How Do I Get More Customers From Google My Business?

Here at SEO Idaho, we are often asked by our clients, “how I can I grow my google my business account, and get more customers from it?” This is an excellent question, and SEO Idaho wants to help. So, we decided to put together this guide to help you leverage your google my business account and grow customer engagement.

Note: be sure that your profile is 100% complete. Be sure your NAP (name, address, phone) is accurate like we mention in this article about how to properly set up your digital footprint. You can check the status of your profile in google my business profile by logging in to your dashboard and clicking on the “home” tab on the left of the screen. If you see a notification that your profile is not complete, be sure to complete it. If at any time you need assistance, SEO Idaho is willing to help you. Just call or email us with any questions you may have?  

Here is a list of the “top 5 things you can do to grow your Google my business presence in google map pins.”

Engagement. Google is all about it. Google decided to close google plus and integrate the platform directly into their GMB (google my business) accounts. Here is a step by step guide you can use to grow your engagement, and trust scores with google, and in turn, get more customers and engagement for your business.

1. Post directly in your google my business account. Here are steps on how to do it.

First, log in to your google my business account by going here: https://business.google.com

(After you log in, navigate to the “posts” tab on the left of the page. As shown in this graphic above)

Note, you can see the “views” and “clicks” from our previous posts if you have posted before. This is the goal! Engagement! If you have not posted in your account before, it is time to start posting!

When posting in google, think to yourself. How can I provide value to a potential customer? A good rule of thumb is to solve a problem, or answer a question? Think in terms of who, what, where, when, why and how?

Notice at the top of the posts page in google my business, you have five options to choose from. COVID-19 update, add offer, add update, add event, and add product. See the graphic below for illustration purposes.

Say your business offers in home service. Maybe you own a cleaning company, or a plumbing company or some other in-home service. Your customers need to know that not only are you open for business, but more importantly, they may want to know what steps you are taking to limit their family to COVID-19 exposure if they were to hire you?

Here is an example of a post SEO Idaho recently published. Click on “COVID-19 update” and create a post. Like our example below:

Write a description of what you are doing to help stop the spread, and any protocols your business has put in place to do your part to help stop the spread of COVID-19. If you have a page on your website dedicated to this topic, you can click “add a button” and paste in the link to this page of your website. After you are done, click the “publish” button.

See this example of our published post for a COVID-19 update:

A few additional tips on posting in your google my business account.

1. Post weekly at minimum. You can add offers, special or discounts, updates about your services, events, or even products if you are a commerce business.
2. Make sure your spelling is accurate, and that your post is easy to understand.
3. If you want to link to a page on your website, be sure to use the “add a button” and paste in your link.
4. The more you use this free feature, the more engagement you will gain, and in turn, you show google that you are serious about leveraging your free google my business listing.
5. Remember, it is free. Make sure to post regularly!

2. Add Images in your google my business weekly. Here are a few tips for you.

Once logged in to your google my business account, navigate to the “photos” tab. As shown below.

Once on the photos section, there are tabs at the top of the page to choose from. You will see options available such as overview, by owner, by customer, 360, video, interior, exterior, at work, team, identity, etc.

A few tips that will help you get more views on your business’s images.

1. Be sure to rename your image prior to upload. Send the images to your computer, save them, and rename them. Example: 123123123.img or 123123123.jpg. Change this to a name that can help googles bots index the image. Like seo-idaho-entrance.jpg or seo-idaho-website-design.jpg. This will help the images not only be viewed by google, but they will index the images into google images which can drive traffic to your business listing.
2. If you are a service business, and work on location, rename the image to something like seo-idaho-website-design-boise.jpg.
3. Make sure the images are high resolution.
4. Make sure location services are turned on with your phone, or digital camera. The image will then have longitude and latitude on the image.
5. Add images of your staff, building, service vehicles, and shots of your team in action performing work.
6. If available, do not forget to add videos too!
7. The goal is simple, load up your google my business account as much as possible.

3. Google reviews. This tip on how to gain more traction on your google my business listing may be #3 on our list, but they are just as critical as #1, and #2. The reason being is simple, trust and accountability. If you think of googles business model, deliver accurate information to the end user, it only makes sense that google is “digitally vetting” your business, just like your potential customers will. How can they do this, by viewing your reputation online. Think of it as digital reputation management!

Here are a few tips for getting google reviews, and what to do to leverage them?

1. Put a “leave us a google review” button on your website. This is especially important. Make it simple for your customers to leave you a review. Have your website developer add this button to your website or reach out to SEO Idaho and we would be happy to help.
2. Email a link to your google reviews to your customers after a job is finished.
3. Ask your customer to google your business name, click on leave a review, and leave one.
4. Note, to get a verified, google review. Your customer must have a valid Gmail email. If they do not, you can ask them to send you feedback that you can then publish on your website.
5. Do not forget to respond to your reviews! Here is a graphic on how to do just that:

Google wants to see you are engaged and thankful for your customers, so to reiterate, be sure to respond to your reviews with a thank you. See below, you want to make sure reviews are always responded to.

4. Be sure to add all the categories of services your business offers.

To do this, after you are logged in to your google my business, be sure to go to the “info” tab on the left of the dashboard. See below, make sure to add as many categories as possible to your business listing:

5. Double check your NAP (name, address, phone) for accuracy. Google will penalize your business if you have inaccurate information pertaining to your business. Your business name, your physical address, your phone number, and your full website address.

A few tips pertaining to your NAP.

1. Business name needs to be accurate and match your website contact page.
2. Physical address needs to be accurate and match your website contact page.
3. Your phone number needs to be accurate and match your website contact page.
4. Your website address needs to contain your full website path, including the https://www. See ours, https://www.seoidaho.com The “s” in the website URL stands for secure server license and this is a google data point.

Once you have implemented the above tips for growing your google my business engagement, you can see your progress by going to the “insights” tab.

The insights tab in your google my business dashboard will give you valuable feedback on your progress.

Here is a recap of the steps above.

1. Post regularly.
2. Add images and rename them to optimize their reach.
3. Get more google reviews, and make sure to respond to them.
4. Add all categories you service in your business.
5. Make sure your NAP (name, address, phone) are 100% accurate!

Be sure to reach out to SEO Idaho if you have any questions or if you found this information helpful!