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How Google My Business Impacts SEO

posted by Michael Epps Utley Michael Epps Utley
Scrabble tiles that spell SEO.

Google My Business (GMB) is one of the most important online directory listings you can have. Examine a few ways in which it can boost your business’s search engine optimization.

HOW GOOGLE MY BUSINESS INCREASES YOUR ONLINE VISIBILITY

The goal of SEO is to boost the rankings of pages related to your business in search results so that more eyes can see them. In other words, it aims to increase brand awareness. Creating a Google My Business listing contributes to the accomplishment of that goal in several ways.

  1. Activity improves visibility. Google takes note of businesses who are actively building and maintaining an online presence. For obvious reasons, the search engine is more inclined to “recommend” these businesses by placing them higher in search results than those that aren’t very active online. If you have an optimized website and GMB listing (plus other online directory listings, social accounts, etc.), you’ll probably be more visible than a competitor with only a static website.
  2. GMB confirms your business information. No doubt you want to be one of the first options when local searchers are looking for a business like yours. For that to happen, though, Google has to be sure of your business info. A GMB listing complete with accurate, up-to-date, consistent info is one way to give confirmation. For example, if across the internet, the same address is associated with your business, Google can be certain of where you’re located. Therefore, you’ll be more likely to appear in the results of nearby searchers.
  3. Engagement boosts your listing’s visibility. Google is all about providing the results that are more relevant to searchers. What better way to determine relevance than by asking searchers? In a way, this is what Google does by tracking how people interact with web pages or, in this case, your GMB listing.

    The more people that click on it, linger, and have meaningful interaction with it, the better your rankings have the potential to be. After all, if a good percentage of people view your hours, reviews, photos and so on, they’re interested in what you’re offering. And if they’re interested, Google figures that other similar searchers will be interested too!
  4. Your listing directs traffic to your site. If your listing includes the link to your website which it should, it can drive a good deal of traffic there. After all, your GMB listing isn’t a comprehensive explanation of your business. It’s more like an overview. So if you do a good job of enticing them to learn more, they’ll end up on your site. In turn, Google will notice that pattern of engagement, take it as a good sign, and potentially rank your listing and your site higher.
  5. Reviews (and your responses) can boost your rankings. For obvious reasons, businesses with a consistent stream of good reviews rank higher in search than those with sporadic good reviews or lots of negative feedback.

So, of course, you should have a plan in place to collect positive public feedback regularly. However, you should also make it a habit to respond to reviews whether they’re positive or negative. Meaningful interaction with customers and a hands-on approach to reputation management are signs Google looks for when ranking pages.

CREATE AND OPTIMIZE YOUR GMB LISTING!

If you don’t yet have a Google My Business listing, you should create one right away so that you can reap the many SEO benefits we discussed above. And if you already have a listing, that’s great! In either case, though, you must make sure that your listing is well-optimized. Do you need some optimization tips? Contact us for some GMB best practices!

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