Google My Business Optimization

Full Training for Local Service Businesses

Approximate time to implement (for beginners): 1-2 days

Note 1: To get the point across easier, I will use a fictitious business called ''ABC Company'' when showing examples.

Note 2: These tips can apply to any service business, large or small or in any industry (construction, beauty, restaurant, finance, etc)

Better optimized GMB = more revenue

Better optimized GMB = higher GMB conversions = more leads = more revenue (potentially)

For local service business, a lot of their organic traffic comes from Google my Business. Most of their reviews are published there and most of theirs calls come from there. So it's only normal that optimizing it fully will benefit any service company greatly.

Your GMB is the first impression most customers will have with your business. It's like a website before your website. And optimizing it fully can have trickle down effects on the rest of your business.

Optimizing it can do the following for your business:

• Increase rankings on Google locally (which will lead to more leads)

• Increase conversion rates (higher percentage of people will click on your website/call you)

• More reviews (optimizing it also includes optimizing the reviews and answers to them)

Above is a statistic that shows what improving just the rating of the reviews on your GMB listing can do for your business. Now imagine if all parts of your GMB was optimized, what it could mean for your business.

This document will share exactly how you can optimize your GMB for your own service business, or other people's businesses (if you are an agency owner)

Part 1: Introduction to GMB Optimization

What is GMB Listing Optimization

The action of optimizing every aspect of your GMB that is shown to visitors, as well as the backend aspects that only Google sees. This refers to the images, the reviews, the Google posts (new feature) and all the other smaller optimizations possible.

Why Should your GMB Listing

1. First Impression: Your GMB is the first impression of your business online for the majority of people. Most people when they search a service will search Google, and if they do, they will see your business and your competitors. And so a proper first impression will undoubtedly be beneficial.

2. Increased Conversion Rates: Better optimized GMB means higher conversion rates.

3. Better Rating Score: By optimizing a GMB fully, you will also optimize how you respond to reviews, leading ultimately to people changing their reviews to better one, and even getting inappropriate ones removed by Google. Increasing overall score.

4. More Trust, More Sales: If a customer trusts you more, he will allow himself to spend more with you. Optimizing a GMB properly will communicate that trust and help ease them into spending more with you.

In short, optimizing your GMB is a great, free (unless you hire it out) way to improve conversion rates and improve the emotion associated with your business. Which therefore can lead to making more money.

Types of Optimization

On a GMB listing, every aspect of it is optimizable. We will be discussing all optimizations from images, reviews, Google posts and more

Main Optimizations

Brief summary on the main optimizations possible

Images

What are they:

The images on your GMB are the first thing they see, and the most important feature.

Why is it important:

Poor quality images reflect on your brand poorly. Good quality images do the opposite. Setting up your images in a way that sets your best foot forward is the way to go.

Reviews

What are they: 

Reviews that show on your GMB are probably the most important reviews on the internet. These are the ones that are most seen and most trusted. Need to pay attention to them.

Why is it important:

Most people will have their first contact with you on GMB. Having a positive rating (over 4.2/5) is the minimum to even get them to trust you. Anything under and people will start rejecting your business.

Google Posts

What are they:

They are posts that appear on your Google that disappear every 7 days. Used to show services and promotions.

Why is it important:

They take up a lot of space on your listing as well as allow you to show more images of your service without someone having to click on your listing. Great, free way to advertise yourself on Google.

Considerations that apply to all aspects of GMB optimizations

• Consistent Branding: Branding needs to be consistent across GMB so it reflects your business and website. You don't want someone clicking on your website from your GMB, and thinking it isn't the same business.

  
  

Part 2: Initial Optimizations

Here are the optimizations to be made initially within your Google my Business

Initial Optimizations

In this section we will be going through all the different initial and one-time optimizations that can be done for your GMB. We will go through every aspect of your GMB that is optimizable.

Why is the Initial Optimization Important?

