As a local internet marketing company, Hollis is always coming up with ways to help clients be successful on major platforms like Facebook and Google. And one service that is often recommended to localized clients is Google My Business.
What Is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free tool from Google that allows a business to list out their information for users of the search engine platform to see. As a person visits Google and searches a service + near me or service + local city, a Google My Business profile will show up.
Because Google is giving businesses this opportunity, it’s important to take advantage of it and not let it go to waste.
5 Things to Make Your Google My Business Stand Out
Since every business owner can create a Google My Business profile for essentially free, it’s important for business owners to go the extra mile to make their business stand out.
Fill In the Description
Google gives you ~1000 characters to explain who your business is and what you do for the local area. This description can help Google associate the business to a local area or category and is one of the most important aspects of a Google My Business profile.
Add Images
Show off your business with images of your products and services. Google will automatically add an image of your business for you, but you have the opportunity add in your own images. Use the opportunity to add images of your storefront or if you’re a service professional, show photos of your work.
Name, Address & Phone Number
A key component of local SEO is making sure your information is consistent across the internet. If you have already listed your business name, address and phone on your Facebook page, use the same exact information on your Google My Business profile. Google uses this information to rank your profile in search results and it’s imperative it is consistent anywhere you list it.
Properly Categorize Your Business
Google also gives business owners the opportunity to categorize themselves through a few standardized categories. If your business provides a variety of services, be sure to list subcategories as well. A proper category can really help Google know when to show you based on a user’s search term. For example, if you are a home inspector in Utah, you would want to have a primary category of ‘home inspector’ with a potential secondary category of ‘real estate’ and of course you would be listed for the state of Utah.
Use Google’s COVID Features
As soon as we knew we would be in a pandemic for a while, Google made a few enhancements to allow businesses to communicate COVID updates to their customers. Business owners now have the ability to list specialized hours, mention their storefront’s mask policy, list information for online appointments and more. Because more and more customers are using Google to find service professionals, taking the profile the extra mile to have as many details as possible listed will really help in your benefit.
Get Started
Before you can get started with these optimizations, you’ll need to claim and verify your business listing in Google first. Start by signing up your business and then Google will send you a postcard to verify your address.
