Google My Business is one of the top platforms that businesses and organizations use to manage their online presence. The most important, high-level, information about a business can easily be found through their Google My Business Profile. When there are people viewing your Google My Business profile daily, you’ll want to make sure you’re using the platform to its potential. We’ve compiled a list of the most important Google My Business Do’s and Don’ts to ensure your profile runs as smoothly as possible.
Google will use the information that you provide in your Google My Business (GMB) profile to display the most accurate results for users searching your business, industry, products, etc. Make sure your information is accurate across all areas of the web including your website and any other listing platforms. This information includes your contact information like phone and email, address, domain name, hours of operation, and any other general information customers should be aware of. Our favorite tool to ensure information is correct and accurate across the web is Yext. Read more about Yext below.
Using inaccurate information is highly discouraged in your GMB profile. Make sure the address you have listed is the real address of your business. This also applies to your phone number, email address, and hours of operation. While It may be tempting to set your location as a larger city in hopes to reach more people, or adjusting your hours to appeal to more customers, this actually ends up hurting your Google listing and can lead to a violation of their guidelines
Using Google Posts is a great way to reach more people by incorporating keywords that are relevant to your business. These posts allow the user to get a glimpse of your business before looking deeper into your website or social media pages. Also, be sure to keep posts relevant and up to date. This can be anything from a new project, hour adjustment, contact or location changes, new services, or even exciting happenings in your business.
It’s great to use variations of keywords that users might be searching for, but don’t overdo it. Remember, we’re posting for the user's benefit and we want them to take an action from our post. Whether that be “learn more, buy, order online, or call now,” we want them to click on the call to action and direct them to the website.
This leads us to our next mistake, don’t link to an irrelevant page. If the user clicks on a call to action that is directing them to “call now,” you’ll want to make sure that button is linked to your contact page. Make things as easy as possible for the user. You don’t want them to have to go through multiple pages to find what they need or leave your website because they can’t find it.
Having a clear and accurate image of your business helps users easily locate you. If the outside of your building is clearly shown, users are more likely to find you since they have an idea of what your building looks like. Photos of your building can also give customers an idea of the parking situation. If you have a big parking lot, street parking, or a parking garage, it’s good to show that so customers can be prepared. No one like to show up in a new place uncertain of where they can or can’t park.
Use real imagery of your business, employees, products, services, etc. Incorporating images that show actual pictures of your staff, recent projects, or products you sell, show people that your business is active. It also gives them a preview of what they should expect if they choose to work with you.
If no photos of your business are added, Google automatically uses an image of the “street view.” In some cases, the street view doesn’t actually show your business - just the main road it is on. This can lead users away if it seems as if your business is hard to locate or tucked away on a side street. Fake imagery should also be avoided. Stick to photos that accurately display what customers should expect. Fake imagery could be deceiving to them.
Reviews are a great way to show people what current or former customers think of your business. Check on your reviews once or twice a week to see what your customers are saying. If you’re seeing positive reviews, great! That shows people are happy with your business and would recommend you. Positive reviews are also great to use as content on social media. It may even lead to those social media followers deciding to leave a positive review themselves.
You’ll want to make it a goal to respond to each and every review. That means negative reviews and positive ones. Responding to positive reviews shows that you’re actively listening and engaging with customers. Responding to negative reviews is just as important. This shows the reviewer and anyone else who sees the review that you’re handling the situation responsibly. You may not even know there was an issue until you see the negative review left behind. Hearing out the customer, responding to them, and providing a solution that resolves their issue shows that you’re taking accountability. Leaving negative reviews unresolved can make it seem as if you don’t care and come off unprofessional.
Ensuring that your business's information is accurate across all platforms like Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, Nextdoor, Twitter, Home Advisor, and more is essential. However, it’s extremely hard to keep track of all the platforms you use. That’s why we love Yext. Yext is a platform that utilizes direct integrations that enable users to manage all facts about their business from one central source of truth. This allows customers to find accurate information about your business no matter where they’re searching.
In simple terms, Yext acts as a source for managing information across all of your most important business platforms. Do you have an address change? Or maybe a new phone number that needs to be added? It could take hours to enter this new information into each separate platform. Yext makes it simple and handles it for you. Just enter your updated information into Yext, and they’ll take care of entering that information into every platform you’re on. Learn more about Yext on their website.
