business now known as Google Business Profile as Google migrates features to Maps and Search.

Google My Business Optimisation may sound daunting, however, it’s actually quite simple, and now has been made even easier with our step-by-step guide detailing the “whys” and the “how’s”. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about Google My Business optimisation.

Google My Business – The Basics

Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool provided by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Google Search and Google Maps. Some of the basic features of GMB include:

1. Creating and managing a business profile:

GMB allows businesses to create and manage a business profile that appears on Google Search and Google Maps when customers search for their business. This profile includes information about the business, such as its name, location, phone number, and business hours.

2. Adding photos and videos:

GMB allows businesses to add photos and videos to their business profile to give customers a better idea of what the business looks like and what it offers.

3. Responding to reviews:

GMB allows businesses to respond to reviews left by customers on Google. This can help to improve customer relationships and build trust with potential customers.

4. Tracking website traffic and customer actions:

GMB provides businesses with insights into how customers are interacting with their business online, including how many people are visiting their website, how they found the website, and what actions they took on the website.

5. Managing messaging:

Proper Google My Business optimisation allows businesses to manage their messaging with customers directly through the GMB platform, which can be a convenient way to communicate with customers and answer their questions.

By using GMB, businesses can improve their online presence, attract more customers, and manage their reputation online.

Starting your Google Business Profile

To start your Google My Business (GMB) profile, follow these steps:

1: Google My Business

Go to: https://www.google.com/business/. You should see the below image towards the top of your screen.

2: Click: Manage Now

Click on the “Manage Now” button as pointed out in the image below. You’ll need a Gmail address for this, however, don’t fret as this can be be sorted in the next step.

3: Sign In Or Create an Account for GMB

If you have a Gmail address that you’re happy managing your business through then sign in using this, alternatively, you also have the option to set up a new one. This is a fairly simple task and once completed should return you to the Google My Business management process. However, if it doesn’t then simply return to step 1 or 2.

4: Enter your Business Details

Enter your business name and select the category that best describes your business. As you start to type your Industry in, Google will come up with suggestions so you will need to pick one that is most apt if they don’t have your exact niche.

5: Add Contact Details

Enter your business address and phone number. If you do not have a physical location, you can check the box to indicate that you provide services at your customers’ locations.

6: Enter Service Area

Choose whether you want to add a service area to your business. If you serve customers at their locations or do not have a physical location, you can add a service area to indicate the areas where you provide services.

7: Get Verified

Verify your business by choosing one of the verification methods provided. This may include receiving a postcard by mail or verifying your business by phone.

8: Populate your Profile

Once your business has been verified, you can start adding more information to your GMB profile, such as photos and videos, business hours, and details about the products or services you offer

By completing these steps, you will have created an optimised Google My Business profile for your business that will appear on Google Search and Google Maps when customers search for your business.

Verifying your Google Business Profile

To verify your Google My Business (GMB) profile, follow these steps:

1: Sign in to your GMB account and click on the “Get Verified” button.

2: Select one of the verification methods provided. These may include receiving a postcard by mail or verifying your business by phone.

3: If you choose to verify by mail, you will need to enter your business address and request a verification postcard. The postcard will be sent to your business address and will contain a unique code that you will need to enter into the GMB platform to verify your business

4: If you choose to verify by phone, you will need to provide your business phone number. Google will then call your business and provide you with a unique code that you will need to enter into the GMB platform to verify your business.

5: Once you have received the unique code, follow the prompts on the GMB platform to enter the code and complete the verification process

It may take some time for your verification postcard or phone call to arrive, so be patient and allow for sufficient time for the verification process to be completed. Once your business has been verified, you will be able to access all of the features of GMB and be able to fully optimise your Google My Business profile.

Publishing Your Google Business Profile

To publish your Google My Business (GMB) profile, follow these steps:

1: Edit Your Profile

Sign in to your GMB account and click on the “Edit Profile” tab as per the image we’ve provided below.

2: Review Everything

Review the information in your GMB profile to ensure that it is accurate and up to date. Google may have auto populated some information so it’s worth making sure it’s correct.

3: Add Further / Additional Information

Add any additional information that you would like to include in your GMB profile, such as photos, videos, business hours, and details about the products or services you offer

4: Finalise, Publish and You’re Done 

Once you have completed all of the necessary information, click on the “Publish” button to make your GMB profile live on Google Search and Google Maps. You can always go back and edit bits if you’re not happy so don’t be too worried about pressing that Publish button.

