Guide to Google My Business in 2023 (Google Business Profile)

If you want to get the most out of your Google Business Profile, it's important that you remember to give it love. It's not enough to simply update your opening hours every now and then. As mentioned earlier, Google rewards active business profiles - and one of the best ways to keep a GMB active and relevant is through posts.

Google has announced that the listings will enable customers to make better purchasing decisions by having access to more business information and updates.

In addition, the benefits of creating listings include the ability to:

• Communicate directly with your local customers.
• Give customers a better experience with timely information.
• Promote sales, special offers, events, news and other offers.
• Engage your customers with videos and images.

Read more about Google's post on local business listings.

The different listings on Google My Business

What types of listings can you create on your Google My Business? Well, you have 3 different options. Your listings will both appear at the bottom of your business profile.

You have the option to create the following listings:

• General updates and news
• Offers (offers)
• Events (add event)

The main difference between the general status updates for offers and events is that you need to enter the date on which the offer/event starts and ends. The good thing about this feature is that the listings are automatically removed from your profile once the listing has expired. The general updates will not be removed.

Add photos and videos to your posts

Most people are captivated by images and videos, and that's also the case when we talk about Google My Business listings. Posts with photos and videos of great products or friendly people simply get more views and clicks.

You can read much more about Google's guidelines on image and video uploading here.

Google recommends the following when creating a listing:

• "A compelling image that supports your message".
• "A text that speaks to customers: this is your chance to speak directly to your customers".
• "A call-to-action button that asks users to take an action immediately".

Having trouble filling in your company profile? Here are 8 tips for a great Google My Business profile that creates value for you and your current and future customers.

1. Make sure that everything that can be filled in is filled in. This includes everything from web address and opening hours to products and services.
2. Remember to update your opening hours in case of closing days, otherwise you can quickly get dissatisfied customers and bad reviews.
3. Create products for the most important of your services/products, and link to that landing page on your website!
4. Use different categories when creating your products, if there are more, they will be displayed on your GMB.
5. Grab potential customers' attention with posts, be it any offers, events or status updates - and remember to add photos or videos to the posts to make them perform better.
6. Use good images with friendly people or relevant products. Also make sure to add new images often, not just at creation.
7. Reply to your reviews - good or bad.
8. If you want to display social icons on your business profile that link to your social media, you can't just add them. Place the linked icons in the footer of your website and they are likely to appear on your GMB.

Each month, Google sends you an efficiency report that shows you the number of phone calls, website clicks from the business profile, messages, profile views, searches and the number of people who asked for directions.

You will also see your top 3 search terms - when and by which searches your company profile is typically viewed.

The efficiency report compares the last month with the month before.

Can a Google My Business strengthen my SEO? Isn't it more important to focus on the on-page SEO rather than the off-page? Surely it only affects local search results?

These are just a few of the questions you'll get when you start the conversation about the synergies between Google My Business and SEO. You can read more about the others below.

SEO and Google My Business - why?

1. It drives more traffic to
   If there's one thing we SEO geeks love, it's traffic to the site. This includes everything from traffic through organic and paid search results to traffic through social media and external websites.
   
   Visitors to your website boost your website's relevance in Google's eyes - which is a ranking factor when we're talking SEO. So if you can drive even more traffic to your website by boosting your Google My Business, what's holding you back?
   
   
2. Google gets a better understanding of your service areas
   If you work with SEO, you hopefully already know how important content is for your optimisation. There is a good reason why you implement a blog universe, various guides and have adequate texts on your website.
   
   Google will always show users the most relevant content based on their search, through information and listings on your Google My Business you clarify which areas your business specialises in. The more relevant content about your business, the better.
   
   
3. Google loves it when we use their tools
   There's no doubt that Google loves it when we use their tools and applications - and Google My Business is no exception. Have you wondered why you can only add email addresses registered to a Google account in Google Analytics? That's right - they want you to use their tools. As Jakob Kjellberg would say: "Get started!"
   
   
4. Google prioritises local searches
   If you work with SEO, you'll be following Google's many algorithm updates. Google's "Local Search Update" in 2021 sent a clear signal that Google is prioritizing and weighting local search results.
   
   If you have a dental clinic, carpentry business or restaurant, you will most likely want to be visible in certain local areas. You'll be missing out if GMB isn't part of your local SEO strategy.
   
   
5. It creates brand awareness - show up to 3 places
   Imagine a customer seeing your business name in both organic search results, in a paid ad and even in Google's "local 3-pack". What are the chances you'll click through to that business? In my experience, it's as likely as Brazil qualifying for the World Cup.
   
   
6. Strengthening your company's credibility
   How important is your website's credibility? If you ask a SEO specialist, they'll say "very important". It divides waters whether online reviews affect one's rankings on Google, after Google shared their Search Quility Rater guidelines.
   
   Reviews you can get and make visible through your Google My Business. There's little doubt that positive reviews attract more customers to your website, which can contribute to a higher conversion rate. Wouldn't you be more likely to make a purchase or contact a business if good reviews were the first thing that jumped out at you.
   
   
7. Products can drive traffic to key pages
   It is quite possible that Google has not announced that a Google My Business affects rankings in organic search results. However, we do know that relevant internal and external links strengthen SEO.
   
   In Google My Business, you can create products where you can describe and link directly to the landing page about the specific product or service. I will leave it up to you to judge whether this can contribute to a positive development in the rankings.

I hope my guide helped you understand how Google My Business can add value to your business.

Does it all seem a bit extensive? Don't worry, at Webamp I or one of my talented colleagues are ready to help you. You are more than welcome to contact us by phone at 70 60 50 28, send an email to info@webamp.dk or fill in our contact form.