1. Snowball Effect: Having all the foundational aspects of your GMB set up will lead to better reviews, better rankings all by itself. It is the first roll of the snowball.

2. Biggest Impact: The foundation of your GMB is the most important part to optimize. Has the biggest impct on conversion rates.

All Initial/Foundational Optimizations

Here is all the different aspects of a the GMB to optimize

1. Title and Description:

   1. Include in title of business your service and town. Go from ''SkyLine LLC'' to ''Skyline Roofing Montreal''. Will help you rank higher on local search tremendously.

      1. Google will check images of your business in real life and determine if your business name is truly, in this example, ''Skyline Roofing Montreal''. If it isn't, you run the risk of getting flagged by them and having your listing removed until they change it back. For local markets the risk is not that high, so to use this with caution.

   2. Don't put phone number in description for risk of being flagged.

   3. Best to use long tail exact match keywords to what your customers are looking of in description of GMB. Will allow you to rank higher as well as raise your conversion rate.

   4. Use all 750 words of GMB description but be mindful of keyword stuffing. Use as many as you can without affecting the readability of your text.

2. Services/Products:

   1. Maximize and add all services you offer in GMB listing

   2. When filling out services on GMB, use their predetermined services they recommend to fill out services you offer. Will help rank higher when using their recommendations in addition to your own custom services.

   3. There is a sell a product feature which allows you to have more information on your GMB. Use this section to show services (if you don't have any products to sell). Will allow you to take up more real estate on your GMB.

      1. Little hack: You can add GIF's to your products instead of images. Switch the file type to of the gif to a jpeg and Google will allow you to post it.

   4. Fill out services sections and add descriptions for all of them. Use up all characters possible.

3. Address:

   1. Address you put will be a great determining factor on if you show up on peoples listings within that region. If you have two or more offices, use the address that is closest to your target customer. Is one of the most important factors for your business. You won't show as much or maybe not even at all if you don't have an office close to your customers.

      1. Some businesses rent out a second office just to claim that location as their main. That is how big of an impact location has on your GMB.

4. Images:

   1. Have more images then people can actually look through, allows you to show you are active and a solid reference for your service.

      1. Use images to answer concerns and show authority in domain.

      2. Post a new or recycled one every day to show you are active (can set up automations for this). Every week is good enough.

5. Hours:

   1. Keep hours accurate and have pre made templates for holidays or days that office will be closed. Can automate it with internal calendar.

6. Booking Link:

   1. Fill out appointment link with either appointment booking software or contact form on website.

7. Applying for GBP Verification: (how to get verified quicker)

   1. Have a website live with company name

   2. Connect website to Google Search Console and Google Analytics

   3. Create citations across the web

   4. Have warmed up e-mail account that you use to sign up (personal account is best)

8. Miscellaneous:

   1. Make sure contact information of business (name, phone number, address, etc) is exactly the same on all profiles including GMB. Same on website, social medias, GMB, etc.

   2. Create profile short name with name of business, service and overarching region. Ex: Skyline Roofing Quebec ''g. page/[yourbusinessname]''

   3. Fill out Q&A section in your listing with all the most common questions. The more the better.

   4. Look at competitors secondary categories to find which categories you should rank for as well. Search with software.

   5. Create a GMB business site, even if you don't show it live. Helps to rank your own website. Use links that lead to true website within the GMB site.

Setting the foundation properly will allow your GMB to perform better than 95% of your competitors. Allowing you to convert more visitors into clients, as well as getting the compounding effects of ranking higher and higher through time. Will also have a trickle down effect on all the continuous efforts you will make to improve GMB.

Part 3: Continuous Efforts

Here are a few strategies to optimize your GMB through time

Continuous Efforts/Optimizations

In this section we will be going through all the different continuous improvement you can make to your GMB to stand out from competition and improve the chances you will get ranked higher on Google.

Why continually updating GMB is important?

