The Ultimate Google Business Optimization Checklist

Google My Business Ranking Factors

Google states that there are three primary factors that determine a business’s ranking on their platform.

Relevance

The extent to which a local business profile aligns with a searcher’s requirements defines its relevance. Furnishing comprehensive and in-depth business information aids Google in comprehending your business better and associating your profile with relevant searches.

Previously, in numerous industries, having an exact match keyword in your business name was the key factor determining relevancy. However, with the recent upgrade, the impact of this element has been reduced. Presently, it seems that the category and subcategories assigned to your business listing hold significant importance.

Distance

When a user searches without specifying a location, Google will estimate the distance from the potential search results based on the information they already know about the user’s location, considering how far away each result is from the search term location.

The only thing that is likely to remain unchanged is distance. You cannot relocate your company or compel customers to search for it from a particular location since you are already situated where you are. With Google’s Vicinity update, distance has become more crucial in determining rankings. As demonstrated below, a business lacking reviews, ratings, or prices can still obtain a high ranking solely due to its proximity.

Prominence

Local search results aim to mirror the offline recognition of certain places, such as renowned museums, exceptional hotels, or popular retail chains, by prioritizing their prominence. The term “Prominence” denotes the level of familiarity associated with a company. Hence, it is expected that these establishments will receive greater visibility in local search engine rankings.

Furthermore, the prominence of a company relies on the information that Google has gathered about it from different online sources including links, articles, and directories.

The number and quality of Google reviews have an impact on the results of local searches. Having a greater quantity of positive reviews could potentially boost your company’s ranking in the local area. In addition, optimizing your Google My Business using search engine optimization (SEO) is crucial for enhancing your rankings on Google.

Google Business Profile Optimization Checklist

1. Complete the Setup Process Correctly

To improve your business’s ranking on Google Maps and enhance its visibility, it is crucial to complete the setup process of your Google My Business account. This includes selecting a business category, which plays a vital role in enabling customers to locate your establishment effortlessly on both Google Search and Google Maps.

You will be able to modify this category and incorporate additional elements at a later time.

If applicable, you may provide your service area when prompted (this only applies to service area businesses). You will be required to indicate the regions where your business operates and delivers its services, whether you have a physical location or not.

It is highly important to provide precise information as it will assist in engaging potential clients. Additionally, it is strongly recommended to include your contact details, even though it is not mandatory, if possible.

Provide the information of your website and phone number, in case you don’t possess one, Google will create it for you free of charge using the details you provide.

Lastly, make sure to thoroughly authenticate Google My Business. Conclusively, it is imperative to validate your ownership of the company as the final stage. The preferred way to accomplish this is through mail, as certain organizations have restrictions on other options.

2. Choose a Good Logo and Interior/Exterior Images

Upon completing the setup and verification process, you have successfully landed on Google! Now, it is essential to pay attention to your logo and images as they serve as the initial interaction between your business page and potential customers. Opting for a well-designed logo and genuine yet alluring interior/exterior photos that accurately represent your store will effectively drive traffic to your business.

The size of your logo and photos for Google My Business is the crucial factor. The dimensions of the logo for your Google Business Profile greatly affect the loading speed of the page as well as the user’s experience. According to the guidelines specified for Google Business Profile photos, the size of the logo should range between 10 KB and 5 MB.

For an effective Google Business Profile logo, it is recommended to utilize a resolution of 720 pixels in height and 720 pixels in width. The minimum resolution required for Google Business Profile logos is 250 pixels in height and 250 pixels in width.

To capture higher resolution for both interior and exterior Google Business Profile photos, it is advisable to use PNG format. However, if you want to submit photographs with acceptable quality but smaller file sizes, you can opt for the JPG format.

Make a decision according to your requirements. The size of the Google Business Profile photo is vital for both page loading and user experience. As per GMB Photo specifications, it should range from 10 KB to 5 MB. The suggested resolution provided by the same source is 720 x 720.

Furthermore, it is necessary for you to adjust your photos to ensure optimal viewing on both mobile and desktop devices.

For Google My Business listings, it is important to ensure that your Google Business Profile photographs are visible and well-presented on both square and rectangular devices.

Adapting a photo for use on both desktop and mobile devices is simple. To ensure effective viewing across desktop and mobile platforms, it is advisable to position the main focus in the center rather than the top or bottom. Additionally, it is recommended to crop your Google Business Profile pictures accordingly to ensure compatibility with both devices.

3. Be Active and Post Regularly on Google My Business

Posting regularly on Google My Business not only satisfies Google’s preference for frequency but also allows you to inform people about your business and any updates or advancements.

