As summer comes to an end, many people go into business-clean-up mode—gearing up for year end.
One item to add to your list is enhancing your Google My Business profile. The internet is where most consumers find a business, so make sure your information is engaging, accurate and current to elevate your visibility online.
Your Google My Business profile appears in Google Maps search results as well as local results for standard searches. Your profile also includes the “knowledge panel” that displays on the right-hand side of a results page.
Here are a few tips to make sure your Google My Business profile is optimized:
Update general information
For example, if you have summer hours in place, make sure to update as you move out of the summer season. Ensure your phone number and address are correct and that photos posted are relevant to your business. Also update your business description if it’s been awhile since you created your profile.
Up your activity with Google posts
This is a cool feature, allowing you to post relevant, current news and information about your business without having to pay for costly advertisement space. Take some time to add a few end-of-summer posts to help promote your business beyond your general My Business listing.
Make use of Q&A
With Google Q&A, anyone can ask and anyone can answer any question about any business in the world, such as: Are you open on Sundays? Is there free parking? Do you take walk-ins? The questions and answers appear publicly on your Google My Business profile and may show up at the top of your listing depending on which search query you’re showing up for. For example, if a consumer is searching a salon that takes walk-in clients and a local salon has a walk-in question in their Q&A section, that salon will be more likely to show up in the search results. So, make sure your Q&A section is current.
A solid online presence is critical to business success. Ensuring your Google My Business profile is optimized will help increase your visibility and get you in front of more relevant searchers.
