A Google My Business listing is required for every business. It provides Google and local consumers with a wealth of business information as well as a robust local search presence. Google uses the information you provide in your Google My Business profile in a variety of ways, including populating the highly visible knowledge panel to the right of the search results and filling out the local pack, as well as populating Google Maps, providing voice search results, and assisting with Google app search results.
Setting up your Google My Business listing is free, quick, and simple, and once you’ve done so, you can start optimizing your local search presence with Google My Business.
Learn How to Create Google My Business For Any Business
Make sure your NAP is accurate
Claim your Google My Business short name
Write the perfect business description
Choose an appropriate category and sub-category
Upload amazing photos
Generate, monitor, and respond to reviews
Use Google Posts to boost conversions and showcase brand personality
Build up a good database of information on Google Q&A
Add your social media profiles to your Google My Business profile
Investigate GMB features specific to your industry and use them
1 Make sure your NAP is accurate
The very first stage of knowing how to optimize Google My Business for local search success is ensuring the basics are done well. For GMB, this means a quick check that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) is correct, totally up-to-date and entirely consistent with your other local business citations.
2: Claim your Google My Business short name
Once you verify your Google My Business account, the next job on your Google My Business optimization list is to claim your short name. This is a short or custom name, designed to make it easier for local search users to find your business. Google requires your short name to be something either associated with your business name or the name that customers commonly use to refer to your business.
3: Write the perfect business description
You can add a 750-character description to your GMB profile as part of your Google My Business optimization work. This text should describe your business in an engaging, authentic manner but it shouldn’y reference things like sales or promotions.This text field is a place to tell local search users about your USPs and brand story, your mission, and history. It’s worth noting that Google guidelines prohibit promotional content and links in this space. You can include a phone number and email address.
4: Choose an appropriate category and sub-category
The category you choose when optimizing your Google My Business listing plays quite an important role in local search ranking as it tells Google which searches your business could be relevant for.
Categories are used to describe your business and connect you to customers searching for the services you offer. For example, if your primary category is “Dental”, Google may show your business in local search results to people who search for “Teeth Whiting”, “Root canals” or “Bridges” in their area.
5: Upload amazing photos
MB gives you a lot of options to play with when it comes to images so it’s vital that you really maximize this opportunity to grab local search attention. You can add interior and exterior shots, 360-degree images and even video to this space.
6: Generate, monitor, and respond to reviews
Generate, monitor and respond to reviews to further your GMB optimization efforts, let’s quickly recap the importance of reviews overall.For local businesses, the beauty of reviews is in the influence they have on the purchase process.
7: Use Google Posts to boost conversions and showcase brand personality
The great thing about Google Posts is that when a potential customer searches for a particular business on Google, the Post shows up front-and-center in the business’ Knowledge Panel… And when a searcher clicks on the Post, it expands into an amazing ad-like box that grabs visitors’ attention.
8: Build up a good database of information on Google Q&A
Google expects that the business will be engaged in the Q&A process… Don’t get carried away with too many questions and don’t be thinking of these questions as an opportunity for keyword stuffing. They should be free of marketing speak and reflect the voice of the consumer.
9: Add your social media profiles to your Google My Business profile
When people search for your business on Google, they may see links to your business’s social profiles included with your other business information in the knowledge panel in Search. Google gathers business information from a variety of sources and may include it to give customers a more detailed overview of your business. Social profile information is automatically added to listings for eligible businesses.
10: Investigate GMB features specific to your industry and use them
Google’s local search and local business efforts, GMB is absolutely packed with features. Many features and tools are specific to various industries – while our guide here provides a comprehensive overview on how to optimize Google My Business for your brand.
Courtesy : www.patientriver.com