Are you a small or mid-size business looking to grow your online presence? As you seek methods to enhance your SEO game, look to those that help your brand stand out. By making factors like these a priority, you’ll be able to attract the right people to your website.
The best way to grow your online presence is to select SEO methods that best address your audiences’ needs. When you go with strategies that put people first, you’ll be on a path toward long-term business growth.
You’re probably wondering how adjusting your Google Business Profile (GBP) helps improve your SEO game. Today, we’ll discuss the top ways to help make that happen and how you stand to benefit.
Check That Your Contact Data Is Consistent With Your NAP
One great way to optimize your GBP is to ensure your NAP is correct. NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number of your business. Taking this step may be simple, but your business does change over time. Not only that, but you may also have had different addresses in the past.
As you update your information, check to ensure your contact data on other directory sites is consistent with your NAP. By keeping your data consistent and up to date, you can build trust with your audience. Not only that, but you can also grow your rankings in the maps section of the search results.
Select The Right GBP Categories That Best Describe Your Business
Choosing the right GBP category is an important SEO factor as it can impact your local search rankings. For these reasons, make sure to select your categories carefully.
For example, if you have a store that sells coffee, you might consider choosing “coffee shop” as your category. These steps can help those looking for coffee online find your business in the local search results.
If your business does more than one thing, make sure to include subcategories too. For instance, your coffee shop may also sell cupcakes and donuts. In this case, “donut shop” and “cupcake shop” would be your subcategories.
Selecting the proper categories and subcategories helps you attract the right people to your business online. It also plays a crucial role in helping you outrank your competition in the long run.
Fill Out Your GBP Products Section
One of the most visible elements of a GBP profile is the products section. If you have a non-product business, filling out this section can bring you benefits. GBP also allows you to display photos of your service offerings. With your GBP products section, your business can gain visibility from your audience.
Google arranges your products/services photos in a carousel-style design. These features help go a long way in helping you drive more views, calls, and sales. You can categorize and add descriptions, images, and calls to action to these product profiles.
One thing to note is that the final product you enter will be the first to feature on your profile. Before adding products or services, make sure to organize them per your needs. You can also add GIFs as your product image by saving them as a JPEG. With these GBP tools, you can leverage your product section to help attract consumers.
Use Photos To Help Your Cause
Google also provides you with many options for photos you can include for your GBP. Here is a list of photo types you can add as you put together or update your profile:
- 360-degree view
- Indoor pics
- Outdoor pics
Businesses with photos receive 42% more driving direction requests to their location than those without them. They also receive 35% more clicks to their websites. These findings are according to research Google has done over the years.
The best photo practice is to include at least three pics from each of these business aspects:
- Employees
- Products
- Services you perform
By following these measures, you can increase your web presence and get online searchers to explore your business further.
Write A Compelling Business Description
You can also optimize your Google Business Profile by writing a rational business description. On your profile, Google gives you a max of 750 characters to describe your business. One thing you want to avoid including there is sales jargon. It can potentially alienate your audience and go against Google’s rules.
Here are some things you can include in your GBP business description:
- Company mission and vision
- History
- Products and services
- What makes your business unique?
With a top-tier business description, you can give your audience the best details about your business. They also would be more likely to look into your business further.
Keep Your GBP Q&A Section Up To Date
You can also improve your SEO game by optimizing your GBP Q&A section. Google gives you the option to create a question and answer vault within your profile. They do this to ensure the answers consumers receive are the ones you want them to.
As with many portions of your GMB, consumers can contribute and control how others view your business online. To provide people with the right questions and answers, use the consumer data that comes up in your Insights section.
By adding the best questions and responding to them, you’ll have more control over the narrative. You’ll also ensure that people will perceive your business better.
Post Regularly From Your GBP
Keeping in touch with your audience is a prime SEO factor. Posts that originate from your GBP are pretty much mini-blogs. They provide your audience with important information along with updates from your business.
Below are two key benefits of how posting from your GBP can improve your SEO efforts:
Posting Boosts Your Keywords And Phrases
As you post from your profile regularly, you can boost your primary and halo keywords you want to rank for to Google’s algorithms. Over time, they build up your association with your goods and services. With these measures, you can reach the right people and influence consideration for your business.
Posting Drives Up Engagement
Google also evaluates engagement when it comes to SEO factors. They measure how much you engage with your profile.
As you provide your audience with regular updates via posts, you can drive up your engagement levels. The more you engage with your GBP, the more likely Google will reward you.
With top-quality posts, you’ll achieve better search rankings and more customers.
Check On Your Online Reviews
Review signals are another prime factor when it comes to SEO. They also influence whether people will do business with you or your competitors.
Research shows that 89% of people check online reviews before setting foot in a specific business. 84% of those consumers also trust online reviews as much as their peers. Also, 31% of them will do business with those that have great reviews.
If your business receives a bad review, that doesn’t mean doom for your business. When this happens, look to address the consumers’ concerns and work towards solutions that best address their pain points. With these approaches, consumers are more likely to view your business positively. They may even turn around to upgrade their rating to a positive review.
When it comes to reviews, make sure to also be proactive in requesting reviews. As they leave a positive review, make sure to thank them. With a people-first approach like this, you’ll be on track to gain the trust of your potential customers.
Choose People-First Approaches when Updating Your Google Business Profile
As you update your GBP, look to SEO methods that engage your audience and tell the best story about your brand. With these people-first methods, you’ll drive engagement and be on track toward building long-term consumer relations. By focusing on the needs of people, you’ll be on a path toward strategic growth for your brand.
What else do you feel is the best way to optimize your Google Business Profile? Which other SEO methods can also help you build trust with your consumers and drive business growth? Questions? Comments? Please feel free to share your thoughts below.
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