Today, it is very useful for a company to have a good local SEO. Indeed, proximity is often an asset in finding customers. Google My Business is precisely a free tool that helps organize the way your local business is presented in Google products. But how do you best use this tool? Here are some tips to teach you how to use it.

Create a Google Account

First of all, you need to sign in to your Google account. In case you don’t have one, you can create one by signing up on Gmail . Once this step is completed, you must create an account by going to Google My Business .

Create an establishment file

Fill out the establishment form creation form. Your local SEO will be better if your information is well informed. Know that it is essential to fill in the fields correctly so that the visitor has as much information as possible about you.

Enter the name of your company, the category of your activity in the list of categories of activities offered, the postal address of your establishment, your phone number and your website address. To complete your registration and validate your establishment, you must choose a validation option. Most often, validation is done by post. You will then receive an email from Google within ten days.

If a listing already exists for an old establishment, located at the same address as yours, you must suggest a modification so that it is indicated as closed. Next, create your Google My Business listing for your business.

If the information specifies ” This file has already been claimed “, click on ” Request access ” and follow the instructions to indicate that you are the owner of the establishment.

For your business listing to be accepted by Google, you must ensure:

Do not write in capitals,

Do not insert hashtags or links to another site,

Do not indicate your prices or promotions in the description,

Do not write inappropriate content.

Also remember to add as many photos as possible by classifying them by categories: photos of your establishment, interior and exterior, images of your products and of your team, etc. The more photos you publish, the higher you will be in Google’s results.

The Local pack

The Local Pack is the location Google uses to showcase local results. For customers, it is a simple and effective solution to find out more about the companies located in their geographic area. Following a request entered in the search engine, Google displays a map and a list of establishments nearby. The Local Pack can be found under the first commercial links on the page. We often talk about ” the pack of 3  ” because Google presents a list of 3 results, the closest to your search.

By being present on Google Maps with your optimized Google My Business listing, you will impact your appearance rate in the local pack . This better visibility will increase your ability to convert prospects who have identified you via the local pack into customers.

Local SEO

If he clicks on one of the 3 results to have more information, he will arrive on the company establishment file.

Local SEO

Also, it is important to know that 62% of users who do a local search do not click on other results on the page. They favor the local pack. You must therefore indicate an address in your establishment sheet so that we can find you easily. Here are the factors that trigger the Google Local Pack.

Proximity

The proximity criterion is calculated based on the distance between each potential establishment and the geographic terms used in the search bar. If during the search the customer does not cite a location, then Google will calculate the distance based on known information about their location.

Quality = good local SEO

Your business information should be well filled out. They must correspond to reality as well as possible. It is on these criteria that the confidence that the search engines will give you will be based. This is called authority. If it is high, you will have a better chance of being well referenced. The structure of your website and the quality of the content are also taken into account. So take the time it takes to complete this sheet and your local SEO services in Lahore will be better!

The importance of descriptions

Adding a description to your Google My Business listing will provide additional information to users when it is displayed. The goal is also to convert the number of views to the number of clicks and for the user to become a visitor. You also have to pay attention to SEO because on Google My Business, it is different from websites. If you put the same keywords too many times in your description, it will be counted as spam by Google.

Google my business SEO

Comments and reviews

Know that a comment has a much more powerful power than you think, it has a huge impact on your online reputation. When a user has a question, wants to buy a product, or wants to go to a location, they often go through the Internet to view reviews

He therefore falls on the establishment’s information sheet and in many cases, these comments will arouse his curiosity. Some will answer his questions: is the place well attended? Are the staff respectful, cordial, friendly? Is the product of good quality? etc.

Google SEO comments

There are also reviews that influence your online reputation. So it is important that they are positive. On Google, visitors apply ratings with a number of stars ranging from 1 to 5.

This gives you an average rating which will be displayed at the top of your Google My Business. So encourage your customers to leave a review on Google to better manage your e-reputation through comments and reviews. A bad score will affect your local SEO.

So you get it, Google My Business is a powerful lever to boost your local visibility and therefore your business. Your turn now.