So you’ve claimed your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing, included some attractive pics and ensured you’d got the right business category, opening times and NAP (Company Name, Address and Phone) info. You’ve even managed to get some great reviews and feedback. So that’s Google Business Profile done. Wrong! You can do many more, and here are three things most companies overlook.
If you type your company name (and 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, this Company Pack frequently dominates the search, 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 precious real estate for you.
1/ Respond to your reviews
Most clients I work with understandably worry about the almost inevitable lousy review 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 demonstrates to both Google and your existing clients that you’re a responsive company and value their comments, regardless of the feedback you receive. However, it also allows you to explain how you consistently ensure that excellent service or product is made.
You don’t have to labour the issue, but you can give insight into the process or attention to detail that your customers may be unaware of. Say, for instance, you hire 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 that you verify where needed. For instance, have you verified your Facebook company page? Very few companies do!
In due course, you should see these summaries populating your GBP underneath your address and opening hours. Get at least two other review channels to register here to prevent 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 lets you promote an event, recent news or a current promotion and create a tailored call to action (CTA) that can take your prospects to a specific page on your site.*
This compelling opportunity to sell your brand shouldn’t be overlooked. After all, the rest of the 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 hidden and equally important benefit to this.
You may have noticed something unexpected and irksome happens for most GBP profiles where you’ve used your exact address. Even though for most GBP 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, 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, there are 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 at 07985 676506 or email me at guy@readysteadygoseo.co.u