It is important to keep your GMB profile up-to-date and accurate, as this will help to attract more customers and improve your online presence. By publishing your GMB profile, you will make it visible to customers when they search for your business on Google

Photos and Videos for your Google Business Profile

Photos and videos can be a valuable addition to your optimising your Google My Business (GMB) profile, as they give customers a better idea of what your business looks like and what it offers. Some tips for using photos and videos in your GMB profile include:

1. Use high-quality, visually appealing photos and videos that accurately represent your business.
2. Add a variety of photos and videos that showcase different aspects of your business, such as the interior and exterior of your business, your products or services, and any special events or promotions you offer.
3. Use photos and videos to highlight unique features or aspects of your business that may be of interest to customers.
4. Use clear, descriptive captions for your photos and videos to provide additional information about what is shown in the media.
5. Regularly update your photos and videos to keep your GMB profile current and engaging.

By adding photos and videos to your GMB profile, you can give customers a better sense of what your business is like and what it has to offer, which can help to attract more customers and improve your online presence.

Monitoring your Google Business Profile

Claim Your Google My Business Profile

Search for your profile using Google as it may have already been autogenerated. If your business is already listed, then you should see a button saying, “Own This Business?”. To start the process, click this button. If your business isn’t listed, then you will need to create a new listing. This will involve entering your business name and business details.Once you’ve claimed or listed the business, then you will need to verify the business. This usually involves receiving a postcard to the business address, with a verification code on, which you will need to put into your profile to prove

Complete every section of your Google My Business account

You need to be as comprehensive as possible in completing your profile. The more information and photos the better. However, try and make sure the photos are decent quality. Ensure that you have uploaded a profile picture, your business logo and a background image. Dimensions for background images can be a little problematic, however, you want decent imagery to fit into 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall.

Be meticulous with your contact information

You’d be surprised at the amount of people who will contact you via your Google profile. As such, you need to be as thorough as possible in putting any contact information in, to make it as easy as possible for customers to contact you via their preferred method.

Select Primary and Secondary categories

You’ll be given the opportunity to select two categories, maybe more, so make the most of anything that is applicable to your business. This is your chance to sell your business products and services online. Don’t waste it.

Mark off applicable attributes

You can mark off applicable attributes to provide more information about your business to potential customers. These attributes can include details about the products or services you offer, the types of customers you serve, your business hours, and your location. Marking off these attributes helps customers learn more about your business and can make it easier for them to find and connect with you.

Write a complete “from the business” description

Use a friendly tone for this. Start by introducing your business and describing what it does in a few short sentences. Include information about what’s so special about your products and services and be sure to mention any USPs. If applicable, include information about the history of your business, but avoid usingany technical jargon that could confuse customers. Aim for approximately 750 words. Once you’re done, proofread what you’ve written to ensure it is free of errors.

Publish Google Posts Weekly

If you can include some kind of image then even better, however, you need to be posting at, the very least, once a week. If you are using images, then there is nothing stopping you from posting this across other social platforms as well.

Upload new photos weekly

As stated above, if you can include images in your weekly posts, that’s great. If you want to take it to the next level though, then include high quality photos of your business in action or the products and/or services you offer. You don’t need a professional photographer out on site to achieve this, these photographs can easily be captured on your camera phone, it just takes a little bit of camera phone know- how but this is far from impossible.

Answer Questions

If customers have questions, no matter how silly they may seem, answer them in a civil and polite manner. Showing that you’re engaging with your audience is a major plus that Google will give you a tick for when it comes to help with your SEO.

Collect and respond to reviews

Again, customer engagement is key. Encourage your customers to leave reviews and then make sure that you respond to them. Even if a customer just leaves you five stars without any comments, reply with something like “Thanks so much for the five gold stars”. If a customer leaves negative feedback, then this is something that you need to look at taking on board. You will still need to respond to it, and you will still need to do it in a civil and polite manner.

Add your products and/or services

Adding your products and/or services to your Google Profile means that customers can see exactly what you offer and if they click on ay of these listings, they’ll be redirected to your website where they can check out what you’re offering properly and then follow the correct CTAs.

Set up messaging

Make it easy for you and your customers to connect and communicate. We live in an era where customers want an instant answer, so let them have it. Set up instant messaging to come through to your mobile and then when a customer instant messages you, you can instantly message back, answer any question they have and with any luck, gain their business.

Maintain your Business Profile

The amount of effort you put into your Google My Business profile will reflect in the results that your business, and therefore, you, will get out of it. If you only make time for it monthly, then you’ll get some, but minimal results, from it. If you make time weekly, you’ll see improved results. If you can make the time to check it daily, you’ll see almost endless results

Conclusion

Ultimately, optimising your Google My Business profile will help to improve your business’s visibility and credibility on Google. There are quite a few techniques you can carry out in order to achieve this. We have outlined many of these techniques above and would suggest that you use as many of them as possible. By following these steps, you can improve the visibility and credibility of your Google My Business profile, which will, ultimately, drive more traffic to your business and lead to increased sales.