Did you know Google My Business (GMB) is still one of the most important and FREE tools you can use to promote your business!
Why?
Your business listing appears in Google Maps, to the right of the screen in a Google Search (if searched by name) and also in the Google Local Search results
By having a GMB page it means you can get in front of more potential customers that are searching for your product or service
To qualify for a listing your business must have a physical location if it doesn’t don’t work you can still have a service area business listing.
Getting Started:
Search for your business on Google Maps.
If it hasn’t been claimed and you see the text “Claim this business” click on it and claim it by verifying your address or phone number.
Already listed and showing as claimed don’t worry you can request ownership. Google will then send an email on your behalf. Follow the steps through that they outline until you have ownership of the listing.
If there’s no listing for your business then add your business listing and verify it using phone or postcard.
DO NOT set up a new listing without trying to claim ownership of an existing listing.
If you come across duplicate listings for your business make sure you claim the duplicate one/s too.
Once you’ve done that you can delete the duplicate ones from your Google Account.
If you can’t claim the duplicate listing report it to Google on Google Maps by suggesting an edit and then listing duplicate as the reason.
Once your business is verified you can fill out all the information for your listing.
Make sure you add as much detail as possible! Your business name should be the business name you operate under.
TOP TIP:
MAKE SURE THE NAME ADDRESS and PLACE (MAP INFO) ON YOUR WEBSITE MATCHES UP WITH YOUR GOOGLE LISTING, FACEBOOK PAGE and ANY OTHER DIRECTORY ENTRIES OR PLACES ON THE WEB IT IS LISTED TO HELP WITH SEO AS GOOGLE IS THEN ABLE TO CONNECT THEM ALL!
INFO:
Here’s where you’ll go more into detail now about all the information required to complete your listing as best you can:
Categories
Google allows you to select 10 categories out of a huge 3000 for your listing!
Your primary category is the only one that will show on your public profile (it’s also the one given preference on the algorithm) so please choose this one wisely and pick the one that closest represents your business and the one you want to be found online for.
Secondary Categories
Don’t feel like you need to have all 10, only add ones that are relevant to what you do.
Hours
Add your regular hours first & make sure you show exactly when you’re open and closed.
More Hours
Here you can add any special hours e.g. if you have a happy hour or services available at certain times.
Special Hours
Here you can add closed dates and times for holidays, special events etc.
Phone Number
This needs to be your primary business number (Google uses this to confirm your NAP mentioned earlier so it needs to be the same across all listings and directory entries)
Website
Add your website URL here e.g. https://www.gemmawaltonmktg.co.uk/
Products
Depending on what you do you might want to add “Products” to your GMB listing to sell directly.
Not all listings qualify for product listings so if you do have access to this section then it’s worth filling it in even if you don’t sell online you can still list your products and get them seen.
Services
This section will allow you to add a breakdown of the services you offer along with their price. Please make sure you add all the information you can
Attributes
This section changes frequently. Make sure you keep checking this section and updating it when there are any changes.
You might want to add attributes like “staff wear masks” “online classes” “wheelchair accessible” “cash only” if you don’t accept credit cards.
Some of the attributes will be subject to your listing and business category.
Business Description
Use this section to add content about your business itself, what you do, how long you’ve been open, what you specialise in, why they should use you etc.
Don’t just stuff keywords here, make it readable and really show off your business personality.
Opening Date
Add the date you started trading or your business opened
Messages
Turn on the messages tab to let potential customers message you from Google Maps and Search.
This will allow them to contact you directly via your Google My Business page.
Once you’ve enabled this a message box will appear on your listing.
Make sure you read the guidelines for this as Google recommend you have a 24hr response time. If you don’t comply to these and the response time you might find yourself banned from using this feature
Photos
Logo - make sure you add your logo in JPEG or PNG format ideally 250x250 pixels (5mb max)
Cover Image – this is the image you want people to see first. It’s a great way to introduce your business. Ideally 1080x608 pixels (5mb max)
***Even if you add a cover image Google will still automatically move your pictures round and you cannot control the order they are displayed)***
Other Images – when adding images try to add ones that show off your business and are helpful to those searching e.g. front of the building, your shopfront, inside the building, waiting area, your staff members, you, products, services, basically anything you think shows off your business and helps you
Video
To make your GMB page really standout add video. This is something that is really underutilised by people when adding their page. Google love you to use video. It doesn’t help with SEO but it does help with engagement of your page which in turn gives more credit to your listing
Duration: Up to 30 secs long
Size: Up to 75mb
Resolution: 720p or higher
GMB Website
Did you know you can build a simple, optimised, free website with your GMB listing? Themes and styles are limited and you won’t get a customised URL but it’s a great feature if you’re a new business that’s just starting out!
GMB Posts
Did you know you can share posts to your listing?
Just like social media you can create and share a post on your listing e.g. a promotion, event, offer etc. that links to your website, phone number etc.
Posts show on your listing and also appear in search results.
GMB Reviews
Reviews are important and help with SEO so you want to be asking for them as often as you can.
But you also need to make sure you respond to them in a timely manner.
To respond to new reviews go to the “Reviews” tab in your dashboard and then the “Haven’t Replied”
Here you can thank people for a positive review and respond to any concerns in any less favourable ones.
If it’s a bad review it’s always best to respond and offer to take the issues off line to remedy rather than ignore as you want to be seen to be helping that person resolve their complaint.
Don’t forget - you can also import your GMB listing into Bing Places so you’re listed on that search engine too! All you need to do is go to:
Struggling with Google My Business? I can help!
If you’re looking for help or support for a marketing project to help your business grow by improving your online presence, please check out the Digital Marketing Services I Provide.
Not sure or want to have a chat about this in more detail then please Contact Me directly.
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