Optimizing Google My Business

Google My Business allows a company to show up in Business Profile section of Google Search as well as in the Google Maps search results. This is essential for any business interested in local SEO with a physical location people can visit.

Proper GMB Category Associations

GMB allows the verified user to choose their primary and secondary categories from a list. This list includes categories such as Abbey, Diesel Fuel Supplier, Yamaha Motorcycle Dealer, and nearly 4000 others. When choosing a category for a client there are a few things to keep in mind:

• You can have up to ten categories for a business, but only one of those can be the primary category. The primary category is given the most importance by Google’s algorithm.
• When choosing a category be a specific as possible. Instead of choosing Restaurant, choose Egptian Restaurant. Instead of choosing Clothing Store, choose Men’s Clothing Store. You get the point. Be specific.
• Add the least number of Google My Business categories as possible to describe your core business. The more categories you have, the weaker each individual category gets in a potential customer’s search for businesses that do what you do.
• Describe your business… not your services or amenities. For example, if you are adding a restaurant to GMB and that restaurant has a bar, you shouldn’t add Bar as a category because that’s not what the business is. That is an amenity. There is a caveat to this however. In Google’s own words, “… if your business is a health club that includes a cafe, don’t add the category “Cafe”. Instead, the operator of the cafe should create their own listing with “Cafe” as their primary category.”

Another local pack ranking factor is how well the client’s primary category matches a broader category of the search. For example the client’s primary category is restaurant and the search category is pizza. Google understands that when someone searches for pizza they are looking for a restaurant much of the time, so the client’s result is more likely to show.

In summation, when choosing categories be specific, add only the most important categories, and describe your business not your amenities. Here is a bit more on choosing a business category.

GMB Business Name/Title

Honestly, I am not sure what is being described as the “title” in the moz report, but I will quickly discuss best practices for the business name. Google wants business owners to enter their actual business name and nothing else. Don’t use taglines, location information, or mention products/services in the business name unless it’s actually a part of the name. Google see’s this as spammy and your listing could get penalized. Some SEO practitioners say that adding keywords into  your business name will help rank you better, but it’s not wise and could hurt your client. Instead, include the keywords in the business description.

Completeness of GMB Listing

Obviously, it is beneficial to have a complete Google My Business listing. Following are other elements we have yet discussed that should be optimized:

NAP (and service area/hours) – NAP stands for name, address, phone. It is very important that a client’s NAP is consistent across the web. That means that their website has the same address, name, and phone number as GMB and other business citations. The Hoth provides a local package that will audit citations and build local business citations. You can use this service to make sure that the NAP is consistent across the web. Also make sure to set up accurate hours, and, if the client operates a business that travels around a service area, make sure to set up a service area rather than an business location.

Short Name – This is a short custom name that is designed to make it easier for local search users to find your business. Google requires it be something either associated with your business name or the name that customers commonly use to refer to you. For instance, Sebo Marketing’s short name could be “sebo”. You can share a short name and people could go to your business profile by entering “g.page/[shortname]”. You can also include a location in the short name to make it more distinct. Sebo’s short name could then be “seboprovo”.  The short name is located in the info section of GMB.

As a final note, the short name can be up to 32 characters long, and you can change it a maximum of three times per year.  It is also useful in directing customers to leave reviews, so don’t skip this step.

Description – Here you should describe your client’s business as if the reader knows nothing of what the business does. Use the most important terms but don’t keyword stuff. It’s not believed that Google uses the description field as a factor in search rankings, but it can help convert those who see the business listing, so it’s still very important. Don’t focus on promotions, prices, or sales. Don’t use any URLs. You can write a description of up to 750 character, however, only the first 244 will display before the visitor clicks “More”.

Photos – Google has pretty specific guidelines when it comes to adding photos to a client’s GMB. You should add category-specific photos. Photos that spotlight features of the business that a client’s customers would use when making purchasing decisions. Following are types of business-specific photos that Google suggests, minumum number to add, and tips.

