SEO is commonly known for achieving higher rankings on SERPs, and you have probably heard it many times. While it’s true, it’s just scratching the surface. With 8.5 billion daily Google searches, your business is in constant competition for that top spot. However, merely ranking higher isn’t enough today. The number and quality of leads, user experience, community building and engagement are equally crucial. This is where Google My Business (GMB) comes in as the simplest method to achieve these goals. Curious to know how? Let’s know in this blog
Table of contents
- How Does The GMB Profile Work for SEO
- Factors That Affect GMB Ranking
- 5 Ways to Optimise GMB Profile
- 6 Ways to Optimise Website for GMB Ranking
- 7 Negative Factors to Take Care Of
- In Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Does The GMB Profile Work for SEO
GMB (Google My Business) makes it easier for people to find you when they are looking for businesses like yours.
Here’s how GMB impact local SEO
Boosts your visibility
Let’s say you run a small cafe in Ahmedabad and serve authentic Italian food. When someone searches for something related to your business (like “authentic Italian restaurant Ahmedabad” or “best pizza Ahmedabad”), your GMB profile can appear in the top results, even above regular website listings. This helps you grab attention and drive potential customers straight to you. According to statistics, the Click-Through Rate for organic search results that rank highly is 22.4%.
Boosts your website
Google loves local businesses with a strong online presence. A well-optimised GMB profile tells Google you are a legit business, complete with accurate information such as opening hours, photos and (hopefully!) glowing reviews. This can boost your overall website ranking in local search results.
Builds trust
Positive reviews and engaging content from you show potential customers you’re trustworthy and active. This increases website traffic and engagement, sending positive signals back to Google and further improving your ranking.
High chances of clicks
Your GMB profile can be linked to your website, creating a smooth “click-through” experience for curious searchers. They see your GMB listing, get interested and easily hop over to your website for more details and, hopefully, a purchase or conversion.
Factors That Affect GMB Ranking
Now, we have talked about the impact GMB can make on local SEO but we need to also know what factor does affect GMB ranking so your business can take care of it. Below is the list of factors taken into account by Google when calculating local search rankings:
Relevance
Google assesses how well your business aligns with the search intent of potential customers. A clear understanding of your business services helps Google recognise it as a potential answer for relevant searches. For maximum visibility, ensure you choose the right category and provide all necessary information.
Proximity
Proximity plays an important role in determining local search rankings. It essentially refers to the distance between the location mentioned in a search query and potential search results.
For example, if your company is based in Gujarat you won’t rank for local searches in Kerala.
In cases where a specific location is not provided, Google might utilise previously gathered location data or content to identify nearby companies that align with user queries.
Prominence
How well people recognise your business affects how easily it shows up in local searches on Google. Google looks at info from directories, local events and reviews to decide this.
Google also thinks about how famous your business is in the real world, like if it’s a well-known store or landmark. A verified and optimised Google My Business profile stand a better chance of being in the local 3-pack, putting your presence at the top of search results, it can also indirectly help your website rank.
It’s super important to make your website as good as it can be because Google also looks at how good your official website is. To keep visitors interested and make them customers, put new stuff on your site regularly, like pictures and keep all the information up-to-date. We will talk about ways to make your Google My Business profile better, but it’s smart to get help from a professional SEO company in Ahmedabad. They have tools to check how your Google My Business is doing now, make it better and see how well the changes are working.
5 Ways to Optimise GMB Profile
Complete your profile
Make sure all the details in your Google Business Profile are accurate and filled out. Include your company’s name, address, phone number, website and operating hours. Craft a comprehensive business description that showcases your unique selling points and the services or goods you offer.
Get customer reviews and reply to them
Boost trust and attract more business by showcasing client testimonials on your Google Business Profile. Positive feedback enhances your credibility. It’s essential to promptly respond to reviews, be they positive or negative. Express gratitude for compliments and handle concerns with professionalism and courtesy.
Keep the profile updated
Make sure the data on your website and other online platforms aligns with the information on your Google Business Profile. For search engine optimization, a company’s name, address and phone number (NAP) must always be consistent. Utilising SEO services in Ahmedabad can help you maintain an updated profile, allowing you to concentrate on your core business activities.
Add high-quality images
Showcase your company’s products and services with clear, high-quality photos. Include pictures of your team, office, interiors, and any special products. Superior images offer potential buyers a more precise understanding of your offerings.
Use keywords related to your industry
Be sure to include relevant keywords in your description to improve your profile’s visibility in search results.
6 Ways to Optimise Website for GMB Ranking
GMB and websites go hand in hand when it comes to SEO. Optimising your website doesn’t just benefit its performance; it also has a positive impact on your Google My Business (GMB) listing. To complete the SEO loop and enhance your GMB, consider the following steps:
- Ensure correct indexation of your website so that your pages can rank well in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and crawl them effectively.
- Focus on relevant local keywords and incorporate them into your meta tags and content. By doing so, Google will improve the visibility of your content for the right audience, considering proximity and targeting specific city locations and surrounding neighbourhoods. If you are aiming to rank for local search terms, consulting with a local SEO company in Ahmedabad can provide valuable assistance.
- Ensure your website is ADA-compliant, loads quickly and is responsive and mobile-friendly. Including Core Web Vitals metrics is crucial for a positive user experience.
- Enhance ADA compliance and help Google understand your images by adding descriptive alt tags to your photos. Note that alt tags are gradually being surpassed by image recognition technology.
- Optimise your website for voice search and add schema markup to your web pages.
- Go beyond just displaying an address map on your site; embed your verified Google map for added functionality.
Negative Factors to Take Care Of
Businesses make sure everything is taken care of when they create a GMB profile, but sometimes they unintentionally make a mistake that could harm their SEO and Google’s ability to crawl. Here is a list of some negative factors that need to be addressed:
- Lack of local phone number
- Uncrawlable NAP
- Duplicate content
- Broken links
- Missing title tags
- Slow loading pages
- Lack of helpful content
In Conclusion
You can perform very well in organic search by keeping an optimised GMB profile and adding support from a fully optimised website. Keeping a strong GMB-to-website relationship can help you spend less on marketing.
As a digital marketing agency, we provide our clients with a full range of SEO services that consider each of these aspects. Our campaigns create a unified approach to generating more leads, offering a fantastic online user experience, and supporting strong participation within nearby rental communities.
Get in touch with one of our members to find out more about our offerings. Send us an email at hello@florafountain.com
Frequently Asked Questions
The founder and partner of Flora Fountain, Shefali leads the Content and Technology divisions. A one-time engineer who started her career writing front-end code, she took a detour sometime during her 9 years in New York, studied journalism and started writing prose, poetry and sometimes jokes. She now has 15...