Google My Business is an easy-to-use service that lets businesses claim and manage their local business information online. The service gives businesses a single place to control all aspects of their business information and makes it easier for people to discover them online.
It also offers businesses the opportunity to generate more sales, increase customer satisfaction, and improve their business’s online presence. You can do this by taking the time to claim your business and optimize it for the right keywords and categories.
You can start by using your phone to scan the barcode of your business. This will allow you to add the correct category to your business listing. If you need help, you can use the Google My Business tool that can guide you through the process.
If you want to know what is Google my business optimization checklist? This article will help you. First of all, you should think about what you want from a GMB listing.
A GMB listing should make it easy for customers to find you when they use a search engine like Google, or when they use Google Maps, Google Assistant, or another Google product.
To get this, you should create a professional GMB listing that tells people what your business does and where it is located. You should also make sure that your GMB listing is accurate. Make sure that it matches your physical store or your website, or both.
Google My Business Optimization Checklist
The Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free platform from Google that allows webmasters to manage how their business appears on both Google Search and Google Maps.
Although the name has changed to “Google Business Profile”, many people still search for and use the GMB name and acronym – so we’ll use them interchangeably throughout this checklist.
There is the following checklist which is necessary for your optimization:
- Create a Google My Business Profile
- Claim Your Business Listing
- Verify Your GMB
- Optimize the Business Information
- Primary Category
- Secondary Category
- Include the Website URL
- Optimize the Google My Business Description
- Additional tips for your description optimization
- Add Products and Services
- Optimize your Business is necessary for local search
- Upload Photos, Videos, and Virtual Tours
- Keep Accurate Hours
- Questions and Answers
- Post About New Offers and Events
- Reviews
Create a Google My Business Profile
One of the most important things to do with your Google My Business profile is to complete the required fields. You need to provide enough information to Google.
You will need to fill out your Google Business Name and Address. You also need to provide information about your services and products.
You will need to type your Phone Number and Email address. You will also need to provide information about your hours of operation and your physical address.
You can add a map to your page if you wish. You can also add images to your page. You can also add videos. You can share your business listing on social media sites.
Claim Your Business Listing
You can claim your business listing in three ways:
- During the initial setup of your Google My Business Profile account.
- By entering the address into the Google Maps search bar and clicking on the “Add your business” link.
- Searching for the business address or name on Google Search and clicking on the “Own this business?” link that appears in the knowledge panel. Note: This feature only exists for businesses that have already been indexed by Google in the Knowledge Graph.
Verify Your GMB Listing
It’s important to verify your Google My Business (GMB) listing so that you can control what information is displayed about your business on Google. You can verify your listing through phone, text, email, or video.
Verifying your listing gives you the ability to update the business name and other information on Google, and it restricts access from others changing this information without your approval.
Optimize your Business Information
Google My Business is a powerful platform that helps businesses by optimizing their online presence and connecting them with potential customers.
One of the best ways to make the most of this service is to ensure that all the information provided about your business is accurate.
This way, your business will come up in relevant searches, and you’re more likely to attract customers who are actually interested in what you have to offer.
- Business Name
- Address
- Phone Number
- Hours of operation
Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) should be consistent across all of your online business listings. Even the slightest change or inaccuracy can hurt your chances of ranking well in local SEO searches.
For example, if your business is located on South Street, use either “South” or “S.” for the address and always use the same version whenever the business address is mentioned online.
Some businesses serve customers both at their own physical locations and at their customers’ locations.
Primary Category
Your primary category is like telling Google what your business is all about in a few words. It’s one of the most important elements of your Google Business Profile from an optimization standpoint.
The Google Business Profile category has been one of the top-ranking factors for as long as I can remember.
There can only be one primary category but you have multiple options for secondary categories. The primary category includes:
- Web Designing
- Graphic Designing
- Internet marketing services
Secondary Category
Although the primary category is the most important, the second category shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re in a less competitive market or industry, you can still achieve a high ranking for your Google Business Profile if your secondary category is strong.
When we work with clients, we often find that there are missing secondary categories. Once we add them based on the client’s service offering, it usually leads to an increase in visibility on the local pack
Services
Google provides a list of recommended categories for businesses to choose from. For the primary and secondary categories, it’s best to stick with Google’s recommendations.
As for businesses, services are free to input whatever they like. Google will scan the business’s website to find recommended services and automatically add them to the company’s Google Business Profile.
It’s important to monitor the service section and approve or disapprove services that Google is automatically adding. This way, businesses can ensure that only accurate and up-to-date information is being displayed on their profile.
Website URL
You need to make sure that your website is optimized for search engines so that people searching for your business will be directed to your website.
For example, if you own a local restaurant, you should make sure that your website URL includes the name of your business and the city you’re located in.
Optimize the Google My Business Description
The description of your business is a necessary part of this optimization checklist for SEO. By including relevant terms that you want you’re listing to rank for in Google, you can help optimize your Business Profile for better search results.
