If you have a business with physical locations, Google My Business is your best ally to get new customers. This tool helps you optimize local SEO and appear in searches for people near you.
But as always happens in the world of SEO, the top positions in local searches can be highly contested, so if you want to get more out of it, take note of these 10 tips to optimize Google My Business and attract more customers.
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10 tips to optimize Google My Business
1) Complete all the information of your business
The first step to optimizing Google My Business is to make sure potential customers find all the information they need. So take a good look at these sections of your profile:
- Your company name
- The direction
- Updated opening hours
- Your business phone
- Your website
- The services and products to offer
- The category to which the business belongs
- The attributes of the business (for example, “home delivery” or “free wifi”)
- Frequent questions
2) Upload your best photos and videos
It is already known that an image is worth a thousand words … and in the case of Google My Business, it is completely true. Businesses that include photos in their listings receive 42% more driving directions requests and 35% more clicks to their websites.
To get started, you need a thumbnail (usually your company logo) and a large cover photo, which will be displayed at the top of your profile. You also need to include quality photos of the interior of your store and the products you offer. Remember that you can also include videos to make your profile stand out even more.
3) Optimize descriptions
The phrase that appears immediately below your business name is chosen by Google, but you can customize the information that appears in the “From the owner” section. Write down these recommendations :
- Take advantage of the 750 characters allowed, but concentrate your keywords in the first 250.
- Recycle your website texts to offer a consistent brand image.
- Do not repeat the information that already appears in your company profile.
- Highlight the unique aspects of your business.
4) Highlight your products and services
Including your products and services in your company profile improves your positioning in Google and provides quality information for your potential customers. When a user clicks on a product, a full description of the product appears.
When adding products and services, you must include the name, a description, and the price. Make sure they are always up to date with the latest news.
5) Get quality reviews
Star ratings are one of the most important aspects of attracting customers, so it pays to focus on getting good reviews. To do this, encourage your regular customers to comment and make it as easy as possible, with a shortened link and a call to action on your website. Also, it’s always a good idea to respond to reviews quickly. Remember that you cannot offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews.
6) Review your questions and answers
The question and answer section is a super useful resource for connecting with current and potential customers . Responding to objections quickly and efficiently will help you get new customers.
Moderating this section frequently is very important, as any user can ask or answer. Activate alerts to keep up to date with news and try to respond yourself whenever possible. Remember that you can also vote your own questions and answers.
In addition to solving the doubts of your clients, this section can also help you improve the positioning of your company, so do not forget to include keywords whenever relevant.
7) Post new content regularly
Publishing content regularly on your Google My Business increases conversions, improves Google positioning, increases the level of interaction and generates new leads . Therefore, do not stop updating your profile with all the news : new products and services, events, offers …
8) Activate messaging
If you activate the messaging option in Google My Business, users will be able to contact you directly . This will let them know that you are available to them and help you get more conversions.
To activate messaging on Google My Business, follow these steps:
- Select the messages tab on your dashboard.
- Install the application on your phone through the App Store or Google Play. The application will generate a different phone number from yours, so you don’t have to worry about privacy.
- Activate message alerts in your control panel.
9) Check your stats frequently
The statistics section of Google My Business provides a lot of information about user interactions with your company profile, for example:
- How users find your company.
- Where do you appear on Google?
- The actions of the clients.
- Requests for directions.
- The phone calls.
All this information is very useful to optimize your Google My Business and improve your ranking, so check back frequently to see how you can continue to improve.
10) Optimize and update your profile
Optimizing Google My Business is a constant process, since the information must always be up-to-date . These are the main aspects that you will have to review periodically:
- Keep all the information of the company up to date. Pay special attention to schedules, especially on holidays.
- Post new content and photos periodically. It is recommended that you do it at least once a week.
- Keep encouraging users to leave reviews and follow up on them.
- Respond to all new reviews and questions.
And remember: like any other Google product, Google My Business is periodically updated with new features, so stay up-to-date on what’s new to continue optimizing the online presence of your business.
