What Is Google My Business SEO?
The concept of Google My Business SEO is really straightforward. You sign up for Google Places, Google’s ecommerce platform. Once you’re signed up, you can then start putting together your marketing materials, such as business cards, flyers, brochures, etc., to make sure people know about your local business. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, instead of writing emails to prospective clients, consider submitting articles, press releases and other marketing materials to local online newspapers, web directories and search engines. These tactics will help you gain visibility and better rankings on Google and other major search engines.
For many local businesses, optimizing for Google Places is a great way to get a jump on the competition. Local SEO helps small businesses gain the online exposure they need to succeed in their market. Below are some ideas for optimizing your local SEO strategy for Google, MSN and Yahoo.
Place a Google map on your website. Google and other search engines look at websites based on where they are located. If your website is near a popular shopping center or other businesses with a lot of traffic, you’ll see more traffic on your site. A Google map will help users find local businesses, making it easier for them to search for specific items they want. If you’re on a search results page and the user types in “cedar wood,” for example, if your website is near a “cedar wood” business, it should display on the results page.
Another way to boost your Google Places optimization is to create a profile for your business on Google+. Businesses can list general information, such as location, along with links to their Google pages for each of their individual businesses. Google+ Business Pages allows businesses to interact with their customers, so it’s a great way to promote your Google Places account to help increase your search engine rankings.
Your Google My Business page should also include information about any feedback or articles that the customer has left. A blog is another good way to encourage feedback from your customers. If your Google My Business page includes a blog, leave a comment every time someone adds or edits their comments. Leaving comments on important blog posts, leaving a link to your webpage or creating a fan page on your website can help boost your local SEO efforts.
One of the reasons local SEO is so helpful for small businesses is because many consumers do not even realize that the website they are searching for a product on may be local. Google, like other search engines, provides search results that are tailored to local searchers. This means that searchers that find your website based on state, city, Zip code, and other factors are more likely to be local searchers, which is beneficial for your Google Places page. You should strive to include all of the key areas that you want potential customers to notice and use Google Places to achieve high rankings.
Google Places has been proven to be effective for business owners, especially those that are trying to gain local rankings. Google continues to make updates and provide search results that are more likely to be local, so it is crucial for online businesses to make their presence known using Google Places. It is cheaper than your own advertising and can reach an entire market that may not be reached by other advertising methods. For these reasons, Google My Business SEO is an effective way to increase your website’s search results rankings.
Optimizing your Google Places account for local SEO can seem like a tedious process, but it doesn’t have to be. There are several companies out there that offer Google Places optimization services that are affordable and effective for all types of businesses. There are several steps involved, but the process can be simplified into three steps: choose a domain name, upload the page, and begin optimizing. The process only has a few steps, and once complete, your small business name will be on top of the list when potential customers begin searching for businesses in your local area.