Google My Business!!! Even if you’re not sure what Google My Business (GMB) is, you’ve definitely seen it! Anytime you search for a business, along with the results, the business’ listing pops up! This is your GMB listing.
For example, here’s what shows up when you google “CIL digital marketing.” To the left, are your Google results, and to the right, is your GMB listing.
This allows businesses to create their own listing, within Google, to include things like your hours, contact info, address, questions you’ve answered, reviews, posts, and so much more! Therefore, when someone searches for your business, all of the generally looking for is right there!
The same thing occurs when you search for a service department. For example, if you search for “digital marketing Cape Cod,” all of the listings that fall under that description will show. This is vital for your marketing, since it’s one of the first places your prospective customers will look. Due to this, you obviously want to rank higher than others, so that they see you before your competitors.
How does GMB rank their listings? This is a complicated question, because rankings are not permanent. They are ever changing, so it’s important to keep up to date with your information, for a higher chance of a better ranking.
First factor we’ll touch on are reviews and content. The more consistent reviews you are receiving, the better. With this in mind, sporadic reviews won’t necessarily contribute to your ranking. You want as many good reviews, as often as possible. If this means asking every single customer to leave reviews, then do it! Also, posting quality content on your actual listing is seen as a plus! Post any current offers, changes, or even new products/services to make sure these people are seeing everything up to date!
Next, is relevance. The more relevant businesses to what the prospective customer is searching for will appear first. This means make sure your category selections on your listing include all of your services, so that you show up in all of the relevant searches. Think of target words and phrases to help you with this factor!
Lastly, comes distance and hours. If your business is open (according to your listing) while they’re searching, then you’ll appear higher. Also, the distance to what they’re searching for is also applied. This factor is somewhat out of your control, so make sure these categories are accurate.
Want help to create the most accurate and effective GMB listing? Contact CIL today and you'll have yours up & running in no time!