By completing a Google My Business listing, local users will be exposed to your business and what it offers at a much higher rate. Along with providing essential information about your commercial enterprise, the service can also increase web traffic and improve conversion rates.

Benefits of Having a Google My Business Profile

Establishing a presence via Google My Business has a lot to offer, including:

• Making Your Business Visible on Google Maps – Filling out a Google My Business form ensures that your business can be found on Google Maps. This map appears at the very top of the search results page, so businesses that are featured on it will be viewed by customers first.

• Enabling Reviews of Your Business – Positive reviews of your business can drive more customers to your physical location, thereby boosting your bottom line. With a Google My Business listing, customers can easily leave reviews.

• Providing Access to Important Insights – Google My Business is also a powerful analysis tool. For instance, it can help you learn more about your audience, where they’re coming from, and what they want. This information can then help you develop a solid marketing strategy.

 Best Practices When Completing a Google My Business Profile

First and foremost, your profile must have accurate contact information for your business, such as your address and current phone number. You should also ensure that you don’t have multiple profiles for the same business, as this can result in confusion among customers.

You’ll also need to provide a business description, which should offer information on the products or services you offer the public. Accuracy is key when developing a description, as accurate information helps consumers make informed decisions. Other essential info includes hours of operation, categories (which succinctly sum up your business), and a link to your website.

Our marketing team at SonicSEO.com knows the benefit of having a comprehensive business listing on Google. We also use many other effective digital marketing strategies to ensure your website resonates with users. Contact us today to learn more.

Some search results even generate hits on Google Maps. More than just a navigation tool, Google Maps takes information from a business’s Google My Business Page and uses it to provide a better experience to users.

By successfully completing your Google My Business listing, you can improve your chance that you’ll appear in local searches and reach the customers most likely to use your goods or services. Here are a few steps to take.

Make Sure Information Provided Is Accurate

Your listing includes the address and phone number of your business, as well as the categories your business occupies, service area, hours of operation, a link to your website, photos, and other information. The more information you provide, the easier it is for users to make decisions about your business.

Also, make sure information is updated as it changes. If hours of operation have recently changed, alter your listing to reflect those changes. If you’ve created a new website, provide a new link. Remember, Google is all about creating a great experience for users, and that means information must be accurate.

Verify Your Business

Once you’ve supplied the relevant information, you must also verify that you’re authorized to make updates to the listing. While anyone can create a Google My Business page, only reputable sources can make updates. Verification ensures your business shows up in searches, but it also boosts customer confidence.

Check the information provided before requesting that your business is verified. Inaccurate information could result in your request being denied. You must also be authorized to verify your business. For example, the business owner must provide certain information to show they are approved to make changes to the page.

Respond to Reviews

Good reviews do so much for your brand reputation. These should be responded to and highlighted on your Google My Business listing to show other customers what you do for them. However, even negative reviews call for immediate action.

No business likes to receive a negative review, but it is a great opportunity to shine. Respond to the complaints made in the review with kindness and care. Express regret for what occurred and offer a solution to make the situation better. Doing so creates a great impression on your customers.

If you’re not satisfied with your local rank, SonicSEO.com is here to help. We understand the importance of developing a relationship with local customers. We can also help you develop multiple local search strategies to ensure you’re reaching the customers that count. Let’s revisit your marketing approach today to boost your rank within local searches.

Not only must your business appear on Google Maps, it should also rank as high as possible for maximum visibility. Here are a few things you can do to improve your current ranking. 

Make Sure Your Google My Business Listing Is Accurate 

Google Maps uses information taken from Google My Business listings. If the information in your listing is inaccurate or missing, your placement on Google Maps will also be affected. Your listing must include the basics, such as hours, business description, contact information, and a link to your website, but you can also add extras to improve your rank even further. Adding things like images, ratings, customer reviews, FAQs, and verified status are also beneficial. 

Use the Right Keywords in Business Descriptions 

Keywords and phrases are how people find your website online. Keywords can also be used in your business description, which ensures people looking for your goods or services are able to find you. Along with keywords relevant to your business, also include local descriptors. For example, a dental office in Albuquerque might include “trusted Albuquerque dentist” in its business description.  

Solicit Reviews 

Consumers are encouraged by positive reviews of a business. Additionally, businesses with more reviews rank higher on Google Maps. Making a request for reviews on social media is an effective way to solicit your customers’ opinions, which many will be more than happy to provide. Don’t be too concerned about receiving negative reviews, as virtually every business has received poor feedback from a customer. Just respond sincerely and try to solve the issue to improve the customer’s experience.  

Update Information as Needed 

Any changes to your business should be reflected in your Google My Business listing. This is especially important when it comes to hours of operation. If your physical store front is currently closed, visitors can still read your hours of operation for remote services, so make sure they’re accurately displayed in your listing. If customers find your store closed when it says open on Google Maps, they’re likely to take their business elsewhere in the future.

If you’re unhappy with your current placement on Google Maps, SonicSEO.com can help. Our SEO specialists will apply proven tactics to improve your website’s organic search rank, as well as your placement on Google maps. Schedule a consultation by calling (888) 437-3737 today or contact us online for more information. 

Google Places of Yesteryear

Google occasionally makes changes to its search results layout, but the general page organization has remained largely the same for years. From top to bottom, you see:

• Paid ads—usually two or three listings with a little green “Ad” box denoting it is a paid listing
• Business listings—up to five local Yellow-page-style listings, often pinned on an interactive map immediately above the listings
• Organic search results—thousands of links to websites relevant to your search terms

The business listings used to be called “Google Places.” You managed the information from your Google Places account dashboard.

But that was then…

Google Places is Now Google My Business

Google My Business is now where you create an account to manage the listing information about your business, such as:

• Name
• Location
• Phone number
• Website
• Hours

Your listing information is used in more than search listings. Google My Business information is also used to put your business into Google Maps. In other words, Google My Business is one location where you input and manage your business information to show up on (at least) two Google properties.

But Google Places Still Exists

Although “Google Places” no longer names the section of the search results page where Google lists local businesses relevant to search terms, the phrase “Google Places” is still out there…mostly in the world of mobile apps. Google Places API is code that developers can embed in their app to integrate the Google Maps/Google+ database so that their app shows Google results.

The Short Story

Navigating the ever-changing Google landscape can get a bit technical. Here’s the short version:

You can no longer be listed in “Google Places” (because it doesn’t exist). However, you can appear in mobile searches that use Google Places API IF your business is listed in Google My Business because Google My Business puts you on Google Maps and Google Places API pulls from Google Maps.

Here’s the real takeaway:

To appear in Google-owned search properties, you need have a Google My Business account and make sure that the information about your business is up-to-date. Unless you’re a SonicSEO.com client—then you don’t have to do anything because we’ve already taken care of it for you.