Google is constantly updating itself, changing its algorithm and changing your business rankings. By updating your GMB constantly, you give your listing the best odds to reach and stay in the the no.1 spot. Also, updating your listing constantly allows you to improve on it as well as show clients you are active and ready to receive work.

1. Images/Videos:

   1. Regularly add photos (1x per week) to listing, will allow users to know you are still in business, as well as give them new information on your business.

   2. Depending on whether you are in winter or summer, you might want to change your main image to a winter version and a summer version. For example if you do roof repairs in both seasons, when winter comes around change your main picture to a roof with snow or other signs of winter, and then switch it back in summer.

   3. In content, post videos more then photos. They auto play in the maps results. Constantly up

2. A/B Testing:

   1. Can A/B test the page that is linked to your GMB. Instead of the home page, you can link directly to a booking page. Can test out the difference in them.

3. Q&A:

   1. For public Q&A section, have people you know give a thumbs up to question and answer you want to show first. When a questions and answer are given 3 thumbs up, they are pinned at the top. Allows you to show the question people ask most first.

4. Main Category:

   1. Test out main category and track the difference in ranking between changes.

5. Keywords:

   1. Have keywords in the file name of images, include as well the geotag in the image

6. Google Posts:

   1. Frequency

      1. Utilize google posts. Aim at 3x per week. Posts will get deleted every 7 days. Use it to promote offers, sales or services you are trying to push.

   2. How to Use them

      1. Google my business posts are best used as advertising. People landing on your business are actively looking to purchase your service, great time to sell them on it. Utilize videos, images and text to maximum. Consider that these visitors are most likely to see you for the first time when they find you.

      2. Can be used to show best review received by screenshotting and sharing your best review.

      3. Can be used to show case studies and past work done.

   3. Features of Posts

      1. Image size: 540x405px

      2. Image type: Attention grabbing, best not stock. Have logo and phone number (CTA contact) in photo so people can contact just by scrolling on Google

      3. Text: 1500 characters (use links, hashtags, PR, citations, etc)

      4. Frequency: Once per day is best, once per week is okay, if not automated (they get removed every 7 days)

      5. CTA: Linked directly to sales (ex: website's booking/form page or phone number)

      6. Links: Type links of all main social medias inside post

      7. Keywords: Use optimized keywords, long tail and short. Repeat them a few times as well. Google says keywords in posts do not affect rankings, but best to put them anyways as sometimes Google ''lies''

7. Competitors

   1. Can report fake reviews, fake listings, and all inappropriate content competitors are posting that breaks Google or social media codes of conduct. For GMB, it is very impactful as it can allow you to raise in the rankings.

8. Replying to Messages

   1. Replying to messages quickly on your GMB is one of the best ways to improve conversion rates. Here is a graph to show the importance of responding in a timely manner.

Extra Tip

1. Stay consistent on branding. Us same color tone, same image styles, same logo and illustrations. Will help customers trust your business more and lead to higher conversion rates throughout.

2. Optimize all your content for Mobile. 80%+ of content online is consumed by mobile users so making your images adapted to mobile is important (framing images vertically, having legible text even for small phones)

Google changes constantly and so it is important to be on top of the new opportunities and rules they apply.

Part 4: Reviews

Here are a few strategies on how to optimize your testimonials on GMB

Testimonial Optimization

In this section we will discuss all the ways you can optimize your reviews on your GMB. From responses to reviews, reporting inappropriate ones and generating new ones.

Why is optimizing testimonials important?

1. Boost Conversions: A high rating on GMB is one of the best ways to increase conversion rates. Here is a graph to show you the importance of it. Going from a 3.5 star to 4.5 star rating can mean a 2-3x boost in conversion rate, a tremendous result for any business.

2. Improves Brand Trust: For a future customer, knowing that you did work for other people, and have done it well, is a great insurance that you will most likely do the same for them. Seeing that you care about your customers (by answering to their comments), you ensure them indirectly that you will deliver on their promise.

