Steps To Optimize Your Google My Business Listing In 2021 To Drive More Local Traffic?
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Your GMB or Google My Business listing is considered to be an important local search strategy. Not only that, but it is also regarded as the most visible asset of your company.
As per Google, 50% of all the individuals who are searching for a local business will visit that particular business within 24 hours. So, if you do not claim your local listing, then there are chances that Google will not provide the proper and accurate information about your business.
So, as a business owner, your main focus should be to claim your Google My Business profile. After claiming this, you need to verify and edit all your business-related information appearing on Google.
Currently, a vast of people do not search the internet, but instead of that they “Google” while searching for anything online. This major shift has proved to be very important for both businesses and consumers.
So, Google provides you with the best opportunities to rank your business page higher in the search results.
In this regard, many important tools are also developed by Google such as Google Trends, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console which have effectively changed the overall marketing game.
Similarly, another free tool which is proved to be very important for local businesses includes Google My Business. Thereby, GMB focuses on making the connection which you need for prospects to find your business.
Best Ways To Claim Your Google My Business Listing
Below are mentioned some of the most important steps which you should follow to appearing in the local search and get an extra edge over your competitors.
1. Claiming Your GMB Listing
The first and the most important step to follow for optimizing your GMB listing is to claim it if you do not have it already.
Talking about the GMB, it is considered to be a user-friendly and free tool where you would be able to manage the digital presence of your business in both Google Maps and Google Maps.
If you are having a Google account, then you can easily use this to claim your business listing. But, in case you are not having a Gmail or Google account, then, first of all, you should create one for claiming your business listing.
By making use of this particular platform, you can choose what the Google users exactly see while searching for your business. This will provide you a much better understanding of your competitors.
Not only that, but you would be able to enhance your brand, local search, SEO, and overall business by creating a GMB page.
All that you need is to visit the particular website i.e. google.com/business for claiming your GMB page.
The next step is to go through the verification procedure. In this regard, Google will send a unique PIN along with a postcard for conforming to the physical location of your firm. So, in this case, it is best to use your home address.
Don’t worry about the security as this can be hidden or masked in your business listing, once you are done with the verification process.
Therefore, the above-given one is a major step to follow for optimizing your GMB listing.
2. Categorizing
Categories help to effectively describe your business. Not only that, but this helps to connect your business easily to the customers who are doing an online search for the services you provide.
So, by proper categorization of your business, you would be able to increase your chances of appearing at the top positions of search results. This particular approach will also help to get new clients.
Google focuses on auto-populating these categories and so, you would not be able to create your own. But, you will find many of the specific categories that are related to your business. You need to choose the relevant one among those to describe your services properly.
In this regard, another imperative thing to keep in mind is that your primary category should effectively describe your business.
Again, to describe more specific services, you can focus on adding extra categories. Not only that, but you also get the option to add a short business description that will appear in the search results.
3. Business Description
After logging into your GMB account, you should tap on the “Info” button present on the left menu bar. Then, you will see that one of the new sections appears as “Add business description”.
In this regard, you should focus on clicking on this option. A menu will appear which will allow you to add a detailed description of your business in 750 characters. Another important thing is to add relevant keywords in your Google My Business description.
In this case, you need to think about the specific words used by the customers whenever they try to find your business. You should again use similar keywords all through the website and also in the blog posts.
4. Adding Photos
Photos are considered to be more engaging than the text. So, you should necessarily focus on adding photos on your GMB page. Businesses that use photos on their GMB listings receive more clicks on their websites.
A picture works much better than thousand words which can effectively convey many business characteristics when compared to the text. Therefore, it is very important to use images for conveying your brand and also answer many important questions about your business.
All that you need is to make use of high-quality images in your listing to show your professionalism. So, this is considered be the best way to show your business to virtual visitors.
For optimal performance, it is recommended to use about 3 to 6 photos to your GMB listing. Nowadays, GMB also offers virtual tours and so, you can even focus on creating a 360-degree virtual tour by hiring a photographer who is Google approved.
5. Localizing
Whenever you are focusing to create a GMB page, Google will specifically ask you to search for your business. In case, you found that your business is already listed, then you need to claim it. This will help to save your time. Another best way to localize your GMB page is to list a phone number specifically with a local area code.
This particular approach will allow GMB to validate your listing. Apart from that, you should be consistent with your listing information such as phone number, address, and name across all online platforms such as social media, your business website, and GMB.
6. Getting Reviews
Every time we look for a new product, we majorly rely on the reviews. In this regard, GMB can be regarded as a great way of building trust. Not only that, but it contributes to providing more personal testimony of your work.
A vast majority of consumers trust online reviews before buying any product or opting for any services.
Reviews help people to get an idea about the quality of service which your business is offering. Not only that, but this also helps to rank your GMB page higher in the search results.
7. Setting Your Service Areas
Currently, Google provides you the option to list multiple service areas within your GMB listing. So, irrespective of the physical location of your business, you can add different service areas. In this aspect, you should set your service area to a region, city, or zip code.
Also, if applicable, you can apply multiple service areas to your business so that Google can focus on equally ranking them.
Final Words
So, the above-discussed ones are considered to be the best ways which you should follow for optimizing your GMB Listing in 2021.
Claiming your business is important so that, you can verify and edit information related to your business. Therefore, in 2021, it is a very important step to boost your online presence along with your SEO rankings.