With online shopping becoming more and more prevalent, brands are facing a new challenge — go digital or go broke. However, this is easier said than done. As competitive as the traditional market is, internet-based businesses can have an even harder time succeeding. This is especially true for brands that aren’t well versed in using search engine optimisation.
When advertising online, businesses need to increase their SEO so that their website ranks higher on the search engine results page. It’s well known that over 95% of users won’t scroll past the first page of their search results. Therefore, brands need to find a way to rank on the first page to ensure their website gets the most traffic. But how does a business snag the coveted first spot on the SERP?
The answer is with Google itself! The world’s most used search engine provides a myriad of different tools, such as Google My Business, companies can utilize to boost their visibility. So, for any brands currently struggling with getting online traction, here are all the ways they can utilize Google My Business to improve SEO!
What Is Google My Business?
Any company with even a smidgen of an online presence is at least somewhat familiar with SEO tools. These algorithms are designed to assess where a web page could potentially land on the search engine results page.
They also provide users with valuable information about how their page compares to other similar content in terms of added value. In summary, they’re designed to help a company increase its online visibility.
Google My Business functions in much the same way. It’s a tool that helps brands promote their business website and services on Google Maps and Google search via a My Business account. When a brand creates a My Business account with Google, the search engine automatically boosts their web page in the search results and on Google Maps.
In short, a My Business account ensures that a brand will be the first thing to pop up when customers are Googling products and services that are similar to what the brand has to offer.
Top 3 Factors That Boost a Company’s SEO
Companies with minimal experience with online advertising think just creating a business page is enough to gain internet traction. However, things are a bit more complicated than that.
As mentioned, the world of online business is highly competitive. Having a business webpage is par for the course for any brand looking to succeed in 2022. Consequently, a brand needs to do more than just create an appealing website if they want to beat out their rivals.
They have to take into account three of the biggest factors that contribute to a high SERP score — relevance, distance, and engagement.
1. Relevance
It goes without saying that Google search results prioritise content with high relevance. More specifically, Google will boost pages that best align with the exact words a user typed into the search bar. So, for a business to make it the top search result, they need to figure out what customers would type into Google when searching for their business.
Predicting exactly what each individual may Google is impossible. However, brands can still more or less gauge what the average consumer will look for by looking at what phrases they frequently Googled in the past and what phrases are most popular. This concept is also known as a keyword. And if a business incorporates keywords into its online content, it increases its relevance in Google’s eyes.
2. Distance
Keywords aren’t the only thing that contributes to a business’ relevance. Proximity also plays a role. Google will always prioritise companies that are the closest to the customer doing the search. Therefore, brands must have an up-to-date address for their business to ensure maximum traffic.
3. Engagement
Possibly the most important aspect of brand awareness is customer engagement. It’s a reliable way for a brand to measure how much success they’ve garnered online. Customer reviews, the number of shares, social media posts, and likes show brands exactly how the audience is receiving their products and how visible they are in the public sphere.
How Google My Business Improves SEO
So, taking into account relevance, distance, and engagement, how does Google My Business help improve a brand’s SERP rank?
For starters, a My Business account lets brands optimise their keywords. Google gives brands with a My Business profile valuable insights into the latest search result trends. They also provide tips and tricks on how to improve client engagement and achieve better results. In short, My Business helps brands hack the Google algorithm to achieve maximum brand awareness.
In terms of distance, a My Business account helps here as well. As amazing as Google Maps is, it doesn’t always have accurate information. Sometimes, businesses close down or move locations, and Google can’t always keep up.
However, a My Business account allows brands to easily edit their company’s details with the latest information. This boosts a brand’s SERP rank and ensures they’re the first business customers come across when looking for a product or service in their neighbourhood.
Lastly, a My Business account boosts brand engagement as well. Customers can easily see other reviews on the company’s profile and leave feedback of their own. What’s more, a brand can directly respond to the reviews and interact with its audience. They can post images, product news and organize giveaways via their page. All of these things combined make a brand seem more accessible and thus more appealing to its audience.
A Step by Step Guide to Using a My Business Account To Market
Given how beneficial Google My Business is, there’s no reason a brand shouldn’t take advantage of it ASAP! On the plus side, setting up a My Business account is simple and involves five easy steps:
1. Creating and Verifying the Business Profile
The first and most obvious step is to create a My Business profile. To do this, a company has to find its business and claim it. If their specific business doesn’t appear on the listings, then the company can manually add it. Once the business is claimed, the next step is verifying it.
Verification is very important for security reasons but also because a verified business will seem more reputable to customers. And the more reputable a brand is, the higher its SEO ranking.
2. Filling Out the Profile with the Correct Information
After the profile is up, the next step is to fill out the company information. To increase brand relevance, a company needs to provide as many details about its business as possible. These descriptions should include information about the brand’s products and services.
They should also utilise keywords so that the brand ranks higher on the SERP.
But most importantly, the information should be up-to-date. Things like the company’s current address, working hours, and the latest products will help them reach their consumers better.
3. Choosing the Right Category
On the subject of relevancy, another section a company should declare is their business category. Categories help narrow down searches for customers. So, if a brand sells food, getting labelled as a construction firm will prevent it from reaching its customers. Therefore, choosing a category that is most accurate to what the company sells is vital for ensuring visibility.
4. Updating the Profile with Pictures, Photos, Reviews, and Posts
Keeping the profile up to date is crucial for driving engagement and relevancy. New content always gets an SEO boost because customers want the latest products and services. Eye-catching photos and posts also capture audience attention, along with reviews. Research shows that 97% of customers are more likely to do business with websites that openly display reviews than the ones that don’t.
This doesn’t involve positive reviews only. Customers don’t just want to learn about the positive experiences others had with a product. They also want to know if the product has any potential issues. Therefore, a mixture of positive and negative reviews is a must if a brand wants to maintain transparency.
5. Monitoring Engagement
The last step is to monitor engagement. As mentioned, Google My Business provides data that analyses how a brand is currently doing. Keeping track of the positives and changing what isn’t working will ensure a brand gets the best spot in the SERP ranking.
Key Takeaways
Online marketing can be a tricky field to navigate. However, with the right tools, brands can hack the algorithm and improve their SERP rank. Google My Business is a completely free tool that offers everything a brand needs to cement its online presence.
It takes into account relevancy, distance, and engagement. These are the three of the biggest factors that influence a brand’s marketing success. Consequently, a brand can successfully utilise Google My Business to boost its SEO and increase brand awareness!
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