What is Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is a free and vital resource when optimising search results for your company and is fundamental in improving your rankings and presence on the web.

Claim or Create Your GMB Listing

The first step to take would be to claim or create your business listing. You can do this by heading over to Google’s find and manage your business page. Here you will be able to locate a listing for your business if it already exists, or start from scratch.

1.   Add keywords

Adding keywords within your listing is an excellent way to signal to Google what your business should be found for. Here are some of the areas you can add your keywords to:

Business Description

You’re allowed 750 characters in your company description, however only 250 characters show up before they get cut off in the Knowledge Panel.

Try to avoid keyword stuffing, if it doesn’t read well or look natural to you then it probably won’t for anyone else or Google for that matter.

Services

You’re able to add multiple services with your listing, so it would be a great idea to include relevant terms in this section as this information is vitally important to your prospects and customers.

2.  Customer Reviews

The reviews on your listing page can be a deciding factor in whether or not a buyer purchases a product or chooses to contact you. Check out some of these stats about Local Consumer Reviews:

• 97% of consumers looked online for local businesses in 2017
• 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
• Positive reviews make 73% of consumers trust a local business more
• 68% of consumers left a local business review when asked
• 30% of consumers say they’ve judged a business based on its responses to reviews

Make sure you respond to every single review, even if it is a negative review – it is always best to reply as this can show your ability as a company to resolve a situation.

3.  Photos and Videos

Photos on your GMB listing are the main thing that grabs the attention of a client when they visit your Google My Business profile. Upload your best, high quality photos to your listing that really speak to your customers, by using awesome photos you will be able to grab the attention of a potential customer that is searching for your products and / or services.

Adding videos to your Google My Business (GMB) is really easy to do. Sign in to your GMB record and snap Photos on the left-hand board. At the head of this page, there is presently an additional Video option. Here you will be able to upload your videos or choose an existing video that is already present.

4.  Post Regularly!

Back in June 2017, Google launched Google Posts for businesses.

This gave listings a chance to speak to their searchers directly through the following types of content:

• Blog articles
• Organisation news
• Digital book downloads
• Forthcoming occasions
• Uncommon offers
• Promotions

Google My Business is an extremely useful tool for acquiring new prospects and engaging with your current customers. It should be regarded as the number one platform for leveraging your local SEO efforts.