12 Powerful Steps to Optimise Google My Business

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The first place where top notch SEO professionals look to create a local business listing strategy is Google My Business Listing!

Here are the top reasons for it                 

Google My Business (GMB) -- is the free tool from google that helps local business owners manage their online presence across the search engine. Google My Business offers the greatest impact for brands seeking local exposure.                 

 Google’s Local Search features as shown in the screenshot below, with local search results of nearby business related to search category with all related information like business name, business opening hours, business phone numbers, reviews, comments, latest posts etc further emphasis the need for Google My Business Listing for both new and established businesses                 

Google’s Knowledge Graph  utilises verified Google My Business information to help generate details for its database about businesses and related entities that are relevant to specific searches.                  

Once a new listing is created, a Google Maps location is then generated that synchronises with traditional Google Nearby Search for easy access and search-ability. It certainly helps that the clear majority of organic searches come from Google (More than 90 percent for worldwide search engine market share in India), further illustrating the value of a GMB listing.                  

Image: Screen shot of all Internet Search engines in India  

Related My Business Listing Resources from Indyapages:

• The best bet to build online presence is listing in business directory
• Top 100 Indian Business Directory List 2018 at Indyapages

Find all that You need to know to use Google My Business to easily manage your business listing, reviews, photos and location on Google search, Google Maps and near me searches

Use the below step by step guide to ensure you’ve completed your Google My Business listing correctly, and optimised all possible features of the tool to get the most from it for your business on Google and third-party platforms that use the Google Maps API to generate location information for users such as Indyapages my business listing. IndyaPages My Business Listing synchronises your location data to google maps automatically when you create a listing for your nearby business.                 

1. Basics of Google My Business Listing

If you are new to digital marketing and if its your new endeavour for you to create a GMB listing for your local business, here are few basics you should know of to fully understand Google My Business and the value.

Image: Screenshot of Google My Business Home Page

• Using Google My Business is free. 
• GMB listing doesn’t replace your business’s website.
• Google My Business complements your existing website by giving your business a public identity and presence with a listing on Google the most popular search engine in the world. The information you provide about your business can appear in Google Search, Google Maps, and on Google+.
• If you have your listing with Indyapages Business directory, your business listing is already been there in Google My Business, which you can claim. Same applies if your have already used some Google tools, chances are your business is already listed on Google My Business. Google Places for Business and the Google+ Pages Dashboard were the best ways to manage your business information previously, but both of these may have automatically upgraded to Google’s universal platform, Google My Business.

2. Why You Should Use Your Google My Business Profile?

Setting up a Google My Business profile for your company will help your company show up in Google search engine results, Google local search results and Google Maps results.     

Listing your company on Google My Business will:                 

• Help you found in near me search results
• Help you found on near by search results on Maps
• Use your location and potential customers’ locations to help you rank in local searches
• Provide a place where customers can review your business and you get even more customers

“Google My Business is a really important tool that more nearme businesses should take advantage of. It’s critical for helping customers find you easily,” said Vivek, an SEO strategist “The best part is that when optimized correctly, the page shows up above normal organic search results.” As you may have seen on the google search screenshot above              

3. Do You Know How Google My Business Looks Like?

Image: Screen shot of google my business listed NearMe business look like.      

Related My Business Listing Resources from Indyapages:

• How your business listing look like at Indyapages Business Directory
• Top 100 Indian Business Directory List 2018 at Indyapages

4. How Does Google My Business Work?

Listing your company on Google ensures that your small business name, address, phone number, hours and description are listed correctly and consistently across all Google internet platforms, including:         

Image: Screen shot of search results on Google of nearby (local) businesses

• Google search results
• Google’s Local Pack
• Google Maps
• Google reviews

Image: Screenshot of Google search results on Google maps of near me (local) businesses

Google My Business allows you to manage your entire Google business profile—including for multiple locations—from one dashboard.                 

5. What Does Google My Business Do To Your Business?

Google My Business allows you to control the way your business shows up on Google searches. Using Google My Business you can correct or adjust your company’s:                 

• Name, address and phone number (your NAP info or business card)
• Your current opening hours
• Geographic information for each of your locations
• Reviews

On top of these basic features, you can add photos to your Google My Business profile and encourage positive customer reviews.                 

6. Do You Still Need Google+ or Google Places for Business Pages?

No.

You can manage everything you need to right from your small business’ Google My Business dashboard.

The NAP info, photos and any other information you upload to Google My Business will automatically populate across all of Google’s platforms. You can even manage your small business AdWords account from your Google My Business dashboard.

These are Google’s basic guidelines for representing your company on Google My Business:                 

• Represent your business as it’s consistently represented and recognized in the real world across signage, stationery and other branding.
• Make sure your address is accurate and precise.
• Choose the fewest number of categories it takes to describe your overall core business.

Related My Business Listing Resources from Indyapages:

• Promote Your Business At Indyapages Online Directory Listings
• Top 15 Indian Business Directory as per Google SERP
• Add business to Top Ranking Business directories

7. How to Add Your Company to Google My Business?

If Google has no information on your business, it will lead you through a series of steps. Follow these prompts to add your business information to the site. You’ll be required to verify your business with Google. Which can be done by a post card verification process. We will explain it in next blog.     

