Every business owner who owns a website is looking for ways to attract attention in search results. Now, during a coronavirus pandemic, you must provide customers with the latest Google profile about your business.
There are many strategies to make local companies rank well, but there is no panacea: as with most SEO issues, this is a joint effort.
One of these local SEO challenges is Google My Business, which is a dashboard for managing lists. But what is it and why is it so important for local SEO?
What is Google My Business?
“My Business” is Google’s one-stop-shop for managing your business’s appearance and performance in search engines. It is an important tool for finding and adjusting the way websites are displayed in maps, knowledge maps, Google+, and natural search results.
According to the latest version of Moz’s “Local Search Ranking Factor Survey”, “Google My Business” (GMB) continues to be the biggest driver of local SEO success, followed by quality links.
You can manage your company list by adding NAP details, business hours, photos, etc.-during the COVID-19 crisis, there are even some special options to manage your company list.
In addition, you have many other options, such as managing comments left by customers. As you know, reviews will always be a key factor in your local SEO work.
How Does It Work?
Getting started with “My Business” is very easy; you must register an account and declare your business. After completing the details, you will receive a real postcard from Google at the designated address.
This card is the only proof that you are the owner of the business listed at this address. For some types of companies, you can also verify by phone or email. Google has a special page to help you check the verification status.
After verification, you can fill in all the necessary details and check the status of your list.
You can even get insights regularly to see how many impressions, clicks, and subscribers your list has received over a period of time. This is a great way to understand how Google and customers view your business.
Remember, “My Business” is not the only tool for your local SEO. It must work in conjunction with your on-site SEO and off-site SEO.
If your profile is incorrect, you will not climb the leaderboard, but if there is no optimized website and localized content, you will not be in the top. These things go hand in hand.
Ranking Factor
Google My Business uses a variety of factors to determine the ranking of the business. We will focus on the three most important aspects:
Relevance
Relevance determines how well your business fits your customers’ search intent. Are your concerns the same as your customers’ needs, or are you a bit unclear about your business? The blur is not high. As clear as possible. Stay focused.
Distance
Distance is a well-known factor in ranking local businesses. After positioning the company in Manhattan, you will not be able to rank in the local search (Dentist New Jersey).
The exact way Google determines which companies to display in local search is unclear, and it’s difficult to rank in a given area. Other factors also play an important role.
Not only can it help you say that you are in a specific area, but also display it by creating local-oriented content around your business on the site. Google uses knowledge of the searcher’s location to introduce the most relevant local businesses.
Popularity
The popularity is related to your business information. This may be the number of comments, events, local content, etc. If you can get a lot of high-quality links to your website, then it is also helpful.
It is difficult to determine exactly what is prominent, but what is certain is that no one likes dead ends. You must update it with a new photo and manage your comments.
As mentioned earlier, this works with your website, so make sure the two lists are aligned and publish local content.
Optimize your Google My Business information
First, you need to declare your list. Afterward, you can use the following tips to make your “My Business” account successful.
Remember, all the content you add must be consistent with the information you provide on the website.
Incorrect information will kill your list and may destroy your ranking:
- Declare your business information using your actual business name
- Choose the category that is as accurate as possible
- Provide as much data as possible-your profile must be 100%
- Check your phone number
- Check your business hours-think about holidays!
- Check your photos-are they accurate and good? Or can they be improved?
- You can also create citations on other websites-choose a list of critically acclaimed companies or view websites and directories to stay away from spammers
- Keep the “My Business” list consistent with your website-and use Schema.org data
- The most relevant thing is to keep your data up to date
It is important to remember that this is not a fixed thing but to forget what it is. Things have changed, and so has your business.
Keep everything active, monitor comments, and keep an eye on them. If your business information is not performing well, but it takes a lot of time, it is really frustrating.
Structured Data And Yoast Local SEO
Google is increasingly relying on structured data to find your website and what elements represent what.
For your business information, including the information used by “My Business”, it is most certainly correct. Make sure to add the correct structured data to your site.
This will make it easier for Google to determine the validity of your list. A variety of tools including the Yoast Local SEO plug-in can help you.
Even With Google My Business, Your Local SEO Is Crucial
Therefore, you should activate and maintain your “My Business” account and make it awesome.
However, to get the most out of the list and get a good ranking, you must also keep your website organized.
Optimize every part of it. Create local content for your selected keywords and business locations, and obtain high-quality local backlinks to establish reliable link profiles.
Ask customers to view your business on-site or on “My Business”. Make sure your business information is active and attractive. Incorrect configuration files are bad.
If you are ready to improve your website but do not have an in-house team to do it, Optimal Websites has a great group of experienced developers that know how to tailor optimization for your unique needs. Contact us or browse our website for more information.