Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. GMB listings provide customers with essential information about a business, including its name, address, phone number, website, business hours, reviews, and photos. In recent years, GMB has become an essential part of any local SEO strategy, as it can significantly impact a business’s visibility, reputation, and sales.
In this article, we’ll cover the best practices for using your Google My Business listing to drive customers and sales. We’ll cover the following topics:
- Creating and claiming your GMB listing
- Optimizing your GMB profile
- Leveraging Google posts
- Encouraging customer reviews
- Monitoring and responding to reviews
- Using GMB insights to track performance
- Leveraging GMB for customer acquisition and retention
- Conclusion
- Creating and claiming your GMB listing
If you’re a business owner, the first step to using GMB to drive customers and sales is to create and claim your GMB listing. To create a new listing, follow these steps:
- Go to Google My Business and click “Start now.”
- Sign in to your Google account or create a new one.
- Enter your business name and address.
- Choose your business category.
- Enter your business phone number and website.
- Choose your verification method (by mail, phone, or email).
Once you’ve created your GMB listing, the next step is to claim it. Claiming your listing allows you to verify that you’re the business owner, which gives you more control over your listing and access to additional features, such as Google posts and insights.
To claim your listing, follow these steps:
- Sign in to your GMB account.
- Find your business listing and click “Manage now.”
- Follow the instructions to verify your listing.
- Optimizing your GMB profile
After you’ve created and claimed your GMB listing, the next step is to optimize it to improve its visibility, accuracy, and appeal. Optimizing your GMB profile involves the following:
- Adding accurate and detailed information: Ensure that your business name, address, phone number, website, business hours, and business category are accurate and up-to-date. Add other relevant information, such as a description of your business, photos of your products or services, and a virtual tour of your business (if applicable).
- Using high-quality photos: Add high-quality photos of your business, products, and services that showcase your brand and offerings. Use photos that are well-lit, well-composed, and have good resolution.
- Providing consistent NAP information: NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. Ensure that your NAP information is consistent across all online directories, including your website, social media accounts, and GMB listing. Inconsistent NAP information can confuse search engines and hurt your SEO efforts.
- Using keywords: Include relevant keywords in your business name, description, and category. Use keywords that describe your business and offerings, and that customers might use to search for your business online.
- Setting up messaging and booking features: Enable messaging and booking feature.