Google Medic Update -

GMB Optimization Strategies For 2020

Any business needs to have online visibility to attract potential customers and stay relevant in the market space. Studies indicate that more than 60 % of the customers search online about any business before making a purchase decision. Hence a business must rank higher in the SERPs to attract the attention of the customers. Else there are higher chances that they get swayed by the competition without even coming to know about your products or services.

Search Engine Optimization initiatives do help to improve the ranking of your business and help gain more traction. Most of the activities of gaining higher visibility are done by optimizing the website to make it SEO friendly or by opting for Google Ads, which help to reach a targeted audience. However, there is another option that can be leveraged to gain more visibility – Google My Business (GMB). Effective GMB optimization strategies can significantly help in bringing organic traffic to your business. Google Business Profile provides a snapshot of your business by highlighting salient aspects of your business, which enables customers to get a quick and overview understanding of your business.

There are many advantages that your business can gain by GMB optimization:

Gain higher engagement: The information provided on your Google Business profile offers insights into your business, which the potential customers can interact with and gain perspective. Since the customers are made aware of your business, there are higher chances that this can lead to conversions.
Improve local Ranking: Studies indicate that 80 % of customers search for local businesses for products and services. By using GMB optimization, you can improve Google Local ranking and rank higher in the local search results, thereby gaining more visibility.
Higher chances of conversion: Through GMB listing optimization, the customers would be able to find you in the local searches and can engage with you through the various listed platforms. With the snapshot of the information, they can be enticed to contact you or check out your website. This can help them to make an informed decision. Hence an optimized GMB page can help to gain more customers than a regular one.

Since we now understand that GMB Optimization is important, the bigger question is “How to optimize GMB?” One of the many impacts of a COVID-19 effected world is the increased emphasis for the business to have an online presence. It has become all the more critical that the companies gain more visibility online to expand their customer base and engage with them.

Here is a list of strategies on how to optimize google my business in 2020

Claim Google My Business Account

A Google Business Account is needed to access and optimize your Google Business Profile. For the GMB optimization to take shape, the first step is to create a Google Business Account. The process is a simple one. All you need to do is to go to Google.com/Business and sign in with the Gmail account that you use for your business. It is advisable to have a separate mail for the business.

Update the complete information

Completed Google Business Profile has more chances of ranking higher in the local searches. Apart from this, a completed profile helps your customers in having more information about your business. A few of the vital information that you ought to ensure to provide includes – Name, Address, Phone, Website, Business Hours, etc.

Once this necessary information is updated, you can spend some more effort into updating essential details about the nature of your business. These include the different products and services offered by you, the type of business, its attributes. You can put a section for FAQs, which would provide more information about your business and helps customers with any of the queries that they have.

Updating the profile is not a one-time activity. To make it more engaging and informative, regularly update posts about your business about the information that needs to be communicated. Encouraging customers to post Google Reviews about your business can help to assign validity to your business.

Write a clear and precise description of your business.

There is a “from the business” section in your Google My Business account dashboard. You can locate it under the reviews section. While the brief description that you find below your business name is not in your control, the ‘from the business” section is something that you can optimize.

A few of the GMB Optimization techniques that you use to better optimize this section includes:

- Update the key information of your business in the first third of the space available. Utilize the full space of 750 words to write about your business.
- Conduct a Keyword Research for your GMB optimization and identify the keywords that resonate with your target audience. Use these keywords in the description of your business.
- Avoid repetitions. Repeated information tends to put off the customers who are going through your profile and discourages them from continuing exploring it. Make the content simple, unique, and informative.

Visual sense has a more lasting impact on people. Adding photos to your Google My Business profile can attract more customers to your page and can also communicate a lot of information, which is not feasible through words.

This is one key aspect that needs to be on your GMB Optimization Checklist. There are many benefits in taking up this activity as part of GMB optimization. For starters, you have the control to show what you intend to show by uploading important high-quality images that are a reflection of your business. By being regular with updating of the photos, you are indicating that the profile is active. Your business can leverage on the image search results, directing relevant image searches to your business pages. Studies suggest that business profiles with photos tend to attract more customers.

However, it would be best if you were smart with the strategy to update the photographs.

Fix a schedule and be prompt in updating the photos every few days.
For the cover photo, use an image that best represents your business.
Use your photos and refrain from using stock photos.
Ensure that the photos are of higher quality.
Geo-tagging your photos can help to appear in the searches.
Use Google 360 and Google Street View

Select a Category

Another crucial part of GMB optimization is to choose a category for your business. This helps in adding specificity to business and optimize the search results. A significant portion of the views of Business Profile is from those searches where the customer has searched for a specific service, product or word that is relevant to your business.

By adding the category, you increase the chances for a search engine algorithm to pick your business and rank it higher in these particular searches. You can highlight the critical attributes for the category you are catering to so that the customers can discover you for any specific requirement that they are looking for.

Few of the key aspects that you need to look out for GMB optimization of category include– being specific, including secondary attributes of your business etc.

Gain Google Reviews

Nothing does better for your business than the right word about it. Google reviews create a perfect platform for prospective customers to know about your business. Since it is the customers who provide the reviews, these tend to be more trustworthy.

Putting in efforts to optimize Google Business Profile with Google Reviews does go a long way in enhancing the online reputation of your business. You can enlist the services of Digital marketing Company, who can help with Google Reviews for GMB optimization.

Some of the GMB optimization strategies that you can use for getting Google Reviews include:

Reach out to your existing and long-term customers to provide reviews. More than 60 % of customers tend to write reviews when asked for.
Simplify the process for the customers to be able to provide a review.
Proactively encourage any of the new customers to leave a review of their experience. You can point it out that such reviews would help other first-time customers looking out for any of the products and services as they were.
Respond to the reviews posted. This encourages others to post their thoughts and also helps in creating engagement.

Reviews help in improving Google Local ranking, that translates into more customers, potentially knowing and reaching out to you.

Post to your Business Profile

You can use the Google Business Profile to create posts about important updates and information regarding your business. These posts can include details of new products or services, events, offers etc. These posts which you create on Google My Business appear on the Updates section at the bottom of your Business Profile.

Any particular related searches can direct potential customers to your profile. For example, if anyone is searching for offers, and you have a post about the proposal on a service or product that they are looking for. Regular posts would encourage the customers to follow your profile to be abreast of the updates.

The key is to ensure that the posting is done regularly.

GMB optimization is beneficial in boosting your local business profile. Hiring an SEO agency can help in optimizing your Google Business Profile. Still, you should know that it is a continuous process, and the involvement of the business owners plays a crucial part. Google My Business Optimization services can take you to an extent, which needs to be coupled by a continuation plan of regular updating and optimization. Google My Business is like a shopfront, quality, and regular information helps to ensure higher engagement from customers, which can translate into potential business down the line.