Google Juice
Make Sure You Have a Google My Business (GMB)
Having a well-structured and active Google My Business (GMB) profile is essential for any brick and mortar operation. It’s free and your business or professional persona appears in local search results for queries specific to your products or services. However, there are some steps you need to take to make sure your profile is accurate and your GMB page is working to its fullest potential!
The way GMB works is when a surfer specifies a location (and they do a lot) in their search, Google tries to provide results that are in that physical location. Even if you don’t specify a location, Google knows by the surfers IP address where they are when entering the search and the search results will show local listings first.
So, as you can see when looking at any GMB, the question is “how did these business get in the top three or better yet - their GMB alone on page one?” The method for showing up in these local results is based on a strategy, and elements that Google looks for in your listing. If you follow the steps listed below, you may be able to improve your rank in the top of these results. And, maybe achieve your own stand alone GMB for your location and keywords, but it isn't easy, however the effort is well worth it even is you don't have full success...
If you don’t know whether you currently have a GMB page, enter a search for your business name, or the type of business. If a page for your business shows up in the results, either claim it or log into the Google account associated with your Google My Business Page.
If you don’t yet have a GMB page, get one and start building yours right way. It’s not difficult, business name or dba, address and phone number (NAP) are the key criteria. These three elements MUST match what’s on your website or Google will penalize your GMB ranking!
Other criteria you can add to your listing include business hours, description, services, etc. Keywords you want to rank for can be used in some of these fields to improve SEO.
Optimize Your Website
I know you didn’t think you could claim your GMB listing and show up in the top three listings without more work; or did you? To improve your chances, you’ll need to implement local SEO on your site.
It’s not a coincidence that the first local site in search results is also the number one link. If you emphasize local identifiers in your website, this can help you improve your local SEO rankings. For example, include the cities you serve and any geographical area you cover by specifying them in your web links or blogs landing pages.
Ensure Consistency
Do a painstaking verification that your name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent across your website. Anywhere they are specified on the site—contact page, header, footer—they MUST be the same. Also, they need to be in text, not image form. Why? Because Google scans text, and not so much pictures although Googles imaging technology is getting better all the time! While we’re on images, make sure your blog’s images are well detailed for local, description and title explaining each image.
Next, you need to look outside your site wherever your business NAP are listed like your social media profiles, ie LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Alignable, etc. If your business is listed in directories or other websites online, you need to make sure those listings are consistent with what’s on your site and GMB.
Get Listed on Directories
Speaking of directories, getting your name on relevant listings and sites goes a long way toward SEO. You may already be on some directory sites, but need to verify your listing there. You can find relevant directories by searching for them along with your city or region, e.g., “[Your City] business directories”.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Once you find directories you think are relevant to your business, start signing up. Many are free, but some charge a fee or require membership. Simply put, directories helps get your business found more; just make sure your NAP is consistent across them all.
Add Google Maps to Your Website
If you embed the Google map on your site, Google knows you’re legitimately where you say you are. The tool used for building your website dictates how you will embed the map. Some even include the capability as part of the theme, or a plug-in can be used. You can get more instructions by checking out the Google Maps Help site.
Get Reviews
Great and positive reviews are important in many ways. The more you have, the better Google considers your business and my experiences tell me you need at least five. Make sure they are from real people and don’t be afraid to ask your friends on Facebook or your connections at LinkedIn to give you a recommendation.
How to get good reviews is a separate topic, but for this blog, let’s just say that it’s important to have them. Make it easy for your customers to give reviews; give them access to your site to write testimonials. Maybe on an email receipt you’d want to send a follow-up email to request feedback; send them a survey and provide them a GMB link asking for a review that’s provided when you set up your GMB . All of these methods and more allow you to accumulate reviews. But they need to be legitimate—don’t make them up or buy them. It may fool Google for a minute, but it will catch up with you sooner or later.
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