Keeping your Google My Business listing up to date and filled with what you can provide customers with, locations you serve in, contact details and so on, will help you up the local SEO ladder. In this blog, we will focus on and highlight the information you should review and update regularly.
Google My Business listings appear at the top on mobile and to the right on a desktop for search results.
Business Name
Your business name plays a more significant part than you think in your ranking – which is somewhat surprising, as many believe it shouldn’t matter. However, the businesses with keywords or locations in them tend to propel themselves nearer to the top.
For example, if you searched for ‘Leicester’ and ‘Websites’ – you will see that Leicester Websites appears ‘organically’ (in the regular search results) at the top and in the business listing call out on the right. See here.
One note; the name on Google my Business must represent your trading name.
Categories
This is relatively simple as it’s an area you choose yourself. Whatever your business covers, you should list it, which will help increase your chances of climbing the search ladder. Although there’s only ten you can add, Google’s adding more and more to cover more businesses. They currently have around 4,000 categories.
In the past year, Google has added an increasing number of categories, and it is worth checking from time to time for any new ones applicable to you.
Website Name
Several business owners don’t think about which page of their website to link Google My Business to. Over 90% of listings link to the home page and there is nothing wrong with it – but, with the trial and error method, you may find a better page to link it to. For example, if your business is based in multiple locations, often it’s better to link directly to a location or contact page.
Reviews
The final influential area of Google My Business is reviews. The more positive reviews you get, the more Google will reward you and help improve your search position. Its like old fashioned recommendations; the more people pass on good reviews by word of mouth, the more likely you will be considered later by new leads.
Services
The section about the services you offer is an opportunity to add descriptions, phrases and keywords, but it does not influence the overall rankings.
The area isn’t that visible – you’ll have to look at the listing properly and look into it. This is an area to look at less frequently.
Products
The product feature has only been available for just over a year. It is a very visual aspect that allows you to showcase the products you offer.
Questions and Answers
The Q&A is based at the bottom of your listing on Google – with customers asking questions about your business. Tests have proven that even with the use of keywords and specifics in both questions and answers, there have been no changes in rankings.