- Pre-Populate Questions and Answers<\/a><\/li>
- Reviews, reviews, reviews\u2026<\/a><\/li>
- Google My Business Posts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Local Listings<\/a><\/li>
- Tracking Your Results<\/a><\/li>
- Improving Your Local Reach with Google Maps Marketing<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Google My Business Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you want to appear in the map pack on Google, you need a Google My Business listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m going to guess that you already have a verified Google My Business listing, but here\u2019s a simple checklist you can use to make sure your listing is complete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- You\u2019re using your legal business name<\/li>
- You\u2019ve chosen the primary category most relevant to your business and have added additional categories (if applicable)<\/li>
- Correct address is shown (if you\u2019re not a service area business)<\/li>
- Address is hidden if you\u2019re an service area business and service areas have been designated<\/li>
- Hours of operation have been added<\/li>
- Local phone number is being used<\/li>
- Website link is correct <\/li>
- Appointment link has been added (if applicable)<\/li>
- Products have been added (if retail)<\/li>
- Services have been added (if you offer services)<\/li>
- Applicable attributes have been added<\/li>
- Business description has been added<\/li>
- Opening date has been added<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t add photos and videos to the checklist \u2014 why? I want to talk a bit more about photos and videos! Also, check out this Google My Business checklist<\/a> for some additional information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike Blumenthal<\/a> coined the phrase \u201cGoogle My Business is your new homepage\u201d in 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a majority of users, their first impression of your business is going to be your Google My Business listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When they perform a Google search for your business name, your GMB listing is displayed in the right-hand panel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The panel has a lot more rich information than the blue links do. Google users will likely engage with the listing by reading reviews, checking popular times, and looking at photos and videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you click on photos, you can scroll through to get a feel of what this business offers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
We humans are visual creatures \u2014 so for restaurants, this is a surefire way of drawing people to your location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The default view of photos includes photos uploaded by the business owner and Google users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google users can add photos directly to the business or they can upload them when they write a review (more on this later).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google My Business has specific recommendations<\/a> for the types of photos you should add to your listing (some types not pictured):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
This should represent the bare minimum of what you add to your Google My Business listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before you go bananas on adding photos and videos, you should know there are guidelines<\/a> for both:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Photo guidelines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Video guidelines<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If you work in an industry that isn\u2019t very visual (insurance, accounting, etc), you might have to get a bit more creative with your photos and videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your photos are going to have to showcase more of what it will be like working with your company. Focus more on providing great visuals of your office, team, conference room, interior photos, exterior photos, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Videos can be really helpful in conveying your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). You can also use video testimonials and upload them to your listing, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The possibilities are endless if you spend some time thinking about it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NEVER use stock photos or videos on your Google My Business listing! Stock photos can immediately create friction between you and potential customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If I see one more stock photo of a gavel sitting on top of a desk next to a thick book I\u2019m going to puke. We get it \u2014 you’re a lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Two photos you need to add to your Google My Business listing are the logo and cover photo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Even if you designate a cover photo, it is not guaranteed that it will be shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To designate the logo and the cover photo from your desktop: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Log into your Google My Business listing by going to google.com\/business<\/a><\/li>
- In the left-hand navigation, click on \u201cPhotos.\u201d<\/li>
- Locate the \u201cOverview\u201d tab. On the \u201clogo\u201d card, click \u201cChoose Photo.\u201d <\/li>
- To change the cover photo, click \u201cChoose Photo\u201d on the \u201ccover\u201d card.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Your listing is complete \u2014 now what? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increasing Your Rankings on Google Maps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pre-Populate Questions and Answers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Users can ask and answer questions about a Google My Business listing. The business can answer questions too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
If you check your listing and see that there are questions that haven\u2019t been answered, answer them. (Make sure you\u2019re logged into the same email address that owns\/manages the listing.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your listing doesn\u2019t have any questions, you should absolutely pre-populate them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Identify the five most frequently asked questions about your products and services, then \u2014 using a separate gmail account \u2014 ask those questions to the listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a brief period of time, Google My Business did <\/em>display the name of the user that asked the questions. Currently, the name of the person asking the question is omitted. It still might be in your best interest to use a separate gmail account to avoid any confusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a separate window, log into the GMB dashboard for the listing, scroll down to \u201cYour Business is on Google,\u201d and click on View on Search. Go to the question, then click on Answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You\u2019ll see that the business is replying to the question. Fill out the answer and post! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Repeat this process until you are finished with all the questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you\u2019re finished, you need to get likes on the questions and answers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a question gets at least five likes, it will show up on the listing panel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The most liked answer will also outrank any other answer to the question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask your team to like the questions and answers, and make sure that the question you want to show on the panel gets more \u201cLikes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Reviews, reviews, reviews\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
We all know getting positive reviews to your Google My Business listing is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are two primary benefits that you probably already know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Helps increase rankings on Google Maps<\/li>
- Aids in conversions for potential customers<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
The content within the reviews are especially helpful for these benefits, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ratings by themselves don’t provide context and aren’t very trustworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You need to have a strategy in place to obtain reviews. Here are some handy resources on implementing a review building strategy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Online Reviews are Important in your Marketing Strategy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
