Google Business Profile Optimization
Have you noticed that Google only shows 3 top businesses in its search results when you are looking for a business near you? Did you know that the businesses you see listed in the “3-pack” at the top of Google search results are there because they happen to be located closest to the person conducting the Google search?
The businesses that are lucky enough to make it into the 3-pack for any given location get the most calls and the most visits. That’s because their contact details, phone number, and website link are prominently displayed at the top of Google search results, making it fast and easy for customers to click to call the business or click to visit its website for more information.
If you want to make it easy for customers to find you on Google, you must start by claiming and optimizing your Google Business Profile. And it’s not enough to simply add your business name, address and phone number (NAP). To set yourself apart from competing businesses in the same area, you must optimize your Google business profile listing by including a detailed and keyword-rich description of your business, the areas your business serves, high quality pictures, correct hours of operation, a link to your company website, and regular updates about newsworthy developments within your business, such as special events, sales, and new product or service offerings.
The Value of a Google Business Listing
Local Intent and Search Rankings Explained
Google is getting more and more advanced in refining searches for its users. Google knows the geographical location of people searching for local businesses online and serves each person the information that it believes would be most useful to him or her. To get the most out of Google’s intent-based local search results, businesses need to create and manage their Google Business Profiles.
Why is getting your business into the Google 3-Pack listing so important?
Imagine you own a home remodeling business in Washington, DC and you have invested in an optimized website. When someone pulls out their phone and searches for the best “home remodeling contractor near me” you want to make sure that your home remodeling company appears as one of the top 3 remodeling companies in Google search results.
However, if that same person drives a few miles away to Arlington or Alexandria and searches again for “best home remodeling contractor near me” they may not see your results displayed so prominently even though they are just a few miles away from your business.
There are many reasons why your business isn’t showing up in the top 3 Google search engine results.
You may not have chosen the best business category for your Google listing, or you may have missed additional relevant business categories that you could add to your Google profile.
You may have an incomplete business description or overlooked adding the locations you serve.
Or, your website may not have been structured with search engine principles in mind, and be structurally inferior to competitors that Google chooses to prioritize in its search engine results.
If you don’t want to be sending business to your competitors, you need to make the effort to fully optimize your website as well as your Google business profile.
When you claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile together with your website, you improve your chances of outranking competitors in Google search results.
As more and more businesses wake up the benefits of claiming and optimizing their Google My Business profiles, you will face stiffer competition for the Google 3-Pack placement. For this reason, regularly maintaining and updating your web presence must be an ongoing activity. Your position (ranking) in Google search results depends on the number and strength of various signals Google sees about your business. These signals include frequent updates about your business, listings and links in other websites (like Chamber of Commerce directories, social media mentions and local news articles), and on-page optimization.
Another important activity that can enhance your web presence and Google ranking is the quality and volume of customer reviews online. Businesses that rank well often have excellent reviews and 4- or 5-star ratings.
Our reputation and reviews management system can help you grow your brand’s strength, customer awareness and online visibility. Our system can also help you prevent negative reviews from getting published online while increasing the number of 4- and 5-star reviews that get published about your business.
How to Perfect Your Google Business Profile
A survey of SEO consultants revealed that the #1 mistake local businesses make with respect to their web presence is related to how their business is listed online.
Most small and medium-sized businesses do not monitor their web presence regularly to ensure that their business name, address and phone number (their “NAP”) are correctly displayed wherever they are mentioned online. Inconsistencies and variations in online mentions of your business name, address and phone number will lower your search result rankings because Google cannot determine which information is correct.
Getting your business listed in the Google My Business platform may seem like a simple task — but it actually requires expertise to do it right, as well as careful attention to details and constant monitoring to ensure optimum results. For this reason, it is always best to enlist the assistance of a Google My Business optimization and management expert like Herbst Marketing.
Our Local SEO Process
Step 1: GBP Setup and Verification If Google has already created a GMB listing for your business, we will claim and show you how to verify it. This will protect you against competitors who can steal your Google Business Profile out from under you and replace your information with theirs.
If you have not already created and optimized your Google Business Profile, then we will set it up and assist you in getting it verified by Google.
Step 2: Business Category Selection We will select the best categories for your business. Google does not allow you to make up your own category, — it must be selected from the options Google provides. It is not always clear which Google option is best for your business and that is one way we can help. We will select both a primary category that best represents your business and secondary categories as well, where they make sense.
Step 3: Photo Selection Google also gives priority to profiles that contain plenty of high quality pictures of their business. We will help you select and upload the photos that will best showcase your products and services to people who are searching online for businesses like yours.Step 4: Add products and services. Add all the products you sell to your listing. (Adding services as “products” helps your search engine ranking.)Step 5: Request Reviews.Make it a habit to ask your customers to review you on Google whenever you complete an order or a service for that customer. (Businesses with the most Google reviews for their various search terms tend to outrank businesses with fewer reviews in Google search results. The share icon on your Google Business Profile provides a link that you can send customers so they can click and go to your Google reviews section quickly and easily to leave a review.)