4 Easy Steps to Optimise your Google My Business Page

Having a Google My Business Page is a powerful marketing tool, especially for local businesses, that often gets overlooked. It’s power lies in being one of the first thing potential customers see about you – if your profile isn’t up to scratch, they will likely choose one of your competitors. 

Follow the simple steps below to optimise your My Business Profile, and watch those customers come flooding in. 

1 Get the Perfect My Business Profile 

This first step might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many businesses don’t keep the information on their My Business page up-to-date. The best profiles are full of accurate and comprehensive information. Remember, this is the first thing a potential customer will see when they google your business, you want to make sure it answers all their questions straight away. 

There is a lot of information you can add, such as opening hours and websites. Below, however, are the basic pieces of information you need to complete as a minimum;

 

• Name: The most important, make sure it’s consistent with what is currently listed on your website and socials.

 

• • Address: You need to pin your business location accurately, especially if you’re not the easiest to find. If you work at home, and don’t want your address on there, make sure you put an accurate region. 
  • Phone number: Ideally, you want to give a phone number to eliminate any barriers between your business and your customers. Including a number makes them just a click away from contacting you. 
  • Business category: Choose your category carefully, as it directly links to what your customers are searching, and is also a factor that can influence your local rankings on Google. Make sure you consider using a keyword, and are as specific as possible.

 

• Description: You’re allowed a fair 750 characters worth of information for your description, but be mindful that google only displays the first 250 in the knowledge pannel – so prioritise! Make sure your description is accurate, eye-catching and clearly  gets across the purpose of your business.

 

2 Have consistent information across all your platforms
No matter if you’re a business owner managing one listing or an agency looking after hundreds, you need to make sure that all information is the same across all platforms. That’s not just your website, but any social media profiles too! Any inconsistencies can negatively impact your search rankings, and block customers from finding you, so make sure you double check. One of the biggest mistakes you could make is to not take the time to check the finer details.

3 Select your images carefully
After you’ve sorted out the details, you can get to work personalising your My Business Page – no listing is complete without photographs. Google report that businesses with images on their listings and twice as likely to be considered reputable by the general public, and in turn get up to 35% more clicks!

All you really need is a profile photo, logo, cover photo and then a few general photos to give an idea of what your business and services look like. Make sure the images are flattering, but true to life. You don’t want people to walk away from your business feeling like they were lied to – as that can lead to our final point. 

4 Don’t forget about the power of good reviews
Good reviews are crucial to any business, don’t underestimate their power. Good reviews do wonders to a My Business Page; they offer greater visibility in search results and they improve trust and confidence in your brand and products. Essentially good reviews lead to improved sales through better on-page conversions.

Good reviews are easy to collect than you might think, just simply ask happy customers to give feedback on your business. Explain how much a good review could help you, and most are sure to want to reach out. In addition to this, make sure you reply to all reviews, good or bad. Either way it shows you’re active, are putting in genuine effort and care about your customers.

There’s lots more you can do to fully utilise My Business Profile, but these simple steps are a good place to start to make sure any potential customers searching for your services, become actual customers.