A Guide to Set Up Google My Business

Help your Business Reach Up the Rank Ladder

Today’s customers require quick information and service. A traditional business might see this characteristic as hard to serve. Therefore such ventures tend to collapse in the face of new technology. But businesses that have successfully adjusted with the current times always see the potential in new tools. The internet is an amazing space where you are provided with a bunch of free tools to drive customers to your business. Even if your business already has a well established online presence, you can still use these tools to enhance its productivity and increase web traffic.

“Google My Business” is one such tool that can be used to help your business improve its search result rankings. The following image shows a business with a sound Google business profile.

Presenting your business according to the above method results in a lot of benefits including increased sales. If your business profile does not look like that yet, it’s time to make it happen. \Having a well-optimized Google My Business account helps your customers to find you in keyword searches, reach your website, view your products and services, and contact you with less hassle. But it has to be noted that your Google Business Profile is another entity that is later connected to your GMB account. Therefore, let’s get started with GMB.

Step 1 - Log into your Google My Business Account. You can sign in through your regular Google/Gmail account. Make sure it is the account that you are using for business purposes.

Step 2 - Complete every section. Completing each section results in providing your customers with more relevant information. Therefore, make certain that the following information is filled in your GMB account.

• Name
• Address
• Phone
• Website
• Hours

Be exact with your contact information. Refrain from using location names to the names of our brand name unless it appears the same on your signage. Your customers need more information and ways to reach you. You are just getting started. Therefore take your time and invest more thought into filling up the following details.

• Category and Attributes
• Products and Services
• From the Business
• Questions and Answers(Owner Generated)

The two sets of information you updated this way will be followed by a consumer-generated section which will comprise posts, questions and answers (Customer Generated), and reviews. It will appear on the result page once the submissions are completed.

Step 3 - Write your “From the Business” description. Please note that this is not the description that appears under the business name of your business profile. Google takes the liberty of coming up with that description. The description that appears under the reviews section is the one that you have control over. Therefore, take your time to make it perfect.Follow the following tips to fully optimize the “From the Business” section of your business profile.

• Including key information in the first 250 characters, make sure you use all the 750 characters for the description.
• Use Keywords. Look from the customers’ point of view.
• Refrain from using links or HTML

Step 4 - Choose a category. This is one of the most important parts of the optimization process since your products will appear in discovery searches based on the category you choose. If your business name does not specifically highlight your service, this feature will be of great help. It is important to be concerned about the following points when selecting a category.

• Highlight category-specific features. The category you choose will be provided with a set of features that are unique to that category.
• Be specific. For example, a restaurant not being specific about its speciality will end up in a lot of irrelevant searches. An Indian restaurant does not have to find itself in a list of American restaurants if the categorising is done right. GMB presents you with over 3000 categories to help you become more specific about your business when optimizing your profile.
• Select secondary categories. Define your services further.

Step 5 - Select attributes. They add more colour to your service and succeed in catching your customers’ eye. This will include shop features such as Delivery, Dine-In, Happy Hour, In-store pickup, etc. These attributes can be used to display the available payment methods too.

Step 6 - Add photos. Consider it as a good first impression. More than the details you provide in words, this way your customers are delivered with real images of your business marking its originality while erasing a lot of doubts. The following key points have to be understood when adding pictures to your business profile

• Google’s advanced image recognition system presents your images to local results.
• It is important to update new images to this profile. Keeping these images up-to-date will have a positive impact on your ranking.
• According to studies, businesses with more than 100 photos get 520% more calls, 2717% more direction requests, and 106%% more website clicks than an average business.
• Updating your profile with a new image at least once a week will support good optimization.
• Always follow Google’s photo guidelines.
• Add a 360° photo to your profile.

Step 7- Get reviews. Almost every potential customer arrives at a perception about your business by reading former customer reviews. This plays a key role with google rankings. The algorithm is well defined when the first three local results to appear in a search are the ones with multiple reviews and solid star ratings. If your reviews contain keywords, they will further help you reach up the ladder.

You can add a CTA section tagged along with a reviews page on your website. This will encourage your customers to help keep the reviews coming. Responding to your Google reviews increases the engagement of your business profile. An active review section does not only benefit your business, but also potential customers who seek more information about it.

Step 8 - Add products and services to your profile. This motivates online purchase. These products can be linked to your website’s product category sections. When updating your profile with products, make sure to include the name, description and price of each product.

Step 9 - Set up messaging options. This provides your customers with a great opportunity to keep in touch with you. The feature allows shoppers to text you through your Google business profile. To activate this option, select the “Messaging” tab on your Google My Business dashboard. You can also download the dedicated app through Google Play or the Apple app store.

If you followed these 9 steps, you have successfully optimized our Google business profile. Now your business can collaborate with the search engine algorithms to present itself on top of local searches. Please note that key elements such as reviews and ratings take time. Therefore give your business profile time to glow. With proper updates and maintenance of your Google business profile, your business will meet improved sales and customer reach. Good Luck!