google my business Archives - Doctor, Dental SEO Consultant in Salt Lake City, UT

Small businesses generally struggle to create an online presence. Managing SEO and achieving online visibility can be problematic, particularly for professional practices and local SMBs trying to find their feet on shoestring budgets. Fortunately, Google has decided to make things easier.

Enter Google My Business. What is it? In a nutshell, it is a free application that helps local (and other) companies “get on Google.” It integrates Search, Maps, Google+, and AdWords, among other services, and provides one unified interface for them all.

While the search engine modestly states that it is a successor to Google Plus Local, it is obviously more than that. Some have called it a “one-stop marketing tool suite” that simplifies information management and makes managing a company’s online presence quick and convenient.

Google My Business Features at a Glance

Functionality is the defining characteristic of this multi-platform application. It can be used on Windows, Android, and iOS, delivering blanket market coverage for mobile devices. Suffering from “app fatigue”? Don’t worry; the new packages is fun, fresh, and useful.

At first glance, you will notice several familiar features, like search and Google Plus, combined with standard Google Maps. New features include easy to manage online information uploads, image uploads, communications, social media capabilities, and real time business metrics.

Google has essentially upgraded their existing services, and built in a few new ones, enabling a range of features that are practical and business-relevant. The inclusion of metrics is another important development; it allows instant access to real-time data intelligence.

Using the familiar Google Plus dashboard, they have evolved a new responsive dashboard layout that is logical and easy on the eyes. The dashboard is the control panel and can be used to view page insights, analyze website analytics, and share content updates with the world.

It is literally like having an office in your pocket, complete with advertising and performance measurement options. You can manage all of your existing pages from the main panel and add new pages easily, simplifying the management of your online presence.

My Business for Professionals

Particularly for companies offering legal, medical, and accounting services, there are convenient possibilities. For instance, the new approach allows instant direct connection with customers and online inquiries – a useful communications option for fast-paced practices.

Some practical examples…

If you are a law firm that offers a variety of legal services, you can advertise them on your profile, link to your website, include important information, and monitor key business metrics. You can also contact clients, respond to inquiries, and share company news. Of course gathering reviews is also an important feature of the platform.

If you’re a CPA, specializing in a range of services and locations, you can present your full range of services in your profile. Include business news, seasonal tax reminders, special rates, and advertise consultancy or other related services, all with the one package.

The beauty of the new approach for professional practices is that it is also instantly accessible and familiar for clients. All that one needs to do is perform an ordinary search. For consumers, Google My Business is a quick, no-hassle way to find the services that they need.

The bottom line values for businesses are very interesting. Apart from the fact that the tool suite delivers several useful assets at no cost, it allows for an enhanced visual online presence, improved search-ability, and it offers multiple options that serve operational purposes.

The overall ease of use with this application deserves a special mention. Reviews are positive; some have even taken the time to provide thorough, visual GMB guides, like this one. If you explore the various features and options available, you will note some obvious positives.

Metrics & Search Engine Optimization

The new ability to analyze metrics is handy. Using “Insights,” one can monitor views, track user engagement (actions taken on posts), and keep an eye on audience growth (new followers), indicating how many customers find and interact with your professional G+ pages.

If you have Analytics installed, a snapshot of your account appears in your GMB dashboard and shows how many new and unique users have visited your site, as well as how many page views you have. To get the full picture on your stats, click the handy button to the right.

The new panel also lets you track what people are saying about your business. Google shows you how many customer reviews you have in search, how many reviews your company has around the web, and assigns you an overall rating. Click “manage reviews” to do just that.

Want to see what is happening with your YouTube channel? Google My Business tells you that, too. It shows you how many new subscribers you have had in the last thirty days, how many views you’ve accrued, and how many minutes have been watched. You can even start or join a hangout.

From an SEO perspective, the new metrics are significant. While they aren’t direct analytical optimization tools, they are performance measures that can provide invaluable insights. One can see at a glance how their online presence is working, and see spikes and dips.

Critical Reception

Interestingly, the notoriously critical SEO industry has been positive about the new changes. Instead of the traditional skepticism with which the industry typically views new apps, particularly those that affect search engine optimization, reviews have been favorable.

In general, SEOs have been receptive and positively inclined to the fundamentally improved package of products for search and marketing. A common theme in reviews has been praise for the high functionality of the various functions, particularly new operations.

One of the reasons for the industry’s current acceptance of Google My Business is the inclusion of a number of significant SEO values. It is a virtual wish list that delivers efficient search-ability, clear baseline metrics, and improved flexibility for managing information.

A nice feature of the app is the ability to include multiple locations. A statewide business, for example, can include all of its locations, with maps, addresses, and contact details. This helps to coordinate info and reduces duplication issues for those operating in multiple sites.

The same feature, additionally, may boost search rankings by virtue of its clear relevance to specific, location-based searches and local SEO. Say your prospective clients enter “lawyers Utah” looking for your practice, the search term, scope, and class is automatically detected.

Marketing Value

The other important area in which GMB is making waves is in basic marketing. The app allows a combination of photos, info, and videos – a full suite of options for promotion. This of course is good for brand awareness, which is necessary in today’s competitive markets.

One can create and exhibit promotional videos, infomercials, consumer-related information, and deliver commercial content directly to a target market, even weave it in with social media. As you probably know, social is now an integral part of marketing that affects search engine optimization.

