Understanding the Importance of Google My Business for Local SEO
Google My Business is a powerful tool that can help businesses connect with local customers. Creating a GMB profile and optimizing it will improve your online visibility and website traffic.
It is important to keep your GMB information consistent across the web so customers and crawlers can identify your business properly. This will help you rank higher in local searches and snack pack results.
Creating a Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business until 2021, is a free tool that gives you a public identity on Google’s services. This includes Google Search, Maps, and local listings. Having a well-optimized Google Business Profile can significantly improve your visibility in the local market.
The best way to optimize your Google Business Profile is to use it as an ongoing communication channel with customers. Posting updates, sharing images, responding to reviews, and enabling messaging are all excellent ways to engage with your audience. This can increase customer satisfaction and boost your brand image. about
Once you have claimed and verified your Google Business Profile, it’s important to keep it up-to-date with all of the relevant information about your business. This includes your business name, address, and phone number. It’s also important to choose a primary business category that accurately reflects your business. For example, if you’re a dentist, choose the dentist category instead of the general “business” category.
Optimizing Your GMB Listing
Getting your Google Business profile optimized is one of the best things you can do to improve local SEO. It helps searchers find you by providing valuable information like your hours, address, and services, which is also important for Google Maps rankings.
It’s also a great way to get more reviews. Consumers are increasingly influenced by online reviews, and many businesses have found that positive customer feedback boosts their GMB ranking.
You can optimize your business profile by adding relevant keywords to your description, choosing a category for each of your locations, and posting local content on your GMB profile. You can also use a call tracking phone number on your Google Business profile to track the sources of your leads. This will let you know which marketing channel is performing well for your company. Lastly, make sure your contact details are accurate and up to date. You can do this by logging in to your GMB account and checking the “Info” tab.
Getting Verified
The verification process can be tricky. Google offers multiple options to get verified, including the traditional postcard method that typically takes up to two weeks.
Verification via text message is an alternative to the traditional method. However, it only works if the business phone number is mobile and not a landline. Additionally, you or your client must be able to receive text messages.
Other alternatives to postcard verification include video uploads and live video calls. For some businesses, especially service-area businesses that operate in a specific area rather than having an actual physical location, these methods are much faster and can help reduce the time between search and conversion.
Creating Local Backlinks
In addition to claiming, verifying and optimizing your GMB listing, it’s also important to create local backlinks. Local backlinks are links from websites that point to your business website and can help improve your local search rankings. Local backlinks can be created through a variety of methods, including creating content for local publications or websites, guest blogging on other local websites, and reaching out to other local businesses to form partnerships.
When creating content for local publications, focus on topics that are relevant to your community. Writing broad or overarching posts may be useful for the global market, but it’s not going to drive local traffic. Instead, write about local businesses, local events, and solutions to common problems that your audience experiences in your community.
Another way to generate local traffic is by encouraging customers to visit or contact your business directly from your Google My Business listing. By allowing customers to book appointments or request information from your profile, you can reduce the amount of friction in the sales process and increase conversions.