{"id":1158,"date":"2020-05-28T07:53:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T07:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/?p=1158"},"modified":"2020-05-28T07:59:41","modified_gmt":"2020-05-28T07:59:41","slug":"how-to-use-the-google-my-business-listing-to-boost-your-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/how-to-use-the-google-my-business-listing-to-boost-your-seo\/1158\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Use The Google My Business Listing To Boost Your SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Google, the world\u2019s largest search engine,\nis committed to helping users to find the answers and information they need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of this dedication, it offers businesses\na free My Business\nListing<\/a>, which allows them to share details about their company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These listings offer a myriad of benefits\nfor firms, including helping consumers to find their physical premises, giving internet\nusers instant access to updates such as opening and closing times, and much\nmore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the advantages the listings have to\noffer, in 2016, studies showed that 56%\nof local businesses<\/a> hadn\u2019t taken advantage of Google\u2019s free listing option,\nwhich is an astonishing figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help any business that isn\u2019t sure of how\nto use this solution to their advantage, I\u2019m going to discuss how you can use\nyour My Business Listing to grow your company\u2019s online presence.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How The Listings Work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google\u2019s business listings allow users to\ncreate an account and then claim their free business listing. It doesn\u2019t\nreplace your website; instead, it acts as a sort of free advert for your\ncompany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses can choose to include a description\nof their company, photos, contact details, opening hours, and even customer\nreviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies verify their listing by\nresponding to a letter, or email, which Google sends to them. Once you\u2019ve\nverified your listing, then you\u2019ll be able to change it, and it will be visible\nto internet users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use Your Listing To Help Boost Your\nLocal SEO<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local search numbers are growing\nyear on year<\/a>, and as a result, you\u2019ll be missing out on extensive traffic\nif you don\u2019t optimise your website for local SEO. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your firm\u2019s My Business Listing is an easy,\nfree way that you can boost your local SEO and help consumers to find your\ncompany. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they search for a company like yours\nin their local area, then your company\u2019s listing will appear in a local\nbusiness list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if we search for \u2018shoe shops\nin Oxford\u2019, then we can see a list of the top shoe stores in the area. Users\nhave the option to expand the window to see a map with even more listings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the above shows, you can get your\ncompany and basic details such as its address and contact details to the top of\nrelevant local SERPs by using your listing and filling it with relevant details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All you need to do is fill out the listing\nand include a comprehensive range of details, as well as a detailed,\nkeyword-filled description. The more detailed you can be, the more likely\nGoogle will be to recognise that your listing is valuable to users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relevant keywords are crucial, because,\nmuch like any SEO strategy, when optimising your Google business listing, you\nneed to make sure that users can find your listing and that it appears in\nrelevant searches. If it starts appearing in the wrong places, then you\u2019ll be\nreaching the wrong audience and won\u2019t be able to benefit from your listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add Service Areas To Boost Your\nListing\u2019s Relevance <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google offers businesses the chance to add\nservice areas to their listings so that they can reach the top of relevant\nsearches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add all of the service areas that your\nbusiness operates in to ensure that your company reaches users who want to find\nyour company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you select the box that says \u2018I serve\ncustomers at my business address\u2019, then your listing can be adjusted to show\nmore information about your premises and opening hours. It will also direct\ncustomers to your physical base, so you can show them that you will be\navailable and ready to help them there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offer Customers Easy Ways To Get In\nTouch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you use your company\u2019s My Business\nListing properly, then potential customers won\u2019t need to search for your\ncontact details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google allows you the option to include a\nphone number, email and social media links so that you can offer users a\nvariety of ways to get in touch with your company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digital world, convenience is\nking, with consumers constantly searching for easier ways to complete even\nbasic tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, if you can offer them convenient\nways to get in touch, then they\u2019ll be more likely to reach out to your\nbusiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manage Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies can allow reviews on their Google\nbusiness listing, which allows you to improve your online reputation and show\ncustomers the benefits of working with your organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ensure that reviews are always accurate\nand that any criticism or feedback is incorporated into your working practices,\nyou need to monitor your reviews and respond to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By responding promptly and respectfully to\nevery review, you\u2019ll show Google users that your company is actively working to\npromote itself and support its customers. Businesses that leave their reviews\nwithout responses might seem uncared for, and users might even think that your\nbusiness has closed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managing your reviews proactively, on the\nother hand, will make your business look professional and vibrant. Many other\nreview sites charge companies for accounts or don\u2019t have the vast global reach\nthat Google does, so the reviews section on your listing is highly valuable for\nyour business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update Customers Quickly And Easily <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using your My Business Listing account, you\ncan quickly share updates with your customers. When your listing appears, it\nwill include an updates section, which will prominently display the latest\nupdate you\u2019ve shared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Include a short description, and then a\ncall to action such as a link to a website for more details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s an example of a small cake shop\nannouncing a new product:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The emojis make the update eye-catching and\nfun, while the short description tells users everything they need to know,\nincluding price and the date from which they can order the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more in-depth information, you can\ninclude a link to a page or, as is the case in the above example, a link to\nallow users to order the product online. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can also update details such as your\nopening hours, by simply changing them on the listing. Then, when a user\nsearches for your company, they will be able to see when you\u2019re open quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By keeping your listing accurate and up to\ndate, you\u2019ll be able to ensure that users can make the most of it, and increase\nyour chances of getting more business. If your listing is inaccurate, then\nusers could report it to Google, and they might also get annoyed and refuse to\nwork with your company in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google\u2019s My Business Listings are a free\nsolution that you can use to boost your site\u2019s SEO and brand authority. As\nsuch, there\u2019s literally no reason why your business shouldn\u2019t be making the\nmost of theirs.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article should help you to see the\nbenefits of your My Business Listing and how you can use it to your advantage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hannah Stevenson is the Content Marketing\nManager at UK Linkology<\/a>, the UK\u2019s\nhighest-ranking link building agency. A former journalist, blogger and\ncopywriter, she has extensive experience in content creation and SEO. Her\nwriting on local SEO is extensive, and she loves to talk about how it can\nbenefit a wide range of businesses.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google, the world\u2019s largest search engine, is committed to helping users to find the answers and information they need. As part of this dedication, it offers businesses a free My Business Listing, which allows them to share details about their company. These listings offer a myriad of benefits for firms, including helping consumers to find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[20],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1161,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1158\/revisions\/1161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sheerseo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}