As you wait for the verification process to be completed, you can begin uploading photos, videos and logo into your Google My Business dashboard immediately. These won’t publish online until you’ve completed the verification process.

Watch Google’s step-by-step demo to claim or add your company to Google My Business:                 

• First step to getting your Google My Business listing up and running is to actually conduct a Google search to ensure your business doesn’t already have a GMB listing. 
• If your business has been around for a while (several years or more), it’s likely it already has a GMB listing and you just need to claim it.
• Once successfully claimed, you can manage the information just as if you started the GMB listing yourself years previous.
• Head over to the Google My Business page for adding and claiming GMB listings and enter your most important business information (business name and address) to ensure your business doesn’t already have a listing that you need to claim.
• If there is already a listing for your business, it will notify you. It may also notify you that someone else already claimed your business. If that happens, follow these steps.
• 
  
• Fill out the remaining input boxes with your business details, ensuring everything is accurate and grammatically correct (capitalize your business name, street names, etc.), and be sure to find the best relevant category for your business (there are a lot of variations to choose from).
• The last option listed asks if the business being created delivers goods or services to customers at their location. This is valuable for many businesses that operate away from their brick-and-mortar headquarters and, typically, at the home or business of the customer (cleaning services, construction companies, pest control, other home services, etc.).

Try watching this video on www.youtube.com, or enable JavaScript if it is disabled in your browser.                 

8. How to Verify Your Google My Business Listing?

There are two main ways to verify your Google My Business listing: by postcard or by telephone.

“Google wants to understand that you’re the verified representative from the company. That is why they send a postcard to the address that gives a code to input,” said Narayan digital analyst for the Indyapages SEO Services. “With the code verified, you are able to have full control over the listing. The verification boosts your chances of ranking for local services that you offer in your business area.”

Follow Google’s prompts to determine the method of verification that’s right for you. Verification by postcard will take between seven and 10 business days.

Watch Google’s step-by-step video to learn how to verify your small business on Google My Business:                  

9. How Do You Edit or Change the Information in Your Google My Business Profile?

You can edit or change information on your profile directly from your Google My Business dashboard.

If you have any difficulty making changes to hours, location or other information, send a message to Google My Business support staff on Facebook or Twitter, or start a chat, request a call, or send an email.      

Related My Business Listing Resources from Indyapages:

• How your business listing look like at Indyapages Business Directory
• Top 15 Indian Business Directory as per Google SERP

10. Add or Edit Service-Area Business Details

To add or change your service area details:

Sign in to Google My Business and make sure you’re using “card view.” If you’re viewing your locations as a list instead of cards, switch to card view by clicking the cards icon on the right side above your locations.                  

1. Choose the listing you’d like to manage and click “Manage location.”
2. Click Info from the menu.
3. Click the “Address” section.
4. In the window that appears, select “Yes” next to “I deliver goods and services to my customers at their locations.”
5. Enter your service area information. You can set your service area based on the zip codes or cities that you serve, or on a given area around your location.
   • Select the box next to “I serve customers at my business address” if you want your complete address to appear on Google and your business location is staffed and able to receive customers during its stated hours.
6. Click Apply to save your changes.

11. Publishing Your Google My Business Listing

It’s important to use all resources Google My Business offers within its listing details to get the most out of your business locations.                 

12. Optimize Your Google My Business Listing for Best Results

Some basic but crucial tips for optimizing your listing:     

1. Enter Complete Data for Your Business Listing
2. Local search results favour the most relevant results for searches, and business offering the most detailed and accurate information will be easier to serve in search

One of the most important things to keep in mind when optimizing your Google My Business listing is consistency, said David Mulqueen, project manager for digital marketing agency Odd Dog Media.

“You want to make sure that things like your name, imaging, messaging, general info like hours of operation, business category and how people can find you is consistent,” he advised. “If your Google My Business page isn’t correctly optimized, how is Google supposed to trust your business as a credible source of information for it's users?”

Sunil Nair, executive vice president of strategy for SEO digital advertising agency offered the following tips for optimizing your GMB profile:                 

• Include Content, Content, Content!
• "Include high-resolution pictures of your business including the offices, alongside 360-degree photographs and recordings if possible. The more different substance you include, the better Google will position your business with respect to the opposition," Nair says. When composing examples, and product descriptions "Write in a characteristic, supportive, and simple to peruse narrative. Google adores an awesome client reviews!"
• Pick Keywords Wisely
• Pick similar keywords and expressions you know your customers are looking for

Free Download quick tips to know more about optimizing your my business listing with google business. These are some simple steps to follow, explained in clear and easy way. These tips are absolutely free, and you can keep it for future reference.  

Image: Download tips from Indyapages SEO Services 

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More Google My Business Resources Here:

• Promote Your Business At Indyapages Online Directory Listings
• Top 15 Indian Business Directory as per Google SERP
• Add business to Top Ranking Business directories      
• 8 Local SEO Hacks You’ll Actually Want to Use
• Manage Google My Business Listings Directly From Search Results