Considering the recent trends and developments and how as per statistics almost 92.26 percent of global searches take place on Google, you cannot really separate making it big for your business from making it big on Google. Today, all our searches begin with Google and end with Google. Long gone are the days when one had to waste their time and energy shop hopping trying to find the best products and services, now all you have to do is search on google and a long and exhaustive list of relevant businesses pops up. And this list is so long that you never make it to the end. What that means is that to be noticed and picked up by your relevant customers, you need to rank higher on the Google My Business listing. But how exactly do you do that?
To help you out, from our online marketing specialists, we have brought you some tips to improve your Google My Business ranking. Sit through and pave for your business a road to success.
What is Google My Business?
Whenever you search for a service on Google, there is a list of companies and service providers that pop up relevant to your search keyword. This is exactly what Google My Business listing is. It’s like an online business card for your business but just a more improved and informative version. Google My Business displays your business’s location, google reviews, and allows direct access to the website of your company including all the necessary information. And today, as we rely on google for everything, may it be finding some services or our choice of products in our area, the need to list your business on Google really needs no further elaboration.
Google My Business Ranking Parameters
To win any race and come first, the first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with all the rules and parameters on which your performance will be judged. Similarly, when it comes to improving your Google My Business ranking and placing yourself a few spots higher, you need to consider all the parameters on the basis of which Google decides your ranking and create content accordingly. So, what exactly are these parameters which decide where you stand on the Google My Business listing?
1. Accessibility
A responsive website that is easily accessible to people using different devices, is key to your Google My Business Ranking. And so is a website that can be easily navigated by anyone irrespective of their experience in dealing with these virtual sites.
2. Reliability
Good google reviews echo credibility and in your Google My Business listing, one of the first things that a viewer sees is your google rating and review. So, create a strong customer base, incorporate them into your website and create for yourself a reliable website that ranks higher on the Google listing.
3. Relevance
Including relevant content in your website is more important than including trending content. With search keywords like “near me” gaining a lot of prominence, make sure you incorporate region-specific content to your website. As, more the relevance, the higher your business would rank.
How to improve your Google My Business ranking?
1. An Updated and Informative Business Profile
A basic and informative Google My Business listing includes all your basic information including your Brand name, address, contact number, website link, working hours, and sector to which your business belongs. Unless all this information is there, your business listing takes a fall in terms of credibility and reliability and therefore, ranks much lower. And it is not like you add the information once and don’t look back for years to come. Make sure you keep on updating your business profile with time and timely incorporate all events and offer information into your website.
2. List Your Business on Google Maps
Today instead of general searches, personalized searches are gaining a lot of prominence. As per Google’s consumer insights, the use of “near me” has seen over a 900 percent increase in the last few years and therefore the growing significance of listing your business on Google Maps. So, if your business is located on Google maps, Google grants it a higher ranking, and also being on Google Maps makes your website easy to find and therefore more likely to be visited by your potential customers.
3. Include High-resolution, Relevant Pictures
An average google business listing has around 11 images, and as we tend to give a lot of importance to face value, the quality of those images is directly proportional to how reliable your business appears to your potential customers. When it comes to images, quality, and relevance both matter. The pictures that you upload should be of high quality, should be relevant to your business and you must use custom photos instead of the ones copied from google.
4. An Informative QAs Section
In your Google My Business listing, there is also a specific section for questions and answers. Here people can post queries regarding your company and the services that you offer and anyone can answer them, yourself or the general public. So make sure that you timely answer these questions as such client interactions establish a credible image for your business for a third party. And being reliable is exactly how you improve your Google My Business ranking.
5. Be Google-Verified
Just listing your website on Google is not enough, you have to get it verified too. And trusted by Google is trusted by all. So, make sure you follow all the guidelines and procedures and get your website google-verified. As per google’s algorithm, a verified profile gets more visibility and control over their brand’s search results. Also, as customers, if given a choice one would choose a google verified business over the ones that are not verified by google.
6. Include Reviews and Your Responses to Them
Reviews are your client testimonials and your reviews decide whether a prospective client engages with your business or not. Good reviews invite clients and bad reviews dissuade them from engaging with your company but no reviews also put a question mark on your credibility. So, make sure that you have a working review section and timely respond to all your client reviews as it will all help create a reliable customer base for your business, and therefore your website will rank higher on the Google My Business listing.
So, by now you must have understood the importance of Google My Business listing and learned all about how to rank higher on this listing. But in case you need help implementing them, you can reach out to our online marketing team at Make My Website and expect holistic assistance.
