Google My Business or GMB is a tool provided by Google to help businesses improve their visibility on their search engine. The best thing about this platform is that it is completely free. If you know how to properly make use of it, nothing will stop your business from reaching great heights. However, not many people know how to make full use of GMB. There are two ways to solve this problem. If you’re more of a do-it-yourself person, you might want to read up on GMB and its features. It will take some time, but you can easily master this tool. On the other hand, if you’re too busy to dedicate time and effort to this task, you might want to seek external help. There are a lot of digital marketing agencies out there that can help your business boom by making use of GMB and similar tools. These agencies employ SERP and SEO experts who are well-acquainted with tools like GMB. The key is to find a reputed agency that can deliver great results in a short amount of time. For instance, Web20Ranker is known for their GMB results.
You can also look for digital marketing agencies based on the requirements of your business. If you need quality blogs, you might want to look for agencies that have quality writers. If you want to focus on SERP and visibility, you might want to consider agencies that have good SERP and SEO departments. Having a digital marketing agency to optimize your GMB profile or even doing it yourself can greatly improve your business’s visibility on Google and boost your local ranking. This will result in more engagement, and consequently, higher lead generation and conversion. Optimizing your GMB profile is a sure-shot way to increase sales.
How To Optimize GMB And Leverage It For More Sales?
If you want to dabble in the basics of optimizing your GMB profile, here are some methods you can try:
1. Create a GMB account
The first and foremost thing that you will have to do is creating a Google My Business account. This account is necessary to control and optimize your Google Business profile. Many people tend to use these terms interchangeably. However, they are two separate entities. In order to create a GMB account, you will need to log in to your Gmail account, and head over to Google.com/Business. There, you can create a GMB account and connect it to your GMB profile.
2. Leave No Section Unfilled
In your Google My Business profile, you will have to provide a lot of information. It is important that you leave no section unfilled. Google prioritizes those businesses in its search ranking that have complete information as it increases their credibility. Moreover, you will see an increase in lead generation as customers also tend to trust those businesses that have all the information available online. Apart from that, the more information you have about your business on the GMB profile, the higher the chances of a customer taking action based on that information. Here are some sections that you must not leave unfilled at any cost:
- Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Website Information
- Hours
- Category and Attributes
- Products and Services
- From the Business Section
- FAQs (Owner-Generated)
- Posts and Reviews
- Questions and Answers (Customer-Generated)
3. Proper Contact Information
Another very important thing to remember is that you should update your contact information on your GMB profile regularly. It is essential that your contact information is accurate and consistent across the web as this is the only way potential customers can contact you. Make sure that the name of your business is the one that you use in your physical store. Any inconsistency can lower your local ranking. Also, list the timings of your store and holidays on the profile as you wouldn’t want a customer to visit you only to find the store closed. That can lead to some really angry customer reviews.
4. Optimize the ‘From The Business’ Section
‘From the Business’ section is separate from the brief description that appears just below your business name. The main difference between the two is that the former is written by you, and the latter is produced automatically by Google and is not under your control. Although, Google is usually pretty accurate with its description. Your ‘From the Business’ section, however, can help you win a potential customer’s trust. Thus, it’s important that you put some thought into it. Here are some ways in which you can optimize that section on your GMB profile:
i) Make use of all the 750 characters. Try and get all the relevant information across in the first 250 characters themselves.
ii)Use appropriate keywords, but don’t spam them.
iii)Don’t repeat any information
iv)Don’t insert any links
v)Ensure that the content is of the best quality and is grammatically sound.
5. Add Photos
Photos will lend credibility to your business. Customers will tend to trust your business more if you have photos in your GMB profile. Not only adding photos will increase your ranking and visibility, but it will also make your GMB profile look aesthetic. Apart from that, Google’s image recognition system also benefits those GMB profiles that have photos in them. In the end, adding photos to your profile will result in increased engagement. However, don’t go overboard and spam your whole profile with photos. It’s also best to avoid edited photos and photos with special effects in them. Make sure that your logo is the thumbnail of your profile.
6. Keep The Posts Flowing
GMB is like any other social media platform. You have to keep posting things in order to keep your profile alive and kicking. Post regularly to make sure that people come across your profile. Moreover, if you post quality content, you will end up with a regular audience too. That will help you a lot in lead generation and conversion. Apart from that, consumers who will follow your profile for content will also be notified of new posts. That way, your business will never be out of your audience’s sight.