With Google My Business, you can list your business on Google. It’s like an online business card for your company. If you set up Google My Business correctly, you’ll achieve a higher ranking in the list of search results for local searches.
Optimizing Google My Business is the starting point for your local SEO and an opportunity to grow your business as a local player. We’ll explain why Google My Business is important for local SEO and how to optimize it.
Google has noticed that local searches are on the rise and becoming increasingly important. The Google Pigeon update improved the local algorithm, which had a major impact on local searches. This 2014 update has heightened the importance of local SEO.
When you set up Google My Business correctly, Google will display your business more quickly and effectively in local search results. And that’s not just a list of various links. Google Knowledge Graph, for example, displays information in the form of a snippet.
In that snippet, Google provides its users with a clear overview of the locations, products, or services, and reviews of various businesses that match the search query.
Google pulls the information for a snippet from your Google My Business listing. With the right optimization, your business will also appear in one of these snippets. We explain how to optimize your Google My Business listing below.
Good to know: Google My Business is free. You’re essentially registering your business with Google. The information you provide there is then shared with Google Search, Google Maps, and Google Assistant (for voice search).
The very first step is to check whether you already have a Google My Business listing. Sometimes you might already have one, in which case you just need to claim it. You can register or claim your business through Google My Business.
The next step is to enter your business’s location. Be sure to fill in all the address details completely, and don’t forget to use uppercase letters.
After entering your primary address, you’ll have the option to add multiple locations. Enter each of your company’s locations, if applicable.
To ensure your Google My Business profile is easy to find, it’s important to select the right business categories. Google has created hundreds of business categories. You can easily find the business category or categories that apply to you by searching—there may be more than one.
If you’re unsure about which category to choose, it’s a good idea to see which category your direct competitors have registered.
To ensure your Google My Business profile is easy to find, it’s also important to enter all your contact information correctly. So be sure to add your phone number and website URL when creating your Google My Business profile. It’s also important that your website uses HTTPS.
Have you filled out everything? Congratulations! Google will send you a PIN with a verification code by mail. This takes about a week. After you enter the PIN following the instructions on the letter, your Google My Business listing will go live.
When you start optimizing your Google My Business listing, there are several things you should keep in mind. We’ll walk you through them.
You can edit your information in Google My Business by clicking on your business in the Google My Business portal. Then, select the “Information” page from the left-hand menu.
When someone performs a local search, Google shows only the most relevant results first. Accurate information in Google My Business is therefore crucial. You should take advantage of every opportunity to provide Google with information about your business.
So be sure to provide detailed and accurate information about exactly what your company does, where it is located, and how customers can purchase your services or products.
In all your descriptions, use keywords that are important to your business. Google uses the keywords and phrases you enter to determine what information is relevant. It’s therefore a good idea to conduct keyword research to identify which keywords and phrases are important to your business.
Google places a high priority on the user experience. When you keep your information up to date, Google rewards you for it. So, for example, don’t just make sure that your business’s correct hours of operation are listed on Google My Business. Be sure to also report any changes to your hours of operation during holidays via Google My Business.
To make it easier for people to find you on Google Maps and in Google search results, you can add a short profile name for your business in Google My Business. You can change this short profile name three times a year.
With this short profile name, customers can enter a short URL in the address bar. They will then be directed straight to your Google My Business page.
In Google My Business, you can also add photos of your business, product, or service. This has a greater impact on your ranking in search results than you might think.
Businesses that make photos available through Google My Business have a 35% higher CTR than those that don’t. Of course, it’s important to choose your photos carefully; for example, you should avoid using your company logo as your profile photo.
Your profile photo probably gets the most exposure and, as a result, has the greatest impact. So make sure your profile photo is relevant and appealing. It should clearly reflect what your company stands for and what it offers.
In addition, you can add the following photos:
All photos you add to your Google My Business listing must be JPG or PNG files ranging from 10 KB to a maximum of 5 MB. Google also prefers realistic photos with little or no editing. All photos you add should contribute to a positive image and relevance for your business.
Google My Business displays customer reviews. No wonder—after all, user experience matters. So it’s important to receive positive reviews and to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative. Potential customers see those positive reviews as a reason to explore your business further.
When they see that your business responds to reviews, it shows them that your business values customer feedback. So be sure to create a link via Google My Business that allows your customers to leave reviews. Having lots of reviews ultimately helps your business rank higher in Google search results.
You can respond to reviews through your Google My Business profile. Click on your business, go to “Reviews,” and select the review you want to respond to.
Using the “Insights” feature, you can monitor the results and performance of your listings on Google.
For example, you can see the following:
In Google My Business Insights, you’ll find many more interesting statistics, such as:
With these insights, you can optimize your Google My Business listing and gain insight into how customers find you.
Google My Business is therefore a great, free way to rank higher in (local) search results. It allows Google users to quickly and easily find accurate basic information about your business.
Optimizing Google My Business requires a thorough approach and ongoing maintenance based on data from Google My Business Insights. These tips will help you create a rock-solid Google My Business profile.
With a passion for SEO and an unmatched drive for results, Jarik Oosting is the driving force behind SmartRanking. With over 15 years of experience in the field, he has built an extensive body of knowledge spanning technical SEO to complex site migrations. As the founder of SmartRanking, he has assembled a team of like-minded SEO specialists who help businesses achieve sustainable online growth.
His academic background in information science at the University of Groningen, with a specialization in natural language processing, gives him a unique perspective on the world of SEO. For Jarik, it’s not just about visibility in search engines, it’s about sharing knowledge and guiding businesses toward sustainable online success. That mission also led him to write a Dutch book about GEO.