Speaking of SEO, the value of instant accessibility can be a major benefit, since speed and convenience are important factors for both Google and users. Marketing materials used can be assessed on their performance, views, and clicks.

For professional practices, particularly law firms and accountancy practices, the additional promotion capability can be useful. Google My Business can deliver specific information regarding services and expand the range of advertising options available.

Will GMB Suit Your Company?

Every business is different, but yes, more than likely. At the very least, the new application deserves scrutiny and consideration as it can improve your visibility in results pages and help potential clients find you. Google has really raised the bar with this one. Users of Google+ and Places have automatically been upgraded to the new dashboard and will have been directed to GMB already (maybe you ignored the notification?) upon logging in. Those looking to get started can simply head over to the My Business page.

To sign up, click on the blue button that urges you to “Get on Google.” If you do not have a Google account, you will be directed to a sign up page. If you do have one, clicking the button will take you to a world map. Here, you will be able to search for your local business.

In case you are not a local company, click the link in the top right corner that asks if you aren’t one. You will then be directed to GMB, where you can select Storefront, Service Area, or Brand. On that same page, at the bottom, there is a link to Google My Business locations.

If Google isn’t bringing up your business (it won’t if you are just starting out), navigate to the bottom of the menu and click “None of these match.” Here you will be able to add your business and get started – just follow the prompts. The whole process is quick and easy.

Are using Google My Business and finding it useful? What do you think about Google’s attempt to streamline small and local business marketing?

Have you ever tried searching for something say “Italian restaurants” on your mobile phone fully intending to just get
information for later? You easily pulled up a results page of local Italian restaurants in your area, but then you saw your favorite restaurant at the top, and you instantaneously craved their famous lasagna. Oh, there’s a little button marked “call.” You tapped on it and voila, you were placing an order! Right there is one of the benefits of Google + Local – instant customers. Let’s talk for a few minutes on how you can ensure that your Google + Local account is set up properly so that you can get more clicks, more calls, more traffic to your site and grow your business.

1. Set Up Your Google My Business Account

Creating a business account is easy. Sign in with your Google account at google.com/places and accurately fill out details such business name, country/region, business address, phone number, and business category. It’s important that your Google + Local profile contains the same information as any other profiles your company may have online (i.e. official website, Facebook) and also as it is known locally offline. This information, called Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) is extremely critical that it be as absolutely accurate as possible as accuracy of listings across the internet is indeed something that Google considers when showing up search results. Besides, you wouldn’t want your business to be confused with someone else’s that has a similar name or is at a nearby location.

The business address should be an actual physical address where your mails can be sent. It is against Google’s guidelines to create fake addresses or to use a virtual address or Google will send a postcard here containing a pin number. (Sometimes you’ll have the option to phone verify, but it is usually a phone call). Once you log on to your Google Places for Business Account, this pin should to be inputted to verify that you are the owner of the business. Once verification is done, your business will now show up in Google searches, Google Maps, usually within a few weeks.

2. Getting the ‘A’ Spot and Staying There

Being the first on the list definitely has its advantages. Your business will be the first to be seen by a potential customer, and thus the first to be considered. Most users of course will just look at the first page of results, and then look at the listing with the most, best reviews. If you happen to be in the ‘A’ spot AND have the most reviews, then the likelihood of you getting the most clicks or calls of anybody in that 7 pack of businesses is extremely high.

Google has hundreds of factors that they use to determine who to display in the search results, and those factors are constantly changing.

Factors to show up in the Google + Local search pack include: On-page SEO , relevance, distance, and prominence. Below are a few tips on how to enforce these three factors in your Google Places and rank higher on the search results:

Give complete and accurate information when listing your business – Information included in your profile is what Google Places uses to understand your business and evaluate its relevance to what a user is searching for. Putting inaccurate information there, most especially Name, Address, Phone (NAP), and category may cause your business not to show up on search results that it should have.
Generate citations – Citations in Google Places are equivalent to links. Build some citations around the web by finding existing mentions of your business. Ensure first though that the NAPs across these sources are consistent. Otherwise, Google bots who scrape the web for content may not understand that a listing is indeed yours. Also aim to generate new citations from credible sites that Google trusts. According to Google, prominence is based on information Google has about a business from across the web (i.e. links, articles, and directories).
Get reviews- Encourage your customers to leave reviews on Google and other authoritative web review sites. You may want to check out this pdf by Phil Rozek which shows the pro’s and con’s of the major review sites. Consistently, provide excellent products/ services to customers, and you’ll find that sometimes encouragement won’t be necessary. Customers will provide good reviews and recommendations simply because they truly like your product/service and want other people to try it. That said, if you truly want to dominate in reviews, you need to have a review funnel in place and make sure that you are actively engaging with your clients to get reviews.

With a lot of market players out there, competition is stiff. Through properly optimizing your listing with Google My Business profile, you are increasing the changes that customers can find your business and contact you when they are ready to buy. If you aren’t showing up, then, they (your potential customers) will turn to your more readily-accessible competitor, and you know you don’t want that!

Need help with optimizing your Google My Business listing? No problem, contact me and we’ll talk to see if we are a good fit to work together.

What You Should Know About Google My Business