How to Structure your Testimonials Optimally

You can do a few things: Improving quantity of testimonials, improve quality of testimonials and improve responses. We will go through every part and the details of each.

1. Getting more reviews: More reviews means more social proof, more new reviews means even more social proof, more reviews means higher rankings on Google.

   1. How to ask for reviews: You want to make it as simple as possible for them to leave a review. Having QR codes they can scan at exit of your business, sending them Google review links instead of just asking them to leave a review . Look into our review training for more in depth tips on how to ask for them optimally (link)

      1. SMS: Can ask for reviews with short e-mail or SMS after job is done with link to review. Use SMS to get higher response rates and chances they leave a review.

      2. Tutorial and Link: Some of your clients might not be too good with technology (especially if you work with older clients). Can create an step by step guide on how to leave a review with the link embedded in the illustration. This will allow people who are less tech savvy to understand how to leave you a review. (Can use Canva to design)

      3. Tap Card: Can have a ''review tap'' card set up at your front desk for easier reviews. Can find one on Amazon.

      4. Keywords: Keywords written by customers on reviews, helps your business rank higher on Google. If appropriate, when asking for reviews, ask the person to use the keyword you most want to rank for (ex: This is the best ''Roofing company in Toronto'' I've ever worked with). Longer review the better, means more keywords and more details for other people to read.

      5. Images: Having images with your review improves their quality and trustworthiness to clients. If you have professional pictures of the job you did, ask them to leave you a review using that picture.

      6. Local Guide Reviews: Local guides are people who have left many reviews on Google across time, they are trusted by Google and show up higher on the list of reviews then your other reviews. You can look up business in your area and see those local guides. You can offer them free services or low ticket products in exchange for a review of your business.

      7. No Follow Ups: Although it might be tempting to ask again and again for someone to leave you a review, the more you ask, the more likely they are to give you a bad one. We usually don't follow up, incurs too much risk.

   2. Filtering Reviews: Ideally, you only want 5 star reviews to show up on your GMB, but truth is, sometimes people won't be satisfied with your service or are not the type of people who leave positive reviews. Want you want to do is filter them out when you can.

      1. How to do it: When someone scans your QR code to leave a review (or follows any link you send them), direct them to a page that is yours before directing them to Google. On that page you will ask for a review, if they give you 5 stars, you redirect them to the Google review page, if they you 4 stars or less, you direct them to a form so they can fill out and explain the details of their dissatisfaction. This will reduce the chances of you receiving bad reviews, and help you understand what your clients don't like about your service.

   3. Asking old customers:

      1. Ask every customer you have ever had that hasn't left you a review. Even if it has been 10 years, Google still allows their review to post. One of the greatest and easiest ways to increase reviews. Create an e-mail or SMS campaign and send a personalized message to everyone asking for reviews.

   4. Asking new customers:

      1. Ask every customer you serve to leave a review. If you aren't in direct contact with them, get your team to ask them for reviews. Ask them in real life, right after they have received your service (when they are most excited about it), tends to get better results.

   5. Asking customers of all sizes:

      1. Google doesn't discriminate reviews by size of service offered. You can get a review from a 10$ service and one from a 10 000$ service and Google will treat it the same. This means that if you offer a high ticket service, most likely you will not get many reviews (less amount of people that buy from you per year compared to a restaurant). A great opportunity for you would be to have a smaller service that you can do for the masses, allowing you to get more reviews than any of your competition could ever.

         1. Ex: You have a roofing company that typically charges 10 000$ per job, you could then offer gutter cleaning for a short time for 200$ a pop. Allowing you to get a whole new market of reviews, boosting the trust people will have for your main service.

2. Removing Bad Reviews: Bad reviews are an anchor to your businesses progress. Removing inappropriate ones is crucial and very beneficial.

