For small business owners, setting up a Google My Business (GMB) account is integral to local search engine optimization (SEO). GMB can boost your business’ visibility in local search results, allow you to connect with a wider demographic, and help you understand online customer behavior. Although creating and maintaining your GMB account requires time and effort, the benefits of GMB for local SEO far outweigh the investment required to set up your account.
Why should I create a Google My Business account?
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Research suggests that 50 percent of consumers visit a store or business the same day they perform a local search, such as “hairdresser near me,“ and 80 percent of consumers lose trust in businesses when they find incorrect details listed online. Consequently, keeping your name, address, and phone number consistent across all of your online listings can drive business and build credibility.
Google My Business also provides several features for small business owners, including insights, bookings, photos, and reviews. Google’s dashboard offers key insights into customer activity and interaction, making it easier for business owners to find out what’s working—and what’s not—on their GMB listing. Customer insights can also help business owners learn more about their customer base and target a wider audience.
Small businesses can also use GMB to post custom updates and offers, engage with customers via online reviews, and respond to customer’s direct questions about products or services.
How do I create a GMB account?
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Now that you understand how creating a GMB can help your business, you’re probably ready to set up an account. Start by setting up a new Google account or accessing your current GMB login. After logging in, visit google.com/business and click “Manage Now.“
Next, enter your business name. If another business in your region has the same name as yours, an autocomplete function will suggest those businesses. Using the autocomplete function, check whether your business listing already exists to avoid creating a duplicate listing. Additionally, you can add a new profile to an existing business if you’ve opened a second location.
If your business engages in face-to-face customer interactions, enter the physical address of your business. If you own a service area business or a business that delivers products or services to customers, you’ll be prompted to enter a service area.
After entering your physical location or service area, you’ll need to choose a business category. This field not only influences the search terms your listing appears under, but it will also appear in your GMB listing. If you’re not sure which category to choose, try researching competitors to find the most accurate category.
How can I optimize my GMB listing?
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Although listing a contact phone number and website URL isn’t necessary, providing additional contact information is strongly recommended if you want to take advantage of GMB functionalities. Keep in mind that if you change your contact phone number or website URL in your GMB listing, you’ll also need to update your contact information across other online listings.
Additionally, set aside some time to add high-quality photos and videos to your listing, write a powerful and compelling business description, and answer customer’s questions using GMB Q&As.
To fully optimize your GMB listing, consider hiring a team of SEO professionals. Link Laboratory, an organic SEO company, helps small businesses grow visibility within organic search results using web crawlers, log file analyzers, and SERP data ingestion. Working with a team of SEO professionals can help turn local searchers into customers, and you’ll be able to build an effective growth strategy by shedding light on what Google sees. To find out more about how local SEO can help your business, visit linklaboratory.com.
All in all, appearing in hyperlocal searches can help drive business, expand your customer base, and raise brand awareness.
