What is Google My Business? How to Optimise Your Listing

What is Google My Business? How to Optimise Your Listing

05 November 2020 |

SEM and SEO

Do customers frequently use a suburb or city name to find the services that your business offers online? With 46% of all Google searches in 2020 being for local information, there’s never been a more important time to optimise your web presence for local business searches.

Searches including the phrases “near me” and “close by” in particular have grown by more than 900% over the past two years. So how do you get your business to rank for location-based searches in a sea of competition?

That’s where Google My Business comes in. Google My Business is a completely free local SEO tool, provided by Google to assist business owners with getting their products and services in front of potential customers nearby.

The platform provides a comprehensive business profile that not only displays in the search results page local pack, but also displays to users on Google Maps. With 72% of consumers who perform a local search going on to visit a store within 8 kms, the bonus of a presence on Google Maps is all the more important.

Optimising your Google My Business listing for local search is easy, with the opportunity to define a service area of operation by city and region. Target keywords can be included in both the business description and category selections, while creating keyword-optimised product posts can also help your listing to appear for related searches.

As customers can leave a star rating and review for your business through the listing, it’s important to monitor these regularly and respond. Incentivising customers to leave a Google My Business review can also be a great way to boost the position of your listing over competitors, with those displaying a higher average rating more likely to rank first.

Another easy way to stand out over and above competitors, is to create a local post with a special offer or update. These posts are displayed in conjunction with your listing, and can provide a great incentive for potential new customers to click through.

Want to get started but not sure how? Get in touch with ADMATIC today to find out more.