A One-Stop Guide to Optimizing Your Google My Business Listing

by Ryan M. Chief Executive Officer

Starting a local business or looking for a new way to uncover growth opportunities in your neighborhood?

If that’s the case, investing in local SEO will be your best bet.

And when it comes to channelizing your attention to local SEO, it comes down to Google My Business or GMB. 

What’s Google My Business? 

GBM is a free tool that helps you manage the way your business appears on Google Maps and Google Search. 

Managing your business’s GMB account means you have to add your business name, working hours, and its location. Besides, GMB provides opportunities that include: 

·         Monitoring and replying to customer reviews 

·         Add photos of your business facilities 

·     Learning how, where, and when your prospects and customers are searching for you

And why’s maintaining GMB listing for your business is such a big deal, in the first place?

 Managing Google My Business Listing Is Important 

When it comes to raking in fresh online leads, you’ll have to focus on managing your listing details properly on Google My Business. 

By your business’s listing details, we mean your business’s NAP details including business name, office address, and official phone number. But NAP details go beyond these three pieces of information. (More on this later.) 

But why every local business should have a Google My Business listing? 

The thing is, most people doing local searches have a buying intent. That means they’re at the bottom of the conversion funnel, waiting to make a purchase. 

Don’t take our word for it? According to a study, 78 percent of location-based searches done on mobile result in the final purchase. 

So, managing your GMB listing is not an option—it’s a necessity. 

But does managing your business’s GMB listing even helps in bringing referrals? 

Well, yes. Let us explain how. 

When your customer refers to someone, the first thing they’ll likely do is run a search for your business on Google. 

And if you’re actively maintaining your GMB listing, then it’ll be the first thing those referrals will see on Google. 

Seeing positive reviews for your business on GMB and other details will give them the confidence to pull the trigger.

Because of this reason, updating your business’s GMB listing as and when required is a must. 

Now, you have a fair idea of why the management of your business’s GMB listing is non-negotiable. Well, then, it’s time to take a deep dive into how to optimize the GMB listing for your business. 

A Road Map For Optimizing Your Business’s GMB Listing 

Update Your Business’s NAP Details 

GMB listing has the core information about your business including: 

·         Your business name

·         The address of your business

·         Contact details

·         Business description

·         Your business website

·         The category of your business

 To get started with your business listing on GMB, you’ll have to feed your business name, phone number, and address. 

Once you feed GMB with these details about your business, it’ll be indexed by Google Maps and Google Search—two of the most solid foundations of your local SEO. 

Make sure your information should always be consistent with whatever is listed on your website. 

In short, make sure that whatever information you’re feeding in your GMB listing syncs well the details published on your website. 

And in case inconsistencies creep in, your search ranking will take a hit. 

You have to be careful, though. Whenever you’re inputting the address mentioned on your website, you’ll have to make sure it matches the coordinates shown on Google Maps. 

One pro tip: if you want to attract local leads, it’ll be best to give a local number instead of a national call center number. 

Ask Customers To Drop A Review 

Reviews fuel local searches like never before. 

According to one research, a whopping 97 percent of customers won’t take any buying decision until they read business reviews for a local business. 

As per one other study, 91 percent of millennial searchers read reviews before making the final buying decision. 

The equation is quite straightforward. If your GMB listing has more positive reviews, you’ll attract more qualified leads. 

But that doesn’t mean good reviews are everything. Even bad reviews have a silver lining. That is, every bad review brings in the massive opportunity to right something wrong. 

How do you start receiving reviews on your GMB listing, though? 

It’s simple: Ask your customers to drop reviews on your GMB profile. 

A recent study revealed that 68 percent of consumers will drop a review if they’re asked to. 

Yes, there are a bunch of sites that discourage giving reviews. But you’re in luck because Google My Business encourages the activity of posting reviews. 

Once you successfully do business with a customer, send them a link to your GMB review page through a text message or email. 

Respond To Customers Reviews Immediately 

Now that reviews are rolling in, it’s time to go through each one them and respond promptly. 

Whether the reviews are good, bad, or neutral, you’ll have to respond to every last one of the feedback. 

Yes, it takes time to write a reply to every piece of feedback that your business receives. But building credibility in the online market is also time-consuming and equally rewarding. 

Still need to feel convinced about doing the heavy lifting as far as reviews go? 

Well, as per a recent survey, consumers spend almost 49 percent at those companies that give replies to reviews. 

You can write a message to every review through your GMB dashboard or through a DIY listing management tool. 

Bottom line: It doesn’t matter whether you’re a big MNC or a local pizza outlet, if you get reviews, you must reply to them. And if these reviews are coming on GMB listing, then you can’t afford to ignore them. 

After all, responding to reviews is of the best ways of bringing in more leads. 

Summing It Up 

Now, you know exactly what steps you have to take for optimizing your GMB listing. 

Would you first update your NAP details or reply to some pending reviews? 

You can even give us the low-down on your #1 challenge when it comes to managing the GMB listing for your business.

Like a good business, we practice what we preach and read every single review and reply to it!

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Created on Feb 18th 2020 03:46. Viewed 414 times.

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