How to leverage your google my business page and optimize your local listing

2. How to leverage your Google My Business
page and optimize your local listing

3. TABLE OF CONTENT
1. What is local SEO?
2. What is local search?
3. What are local SERPs?
4. What is Google My Business?
5. What are the features of Google My Business?
6. What are citations?
7. 3 deciding factors to outrank your competitor in local search
8. 5 Main Local SEO services
9. 10 Advantages of local SEO

4. Although businesses have realized the advantages of Google My
Business, they are yet to explore the same professionally to get
complete benefit. In this article, we will not only explore the
advantages of Google My Business, but we also discuss local SEO at a
decent depth.

5. What does local SEO mean?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is arguably the best way to
market your local business effectively. It is a tool which helps in
promoting a local business just when its potential customers are
looking for the same. Standard SEO practices are employed in local SEO
as well, and they usually deliver more significant results.

6. What does local search mean?
First of all, let us ponder over the difference between standard
informational search and local search.
People can rank their websites based on high authority and good SEO
when someone does a standard informational search. A typical
example is someone searching for “how to fix my corrupted hard
drive?”.
Interesting fact: 46% of the searches done online are local searches!

7. What is the meaning of ‘Local SERPs’?
Search engine result pages of a local search are called ‘Local SERP.’
Google is increasingly striving to satisfy the queries with local intent in
the ‘local three pack’ itself. (Local three pack is nothing but the three
business listings displayed below the Google map during a local
search.)

8. ‘Google My Business’ basics
Your business profile on Google is known as ‘Google My Business’
(GMB) page. One can add or claim a Google listing. GMB page feeds
information to the ‘local three pack’ too and hence has to be
maintained in the most up to date manner. You can display your basic
information (NAPW – Name, Address, Phone number, Website), add
pictures, describe your product or service, manage your reviews, notify
your opening hours, inform about holidays and so on using your GMB
page.

9. Advantages of Google My Business
Let us ponder into the advantages of Google My Business:
5.1. Posts with links to your website
Anyone who searches for a product or service related to your vertical
would be taken to your Google My Business page where they can also
view your posts. What’s more? There is an option to link those posts to
your website. This is one of the biggest advantages of Google My
Business.

10. 5.2. Question and Answers
Anyone with a Google account can ask any question regarding your
business, and it can be answered by anyone else with a Google
account. This feature builds engagement and is one of the many
advantages of Google My Business.
5.3. Photos and a 360-degree view of your enterprise
You can upload photos of your enterprise along with a video
showcasing the 360-degree view of your enterprise. You could leverage
this advantage of Google My Business effectively by inviting your
customers or local guides to post pictures of your enterprise.

11. 5.4. Address and location on Google Map
Optimizing the location of your business on the Google map ensures
that your enterprise is found easily by your potential customers and
this will increase footfalls to your store. This is a prime advantage of
Google My Business.
5.5. Messaging
You can receive inquiries or messages to your registered mobile
number by activating a simple feature on your Google My Business
page. This advantage of Google My Business is yet to be made use of to
the fullest as many business owners have not activated the messaging
option.

12. 5.6. Make an appointment option
You can upload relevant URL and take the visitors of listings directly to
your ’book an appointment’ page. This will ensure that you won’t lose
a potential customer by not pitching in at the right time. When you
look at the biggest advantage of Google My Business which would
directly result in better sales, we will pick this one.

13. What does citation mean?
Any online platform where the NAPW of your enterprise is mentioned
is known as a citation. These citations are more useful when it is
received from a website related to your business. There are structured
and unstructured citations. The structured ones are those where n you
are asked to fill out a form to claim your business listing and your
details would be reflected on your business page. Unstructured ones
are basically mentions in social media and press. There would be
unstructured mentions on the websites. Any citation is another
advantage of Google My Business page that the digital world is yet to
make use of to its fullest potential.
Interesting fact: 68% of customers feel that they would not use the
services of an enterprise if the information on local directories are
incorrect.

14. Three deciding factors to outrank your
competitor in local search
• Proximity – The closeness of your enterprise to the location from
where the local search is initiated
• Relevance – The service offered by your enterprise should be an exact
match or a near match to the search string of your potential customer
• Rating and Reviews – Good ratings and reviews make sure that your
enterprise makes it to the elite ‘ local three pack’!

15. Five Main Local SEO services
• Localizing your website – Your website will be optimized in such a way that
local search engine picks them up more easily.
• Building citation – Getting or building as many citations in relevant
business websites
• Claiming the Google My Business listing of your enterprise – Surprisingly,
about 44% of enterprises are yet to claim their Google My Business listing
and it is the first step towards optimizing your online presence.
• Managing ratings and reviews – Ratings and reviews either make or break
your online reputation and managing them on a regular basis is of utmost
importance.
• Naturally obtained backlinks – or Natural links / Quality links / Good
backlinks is a reference to a website /source/ content.

16. Ten Advantages of local SEO
• Local customers are turning to the internet to find a product or
service near them – The first face of your business is no longer your
showroom but an online listing of your business!
• Highly targeted and timely – Be visible at the right place at the right
time by leveraging local SEO.
• Highest conversion rate – Many local searches result in clickthroughs
for your website and calls to your phone number. You will be one step
away from getting business with proper local SEO.
• Mobile internet is ever expanding – The clickthrough and conversion
rate of mobile searches are significantly more than that of the
desktop. With the penetration of smartphones into tier two cities,
mobile searches are playing a decisive role in lead generation.

17. • Good ROI – Local SEO has an unrefutable record of yielding good ROI
irrespective of the nature or size of business.
• Leave your competitors behind – Only 44% of business have claimed their
listing – Claiming your listing and maintaining the same would ensure
ownership and management of your digital presence.
• It is absolutely free – As of now, the Google listing is absolutely free, and it
has more than three fourth of the market share among all search engines.
• Print media is falling – Gone are the days when you would feel that
advertising in local newspapers would ensure more footfalls. There are
more effective, smarter, inexpensive ways of marketing!

18. • 85% trust online reviews on par with personal recommendations –
An interesting, as well as good news for the businesses, is that
reviews from unknown people online are trusted by around 85% of
the population which speaks volumes about the need for proper
review
• Voice-based searches are most often for local searches – Voice based
searches are more often done with a local intent to it, and local SEO
gains more value due to the same.

19. THANK YOU