Do you have a local business and need to appear on Google? You have a very simple solution: Google My Business. It is the perfect tool that Google puts at the service of local businesses to appear both in search results and on Google Maps.
Local businesses must understand the power of Google My Business. There is a reason why Google created this local web directory and that is to optimize the presence of local businesses looking to build a greater online presence.
In recent years, Google has seen a great change in the search pattern of users and this change is reflected in the results offered by search engines: search engines have become more long-tail (long-tail keywords) and using local keywords, for example «locksmiths on duty in Madrid«, «cheap vegetarian restaurant«
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a free Google tool that allows you to link local businesses with their environment, managing their online presence in Google products, such as Search and Google Maps. With this platform you can show a complete file of your business! It allows you to link your presence on the Internet with the physical presence of your business.
Local searches are very beneficial for companies, especially those who are starting and are not carrying out Marketing actions yet. Imagine that your business appears in the first result on Google MyBusiness. This can generate huge traffic to the web and increase the branding of your brand. And above all: users will know in advance the location of your company and will access it based on their location and / or proximity.
How does it work?
Google has created an interface that can find businesses close to the user simply by checking their IP address. Sometimes, when people perform searches, they do not write "region" or "locality" within the search phrase and Google has to determine their location, when the user does a search Google interconnects their keywords + ip + local businesses.
However, there are some fundamental factors to consider. Google has a sophisticated way of displaying the position in which a business will appear in local search based on various factors and having knowledge of each one will help you optimize your local elements on the page and thus improve your ranking. Here are some of the important things that businesses should be aware of and that Google takes into account when someone conducts a local search.
The most important factors to improve your ranking
Business data
It's no secret that Google pays a lot of attention to page optimization elements. For example, there is no alternative to "target" keywords on the page like title, description, and content.
Google navigates through the nearest pages and extracts data directly from the list of companies and the content of your website.
For example, a "Contact" page is necessary, you have probably noticed that all websites have a "Contact" page since all the "legitimacy" of your website can be extracted from it, since the address, telephone number , etc ... they match your listing on Google MyBusiness.
External links
When ranking your website, Google will pay close attention to off-page signals like authority websites pointing to your page, etc. If your website is listed in Google MyBusiness, it is likely that it also has links to other places where local companies are cited, Yellow Pages, Yelp, Foursquare, etc. Google pays close attention to these local business pages. The relevance of these external websites is important to maintain consistency, so keep an eye on these links, which come from websites with high DA (Domain authority) and PA (Page authority).
Social Networks
We cannot underestimate the power of social media and it is important to have a powerful social profile. It is obvious that the more followers you have, the greater the possibility of sharing your content, etc. Having people share your MyBusiness page, your blog posts or the news shows a high level of valuable content.
As you surely know, social networks are a great way to attract other users to share your content, increasing the chances of improving link authority. Start setting up complete social profiles on the social networks that can attract the most public.
Web Analytics Tools: User Behavior
Another important ranking factor within Google MyBusiness is user behavior once they reach your website. This is obviously the same ranking factor for almost all websites within Google.
You have and should learn the way people interact with your website once they have arrived, for example, a high value website generally has a lower bounce rate, a higher internal click-through rate, comments, etc. These factors indicate to Google that a website deserves to be better compared to other websites in the same niche, that is, your competition.
If you want your local business to beat everyone else on Google My Business, focus on improving:
- Click-through rate
The famous CTR, make users "fall in love" with your business without having entered.
- Clicks from Mobile
Most of the local searches are from smartphones. Is your website ready?
- Call to action
Create visible and interesting calls to action that users see and interact with.
- Conversions
Do you have goals for your website? See if they are fulfilled and in what way.
Take advantage of the user experience to achieve those conversions.
Reviews
Within the Google MyBusiness interface, visitors have the ability to leave comments. These reviews on Google help classify reputable businesses from poor quality ones and Google can take advantage of this information to position them within the SERP.
For example, instead of Google doing all the work to distinguish credible companies from unreputable ones, it has chosen to create an interface that allows people to leave comments based on their experience: reviews on Google. Google will also check where reviews are coming from, for example a review from someone within 2 miles away will be worth more than someone 50 miles away.
Types of posts on Google My Business
Google My Business has many advantages, and one of the key tools it has brought to small businesses is the ability to post on their Google My Business page. These are the types of posts that you can make for your business:
- News
With your latest article, or something new in your company. It allows you to add an image, text and a button that leads to your website with predetermined messages, buy, order online, call now.
- Event
More or less the same, photo, information, text, you can add hours and the button with the predetermined messages such as a CTA button.
- Offer
If your business has specific offers, it is an excellent place to publicize them, photo, details, information, dates and with promotional code options, url of the offer and the terms and conditions so that there are no misunderstandings.
- Product
Are you an online store? What better way to put your featured product on the Google MyBusiness listing? Add photo, name, price, product details and a button as a CTA.
In conclusion, local positioning will be key in the next year, as you have read, searches for local businesses will increase, so being in the first three positions will give us a great advantage over the competition. Make sure to include Google My Business in your digital marketing strategy. If you would like to set an appointment with our team at Century Digital Marketing let us know! We have an experienced team working on Google My Business updates for local businesses!
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