RedWolf

Optimize Your Google Business Profile Listing

Oct 06, 2024By Redwolf
Redwolf

Increase Visibility and Attract More Customers With A Fully Optimized Google Business Listing

If you are a local business and service customers in a specific geographic area, we will insist on optimizing your Google Business Profile GBP or Google My Business (GMB page).

Your GBP is the bedrock upon which all other online mentions of your business will rely on. Once we've optimized your listing, we can then begin to grow your digital footprint and provide Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines, signals of relevance that will help your business rank higher in local search.

There are hundreds of local business citation sites and your Google Business Listing contains the information they all need to rank you higher in local search. 

This guide will help you optimize your Google Business Profile listing to improve your local search ranking and attract more customers.

Here's WHY we want to do this:

  • Increased visibility
  • Improved local rankings
  • Increase customer trust
  • Free marketing
  • increased traffic to website
  • Build trust with real reviews
  • Engage customer and prospects

Basic Business Information and NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)

  • Consistency is Key: Ensure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all online listings.
  • Update Your Information: Log in to Google My Business and update your listing details in the "Info" tab.
  • Business Name: Use your legal business name and avoid spammy tactics like including cities, search terms, or taglines.
  • Business Location: Enter a physical address for customer visits. If not applicable, clear the address and rely on service areas. Consider using a tool like Smarty Streets to ensure proper address formatting.

Here's how to format your address:

  • Primary address line: Street address
  • Secondary line (optional): Suite numbers (not used for ranking)
  • Service Areas: List the cities, postal codes, or regions you serve (within a 20-mile radius). Maximum 20 service areas per listing.
  • Business Hours: Enter regular operating hours and add special hours for holidays or closures.
  • Short Name (optional): Create a short, memorable name for easier sharing and linking (available for select categories).

Business Categories

  • Primary Category: Choose the most relevant category that accurately represents your business. This significantly impacts your search ranking.
  • Additional Categories: Select additional relevant categories to further describe your business (avoid irrelevant categories).

Phone Numbers and Call Tracking

  • Call Tracking Number: If using a call tracking number, enter it in the "Primary Phone" field. Add your primary local phone number as an "Additional Phone."
  • No Call Tracking Number: Use your primary local phone number as the "Primary Phone" field. Add additional phone numbers as "Additional Phones."

Website and Other URLs

  • Proper Formatting: Ensure all URLs are formatted correctly, live at the time of entry, and include "https://" if secure.
  • UTM Tracking: Use Google Analytics UTM tracking codes to track website traffic from your GMB listing. Refer to Google's Campaign URL Builder for instructions.

Website URL:

  • Single location businesses: Use the homepage URL.
  • Multi-location businesses: Use the specific landing page for each location.
      
    Example Website URL with UTM Tracking:

 https://localmarketinginstitute.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb5&utm_content=primary   

  • Appointment URL: Link to your contact page or online appointment system.

Example Appointment URL with UTM Tracking:

 https://localmarketinginstitute.com/contact/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb5&utm_content=appointment   

Menu URL (Restaurants Only): Link to a dedicated menu page on your website (direct PDF links not supported). Alternatively, consider adding your menu directly to your GMB listing.

Example Menu URL with UTM Tracking:

https://www.jaxfishhouse.com/fort-collins/menus/dinner?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb3&utm_content=menu      

  • Booking and Ordering Service Links: Certain booking and ordering links may appear automatically through Google's partnerships. Contact the specific provider for removal or correction.

Services / Menu / Products

  • Services (Limited Availability): Create separate sections and entries for services offered, with appropriate descriptions (up to 1000 characters). Currently only viewable in the Google Maps app.
  • Menu (Restaurants Only): Create sections and entries for menu items (with names, prices, and descriptions up to 1000 characters) – currently viewable in the Google Maps app.
  • Products (Limited Availability): Focus on the most important products and categories. Create collections and individual product entries with names, prices, and descriptions (up to 1000 characters).

Business Attributes

  • Business-Defined Attributes: Select attributes that apply to your business (e.g., Women Owned, Wheelchair Accessible) through the "Attributes" section in your GMB listing. Be honest; Google may verify with users.
  • User-Defined Attributes: These are crowd-sourced attributes (e.g., Wheelchair Accessible Entrance?) that you cannot control. Monitor subjective attributes using the "Insights" tab in your GMB listing.

Business Description

  • Location: Access the description section under "Info" in your GMB listing.
    Character Limit: Write a compelling description of up to 750 characters (only the first 244 characters display in search results).
  • Character Limit: Write a compelling description of up to 750 characters (only the first 244 characters display in search results).
  • Recommendations: Focus on what you want customers to know most about your business.

Use important keywords naturally (keyword stuffing is not effective). Avoid all-caps, emojis, and promotional language.

Tell people about your business, not just sales or prices.

Avoid using URLs in the description.

Advanced Information

  • Store Codes: For multi-location businesses, use unique store codes to organize listings.
  • Labels: Use labels (tags) to organize listings by region, store type, or other criteria (up to 10 labels per location).
  • Google Ads Local Extensions Phone: If using Google Ads, consider using a different phone number for local extensions (if applicable).

Photos

Businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more website clicks.

Importance: Photos, videos, and virtual tours are crucial for attracting customers. Businesses with photos receive 42% more requests for directions and 35% more website clicks.

Photo Guidelines: Upload high-quality JPG/PNG images (minimum 720x720 pixels, maximum 10MB).

  • Use original, non-promotional photos.
  • Avoid stock photography.
  • Photo Types:Logo (square format)
  • Cover photo (primary image)
  • Exterior/interior photos
  • Photos at work
  • Team photos
  • Products/food/rooms (as applicable)

Photo Tips:

  • Cover Photo: Upload the desired cover photo to increase its chances of being selected by Google's algorithms.
  • User Engagement: Encourage user interaction with your photos to signal their importance to Google.
  • Remove Photos: Remove unwanted photos you've uploaded. Flag user-contributed images for potential removal if they violate Google's policy.

How to Contact Google My Business Support

Additional Tips:

  • Verify Your Listing: Complete the verification process to unlock additional features and improve your visibility.
  • Monitor and Respond to Reviews: Regularly monitor reviews and respond promptly to both positive and negative feedback.
  • Optimize for Local SEO: Use relevant keywords, optimize your website, and encourage local citations to improve your local search ranking.
  • Stay Updated: Keep your GMB listing updated with any changes to your business information, hours, or services.

By following these guidelines, you can optimize your Google Business Profile listing, attract more customers, and improve your online presence!

This is one of the first tasks we will execute when working with a new local business.

We can do it for you.

If you do not have a Google Business Listing we charge a one-time setup fee of $400.

We charge a one-time fee of $350 for the above optimizations on existing GMB accounts.

We can maintain it for you monthly. 

Get your own GMB Account Expert for $150/mo. See below.

Monthly GMB Maintenance

We charge $150/mo for:

  • Weekly promotional posts
  • New products or service listings
  • New Questions and Answers
  • Review Responses
  • Image and Video Uploads
  • Moves, adds, and edits
  • Profile Monitoring
  • Competitor Spam Sweep
  • Geogrid Keyword Ranking Report
  • Monthly Performance Report
  • On-demand Reporting Dashboard
  • GBP Scorecard Updates

Call us to get started.
(214) 304-2735‬