How to Use Google My Business: A Guide from the P3 Agency
Use Google My Business for better business results.
Local SEO strategies can be competitive, costly and challenging to implement. Fortunately, there are a number of free-to-use tools that can help you strengthen your local search efforts. One such tool is Google My Business.
Here’s how Google My Business works:
Say someone searches for “Clearwater shoe stores” on Google. The first results they see will be a map and a list of top three local listings (Local 3-Pack) nearby. These listings are packed with information that can help them make a decision — such as the store’s ratings and reviews, address, opening hours and closing time, and contact details. Google My Business can help you enter this Local 3-Pack, making it easier for you to drive more traffic to your website and front door.
However, simply creating a listing is not enough. To get the most out of Google, you need to optimize your listing. Here are some tips that can help you learn how to use Google My Business to dominate local search results.
Set up your listing
Before you learn how to use Google My Business, you must set up your Google My Business listing. You can do this by simply visiting the Google My Business page and filling in every relevant field.
Choose a business category
Make sure you pick as specific a category as possible because Google will use this information to decide which searches to rank your listing in.
Upload high-resolution images, 360-view and videos
Using some high-resolution images will help your Google My Business listing stand out in the crowd. Another interesting way to distinguish yourself from your competition and engage your potential customers is by creating a 360-view virtual tour of your business. How about giving your audience a “behind-the-scenes” look at what your business is all about through a 30-second video? This can really help you establish a bond with your prospective customers.
Avoid penalty-inducing offenses
No matter how much time, effort and money you put into learning how to use Google My Business, it will all be in vain if you try to play the system. Google actively suspends listings that violate its guidelines. So, make sure you know what those guidelines are, and avoid doing anything that puts your online presence at risk.
Don’t ignore SEO
Google My Business is essentially a tool in your local SEO toolkit, so make sure your website is optimized for local searches. Creating relevant and engaging content, using the right keywords and finding high-quality backlinks are all things you can do to positively influence your local search efforts and give your business more online exposure.
Use Google Posts
Google Posts are very much like mini ads that show up in the “Knowledge Panel” of your listing and stay active for up to seven days. These contain practically anything your potential customers would want to know about your business before making a decision. So, don’t miss out on using Google Posts to help your business stand out — whether you do that to tout an upcoming sales event, announce a discount code or reveal a new product line.
It takes a lot of time and effort to make your local SEO efforts work, but the payoff is worth it! With these tips on how to use Google My Business, you will be able to make the most out of your Google My Business listing.
Contact P3 Agency to design an effective local SEO strategy
The marketing experts at the P3 Agency have spent years developing an inbound marketing system that has each company’s best interests in mind. Our team is highly focused on local SEO services because we know how well it works, but we also concentrate on brand development, web development, web design in Clearwater, website SEO audit, and other components designed to take your business to the next level of success.
To learn more about what we can do for your company or a free marketing assessment, call us today at (800) 515-9422.