How to Rank Higher on Google My Business

Wondering how to rank higher on Google My Business? No worries, there are some surefire ways to do this! Below, we will go over the three main ways to help your business rank higher on Google My Business (GMB) and on Google’s search engine results pages as a whole.

When it comes down to it, you will need to take a multifaceted approach. It involves creating a solid GMB profile, targeting local markets, and implementing high-quality SEO tactics on your site. That way, your small business will have a larger reach to the most relevant demographics.

These tested and proven methods will help your business show up locally on Google Maps through Google My Business while increasing your reach to new audiences! To learn more or get additional assistance, you can always contact E-Marketing Associates.

Below, we will cover:

1. Google My Business Basics
2. Keywords, SEO, and Backlinks
3. Generating Quality Content
   

What is a Google Business Profile?

A Google Business Profile, also known as a Google My Business (GMB) profile is a free business listing that comes from Google and helps you show up on Google Maps and more. This listing allows you to provide important details about your business, products, and services. Creating this free profile can make your business more visible online in many ways. Once you make a Google My Business Profile, you can implement SEO tactics to enhance your reach and drive online traffic.

Making a Google My Business Profile and Getting Your Business Listed in Directories

First of all, you'll need to make your Google My Business profile. After creating a profile on Google My Business, you can list your business elsewhere. Yelp, Bing, Angie's List, and other high authority sites are great places to list your business. Be sure to invest adequate time and energy into your Google My Business (GMB)profile. Be sure to stay on top of comments or reviews. Verify your business as well to ensure that it is visible to people searching online.

To Enhance Your GMB Profile for Local Customers:

1. Sign in to Google Business Profile Manager
2. Add your business address
3. Enter your location correctly
4. Fill in your contact information
5. Verify your business
6. Customize your profile
7. Add relevant content, text, and images
8. Implement keywords and good SEO
9. Monitor and respond to reviews and comments
10. Be sure your business website is linked correctly
11. Make sure your website SEO is great
    

Optimize Your Google Business Profile and Internal Reviews

Optimizing your Google My Business profile and any reviews is smart. You want good comments and reviews, as this goes a long way toward your visibility. So, be ready to devote some time and energy to getting good reviews and responding to comments.

Here are some tips:

1. Ask long-term, loyal customers to review your business on Google.
2. Make it easy for website shoppers and marketing campaign customers to create reviews with shortcut links or pop-ups.
3. Ask customers to review your website after they make a purchase and offer discounts or incentives to leave a review.
4. Remind customers that reviews help other people save money and find what they need.
5. Respond to negative reviews with public, positive feedback, as this generates interest.
6. Be sure to publicly thank all customers who leave positive reviews.
   

Build a Good Network

It is a good idea to maintain mutually beneficial relationships with other local businesses. These could be businesses in the same industry or small businesses that offer services that complement what you do. Building mutually beneficial relationships allows you to create backlinks and guest posts that help your website and theirs.

Work with High-Authority Blogs

Find high-authority blogs that relate to your business needs. Offer to hire a blogger to write guest posts on your behalf. Then, you can offer value in exchange for backlinking benefits.

Find Local Print Ads and Advertiser Websites

Many local press and print publications enjoy working with local businesses and will promote you in exchange for backlinking benefits. Remember, other businesses want high-authority backlinks as well. Once you get the ball rolling, it is easy to maintain momentum. Many of these businesses also offer free ad design services.

Don't forget the value of advertising in print, and remember, many print publications also have online services that can help promote your business. This is a great place for any small business to begin when building authority through organic online traffic.

How to Use Keywords to Rank Higher on Google My Business and Beyond

When you work particular keywords into the content you create for your GMB profile, blogs, social media pages, listings, and website sections, you will be able to organically improve your search ranking. Keywords are the cornerstone of organic SEO (search engine optimization).

Organic search engine optimization involves using the latest search engine algorithms in your favor naturally. Instead of stuffing keywords into your content or using black hat SEO to try and game the system, you work trends and programs to your advantage. Think of it like swimming in the same direction as the current to reach your destination faster as opposed to swimming against it.

Exactly What Are Keywords?

When a potential customer chooses to Google something, the phrases or words they type are called keywords. When someone hits “enter,” Google’s programs and page crawlers scan a complex index to deliver a list of web pages containing these keywords. These page crawlers will go through your GMB profile as well.

