Google My Business Optimization

Once you have claimed your Google My Business listing, you’ll want to optimize it so that you can get the most benefit out of it. Here are some things you can do to make your Google My Business listing perform better.

• Business Name: Use your real business name, don’t stuff keywords into this area.
• Address: When updating the address, you have the option of entering the address, service area, or both.
  • If they serve customers only at their business address and do not travel to their customers enter their address and do not add a service area.
  • If they serve customers at their business address but also travel to their customers, enter both their address and their service area.
  • If they don’t serve customers at their business address but instead they travel to their customers, leave the address field blank and only enter the service area.
    • Service Area Businesses: https://support.google.com/business/answer/9157481?hl=en
• Phone: Use a local phone number, not a toll-free number if you can.
  • If you are using a tracking number on the GMB listing, put the GMB tracking number in the ‘Primary phone’ field, and then, put the real business phone number in the first ‘Additional phone’ field.
• Categories: Adding more categories often results in an increase in ranking and clicks because you now show up for more related queries. Choose the most accurate categories for the business. You will most likely have to search for possible categories in the GMB category search.
  • https://searchengineland.com/7-things-you-might-not-know-about-google-my-business-categories-310312
• Hours: Include your business hours. This is very useful for customers who want to call or drop by your business.
• Photos: Add as many great photos of your business as you can. These could include photos of jobs you’ve done, your team members, your office, menu, etc.
• Business Description: Create a short description about the business or copy and paste one from their website.
• Services: Add at least three services with short descriptions. Copy and paste there from their website if needed.
• Posts: This is a feature that allows you to post an article or news about your business. You could post something like an upcoming event or a new business accomplishment. Try to post something at least once a week if you can as it may help GMB rankings. But make sure the information is useful to the people who are going to read it. Don’t just post something for the sake of posting.
• Reviews: You’ll want to try to collect reviews from your customers. Don’t offer any incentives in exchange for reviews. You want them to be real reviews. Once you have built up your reviews, your Google My Business listing will start showing a star rating. This catches the eye of your potential customers and can help your Google My Business listing rank better.