Many firms register a Google business listing in order to achieve more visibility on Google (known officially as a Business Profile). If you're a business owner like this, you might not realise that creating a Business Profile does not give you control over it, and you'll need that control and editing if you want your Business Profile to be an effective SEO and lead generation tool.
So, how can you take control of your Google Business Page? The solution is that you must additionally register a free Google My Business account for that profile in addition to the free Business Profile.
A Google My Business account is the only way to claim ownership of your Business Profile, gain management powers, and gain access to extra free services to boost your Google exposure. I'll go over everything you need to know about Google My Business in this post. including
Google My Business, as previously said, is a service that allows you to maintain and optimise your Google Business Profile. So, before we get into what Google My Business is and how it works, let's clarify what a Business Profile is. Your Google company listing is referred to as your Business Profile by Google. Google Maps and Google Search local results include Business Profiles.
Adding a location to Google Maps is the same as creating a Business Profile, and anyone including a random stranger or an automated listing generator can do both. The business name, location, and category are all that is required by Google.
Google will build a Business Profile for that location once they've confirmed it's not a duplicate. Consumers can then leave reviews, upload images, ask questions, and even respond to inquiries on the Business Profile. Google may additionally populate the Business Profile with data gathered from various sites on the web.
This means that a Business Profile can exist independently of a Google My Business account.And, whether you created your own Business Profile or not, you have no control over the information displayed or the reviews collected. This is where Google My Business can help.You can access, customise, manage, and enhance your Google Business Profile for free by creating a Google My Business account, which we'll go over next.
So far, we've established that Google My Business is not your business profile, but rather a tool for improving your business profile's visibility and effectiveness. Let's go over the four main ways you can use this Google My Business listing to improve your local marketing.
There are numerous ways for customers to interact with your Business Profile, and you can respond to them using your Google My Business account.You can respond to reviews, answer questions, enable direct messaging, and configure alerts. You can also use Google My Business to post to your Business Profile, much like you would with Facebook, twitter and other social media platforms.
A Business Profile on its own provides little information about your company. However, you can provide hours, a link to your website, products and pricing, attributes, and other details that distinguish your business through your Google My Business account dashboard. You will also use Google My Business to make necessary edits and updates.
The Google My Business dashboard can help you gain key insights into your audience and local search performance. You can see the queries customers are using to find your Business Profile, whether they found you on Google Maps or Google Search, a breakdown of actions taken on your listing, and how your photos are performing compared to other profiles in your category in the platform's analytics tab.
Google has algorithms for ranking advertisements and websites, and it also has one for ranking Business Profiles. You can incorporate keywords into your Business Profile and perform other optimizations to help it rank in local results through your Google My Business dashboard, which we'll go over next.
Google Business Profiles are dynamic. Not only do they change form depending on platform, but Google will also prioritising sections of your profile based on the term that was searched as well as the type of information most important to consumers in your category. Even better, Google will highlight relevant keywords in your profile's content.
However, there must first be information to take precedence and keywords to highlight in your profile.Google My Business is used to maximise your profile and expand your reach in the same way that you (or your agency) would use a content management system like WordPress to optimise your website for search engines. How do you make the most of Google My Business for local SEO? Because optimisation for Google is essentially ensuring optimal for searchers, it all boils down to three things: targeting, information quality, and trust.
To use Google My Business for SEO, include relevant keywords in your Business Profile so Google knows what you're trying to rank for. Use them in your "from the business" description, responses to reviews, answers to questions, and blog posts.
The completeness and accuracy of your Business Profile have an impact on its rank, so make sure to fill out all of the fields in your Google My Business dashboard.Your contact information, special hours, and attributes are especially important here.
The final strategy for utilizing Google My Business for SEO relies on Google's algorithm's trust component. As your firm grows, keep your information current and correct. Continue to receive and reply to reviews. Also, show Google that you're active by routinely updating your Google My Business profile with photographs and posts.
SEO is vital for every organisation, but it is especially important for small firms that may compete on the SERP with huge competitors using local targeting. With its extensive Business Profiles, Google is making local SEO even easier, so a Google My Business account is crucial for any business looking to maximise visibility in their local market.
Go to google.com/business and click "Manage now," which will walk you through the steps of setting up a Google My Business account. Remember that a Google My Business Account does not establish a Business Profile for you; it only grants you access to it and the ability to expand it. As a result, ensure sure you have access to an existing Business Profile.
With a clear grasp of what Google My Business is, how it works, and how to use it, you can see why using this free service for local marketing isn't just a good idea, but a must. Get your Google My Business account set up right away so that your Business Profile can stand out from the crowd and attract more clients on the world's most popular search engine.
Interested in working with us? Call the DIGINOW on ☎ +44 (0) 20 7183 5653.
We are a Creative Web Design Agency in London, specialising in Bespoke Web Design, Web Development, Branding and Digital Marketing.
Whether it’s a new venture or existing brand. Let us know your ideas below using our project planner and we’ll see how we can help.
