What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free tool for businesses to manage their Google presence and interact directly with potential customers on Google. It is one of the most important SEO tools for optimizing local visibility, which is becoming more represented in Google search results.
Business data from Google My Business is typically displayed in what is called a "Google Local Pack" or "Google Snack Pack", which consists of three business results and an associated map. It appears at the top of search results for local searches (i.e. searches for physical businesses) immediately below any ads. Here is an example of a Local Pack:
This also means that not much attention is left for the regular organic search results on local searches - because they are hidden under first a series of ads and then a Local Pack. In other words, Google My Business can have a greater impact with visibility on local searches than in the organic search results.
Benefits of using Google My Business
Specifically, there are three main benefits of using Google My Business. These three are:
- More visibility on Google. Your business is more likely to appear on Google Maps searches if you have a Google My Business account. When you search for specific industries, such as "SEO agency", you will find that some businesses will appear based on your location on Google Maps. If the user is in the area of your SEO agency, they are more likely to see your agency in the search results if you have a Google My Business account.
- Gain credibility with user reviews. The majority of users on Google read reviews of local businesses to find out what's best. If you have a Google My Business account, you have the option to let users write a review about your business. The better your business rating, the more likely it is that users will seek out your business.
- Sharing company information with customers. You have the opportunity to inform users about important and useful information such as opening hours and contact information.
Optimizing Google My Business
Just as Google has an algorithm for ranking businesses in organic search results, Google has an algorithm for ranking businesses in Local Pack (including Google Maps). There are basically three parameters that determine the visibility of your business:
- Relevance. Relevance is a measure of how well your Google My Business business profile matches what the user is searching for. You can increase the relevance of your profile by providing complete business information so that Google can better understand your business and match your profile with relevant searches.
- Distance. Distance is an expression of how far your business location is from the user's location. If the user has searched for a place name, Google will calculate the distance to the place name instead of the user's own location.
- Distribution. Reputation is a measure of how well known your business is. Google uses a wide range of parameters to assess how well known your business is, including number of mentions, searches for your business name, links to your website, positive reviews and your business visibility in organic search results.
Reviews are not only important for your visibility in Local Pack, but also for users' perception of your business. That's why it's important that you comment on all reviews so that potential customers can see that customers who have had a bad experience are listened to and taken care of. Google knows that no one is infallible, so you won't be penalized for a few bad reviews.
Google My Business and local marketing
Google My Business is not your business profile, but a tool that you can use to enhance your business profile to increase its visibility and effectiveness. You can use your Google My Business as a local marketing tool in the following four areas:
1. Engage with consumers
There are many ways for consumers to interact with your business profile and then you use your Google My Business account to interact with them. You can respond to reviews, answer questions, enable direct messaging and create associated alerts.
Tip: Did you know that you can also use your Google My Business to publish posts to your business profile, just like you would on Facebook, for example.
2. Highlight your business
A business profile doesn't actually hold a lot of information, but you can and should expand with more information. Through your Google My Business account dashboard, you can set busy/less busy times, add a link to your website, products and prices, attributes and other details that make your business unique. It's also your Google My Business that you need to use if you want to make changes, updates, etc.
3. Insight
If you want to gain more insight into your audience and local search performance, you can use your Google My Business dashboard. Under the analytics tab, you can see what customers are using to find your business profile whether they found you on Google Maps or with a Google Search, an overview of the actions that were taken on your listing, and how your photos compare to other profiles in your category.
4. Local SEO
If you've worked with Google for a long time, you've probably realized that Google's algorithm is big. Google has algorithms for ranking its ads and websites, but also one for ranking business profiles. In your Google My Business dashboard, you can incorporate keywords into your business profile to rank in local search results.
How does Google My Business help my local SEO?
As mentioned earlier, Google My Business is a powerful tool for local SEO. By using Google My Business, there are certain things that you have the opportunity to improve by using Google My Business. These include the following, among others:
- Improving your search ranking and the visibility of your business. When you create your account in Google My Business, you'll be greeted with a checklist from Google that explains which tools you should use to improve your search ranking and visibility on Google. If you follow the checklist, chances are your business will improve its search ranking and visibility on Google.
- Improving traffic. When people search for specific products and services, they will often click on the websites that are at the top of the search results, regardless of which website it is.
- Opportunity to reach a wider audience. Based on user reviews of your business, if you have a high score based on user reviews, more users are more likely to visit your business website. For example, if your overall rating is 4.5, it sends a signal to users that your business is good and trustworthy. This increases the likelihood that they will visit your website.
Frequently asked questions about Google My Business
Google My Business is a tool that can be used to manage and stay updated on your company's visibility on Google. If you want more optimal local visibility, Google My Business is the best free SEO tool on the market. You have the opportunity to provide useful information to users about your business, create more credibility by letting your customers write reviews about your business and achieve better visibility on Google Maps. When you register your business, you are given the option to choose whether or not your business has a physical address. This means that you are not required to have a location. However, you do have the option to segment the areas you want to serve so that users within your business location will see your business. Registering your business on Google My Business is completely free and all the tools available in Google My Business are also free to use. It can take up to 7 business days for Google to verify your business.