• Exterior photos – Add at least three. Capture a photo from each direction a customer might approach the business. Upload photos that show the business at different times a day.
• Interior photos – Add at least three showing what the business interior feels like. Capture photos that truthfully show what it’s like to stand in the business as a customer. Capture the atmosphere of the business.
• Product photos – Add at least three. Showcase items that are the most popular. Try taking evenly lit photos.
• Photos at work – Add at least three. Capture the team providing different types of services to customers. Also capture any speciality services the client delivers.
• Food & drink photos – Add at least three (if it applies of course). Showcase the most popular food.
• Common areas – Add at least one photo of each of the client’s common areas (for example, spa, gym, or breakfast room). Capture the atmosphere of the common area.
• Team photos – Add at least three photos showing the management team and employees. Show something a little less formal to humanize the business. Show the staff to highlight their personalities and give potential clients a feel for what the business is like.

As you can see there are many different types of photos that a client should be adding to their GMB. If you’ve kept count you’ll know that most local businesses should be adding between 10 – 12 photos at minimum. It’s also a best practice to upload at least one new image for each location each month if possible. You should also be adding a logo and a cover photo. The cover photo is the only photo you can actively choose so make sure that it best represents the business. Lastly here are the specs for the photos:

• JPG or PNG
• Between 10 KB and 5 MB
• Recommended resolution – 720 px tall, 720 px wide. Minimum resolution – 250 px tall, 250 px wide.
• The image should be well lite and have no significant alterations or excessive filters.

I know this seems like a lot, but the main takeaway is to take good photos of all aspects of your business and try to represent reality as well as possible.

Reviews – I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but reviews are important. They are very important. They are very important for local businesses and for increasing organic exposure. Did I mention that reviews are important. Not only can reviews help boost the local pack, but we can also place them on the client’s website (in the footer or somewhere similar) and Google may use the reviews in the organic results as well. There are a couple best practices that will help generate reviews.

• First, request reviews from customers through a short URL that’s specific to the client’s business. To find this URL the client needs to have a short name in GMB. If they do, go to GMB, click Home, and copy the short URL in the “Get more reviews” card. Simply share this URL with the client’s customers.
• Second, suggest that the client take an active role in the management of GMB. Specifcally let them know how important it is for them to engage with their customers online. This means replying to the reviews that are left on Google. This can go a long way.

Google may also use information Google finds while crawling the web to generate automatic reviews, so it’s useful for the client to get reviews from any reputable directory or review platform.

Google Posts – Posts are essentially tiny blog posts that can be used to give a short new update, share an offer, publish details of an upcoming event, or showcase a product. Following are some tips to keep in mind when creating GMB posts:

• Stick with 80 – 100 words per post.
• Follow best SEO practices, and make sure to use appropriate keywords. Put the most important messaging towards the front of the post.
• The best image size for the post is 720 x 720 and the image should be centered. Don’t upload an image smaller than 250 x 250.
• You can preview the post before publishing. Use this to make sure the post looks good.
• When possible don’t upload a post image that has text in it. It may be cropped out.
• A post is an opportunity to talk directly to the customer, so make sure the word usage is natural and has a “real-world” conversational tone.
• Make sure the landing page you send visitors to matches the content on the post and meets a visitor’s expectaion.

Learn more about publishing Google Posts.

Google Q&A – GMB has a section dedicated to questions crowdsourced by real people. Potential customers can ask questions and also answer questions already asked. You, or the client, can periodically look at the question section and answer questions. This gives you the ability to control the answer. Don’t try to keyword stuff when answering questions. Simply answer the questions directly. To navigate to the Q&A section, Google the name of the client’s company. In the knowledge graph there will be a section for questions and answers.

You can also utilize this section to create a FAQ’s section. You can ask commonly asked questions and provide the answers. That way potential customers will be able to see commonly asked questions in Google search before coming to the site.

Social Media – In some knowledge panel search results, social media profiles will appear alongside local business information. Google says:

“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. Social profile information is automatically added to listings for eligible businesses.”

The process of getting the social media profiles to show up is semi-automatic. To do everything you can to ensure a client’s social media links appear, Google says to be consistent, verified, and use structured data. Make sure the business name used on your social media profile is the same as that on GMB. Make sure the social media site verification process is complete (if applicable). On the client’s website, you can add structured social profile markup to indicate to the search engine which social media profiles you’d like showcased.

GMB Features Specific to Client’s Industry – There are some features in GMB that are specific to an industry. For example:

• Hotels have different knowledge panels
• You can add a menu to a restaurant
• Many individual businesses can add details on products and services
• If it’s a service-area business (like carpet cleaning), you can hide their address and set a service area instead (as stated above).

It is important to explore GMB and make sure that you are utilizing all the features for which your client’s business qualifies.

Editing a GMB Account