Today, Near me searches are up by 900% compared to 2018, and people are using local searchers more than ever before. If you're a local business then you're probably leveraging that already. But have you taken any further steps to maximise your potential reach?
Not many people look past the first page of results on Google. If you fail to rank in the top 20, you may never be discovered. This article will help you discover ten tips to optimise your Google My Business (GMB) page, rank higher, and ultimately, get more customers.
This might sound like a no-brainer tip, but many businesses fail to do it properly. Your Google My Business profile connects your physical business with the online world. In other words, it's an online touchpoint for your customers. You must ensure you fill in all important details, which include items like the name of your business, address, opening times, and category.
However, quantity isn't nearly as important as quality. Keep in mind that even customers at the bottom of the sales funnel can have a valuable impact on your sales
If you include an invalid address, they will never find you. This is a massive turn-off, which can cost you potential customers and lead to negative reviews. Make sure to avoid that at any cost and provide accurate information about your business. Also, fill in as much information as possible while keeping it relevant to the reader.
Reviews play a huge part in the purchasing decision of your customers. In fact, 93% of people read reviews before making a purchase. Reviews can help you get free advertising, but they can also sabotage your business. For example, negative reviews (especially from dissatisfied customers) can create a bad image of your brand. Users who never tried your product or service will be interested in hearing from others about their experiences and if it's not the best feedback, new customers will be less likely to come to you.
An easy way to obtain a positive review from customers is to ask for it directly. You can send them a friendly email asking for a review and give in return either a coupon or a discount. Something to remember: whether the review is negative or positive, you must always respond to it. Doing so helps your customers see that you value and care about them.
It's a small action with a long-term impact that will make customers choose your business over the others. Try to get as many positive reviews as possible and avoid negative ones. It will make a tremendous difference in sales and conversions.
Another tip to stand out from competitors is to leverage the Google My Business post section and publish weekly updates. For instance, you can use it to post offers, special deals, news, or events. But make sure you always provide value. Your customers are most likely busy people, so they have no time for reading irrelevant posts. Value-laden posts are well-written, personalized, and include a call to action.
If you're looking to maximise your CTR and get better results, a call-to-action is a critical element of the post. But also try to publish valuable, relevant, and informative weekly content that engages your audience.
Confusion kills sales. If your customers have doubts or feel confused, they won't visit your local business. Instead, they will choose competitors that will provide guarantees and assurance about their product or service. To quickly deal with any confusion and prevent it is with a Q&A section.
Use this tip to engage with your customers promptly. Provide them with detailed and specific answers to their questions. Stay professional, be polite, use the company's tone of voice and make customers return to you.
Listings with photos are 2x as likely to be considered reputable and get 35% more clicks. They can be a complete game-changer if you use them properly. To make your images stand out you should improve your camera skills and master one of the design software. Before posting any images with the staff, office, or clients your Google My Business site must include a cover picture and your company logo. You should optimize the images accordingly.
As mentioned already, photos are great but posting videos will make your profile even more powerful. The videos can showcase your products and the environment you're working in. You can put your imagination above and beyond by creating a trailer of your business about its mission and values. Make sure to use the latest video editing software and a stable video hosting site. That would prevent your videos from crashing when there's a lot of website traffic. Once you manage to build a solid brand image of your company on Google My Business, customers will be more willing to access your site.
The GMB description is an excellent place for you to include helpful information about your brand and connect with your customers. It's also one of the ways to avoid confusing the readers, similar to the Q&A section.
Your GMB description should be well-written. Your goals are to spark curiosity, make it SEO-friendly, and highlight your USP. Try to avoid keyword stuffing, using all caps, and being spammy. Note that it's not a sales proposal but a quick overview of your business, which means using only 750 characters. Make every single word count. Talk about your mission and goals, showcase unique value propositions, and get more customers to your business.
Google My Business categories are a crucial element that helps you rank for relevant searches and shows your business higher in the SERP. There are over 3,000 GMB categories you can choose from. A GMB category is the type of business you have which could be a restaurant, hotel, or accounting. The more specific your category is, the lower your competition and the higher chances of a sale are.
You can also choose up to 10 secondary categories closely related or more specific to your main category. Using a specific category is an excellent way to reach more relevant people. Although you can select one primary category and up to 10 secondary ones, I recommend sticking to only a few specific but highly relevant categories.
Monitoring Insights and Analytics play a critical role in perfecting your GMB and making it more personalised. Personalisation is very important, especially in today's fast-paced era. Nobody has time to read irrelevant content or visit a business they don't like. If you fail to personalise your content, you won't be able to attract the right customers.
According to stats, 49% of marketers don't know how to personalise their content and business. That's good news for you because there's a simple solution - start tracking your customers' behavior and monitor analytics. Monitoring your GMB analytics regularly will help you to introduce the necessary changes to your marketing strategy and make it more personalised. Make your business relevant, drive stronger results, and improve your online presence.
If you want your business to look professional and high-quality, you have to update your information regularly. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to visit a store at the wrong address. It's a huge turn-off. But there are many other things you should update, like opening hours, social media links, and your business description. Be sure to stay consistent among all platforms. If you change something on your GMB page, do the same on your website and social media accounts. It will go a long way in making your business look more serious and professional.
Social media is one of the best places to engage with your customers and build a deeper connection with them. Google My Business gives you an option to add links to your social media accounts. It allows you to attract more customers who won't miss any news or updates from your business.
Google doesn't tolerate skewing its algorithms. Many businesses have tried black-hat SEO tactics that include keyword stuffing, buying reviews, etc. Unfortunately, they didn't bring the results they expected. Tricking Google's algorithm is a no-go, so don't try it. There are much better ways to rank higher and make your GMB page better. The easiest one is to follow the best practices and create an effective digital marketing strategy.
It can be tricky, though, because of the many ongoing changes. To keep up with the newest trends and stay ahead, you'll need to follow Google's algorithm updates constantly. You can easily do that with online courses. They are highly engaging, taught by industry experts, and help you learn about the best SEO strategies and page optimisation. Be sure to give them a try.
Google My Business connects your physical business to the online world. It is one of the best ways to reach more customers, get more sales, and beat your local competitors.
In this article, you've discovered the eleven best ways to optimise your Google My Business page. Follow the advice above, perfect your Google My Business page and maximise your sales and conversions.
by Hanson Cheng | 27 Sep 23