“Google Business is no longer optional — it’s an essential part of any business’s online presence and often the first place customers look for up-to-date information about your company.”
-Forbes
Claim and Verify Your Profile: First, claim your profile on Google My Business and verify it by following the verification process. This will ensure that you have full control over your profile and can make necessary updates. You’ll receive a postcard from Google in the mail. PLEASE KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR IT. It has the pin # you need to verify your account.
Provide Accurate and Complete Information: Ensure that your profile displays accurate and complete information about your business, such as your business name, address, phone number, website, description, hours of operation, and categories of services or products you offer. Filling out the contact information is important since many customers will stay on your profile and may never click through to your website. Make sure your information is accurate and updated frequently. If your business is closed on specific holidays, you can manage these special dates and hours in your dashboard.
Use High-Quality Images and Videos: Add high-quality images and videos that showcase your business and its offerings. Use images that are at least 720 pixels wide by 720 pixels tall and in JPG or PNG format. We find that videos aren’t really optimized that well in Google Business- so we only add a few of those to our clients’ profiles. Also, add photos of the interior and exterior of your business to instill trust in your visitor. They will research you online before they visit your store. If you have a service-based business, update photos of your work.
Encourage Reviews: Encourage your customers to leave reviews on your profile. Remember to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, in a professional and courteous manner. If it’s a negative review, try to take it offline to resolve the issues. How your business responds to negative reviews shows potential clients how you will treat them if there is an issue with their product / service. You can also share your profile link with satisfied customers by clicking the reviews link, then “get more reviews” button.
Write Google Posts Regularly: Use Google Posts to share updates, offers, and events with your customers. This is similar to other Social Media profiles and if you’re updating to Facebook, you can pretty much update the same content to Google Business. We add 2 new updates a week for our clients, and is a mix of services, products, holiday promotion, and events.
Monitor and Respond to Questions: Monitor and respond to questions that customers ask on your profile. This will help you engage with your customers and provide them with the information they need. We don’t see questions asked too often, but you should respond quickly. Other users are able to respond to the question, and their advice may not be correct (or could be spam). If you receive a harassing or rude question (or answer), don’t engage. Instead, report it.
Do you need someone to manage your Google Business profile? We can help. We’ve been helping clients for years and would love to help you too! Contact us today so we can learn more about your company.
Sources:
Google My Business Help: https://support.google.com/business/
Moz’s Complete Guide to Google My Business: https://moz.com/learn/seo/google-my-business
Contact us today to learn how we can help you optimize your Google Business account.