   1. Identify Policy Violations: Check Google’s Review Policies: Reviews that violate Google’s policies can be flagged for removal. Look for reviews that are spam, fake, off-topic, or contain offensive language. Flag Inappropriate Reviews: Use the “Flag as inappropriate” option next to the review to report it to Google for review.

   2. Contact Google Support: If flagging them doesn't work, use the GMB Help Center: Go to the Google My Business Help Center and contact support directly to explain why a specific review should be removed. Provide Evidence: Gather any evidence you have that supports your claim that the review is fake or violates Google’s policies.

   3. Encourage Detailed Feedback: Contact Reviewer Directly: If possible, reach out to the reviewer to understand their concerns better. Sometimes, direct communication can lead to the reviewer updating or removing their review. Sometimes, we've seen people leave bad reviews by accident, and glad you contacted them to rectify it.

3. Responding to Reviews: Although responding to reviews doesn't affect your Google rankings or GMB directly, it affects your business inn many ways. Showing clients you care about your service and active in your business.

   1. How to Respond to Positive Reviews: Responses can be used for multiple things. You can use them to thank the client, show other clients that you care, and even upsell clients into more services.

      1. Responses should include: Main keywords, upsell service, personalization and authority building. A response for the review isn't for the person you are responding for, it is instead for the people who will read your reviews, who haven't bought yet.

      2. Positive Template: ''Thanks ''Name'' for the positive review! We're glad you chose ''Business Name'' to solve your ''problem you solved''. If ever you need another ''Service offered'' in ''Region served'' just let us know, we have technicians available for ''Upsell Service'' 24hrs/7 days per week.

   2. How to Respond to Negative Reviews:  You should take the time and read the review properly as they are usually more delicate. Offer your contact information so you can resolve the issue with them privately and hopefully get them to change the review.

      1. Responses should include: Main keywords, contact information, personalization and offer to resolve. The point of answering is to try to get them to change their review, inviting them to communicate with you directly.

      2. Negative Template: Thanks ''Name'' for leaving a review. ''Addressing the issue''. Please call us at ''phone number'' so we can discuss the issue and see if we can't resolve it.

   3. When to Respond: A good rule of thumb is to respond to reviews as quickly as possible.

      1. New Reviews: Under 5 minutes is a good response rate for reviews. Allowing you to address issues if they happen (bad reviews) and reward people when they leave a review, showing them you care and even leading sometimes in more sales.

      2. Old Reviews: Maybe you have neglected your reviews for a while and haven't responded for all of them. Should you respond to them now? Yes, and these are the reasons why.

         1. Might lead to more sales. Maybe someone who hasn't thought about your business since you last served them, are in current need of your service again but forgot about you. Responding to their review will remind them, and in some cases get you sales from them.

         2. Might lead to a change in reviews. Maybe someone left you a bad review in the past but has used your services many times since. When you respond to their review they will see it and maybe change their mind about their opinion of you.

         3. Improved Rankings on Google. Although the response itself will not have an effect, having people revisit your GMB will help you boost slightly on Google.

Overall Tips for Testimonials:

• Make it as easy as possible for people to leave you reviews. You want to reduce the friction people have to leaving you a review to 0.

• Call in some favors. If you want to rank well on Google, you want good reviews. It's time to call in some small favors and ask friends and family to leave reviews.

If you want more tips on optimizing testimonials of a business across all directories (GMB, Yelp, Trustpilot, etc.). We have a free training that goes over how to do it optimally (link to training)

Conclusion - GMB Listing Optimization

If you’d like to learn more about optimizing your business online, we offer 12 free trainings on subjects ranging from SEO, Website Optimization and even Sales. 

Click the link below 👇

https://vizonsdigital.gumroad.com/l/12Trainings

If you are looking to outsource the work and get us to optimize these parts of your business, visit our site for more information, and book a discovery call with our team. 

Click the link below 👇

www.vizionsdigital.com