Optimizing for Google My Business

Google My Business can be a big help for our clients since it mostly related to service area sites, meaning sites that may or may not have a physical office location, but that offer or deliver services throughout a certain area. I.E. a landscaper, plumber, tour group that meets on a certain beach, etc. Although tour groups physical location may be at 123 Main Street, their service area could be a jungle, a dock, a bay, etc.

In general, Google My Business has quickly become the single most important local rankings factor and will make a big difference in the performance of clients sites. We need each client (both on a FH site, and not) to have an optimized Google my Business account.

Some of this guide is adapted from the Hubspot’s The Ultimate Guide to Google My Business.

Client’s Ask: How does optimizing for Google My Business help me?

Optimizing for GMB allows both Google, and potential customers in your area to find your business more easily, plus it’s free!

Some of the benefits:

1. It’s free
2. It helps customers and Google find where your physical location or service area is
3. Better search visibility

What is Google My Business and how does it help me?

Google now allows you to specify each area individually and will outline the entire area on the business’s listing. Before, you had to have a physical address in your google my business listing, which was a bummer for services that operated in a certain radius or area instead of at their physical address.

The update also allows you to hide the business’s address (since they needed to verify an address to set up GMB, but don’t actually do business at that address). You’ll still want to try and list all the areas that are mentioned on the website (if there is one), and also make sure you mention all the keywords for your services in the GMB description.

Setting Up Your Google My Business

Create a GMB Account

1. Log into your google account, make sure it is the one that you want your business to be associated with.
   • Note: if your listing has already been claimed, log into the corresponding account to view your GMB account
2. Go to google.com/business and select “Manage Now” button in the top that is in the top corner.
3. Enter the name of your business into the field.
4. Enter your business address.
   • Note: Make sure that if you work out of a doc, pier, or somewhere other than your businesses and do not want your business address shown check “I deliver goods and services to my customers.” OR “Hide my address (it’s not a store) Only show region.” And select your Delivery area.
5. Choose your business category
   • Choose whatever is the most accurate, you are showing Google which type of people should be seeing your listing
6. Add Your Business Phone Number & Website

Verify your business

• Different ways to verify your listing in GMB
  • Mail (often the only way for local businesses)
  • Phone (only available sometimes)
  • Email (only available sometimes)
  • Instant verify (only available sometimes)
• Method 1: Mail (Postcard)
  • This option takes the longest, but works and often is the only option for local businesses
  1. Step 1: Sign into google my business and proceed until at verification step
  2. Step 2: Make sure your address and phone number are accurate and add a contact name
  3. Step 3: Click on “mail”
     • The postcard comes in about 5 business days DO NOT edit any information like your company name, address or category or request a new code but this will mess things up
  4. Step 4: Get the postcard
     • Log into GMB, select the location, click verify now.
  5. Step 5: In the field with “Code” enter a 5 digit verification code on your postcard. Click “submit”
• Method 2: Verify By Phone
  • You may or may not be eligible for this method, you will see the “verify by phone” option if you are eligible, this must be a phone that can receive texts.
  • Step 1: Sign into google my business and proceed until at verification step
  • Step 2: Step 2: Make sure your phone number is correct select “verify by phone”
  • Step 3: Enter the verification code you receive from a text
• Method 3: Verify By Email
  • Some people can verify their location by email. If you are able to do so you will see the “verify by email” option
  • Step 1: Sign into google my business and proceed until at verification step
  • Step 2: Make sure your email is correct and select “verify by email”
  • Step 3: Go to your email inbox, open the email and click the verification button
• Method 4: Instant Verification
  • If you’ve already verified your business with Google Search Console (a free tool that lets you manage your website’s search performance and health), you might be able to instantly verify your email.
  • Step 1: Sign into your Google My Business with the same account you used to verify your business with Google Search Console. Keep in mind some business categories can’t have instant verification even if GSC is set up and you’ll have to choose a different verification method.
• Actually Optimizing Your Listing
  • Go to the Google My Business dashboard and click on the exact listing you would like to work on
  • Select the info and choose a section to fill out or update by clicking on the pencil icon by the field you want to edit
  • Add as much information as you can
    • High-quality business photo
    • Location (either physical address to a service area description)
      • Add all areas you provide a service in
      • Make sure if you do add a physical address, it is EXACT to what is on your website
        • Example: if you use 123 Main Street STE 114, make sure that all areas on your page and your Google my Business account say STE 114 and not Suite 114.
      • Service area description example:
        • Providing tours along the North Coast of Hawaii
        • Snorkeling tours the eastern coast of Oahu
    • Hours
    • Website
    • Any other pertinent information
      • Free wifi
      • Wheelchair accessible
    • Advanced Information
      • Store code
      • Labels
      • Adwords location
  • Important note: People can suggest edits to your information so it’s important to get everything right the first time, and make sure people haven’t messed with it
  • Google My Business Photos
    • According to Google, businesses with photos see 35% more clicks to their website and 42% higher requests for driving directions in Google Maps.
    • Photos should be at least 720 pixels wide by 720 pixels high and JPG or PNG files.
  • Google My Business Photo Checklist
    • Cover Photo
      • The most important and shows up front and center
    • Profile Photo
      • Appears when you upload new photos, videos, or reviews
    • Other Photos: any other photos you add should be in groups of 3
      • Outside of your business
        • At least 3 photos if you have an exterior of your business, if it’s in a location like the North Shore of Hawaii, show the area off!
          • Night time
          • Afternoon
          • Morning
      • Inside your business
        • At least 3 photos if you have an interior of your business
      • Employees at work (REALLY IMPORTANT)
        • At least 3 photos but probably more
        • Action shots of employees delivering your service
  • Google My Business Videos
    • These make your profile stand out
    • They are not a requirement
    • Add videos if you have them, but only if:
      • 30 seconds or shorter
      • 100 MB or shorter
      • 720p resolution or higher
  • Google My Business Reviews
    • People will review you and your reviews will show up
    • Try to respond kindly and sincerely to both positive and especially negative reviews

Important Tips for GMB

• Contact Information
  • Make sure your contact info matches the info on the website, you NAP (name, address, phone number) should be identical on all areas of your site (like the footer, location pages, etc. For example, if you use 123 Main Street STE 114, make sure that all areas on your page and your Google my Business account say STE 114 and not Suite 114.
• TripAdvisor, Yelp, Etc
  • You should also make sure that any review sites like TripAdvisor, Viator, Yelp, etc have the same business address as on your site and on Google my Business, again STE 114 should be STE 114 everywhere, no Suite 114 should be present on your site, on your GMB page, on Yelp, TripAdvisor, etc.
• Designate Categories
  • To ensure this is effective, you need to designate service categories for your business

Getting Reviews

Do your best to get legitimate reviews for the business and you should eventually start showing up for that service area, sending an email asking tour-goers to review your trip on a 3rd party review site, having tour guides mention it at the end of the trip, etc can all help to gain more reviews of your trip, tour, rental, or activity.

For more information, Hubspot has a great article on creating and optimizing your Google My Business