5 tips to maximize your Google My Business listing for search engine traffic
If I’m new to an area and looking for a new hair salon for example, how would I find one? I would go to Google and type in, “best hair salon near me”. Google will then serve up several Google My Business (GMB) listings. These listings, and the order in which they appear on someone’s search results, are not random. Sometimes even larger, well-established reputable companies show up after smaller, newer small businesses.
What can you, as a local business owner, do to make sure that your Google My Business listing shows up for potential new clients?
There are several things that you can do to help the Google algorithm prioritize your GMB listing in the search results:
Have one!
If you don’t have GMB set up and verified, this should be your first priority before any other website, online content marketing. Even if you’re an online business, you should have a GMB listing. I mentioned why this is so important in my last post.
Make sure that your business is classified correctly
When specifying a category for your business, take the time to make sure you get it right. Select a category that is most relevant to your business, or the that you’d like to rank for. We recently had a hair salon client who was classified as a “beauty salon” on GMB. As a result, when people were looking for a “hair salon” in the area, their business listing didn’t show up.
Pinpoint your location as accurately as you can
Mention any major cities, landmarks, or popular businesses that you are near or even inside of (for example, if your store is inside a shopping center or mall).
Encourage, solicit, and interact with your reviews, even negative ones
Sometimes when I see GMB search results, the keywords of my query are found in the customer reviews (for example, “this is the best hair salon in Easley”). Testimonials and reviews also allow potential clients to see what their post-purchase experience may be like, so managing these are vital.
Make sure all information is consistent across the web and platforms
Make sure your information like location, store hours, products, and services are accurate and consistent with your website, other search engines, and platforms like Yelp, Tripadvisor, Yellow Pages, etc. A discrepancy can create confusion for the potential client and bump you in the rankings.
Implementing these 5 tips would be a gamechanger for any business.
If this seems like a lot of work, Semrush has a tool that companies use to keep everything accurate. It’s called the Listing Optimizer. Try it out with a free 7-day trial of Semrush.
