How To Use Google My Business – SEO me up in 2023

10 Reasons Why You Should Use Google My Business:

What does it do and how can it help your business? In a nutshell – it gets you more business, helps your local SEO, and gets the phone ringing.

Reasons why you should use GMB:

  1. Gets you higher on Google Local
  2. 46% of searches have a local or hear me in to get found
  3. The easiest way to get found on google
  4. Perfect low-cost low time high return
  5. Local SEO strategy
  6. Increases your brand on the web locally
  7. Helps you share, listen to and ask questions to potential customers
  8. Real-time questions and answers
  9. Increases your credibility with reviews
  10. You can sell products and services

Social Profiles for Local Business:

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.

This blog is a review of how to use Google My Business, how it works, and its capabilities and functionality.
Getting started is easy, you can call 0800 026 0793 where you can get help to launch your GMB.
You can go online and claim your business now:
With a Google My Business Account, you get more than a business listing. Your Free Business Profile lets you easily connect with customers across Google Search and Maps is great for making the phone ring.
You may be asked to verify your identity, in which Google will send a postcard to your address with a five-digit number which you then clarify four days after it arrives. The reward is well worth the wait!
seo london

Google My Business started out in 2005

Loving social media love running your GMB… We love it because it’s a functional, free service that can give you the competitive advantage that a small to medium-sized local business needs.

GMB History

2005 Google Local
2006 Renamed to Google Maps
2010 Google Hotspots Tools into Google Places
2014 Google My Business Launches
2019  Free website/posts/insights/products
2020 Google My Business brings in Covid 19 Messages
2021 Google Guarantee
Google my Business

Google My Business is a platform that has over 5 billion searches a day. It’s powered by Google and available to download on your desktop and other devices. It gives local businesses the advantage over national businesses and acts as a powerful way to get noticed!

97% of searches are through Google – Facts. GMB will only cost you time, love, and attention.
You will need around an hour a week to perfect your levels of engagement, but equally a few minutes a week can still create an impressive return.
Time spent on Digital Marketing can sometimes feel pointless or like hard work, but GMB is the tool that allows you to promote your business online effectively. It makes your brand more visible, and you can collect relevant data such as emails, and phone numbers and even promote your events.
As the founder of GMB, I wanted to demystify probably the best return on investment that is out there right now for small to medium-sized businesses in the UK. GMB can have a dramatic effect and positive impact on your business. You can learn how to read your customers and how to attract new ones, whilst keeping them informed in real-time with regular updates. This will encourage customer loyalty, and further engagement and help you to discover what people really think about your business with reviews.
GMB 2021
What Google is determined and focused on is delivering the best most quality search results.
The more content you upload on GMB, the more often you turn up in searches and the higher you gain in the Google Search rankings. Google Maps will also allow you to share the location of your business online in a way that will promote and showcase your products.
46% of all searches on Google local or for people looking for local things.
78% of local mobile searches result in a purchase.
For a local listing, 68% of searchers use get directional click to cool and this is absolutely trackable.
GMB continues to be the biggest driver of local SEO success and we see it day in, and day out.
Every single piece of information needs to be optimized and filled in to be completely effective.

Simple steps to fully exploiting your Google My Business experience:

Get your information and description right! As obvious as it may seem you need to get your address and contact details correct to let potential customers know why they should use you.
The limit is 750 characters to import information and the description fills it in with keywords, and phrases that your customer would use to find you.
Profile images, cover photos and videos really bring your Google my business to life.
If you have an opportunity to really showcase your work, GMB love faces so try and get as many faces as you can rather than something generic!
GMB pictures
Try: www.google.com/streetviews/apps/
This app gives you a 360 image. It will still review it for you on Google Street view update as to when you need to take external and internal images. Sometimes Google just posts an image of your business that isn’t the most flattering of images – something that you won’t have control over.
Managing your profile will put you back in control. Including flattering photos of your services and staff is the most sensible thing that you can do as a business owner. You get to showcase the best parts.
Practically nobody uses the Q&A Section but is the most undervalued. It is an unsung hero. Google wants people to interact and see how can you help one another. The more they use this service, the more they can become visible online increase in business can only follow.
The next addition to GMB is Google Posts. This functionality highlights your business events, and you can create promotions.
Tips and advice are an easy way to grab people’s attention through promotions such as weekly special offers. informative posts are really outstanding FOR return on investment.
You are allowed 10 Live Posts in one week, however, they do expire afterwards. It can be a game-changer for building relationships and closing sales.
Click on to Create A Post: the sign-up asks you to collect the data straight into Mailchimp on your Facebook. People can buy there and then. A really big player on gaining the lead!
GMB Products
Reviews are massively important. You should have at least 50 reviews a year for your business.
You have to be authentic and deal with reviews in an honest and open manner. 97% of consumers read online reviews for a local business or they make the decision that can make or break the sale.
Don’t delay, just do! Encourage new customers and reviews. Discipline yourself to always respond to reviews because the words you use are indexable by Google bots.
Something to consider: People are less likely to give you a negative review if they can see that you’re active on your GMB and replying to the reviews you receive.
If you can become a five-star business on GMB, it really separates your business from the competition, increases the click-through rate and it really makes your brand some credibility.
The messaging functionality in GMB is a new feature. You can download the GMB app and you get something like messenger getting direct messages from Google my business and have the ability to respond to customers in real-time.
Somebody goes onto your profile and sends you a message there and then.
Another new feature is bookings so if you are a restaurant or a salon you can now link it 20% off a pair of sunglasses, and wait for restaurants that want to book a table.
Look behind the scenes – the numbers don’t lie.

How customers search for a business:

The Insights section on GMB really is important for back-office reporting.

The Green Section is Direct Traffic – the customer has found your listing searching for your business name or address.
The Blue Section is Discovery – the customer has found your listing searching for a category, product or service.
The Yellow Section is Branded – the customer has found your listing searching for a brand related to your business. It could even be a competitor that has searched for you!
GMB services
Brand-new customers can ask for your website or request directions. You can Instant Message and receive another great return on investment when it comes to measuring what your actions are. It’s really important that you measure the responses compared to the effort you’re putting in. You know if the juice is worth the squeeze!
Direction requests are when the map displays your location. It tells you where your customers are when they ask Google maps for directions to address the total number of requests broken down by postcode.
You can add Labels in your info section:
You can organise business locations by adding labels that can be seen by anyone that manages your Google My Business. Fresh content is key to staying in that local section of Google.

Has Google My Business helped businesses?

Google My Business can be a useful tool for businesses to help them appear more prominently in Google search results, particularly for local searches. It allows businesses to provide information such as their address, phone number, business hours, and reviews to potential customers. This can make it easier for customers to find and contact the business, and can also help improve the visibility and credibility of the business. Overall, it can be a valuable tool for businesses to help them increase their online presence and reach more customers.

The newest thing on Google my Business is Google Guarantee

Game changer/?

 

You only pay when a customer gets in touch!

It  also shows that your business is backed by Google watch this space is only available to some trades but we are sure they will roll it out to lots more industry

Google Guarantee

Big tip: Meta Tags appear in browser tabs, bookmarks, and search result pages.

Make your title tags clear, and concise (65 characters, 200-569 pixels), and include your most important keywords.

Do you need more help with your SEO or Google My Business? Need some Google My Business Training? Follow the link to buy our course:
https://lovingsocialmedia.com/product/master-the-seo-basics/
If you like our blog, we would love to receive your feedback. If you have questions you can email or call and we would love to talk GMB!
We also have a Google My Business  certificated course for more info follow the link