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Google My Business: The Key to Ranking Your Local Business

by Dan Gershenson

For local businesses, ranking your business in Google My Business (the Google maps 3-pack) can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving.

All Google products evolve as they find ways to make search better and, let’s face it, make more money from that fact.

There are a handful of factors that Google uses to decide what sites to show when a person searches for a local business.

While we have previously shared our thoughts on  reviews ,  schema markup , and  citations , today I want to talk about the linchpin of the local listing game – your  Google GMB Page.

There’s a lot of recent chatter about the Google My Business page, linked to Google+, going away, but for now it’s still vital data that feeds to Google Maps and even in some of the exploratory versions people see in the wild, things like reviews on your Google My Business page are going to continue to be a ranking factor.

The presence of the Google Maps data in mobile searches makes this element increasingly important for most local businesses. I have a client in the home services industry that receives 66% of their current traffic on mobile devices and tablets.

ComScore recently  found  that 78 percent of local-mobile searches resulted in an immediate offline purchase.

You really can’t even dream about showing up for local searches unless you claim and Optimize Your Google My Business page first.

A little Google My Business housekeeping

There’s a good chance you have a Google My Business page, even if you don’t remember setting it up.

Okay, sorry for all that housekeeping, it’s just we’ve seen how tangled this one can get and fixing it is a big deal.

Now let’s get your Google My Business Page optimized

So, let’s assume you’ve found your Google My Business page all systems are go.

There are few things you should consider:

  • Are Name, Address, and Phone the same (exactly) as you have on your website?
  • Is the category precise – i.e., Attorney vs. Elder Law Attorney?
  • Have you written a keyword rich description?
  • Is your website listed in the profile?
  • Have you added a few relevant images?

Google offers some pretty good tips for setting  your Google GMB  up the way they suggest.

Some more advanced options

There are other ways to optimize this important element, but make certain you have the ones above covered.

  • Update images with fresh, hi-resolution images. Google will compress them as needed, but they will look much better. You can and should feature hi-res logo, exterior shots, interior shots, staff and behind the scenes work. Here’s a  detailed guide to images from Google .
  • Consider adding a  Google Street View Tour  of your business. Google is ushing this as it adds an incredible verification and trust element for them. Here’s an example of one we did for a  Kansas City Remodeling Contractor .  

If you have questions about your Google My Business Page or need some help unwinding some not so ideal set-up you might consider checking out our  Local Foundation Service .

Although most of what it takes to rank locally isn’t that complex, sometimes it makes sense to get a pro involved. After all, optimizing directory profiles might not be the best use of your time.

We created the Local Foundation Package as a complete and ongoing “done for you” marketing service so you can rest assured all of these more technical local ranking factors are taken care in just the right manner.

Either way, if you keep chugging along with these tips pretty soon when someone says “Google that” they’ll find your business.

The Fractional CMO

Page One on Google Is Your New Business Card

By Dan Gershenson • 22 Jul, 2022
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“Do You Have Experience In Our Industry? No? Cool.”

By Dan Gershenson • 02 Jul, 2022
The conversation was going well. We felt like we were connecting at the same level. The prospect had gotten to know me and appeared to feel great about my understanding of his process, goals, etc. Then came the question. I’ve received it many times before. “Do you have any experience in our industry?” Years ago, […] The post “Do You Have Experience In Our Industry? No? Cool.” appeared first on Caliber Brand Strategy + Content Marketing.

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By Dan Gershenson • 24 Jun, 2022
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By Dan Gershenson • 17 Jun, 2022
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By Dan Gershenson • 10 Jun, 2022
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The Future Favors The Nimble Agency

By Dan Gershenson • 03 Jun, 2022
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You’re Ignoring This Client The Most.

By Dan Gershenson • 27 May, 2022
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By Dan Gershenson • 30 May, 2017
There’s a Facebook community I was recently excited to join, led by one of of the people in our industry I truly respect. Within two weeks, I found I had to leave it. It wasn’t largely the group leader’s fault. It was the people who killed it from within. Why? The entire mission of the […] The post Carnival Barking and Rapid Fire Posting Chaos: Improving Online Communities From Within appeared first on Caliber Brand Strategy + Content Marketing.

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By Dan Gershenson • 26 Apr, 2017
This scene from Mad Men sums up an important point for me about prospect relationship building. There are Believers and there are Non-Believers. The difference is easier to spot than we make it. As Don Draper says when explaining an ad campaign, “You either have it in your heart or you don’t.” Let’s apply this […] The post Prospecting: Separating The Believers From The Non-Believers appeared first on Caliber Brand Strategy + Content Marketing.
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