How to BOOST your Google My Business Listing

Google My Business is a free business listing service available on Google.com. All you need is a Google account and a business with a physical address. Every business should have this free tool as part of their their online marketing and Local SEO strategy. This article is not about creating or claiming your listing, we will be more than happy to help you with that, just contact us.

Google My Business (GMB) is referred by a number of different names in “the” industry. Google My Business, GMB, Google map listing, 3-pack, etc. The bottom line, Google My Business helps consumers find businesses that best match the search on Google.

GMB is simply a repository of information about your business that helps Google connect potential customers to you. The more accurate the information, the more complete, the better results you will get.

A few of the obvious elements are (NAP):

NAP stands for: Name, Address and Phone, what is typically the most critical aspects of your business when it comes to connecting with customer.

1. Business Name. This is something that many businesses actually struggle with; especially in the early days of a business or branding. Sometimes you may be tempted to add keywords or your name… The bottom line is to find the business name that you are looking to represent your brand and stick to it.
2. Address. The address should be accurate and up to date to ensure that if someone is searching for your business, they can find your business in real life. If you are working virtually or in a shared office space, you can still use your mailto: address, but make sure to check the box that states: I deliver good and services to my customers location.
3. Phone. So this one is one that has been debated in our company before and I love challenging the best approach to advertising and branding. Yes, your phone number can carry a brand. However, there is a huge value in leveraging tracking phone numbers to understand attribution (where things are coming from). The most important thing is NOT the phone number, it is that someone answers it! In a friendly and serving way. Do this and you will increase your business.

The NAP data is clearly important and we could write entire articles on the value of each data point. We feel that the best approach is to choose what you feel fits best and get started.

Now, LET’S BOOST you listing!

So, by now you have likely logged into Google My Business and have looked around a bit. We are going to focus on a few core elements that will provide the biggest BANG or BOOST for your business.

First, if you really want to get the most out of GMB; you should provide accurate information that best reflects the product or service for your business. The more complete the profile, the better opportunity Google has to match your business.

Let’s Start!

1. Business Hours, make sure your business hours are added and accurate.
2. Holiday Hours, this one is something that is often left out – typically because there are many assumptions that customers just know. However, this is really about the core theme here of having the most accurate information about your business and all operations. You want to make sure that your holiday schedule is accurate to ensure customers that are looking to connect will know if you are even open.
3. Business Categories, you are limited to one-primary category and this is used on the front-end results of Google. It is important to categorize your business on what it is, not what it does. Fortunately, the categories are limited, so this help ensure that you are most likely to choose one that is narrow in focus. You can add secondary categories, but we have found that a single category works very well.
4. Website, make sure your URL is added to your listing. This seems obvious, but make sure that it is added and setup correctly. If you are using an SSL cert, make sure you have https://www.pendio.com vs. non-http://.
5. Business Description, your business description should be clear and concise and offer a summary of your business services and products. Don’t overdo it, keep it simple and down to a few sentences. This should be viewed as an opportunity to expand the business category and tie in your product or service.

There are a ton of article out there on Google My Business and how to BOOST, maximize or AMPLIFY your listing. We recently discovered a program where “internet marketing experts” are selling a tutorial for $3,000! Seriously, $3k!?

You simply need to get in there and make sure that all of your information is included, accurate and stays up to date. Pendio is a tool that helps make ALL of this happen, but then it AMPLIFIES the outcome. Google not only seeks information from its internal systems, it is constantly scanning the internet seeking more data it can consume to score and determine the accuracy of the information it has.

Pendio is a hub for data and information on your business. It pushes your meta data out to more than 100 digital websites, search engines and indexes. This brand consistency helps build the authority of your business. Pendio helps take control and maintain your brand data across the web. This builds trust and ultimately boosts your position on Google and other search engines.