If you don’t have the time to create, design, and share GMB posts every day, batching your content and scheduling your Google My Business posts is the solution to efficiently address this issue while still maintaining the optimal frequency of daily postings.

To effectively schedule your Google Business Profile posts for a week or even a month, it is recommended to utilize third-party tools for scheduling purposes on Google My Business.

4. Ensure NAP Accuracy and Consistency

Your NAP (name, address, phone number) is a fundamental and crucial aspect of your Business profile. It is essential that these three elements are correct and consistent across all online mentions and listings of your business.

If your business signage, business cards, and website display your business name as “The Ice Cream Company”, then your business name on your profile should be the same.

Do not abbreviate or adapt your name to something like “The Ice Cream Co”.
Do not add location names like “The Ice Cream Company London” unless it’s specially a part of your brand name.
Do not optimize your business name with keywords like “The Best Ice Cream Company in London”, this goes against Google’s guidelines and is considered as spam.

5. Manage and Respond to Reviews

Are you more inclined to visit the businesses with reviews or the one without, among these options?

When determining local rankings, Google takes into consideration the influence of reviews on customer decisions to purchase or visit a business. Thus, the search engine utilizes reviews to assess relevance and prominence.

Your business’s profile allows prospective customers to provide reviews, which Google will emphasize by bolding relevant terms. You have the option to respond to these reviews and control the narrative.

It is encouraged to upload relevant photos as it:

Allows you to show off your products and services and let “customers peek inside your business”.
Ensures that you maintain a level of control of how your business is perceived in your profile – this is because anyone can add photos to your profile.
Makes your profile more visually appealing and improve conversion i.e. people are more likely to

6. Answer Customer Queries

Aside from writing reviews, Google provides users with the option to ask questions about your business through the Questions & answers section. These inquiries will be displayed on your profile, and it is worth noting that anyone can respond to them. As shown in the example below, a different potential customer of this establishment has already provided an answer to the question.

Here are the steps you can take to maximize the effectiveness of this portion of your profile:

Answer your own questions – Get ahead of the curve and pre-empt any questions you feel users may have about your products or service so that you can also provide the most suitable answer.
Set up alerts – whenever a user asks a question, you’ll get notified so that you can answer it as soon as possible.
Optimize questions and answers for your keywords – include keywords within your questions and answers as this may help increase your profile’s chances of appearing with the search results for that query.

7. Publish Google Posts to Improve Conversion

Using Google’s Posts feature to regularly update your business profile, just like you do on other social media platforms, offers numerous benefits. You can share information regarding promotions, sales, special opening hours, events, and more.

You’re showing Google that your page is alive and active
You’re providing useful information about your business to your customers
You’re increasing your chances of turning users into customers as your profile becomes more “clickable”.
You’re showing off your brand personality to both Google and your customers

When you publish posts, they will be visible in the Updates section on your profile. Here are some guidelines to consider.

Post regularly – apart from showing Google you’re actively using your profile to provide the best experience, posting regularly is important because some types of posts have an expiry of seven days.
Include CTAs (Calls to Actions) – adding links to relevant pages or products will help convert users into customers.
Make use of the different types of updates – you can choose from a range of post types including What’s new (for general announcements), Offers (for promotions), Events (for in-store events) and Products (to promote your offerings).

8. Enable Messaging

Knowing these important things about the Message feature, enabling it on your profile permits potential customers to directly send text messages to your phone via the “Chat” function on your Google Business Profile.

Any messages you get will appear in your Business Profile on Google.
You’ll also receive notifications for incoming messages directly on your phone.
You can choose the automated welcome message that your customers will see when they message you.
You can send photos to your customers from the chat.
Google may deactivate the chat feature on your profile if you fail to reply to messages within 24 hours.
Google displays your average response times to customers on Google Maps and Google Search i.e. “Usually responds in a few minutes” o “Usually responds in a day”.

9. Check Your Competition for Niche Specific GMB Features

On their profile, various businesses will be offered distinct features according to their type.

If you own a restaurant or beauty salon, you have the option to enable bookings through your profile, allowing customers to easily reserve a table or appointment without the need to call you or visit your website.

Examining the profiles of your main rivals will provide you with valuable information about possible untapped possibilities. Sync up your Google Business Profile with theirs in order to maximize your chances of enhancing your prominence on Google Search and Google Maps.

Make sure to update your business profile regularly.

Similar to a plant, your Google Business Profile should not be neglected after one watering. It requires ongoing monitoring, updating, and maintenance. Always keep in mind to: