3 ways to get more out of your Google My Business listing

So you’ve claimed your business listing, included some attractive pics and ensured you’ve got the right business category, opening times and NAP (company Name, Address and Phone) info. You’ve even managed to get some great reviews with some great feedback. So that’s GoogleMyBusiness done, right? Wrong! There are lots more you can do and here are three things most companies overlook.

If you type in your company name (and also your location for multi site companies) into a Google search on a desktop or laptop you’ll generally be presented with Adwords and organic listings on the left and your own ‘Company Pack’ on the right (see image below).

On a mobile device search then this Company Pack frequently dominates the search with it coming up first; on Android devices at least (see image below).

Given this prominence, it makes sense to give the best possible impression for something that isn’t your website and yet in many search scenarios is seen long before they get to your site! Moreover, it turns out there’s a lot you can do to enhance and add to this pack to improve this incredibly valuable real estate for you.  

1/ Respond to your reviews
Most clients I work with understandably worry about the almost inevitable bad review that they’ll receive at some point in the company’s life and how to respond to it. What none of them ever worry about is responding to the great reviews. This is a missed opportunity. It obviously demonstrates to both Google and your existing clients that you’re a responsive company and that you value their comments, regardless of the feedback you receive. However, it also gives you the chance to explain how you ensure that great service or product is made consistently great.

You don’t have to labour the issue but you can give an insight into the process or attention to detail that your customers may be unaware of. Say for instance you hire out cars. If someone says what an excellent car they picked up from you then perhaps you can mention the 38 point check you do before a car goes out on hire. You might not, however, want to list out all 38 points!

2/ Integrate reviews from other sources
So you’re held in high regard by reviews on Google, what if you’re also great on Facebook, 118, Yell, Checkatrade etc. In that case,  ensure that your NAP data is consistent and you verify where needed. For instance, have you verified your Facebook company page? Very few companies do!

In due course, you should start to see these summaries beginning to start populating your GMB underneath your address and opening hours. Ideally, look to get at least two other review channels to start registering here to assist in banishing the ‘Competitor Pack’ from appearing (more about this below).

3/ Post promotions, news or events
In the last fortnight, Google has introduced a new Post item to your Google My Business console (see image below).

This not only lets you promote an event, recent news or a current promotion but also gives you the opportunity to create a tailored call to action (CTA) that can take your prospects to a specific page on your site.*

This is an incredibly powerful opportunity to sell your brand which shouldn’t be overlooked. After all, the rest of your information you provide in the Google My Business profile is quite neutral data whereas this gives you a genuine opportunity to sell your company and what distinguishes you from the competition.
  
*This is generally only seen in Chrome and not necessarily by other browsers

Lock out the competition
What happens when you do all of this? Well, first and foremost you increase the real estate of your page and undoubtedly make any prospect feel more favourably towards progressing to visiting your website or even calling straight away. However, there is another more hidden and yet just as important benefit from this.

You may have noticed that for most GMB profiles, where you’ve used your exact address, that something unexpected and irksome happens. Despite the fact that for most GMB profiles your Company Pack will only turn up if you type your company name Google decides that if a prospect is looking on a laptop or desktop that this prospect would also like to know about your competitors, the so-called ‘Competitor Pack’. You’ll notice that at the bottom of your company pack also shows 5 potential competitors under the heading ‘People also search for’. So how can you get rid of this? Well follow the three steps above and you should be able to banish this irritating ‘Competitor Pack’ from your company pack whilst maximising your company image. See the example below.

So implementing these steps is a win win for you.

Please let me know how you get on implementing these steps and if you’d like any free advice concerning local SEO practices or more general SEO techniques then don’t hesitate to contact me on 07985 676506 or email me at guy@readysteadygoseo.co.uk [/md_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]