Once you go through the process of claiming and verifiying your GMB listing displayed on Google maps, you can start the process of optimizing your listing so that you will start to come up higher in the local 3 pack when someone near your address searches for home improvement related services and adds the geo-locator “near me”.
You want to make sure your business name is listed the same way it will be listed on every directory and citation source online. Your information must be the same on your GMB profile, your website, blog, social media profiles and everywhere else. Ensuring your business name, address and phone number (NAP) is consistent throughout the Internet can have a huge impact on your GMB ranking.
Confirm your NAP on your GMB Listing
Ensure your address is consistent with all other citations including your website and social media profiles. Make sure your primary business phone number is consistent with all other citations including your website and social media profiles. This becomes an issue with special tracking phone numbers used in AdWords.
Relevancy is the number #1 thing Google looks for, so you want to be sure you tell Google exactly what industry you work in and any sub-categories as well. Although Google has verified your physical address, many companies especially in the service industry, such as bathroom refilters and kitchen remodeling contractors work at a customer’s site or location. As such, makes sure Google knows where you will provide services so you can rank in those towns too.
Many businesses have multiple websites. Make sure to list your primary website for your business and not a landing page from any PPC campaign. If you have more then one location, you should have a separate URL for each town and that way you can link to each town on each GMB profile.
It is important to list your hours for each day you are open. Your GMB profile will tell someone who searches for your business if you are currently open at the time they search. This is especially important if you have holidays that you work.
Display your physical location and geo-tag that image to rank higher for your town. You also want to add images of your services and products as well as your employees along with tags that describe what the photo depicts along with a local area modifier such as your city name. Note, Google does not allow photoshop filters on images of locations and all images should be under 5 MB.
The most important area outside of your photos is your business description because this will not only tell Google what your business does, but also tells a potential customer what you do. This goes to the relevancy concern on searches for keywords that may not be in your description. Keep in mind, Google is smart and can find synonyms during that search process.
Many people will make the decision to bypass your GMB listing on the map if there are no reviews or 5-star ratings. It is critical that you start asking your customers to review your business right away. In your Google my business account, click on the “Home” section in the main menu. From there, click on the “Get More Reviews” section. Copy the URL that appears in this section. You can use this Google review link in your emails, text and messenger bot outreach to provide an easy way for your clients to submit a review.
The final piece to optimize your GMB is to make your first company post. List news or specials that your company is offering in the post section. You should update this business posts frequently, as new content can improve rankings.
Now that you have optimized your GMB, each month you want to add fresh content so that Google and those searching know your company is still active and prospering.