You can also pick the top terms and use keyword combinations such as [keyword] + [city] to add even more relevance to your listing.
Additional Tips for your Description Optimization
- Sharing what your business offers.
- Explaining what sets you apart from the competition.
- Your company’s history.
- Other helpful information customers need to know.
- Do not include URLs or HTML code.
- Do not exceed 750 characters.
Add Products and Services
Adding products and services to your Google My Business profile can help it rank for even more relevant searches. Each product and service is another opportunity to optimize for specific keywords in SEO to improve the optimization of your listing.
- Create a separate listing for each product and service.
- List the price
Optimize your Business is Necessary for Local Search
To optimize your Google My Business profile, you should first decide which of the four basic categories is best suited to your business: restaurant, retailer, doctor, or lawyer.
After that, you should decide which of the seven sub-categories is best for your business. Then, you should make sure that all of the information you submit matches your category and sub-category.
For example, if your business is a restaurant, you can submit information about the type of food you serve, your hours of operation, the special events you offer, etc.
These details are used in Google Maps to generate local business listings, and if you don’t include them correctly, you could be missing out on the chance to appear in local search results.
The way you present your NAP information has a direct impact on your Google My Business Optimization checklist.
If you are using an outdated address, your business may not show up in local search results. If you update your business details in one place, like your website or Google My Business, it will be updated everywhere else, too.
Upload Photos, Videos, and Virtual Tours
If you are thinking about starting a business and want an SEO agency in Miami, the first thing you need to do is to think about how you can optimize your business. It can be done in many ways.
One of the ways is to use Google My Business. It allows you to manage your business online. You can post photos, videos, and virtual tours to give visitors a better impression of your business.
This is also one of the reasons why businesses hire a local SEO service. This way, they can use the information that they can get from the best SEO service to enhance their listings.
Adding images to your site is very easy. All you have to do is upload the pictures to Google Webmaster Tools and make sure they are not private. You will be able to choose which ones to display on your homepage.
- Upload high-quality photos and videos of your business.
- You should avoid promotional messages on your photos.
- Make sure don’t use stock photography or videos. This media may be flagged and removed.
- Add 3-5 photos of each of the outsides and inside of your business using different angles and different times of the day so people can get a good feel for the location.
- Include photos and/or videos of common areas.
- Upload team photos showing the management team and employees.
- Post photos and videos of employees at work and interacting with customers
- Add as many photos and videos of products as you can, such as food and drinks, before and after service, special items, etc.
- Include a virtual tour video that gives customers a complete sense of your business and its location.
Keep Accurate Hours
It is important to keep your business hours accurate because Google uses this information to rank your page in local search results. If you update your GMB Profile with your new hours, you will be able to rank higher in local searches.
This is very helpful for businesses that have stores open during the night. You should change your business hours to match your store’s hours.
This will make sure that customers know when you are open and when you are closed. There is a tool that can help you to check your GMB Profile and see what your current hours are.
- Holidays
- Events
- Extended seasonal hours
- Temporary closures
Questions and Answers
By proactively populating your GMB Profile with questions and answers, you can provide potential customers with the information they need to make a decision about your business without having to wait for a response. This not only saves you time but also allows you to control the narrative around your brand.
Post About New Offers and Events
An important Google My Business optimization checklist item to use is the post feature on your GMB Profile.
As mentioned in this other guide on Google My Business benefits, your Profile allows you to share digital marketing information directly with customers via your listing on Google Search and Google Maps.
A good strategy is to create 2-3 new posts per week minimum to help attract new customers. Types of content that can be included in Google Business Posts are:
Reviews
Customers trust reviews when making purchase decisions – nine out of ten say they read reviews before making a purchase Google Business Profile pages display customer reviews prominently.
Because almost everyone reads reviews before making a purchase, it’s important to make sure your Google Business Profile is up-to-date and filled with good reviews.
It’s easy to respond to reviews on your Google Business Profile page, and this is another important optimization tactic that’s often overlooked.
FAQs Related to What is Google My Business Optimization Checklist?
How do I get 100% on Google My Business?
- Create a Google My Business account
- Complete every section
- Be meticulous with contact information
- Write your “from the business” description
- Choose a category
- Select applicable attributes
- Add photos
- Get Google reviews
How do I get a blue tick on Google My Business?
Verifying your business profile on Google is easy and only takes a few steps. First, open the Google My Business app and click “Call me now.”
You will then receive an automated message with a code – enter this code into the app and click the arrow symbol. That’s it!
Can I put my business on Google for free?
Creating your Business Profile on Google is free, and gives you the ability to manage your business from Google Search and Maps. This way, you can start reaching more customers easily.
Why is Google business charging me?
We offer a 14-day free trial when you sign up for Google Workspace. Your primary payment method will be charged automatically at the beginning of the next month after your paid subscription starts. For example, if your paid service starts in May, we’ll charge you at the beginning of June.
