According to studies, 90% of people turn to search engines, especially Google, to find something. Therefore, every business must try to gain more visibility on Google. That is how they can achieve more visitors, leads, and conversions.
Whenever you searched on Google, you definitely found some businesses appearing on Google Maps. And when you click on the location icon, you get to see some details about that business. That is what we call Google My Business listing.
If you are a business owner and think that creating a Google My Business listing or a business profile is enough, it is not so. You need to properly manage your GMB profile to use it as a lead generation tool in your SEO.
So, how to make your Google My Business profile work in your favor? And what is even the need for a Google My Business profile? This article will tell you everything about Google My Business that you need to know before creating a Google My Business account and a GMB profile. Yes, a Google My Business account is different from a Google My Business profile. The business account helps you claim ownership of your GMB profile and gives you management rights.
As we mentioned earlier, Google My Business is a tool that allows your business to appear in Google Maps and in local search results. Once you create a Google My Business account, you can make the GMB profile and manage it. And creating a business profile is quite similar to adding a place on Google Maps. The only difference is you require to fill in the profile with the name of your business location and category. Once Google confirms that you are not a duplicate business, your business profile is created for the location you are marking Google Maps.
Though you can manage your business profile, it is open to your consumers to leave reviews, ask questions, add photos, and even answer questions. Additionally, Google can pull on information from across the web and populate your business profile.
By now, you already know what Google My Business is. And this is the time when we will tell you what the benefits of Google My Business are and how to use Google my business for your SEO. There are 4 core ways Google My Business helps you.
To Engage with Your Consumers: Undoubtedly, there are many ways your consumers can reach out your business. But when you use Google My Business, you can connect with them. As we mentioned earlier, anyone can post reviews and ask questions in your Google My Business listing; you can respond to those reviews and answer questions. You can also connect with your potential customers through direct messaging.
Moreover, you can use your Google My Business profile to publish posts on your social media platforms. Now that is quite impressive, right? Read on; there are many such benefits.
To Highlight Your Business: When you create just a business profile on Google, you can offer limited information to your target audience. But you can stand out with a Google My Business account dashboard as it allows you to provide any information such as your business hours, link to your website, your products, prices, and other details that make your business unique. The best part of Google My Business is making easy edits and updates as needed.
To Gain Insight: You definitely don’t want to create your marketing strategies without knowing the results of your previous marketing efforts. Google My Business helps you succeed in gaining critical insights on your local search performance and your audience. There is an analytics tab on the platform to see the queries your customers are using to find your business profile. You can also know whether they found you through search or on Google Maps. The Google My Business profile also shows how your images perform compared to other business profiles in no category.
To Fuel Local SEO: Google has algorithms to rank everything and even to rank your GMB profiles. With the Google My Business dashboard, you can incorporate the right keywords into your business profile and make other changes to help it rank in local results. It is unbelievable but Google My Business has helped many business profiles show up in the coveted 3-pack in lesser time than other SEO efforts did.
As we promised, we will tell you how you can make the best use of Google My Business for SEO. The first thing you need to know about Google My Business profile is dynamic. It means that Google prioritizes sections of your business profile according to the type of information necessary to consumers in your category and the terms that the searchers use while looking for your business. Even Google can embolden keywords in your profile content that it thinks are relevant.
But whatever it may, you can use Google My Business to expand your reach. Here are 3 essential tips to make Google My Business work for SEO:
Target Your Information: You always need to ensure to incorporate some keywords into your Google My Business description so that Google can understand what you are trying to rank for. You also can use those keywords in answers and while responding to reviews.
Maintain Quality Information: The accuracy of your Google My Business profile has a lot of impact on its ranking. So, make sure that you provide the correct information in your Google My Business profile, especially your working hours, contact information, etc.
Build Trust: The last tip to make great use of Google My Business for SEO is to keep your information updated and accurate. When you update your data frequently, it signals to Google that you are active.
Undoubtedly, SEO is the essential element while growing any business online, especially for small businesses that use local targeting to compete against large competitors to appear on the SERPs. Therefore, a Google My Business account is essential if you are trying to maximize your visibility in the local market. Google My Business makes local SEO easier.
Now when you have a clear understanding of exactly what Google My Business is and how it works, this is high time to give this free tool a try. Outshine your competitors and attract more customers by setting up and running your Google My Business account.