The GMB profiles that contain the desired keywords and keyphrases will be ranked on how they are used within the content. They will also be ranked in order based on paid advertisement factors, content reliability, internal website structure, links, reviews, and other algorithmic ranking factors.

Consider Using Keyword Research Tools

Many free tools are available to help you find relevant keywords. However, many of these free tools can only get you so far. Many companies use paid-for keyword research programs to help with SEO. This can help small businesses find the right keywords for their content, local GMB profile, and demographic.

Since keywords are one of the most important building blocks of search engine optimization, investing in keyword research tools may be worth the expense. These tools can help you target specific phrases and words that potential customers are searching for related to the services, products, or industry topics related to your business.

Use Your Keywords Correctly on Your Site and GMB Profile

Once you know what keywords you want to use, you'll need to work them into your GMB profile and website content correctly. It is important to note the language your target audience uses in everyday speech. Pay attention to the tone of emails, social media conversations, or popular articles shared by your demographic. These speech cadences and tones matter when generating content.

When you know which keywords to use and what tones to adhere to, you can begin working keywords into the body of your blogs or website page text. Be sure to work keywords into your H1, H2, and H3 META tags as well. You should also use related keywords. Apply the keywords the correct number of times as well.

Build Better Backlinks On Your Site Pages and Blogs

High-quality backlinks and relevant internal links are important for your site. The better your site ranks, the better you will rank on Google My Business. Backlinks can help you build domain authority. Domain authority involves improving your Domain Rating (DR). High-quality backlinks will come from other websites with domain ratings of at least 50. Domain ratings under 50 should be avoided until your small business website has a solid DR of its own.

Every website has a domain rating on a scale from 0 to 100. The more Domain Authority you build through your domain rating, the more online authority your website has. The more authority your website has, the better it will rank on Google My Business. The better it ranks on Google, the easier it will be for customers to find your business or be directed your way from another place online.

Stay On Top of In-House SEO

You will want to make sure your site works well and is optimized for mobile. This is known as internal SEO and involves in-house, behind-the-scenes web maintenance. Are all of the photos on your website in the correct format? How well are your graphics working? A good web designer will know how to handle these issues for you easily.

Use Quality Content Specific to Your Audience

As you design content for your website, it is important to use the right tools to reach your target audience. How do your customers behave on Google? What are their desires, lifestyle preferences, and device usage habits? Understanding how your customers think will help you communicate with them better.

Some of the biggest problems to solve with blogs revolve around writing content that is too broad for your niche audience. Remember, you aren't creating content for everyone. Instead, you are creating niche content for your unique demographic. Discuss specific content. The more precise your information is, the better.

You may want to invest some time and energy into conducting surveys to get a feel for what your customers are interested in. However, conversing with your customers and monitoring your blog comments can be just as effective as taking a survey. Keep an eye on the direction your customer’s social media conversations take. Once you have a feel for what interests your target audience, you will be able to generate content that they are more interested in.

Keep On Top of Local Web Traffic

Location matters for small businesses. Make sure to use keywords that target shoppers in your specific location. Unless you serve an international or nationwide audience as an online-only vendor, it is important to get people through the door. For instance, if you are selling customized sneakers in Colorado, be sure that you use keywords like “custom shoes in Denver” or, “handmade Colorado footwear”.

Google will show results to customers based on your site’s IP address through Google My Business. Therefore, location is essential! You want to signal to Google's page crawlers that you are a prominent business in the area. As you brainstorm keywords, see if there is anywhere that you can insert location modification.

Concentrate on Niche Topics

Small businesses can have a tough time competing with big box stores or famous brands. Large websites have the money to invest in paid, non-organic SEO tactics and often launch other spendy advertising campaigns. There is still plenty you can do to drive traffic. That’s where a great GMB profile and niche topics for local audiences can be used.

Focusing on specialty interests or topics that haven't yet been covered in your area is a great place to start. This immediately reduces online competition while also increasing your visibility for highly targeted searches. Blogs are a great place to include niche keywords for a targeted local audience.

How to Rank Higher on Google My Business: Final Thoughts

So now you know! From using Google My Business to get attention online to implementing better SEO across the board, there are many ways to improve your online search ranking.

Whether your business needs more sales, better leads, a new website, targeted local SEO, or help with increasing your social media engagement and fanbase, we have online marketing products that are specifically designed to support small businesses.

Not sure how to get started? Schedule a call with a Business Growth Advisor today!