Google my business page (Business profile) was created for businesses to gain more visibility on Google search engine. Google my business page is mostly used for Local SEO by businesses and business listing.
If you are a business owner that creates google my business page, the page would not necessary work for you until you manage it to work for you and bring to you more customers.
You need a management and editing capabilities before your business profile can work for you as an effective SEO and lead generation tool.
To gain control over the management of your google business profile, you will need to create a free google my business account in addition to creating a free business profile.
The only means to which you can claim ownership of your business profile is with a Google my business account. It gives you access to attain management right to it, and unlock additional features that will help you in increasing your business visibility on google.
In my blog post today I want to teach you about everything you need to know about Google My Business Account, which will include the following;
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business is a google tool that enables local businesses to manage their online presence across the search engine.
Before we go deeper into what Google My business is and how it works, let’s be clear about what a business profile is on google.
Your Google Business Listings is also a term for your Google Business Profile which appears on google maps and in google search engine local results.
Google My Business Profiles on Google Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) look like this on Desktop Device:
And it looks like this on mobile devices,
To add a place or your local store to Google Maps you need to create a business profile.
Google business profile is easy to create and can be done by almost anyone.
Google requirement for creating a business profile is the business name, location of the business and the category of the business.
After submitting your profile, google will have to confirm that it is not a duplicate before your business will be created for your location.
With Google business profile, your customers can write reviews, ask questions and also answer questions.
A business profile can also get populated with information that google pulls from across the web.
It clearly means that a Google business profile can exist on its own.
Even if you are the one that created your business profile, you don’t have the ability to manage the information it displays on the web or the reviews it collects from customers.
For you to have control over your business account you will need to create a Google My Business account which will enable you to access, manage, customize and enhance your business profile on Google.
How to Make use of Google My Business for Local Marketing
Now that you know that Google My Business is different from your business profile, but it is a tool that enhances your business profile to boost its effectiveness and visibility.
Let’s talk about the 4 better ways you can use for your Google My Business Account to make your business profile on google listings a better Local SEO tool.
1. Engage with consumers (Customer Engagement)
You and your customers can interact with yourself on your business profile on the web. You can respond to their questions and reviews, you can also enable direct messaging, and set up associated alerts.
Google My Business page can also be used to publish posts to your business profile just like you do on Facebook and other social media platforms.
2. Highlight your Business
A business profile does not contain much information, its information is limited. But through a Google My Business Account, you can provide more detailed information. The information which includes your business products and pricing and other necessary details of your business including a link to your website.
A Google My Business Account is also needed for edits and updates of information.
3. Gain Insights
Using Google My Business Account will also give you the accessibility of your customer’s key insight in a single dashboard. In your account analytics tab, you will see the keyword queries customers are using to find your profile and where they found your profile, whether it is on Google Maps or Google search, you will also see the breakdowns of your customer's action on your listing and the performance of your photos compared to other business profiles in your category.
4. Perform local SEO
Google's search engine algorithm rank business profiles the same way it ranks its websites. You can incorporate relevant keywords into your business profile and do other optimization works that will help your profile rank in local search results.
How to use Google My Business Profile for SEO Marketing
Google Business Profiles are dynamic in nature. It does not only change based on platform, but Google also prioritize sections of your business profile according to search term and queries as well as showing the type of information that is most important to your customers.
Google will also help you to embolden relevant keywords in your profile content. Apart from google doing that for you, you also need to prioritize the use of keywords in your content to embolden in your profile the same way you use a CMS (Content Management System) software like wordpress to optimize your website content for the search engine.
Google My Business Account can be used to optimize your business profile and expand your business reach and visibility.
How to use Google My Business Account for Local SEO Marketing
- Target Your Information
To effectively make use of Google My Business for SEO, you need to make sure you incorporate keywords into your business profile so Google will know what you are trying to rank for on the search engine.
Use the keywords in your “from the business” description, your answers to your customers’ questions, your responses to your customer’s reviews and in the posts that you publish. Incorporate the keywords in your profile the same way you would with other SEO strategy of your business.
- Maintain Quality of Information
You have to make sure you provide relevant and important information in every area of your Google My Business Profile because the completeness and the accuracy of your profile positively impact its ranking.
- Build Trust
One very important reason to using Google My Business for SEO is due to the trust component of Google algorithm. You should always update your profile information as your business evolves; respond to your reviews with accurate information and keywords.
You can signal to Google that you are active by the regular posting of your products photo and posts published to your business profile through Google My business.
SEO is an important marketing strategy for all businesses especially small businesses that want to compete in the global space against large competitors. Business Profile by Google makes it easier for businesses to do Local SEO.
This means that having a business profile will help your business maximize its visibility in the local market.
How to sign up for Google My Business Profile
Google My Business is a free tool that can turn your business profile into a powerful marketing tool for your business.
It’s quite easy to open a Google My Business Account so to get started all you have to do is go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click on the manage now button at the top right.
Clicking on it will take you through the steps of how to create your account.
Take note that your Google My Business Account does not create your business profile for you, all it does is to give you access to your business profile.
Also creating your Google My Business Account does not in any way give you an automatic access to your business profile.
Once your Google My Business Account have been created and you have logged in, you will have to locate your separate business profile on Google Maps and then you click on “Claim this business” or “Own this business?” link that is seen right on the profile.
Once the process has been completed, your Google My Business Account and Business profile will be connected and will be under your management.
You Should Register and Get started with Google My Business Today
Now that you already have a clear understanding of what Google My Business is, how it works and how to use it.
You should get this google free tool for visibility in your local market.
Don’t hesitate, register for your Google My Business Account and get it running now so you can outperform your competitors and attract more customers to your business on the search engine.