8 Rules of Effective Online Reputation Management<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing I want to touch on: stop focusing 100% of your review building strategy on your Google My Business listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, it is important to get reviews on your GMB listing, but it\u2019s not the end-all-be-all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like using examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re investing money into your retirement, chances are you have diversified your portfolio. 100% of your retirement is probably not in a single stock. That\u2019s really, really risky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The same strategy should be placed with your review building efforts. Diversify!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need some help figuring out what other websites to get reviews on, check out my article on Barnacle SEO<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Google My Business Posts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Google My Business posts went live<\/a> June 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several post types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- COVID-19 update<\/li>
- What\u2019s new<\/li>
- Offers<\/li>
- Events<\/li>
- Products<\/li>
- Hours update<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Google My Business Help has a pretty good overview of how to make great business posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up until recently, certain post types (excluding events and COVID-19 updates) were archived after seven days. As of this writing, posts are still visible even if they\u2019re older than seven days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can have up to eight Google My Business posts showing on a panel. After the 10th, you need to click on \u201cView all\u201d and a new overlay will appear with a vertical scroll and it will show all the posts from that particular listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is there any ranking benefit to posts? It\u2019s hard to isolate posts in a vacuum to see if they can improve rankings. If there is a ranking benefit, it might be marginal. GMB posts can be beneficial with \u201cJustifications.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Joel Headley<\/a> has been talking about Justifications<\/a> for more than three years. Justifications are shown within Google My Business listings to help \u2018justify\u2019 why a particular result is a good match for your query. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some examples of justifications:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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When I performed the search \u201cuber accident attorney miami,\u201d Google pulled up a Google post as the justification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
For the query \u201cfurnace repair bend oregon:\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Mountain View Heating, Inc: The justification is being pulled from the website. <\/li>
- Home Heating & Cooling, Inc: The justification is coming from one of their GMB reviews.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
When I search \u201croof repair bend,\u201d the justification is coming from a service that was added to the listing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justifications may not help ranking but they can absolutely help with aiding in conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
GMB posts now have the ability to get additional exposure in Google Maps Explore<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you open Google Maps on your smartphone, you\u2019re automatically on the Explore tab.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
At the bottom of the screenshot, you\u2019ll see \u201cLatest in Bend.\u201d When I pull that up, I see a combination of reviews of local hiking trails and restaurants from Google users. The fifth result is from a local business via a post on their GMB profile:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
You can engage directly with that post and even follow the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your Google My Business posts have the ability to appear in the Explore tab, so why not take advantage of it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to increase the likelihood of getting your posts to appear in Google Maps Explore, your posts need to have a visual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local Listings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Build all the citations \u2014 they don\u2019t do anything!!! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citations have lost a lot of their importance over the years but they still matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What doesn\u2019t work is building hundreds of citations and expect your Google Map rankings to dramatically increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, you should focus on the four major data aggregators and tier 1 citation sources that matter for your industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Verifying and managing listings can be cumbersome, especially if you\u2019re an enterprise. Utilizing a listing management service like Semrush\u2019s Listing Management Tool<\/a> can help you review all of your locations and give you one central hub for ongoing management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tracking Your Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before we get into keyword tracking, it\u2019s a really good idea to add a UTM tracking code to your listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My good friend Claire Carlile<\/a> wrote a fantastic guide on how to implement UTM tracking for Google My Business<\/a>. Read it and bookmark it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ok, let\u2019s talk about rank tracking for Google My Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Traditional rank tracking isn\u2019t very effective due to proximity being a major ranking factor with Google My Business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Radius tracking is more accurate to see how your Google My Business listing is performing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Again, Semrush\u2019s Listing Management Tool will be very helpful here. You\u2019re able to choose important keywords and track your positions in nearby locations. This gives you insights into how you\u2019re performing on SERPs within your defined radius. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Increasing your rankings farther away from your physical location is difficult, but not impossible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first thing you need to look into is if any of the competitors that are ranking above you are violating Google My Business Guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Is the business name their actual business name? Is the location real?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you need a refresher on GMB spam, Semrush has a handy checklist.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Outside of going after listings that are violating guidelines, it\u2019s hard to give tactics to implement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a checklist of things you can check when looking at competitors that are outranking you when analyzing radius rankings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Reviews<\/strong>: Freshness, average rating, review velocity, keywords being used in reviews.<\/li>
- Categories: <\/strong>Is their primary category the same as yours? Are they using any additional categories you are not using? GMB Spy<\/a> is a great extension to show the additional categories any GMB listing is using.<\/li>
- Website content:<\/strong> Compare your website content to the competitors outranking you. Any major differences?<\/li>
- Backlinks:<\/strong> Look at your competitor\u2019s backlinks to get a sense of the types of links they are building. You can do so with Semrush\u2019s Backlink Analytic Tool<\/a>. Check against your backlinks and see if there are any major differences. Another option from Semrush can help: the Backlink Gap Tool<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Improving Your Local Reach with Google Maps Marketing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Optimizing your Google Maps Marketing listing isn\u2019t a one-and-done deal. You\u2019ll need to continue updating your listing to ensure it\u2019s accurate and relevant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try dedicating a few hours a week to answering new questions, responding to reviews, and maintaining a carousel of engaging posts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Categories: <\/strong>Is their primary category the same as yours? Are they using any additional categories you are not using? GMB Spy<\/a> is a great extension to show the additional categories any GMB listing is using.<\/li>
- Reviews<\/strong>: Freshness, average rating, review velocity, keywords being used in reviews.<\/li>
- Log into your Google My Business listing by going to google.com\/business<\/a><\/li>
- Reviews, reviews, reviews\u2026<\/a><\/li>