Ok, maybe you don\u2019t do the last part\u2026 but you should!<\/p>\n
Being able to quickly find the location of any business near you is a huge convenience that is easy to take for granted. And it\u2019s all thanks to those businesses signing up for a Google My Business page.<\/p>\n
Google My Business is a valuable tool for getting your business in front of local customers who are searching for your products and services.<\/p>\n
The 11 steps below are key for making sure your Google My Business page ranks above all the rest.<\/p>\n
When you think about using search engine optimization (SEO) to benefit your business, you likely focus on getting your website to rank in Google\u2019s results using various content and keyword strategies. With local SEO and Google My Business, there\u2019s a bit of a twist.<\/p>\n
When you search \u201cice cream shops near me\u201d you\u2019ll see a big map at the top of your screen in addition to information on shops listed in the main search results such as the name, address, website, phone number, and reviews for each business.<\/p>\n
What many people don\u2019t realize is that the information does not come from the a business\u2019s website\u2026 it comes from their Google My Business profile page. If you don\u2019t have a page set up then you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to get in front of customers.<\/p>\n
Google My Business pages are free and take about 20 minutes create. Click here to learn more and get set up today.<\/p>\n
*Tip: Make sure to verify your business listing. It\u2019s the last step and an important one to ensure you\u2019re the owner of your page so that you (and no one else) can make edits to your page in the future.<\/p>\n
You may not remember setting up a Google My Business page in the past, but you\u2019d be surprised how many people don\u2019t realize they, or another person from their company, started creating a Google My Business page once before.<\/p>\n
The problem with this is Google hates duplicate content in their search results. They want to provide the most accurate search experience for their users and if a user sees the same information twice, it is a waste of Google\u2019s resources. Creating duplicate listings is against Google\u2019s terms of services and can affect your ability to rank in results.<\/p>\n
To see if you have more than one page, you the Moz Local tool. Type in your business name and address in this tool and it will tell you if there are duplicate listings online. If so, then contact Google to get them removed as soon as possible so they don\u2019t hurt your rankings.<\/p>\n
OK, now let\u2019s take a look at the setup of the actual Google My Business profile page.<\/p>\n
Setting your page up with relevant categories is a critical step to improving your rankings. Categories are like sections of the Yellow Pages. The more sections you are in, the more likely your business information is to get in front of prospects.<\/p>\n
The more relevant categories you choose, the better. But, make sure that the categories you choose are actually <\/em>relevant to your business, it\u2019s against Google terms to include irrelevant categories.<\/p>\n While this step is critical, it\u2019s not extremely easy. You can search in this big list to find all the relevant categories for your business. Another tip is to review the categories other top-ranking local businesses have selected in their profiles and use the same ones.<\/p>\n Go to your website\u2019s contact page and confirm all of your contact information is listed on the page.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important that your business Name, Address, and Phone Number are listed as text- not as an image. Google needs to be able to easily read and verify your contact information and they can\u2019t do that if it\u2019s listed as an image.<\/p>\n In order to ensure they are only showing credible business information, Google compares the information listed on your website and the information on your Google My Business profile page. If your website and profile aren\u2019t displaying the exact information, they\u2019ll think it\u2019s inaccurate, which can hurt your search rankings. Make sure that your website and profile are 100% consistent.<\/p>\n NAP is simply an acronym for N<\/b>ame, A<\/b>ddress, and P<\/b>hone number.<\/p>\n As I mentioned above, it\u2019s important to have the same contact information listed on both your website and your Google My Business page.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not all\u2026<\/p>\n Google also compare the contact information on your website to information listed on other websites across the entire internet.<\/p>\n Your NAP must be the same on every single webpage that lists your contact information. Mainly we\u2019re talking about business directories since those are the types of websites most likely to display your contact information publicly online.<\/p>\n To check for inconsistent NAP, again go use the Moz Local search tool. Simply type in your business information and the tool will quickly tell you if you have any problems.<\/p>\n A citation is the mention of your NAP on another website.<\/p>\n We already noted the importance of consistency across all your online citations. However, there\u2019s still another step.<\/p>\n It\u2019s possible your website isn\u2019t being listed on important directories that could give you more citations and could help raise your rankings in Google.<\/p>\n To check if you\u2019re missing important citations, you can start by using the Moz Local search tool. If you find there are opportunities, then simply add all of your business information to the websites.<\/p>\n Most businesses struggle to get customer reviews online. This is because it takes effort on your customers\u2019 end to write the review.<\/p>\n The problem is that reviews are extremely important to building credibility for your business, which Google likes.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there is no easy solution here. All you can do is continue to ask your customers for reviews (using email, phone calls, and in-person) and make the process as easy as possible for every customer to write a review for you.<\/p>\n Of those 3 methods, I\u2019ve found that asking via email \u2014 along with a link to the review page \u2014 is the most effective method, because your customer doesn\u2019t have to find your profile, you\u2019re leading them right to it.<\/p>\n Getting positive reviews will likely be a slow process, but over time it adds up and will give you a real competitive advantage that is difficult to replicate.<\/p>\n When Google updates their algorithm they continually incorporate more signals, including the content on your website.<\/p>\n Your website plays an important role in how high your Google My Business profile will rank in the search results. If you think about it from Google\u2019s perspective this makes a lot of sense. Google\u2019s goal is to send searchers to the most relevant webpage for their search.<\/p>\n Websites with more content provide more value and are likely a better fit for searcher\u2019s questions. Make sure to review all of your key webpages and make sure they have at least 500 words of relevant content.<\/p>\n Links from other high-quality, relevant websites are hugely important to SEO and have also become important for Google\u2019s local ranking algorithm.<\/p>\n This means that while having an optimized Google My Business profile page and relevant citations are important, they\u2019re not the only factor. You also have to invest in tactics to get high quality, relevant links.<\/p>\n This is not always easy to do and requires some effort. But, if you\u2019re publishing and promoting great content then other websites are going to want to link to it. This may be more time consuming but will create lasting effects that will be a huge help for your business.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a lot of debate about whether social media activity is one of the signals Google uses to rank businesses.<\/p>\n Regardless of whether you agree or not, there\u2019s no denying the fact that social media is a great opportunity to create more exposure and buzz about your business.<\/p>\n Social media is also a great way to promote the content you\u2019ve created and get high-quality links back to your site.<\/p>\n Searches are officially done more on mobile devices than on desktop. One of the major reasons for this is the increased searching for local results, which is the entire point of this article.<\/p>\n People are looking for businesses on the go. And even at home, I don\u2019t always want to wait and turn on my computer so it becomes much more convenient to search on my phone.<\/p>\n Way back in April 2015, Google updated their algorithm to include mobile-friendliness signals in their ranking algorithm. But many businesses still haven\u2019t adapted. It is imperative to create a mobile-optimized website in order to compete in the local search results.<\/p>\n4. Make Sure Contact Information On Your Website Is Accurate & In Text Form<\/h2>\n
5. Be Sure Your NAP Information Online Is Consistent<\/h2>\n
6. Check For Missing Citations<\/h2>\n
7. Ask For Customer Reviews<\/h2>\n
8. Have High-Quality Content On Your Website<\/h2>\n
9. Get High-Quality, Relevant Links<\/h2>\n
10. Get Active On Social Media<\/h2>\n
11. Optimize Your Website For Mobile<\/h2>\n
Need Help with Local SEO?<\/h2>\n