Four Things to Know for Your Google My Business Page in 2021

Joshua Coffman • Mar 29, 2021

Communicating with your customers, even the ones leaving bad reviews, is critical to how your listing ranks

Grow with Google My Business - Louisville

As online search has grown to become more vital to local businesses, Google launched its Grow with Google initiative in 2017, offering training, support and grants among other initiatives. While Grow with Google aims to better educate the future workforce for jobs dealing with things like business analytics, the effort, including the addition of Google My Business offerings, gives local stores and service providers access to Google users and tools, ultimately encouraging those clients to build Google My Business profiles and consider spending advertising dollars with Google.

Earlier in March the Louisville chapter of the Better Business Bureau hosted a Grow with Google event with Dave Delaney of Futureforth, discussing Google My Business creation and management, with particular focus on updating business hours, in-person options, et cetera, in light of how our communities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog post focuses on some of those bullet points, offering several things you should do when setting up or updating a Google My Business Page. Many of these tips that can also apply to a local business's web site in terms of improving local SEO, as well. Post-COVID, customers expect up-to-the-minute updates and it's your responsibility to make sure your business rises to that challenge. (Of course, we are here to help with all of this if you need a broader strategy.)

WHAT INFORMATION DO I NEED TO PUT ON A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE?

As is the case with much of local SEO, it's important for Google, just as it is for your customers, to make sure your business name, business address and business phone number are listed and consistent with other listings across the web, from Yelp to Angie's List to your local Chamber of Commerce. Known as NAP (name, address, phone) in the SEO community, it is important to keep this uniform across the web, most certainly on a Google My Business Page. Poor info could bury your listing or lead to more severe penalizations.

In addition to having consistent branding and contact info, the business overview section of your web site is a great place to not only sell yourself to current and prospective clients and customers, but you also should keep searchability in mind, using proper keywords to best describe your business and what it offers. This also applies to properly choosing a business category, as well as when listing the products and services your business provides.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PHOTOS & VIDEO ON A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE

Citing data from Google, Delaney noted that a brick-and-mortar business with an up-to-date profile is 70 percent more likely to get a visit to its location driven by Google My Business and that those customers are 50 percent more likely to buy something. Other noteworthy stats: 40 percent of searchers are looking for business hours (think "Pizza Places Open Near Me"), and people are 90 percent more likely to visit a business that has photos on its Google My Business profile.

In addition to photos, businesses can add short videos, allowing restaurants to highlight signature dishes, a boutique to illuminate a vintage outfit or even for a plumber to offer a snippet of expert advice. Just as with a business description or a product listing, the terminology used to describe a photo or video is helpful in promoting keywords linked to your business. The best conclusion might be to think of a Google My Business listing as a social media extension for your company and brand. It should be updated as maintained just as you would a Facebook page, an Instagram account or a Twitter feed.

At a remote conference earlier this year, focused on local business web strategy for 2021, representatives from Duda and Localogy also stressed the need for up-to-date listing information and business hours but went a step further, saying a small business web site should not be treated as a museum piece, to be dusted off and updated every few years, but rather to feed it as a living organism. That mindset should echo from your web site to your Google My Business page to your social accounts, everywhere your business can be found.

HOW TO RESPOND TO NEGATVIE COMMENTS ON A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PAGE

Another important aspect covered by Delaney was responding to customer reviews on Google My Business. The number of reviews you get on your Google My Business page is important, but so is the depth of those reviews and the frequency at which a business responds to that feedback. While we all seek five-star feedback, with Google it's just as important, if not even more so, to give feedback to those who leave one-star or two-star complaints.

The best method is to engage the customer on what did not meet their expectations and then to offer a resolution if needed. Sound advice from Delaney is to ask the less-than-satisfied customer leaving the review to call or email your business so you can smooth things out. Just as in the SEO world for your web site, expertise, authority and trust (the infamous EAT acronym), it is important to convey those aspects in your customer engagements. When it comes to a spam review, or something that's untrue or abusive, there are tools in the review response console to alert Google staff.

GOOGLE MARKETING RESOURCES FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Within its Grow with Google campaign, the search and advertising giant offers a suite of educational tools for small businesses. Here are some links to some of those options.

Grow with Google (Gain tech skills and earn Google certificates)
Google Small Business Marketing Kit
Google Marketing Kit for Black-Owned Businesses
Small Business Planning Advise from Google (Your Primer)
Grow with Google Quick Help (YouTube video series)
Grow with Google On Air (Tutorials, Upcoming Events, Small Business Tips)

502ads understands that not every small business owner has the time or the technical finesse to manage the nuances of keeping all aspects about your business up to date online, whether for Google or for social media. Get in touch for a free consultation to better meet your goals and needs in the digital world.

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502ads named a Top Louisville Content Marketing Agency by UpCity

By Press Release • 29 Apr, 2021

502ads is thrilled to officially announce that we have been recognized as one of the top content marketing agencies in Louisville and nationally by UpCity. For most of small-town America, a new business opening used to be the talk of the town. These days all that buzz and word-of-mouth has shifted online, but small businesses have been left to fend for themselves as bigger companies dominate search and social media. 502ads prides itself on doing everything possible to change that by helping local businesses use content to their advantage. The commitment to helping local, small businesses excel is only one reason the Louisville-based company has been recognized by UpCity as not only one of the best content marketing agencies in our area but also nationally in the United States . UpCity is a resource that helps connect businesses to service providers they can trust. With more than 70,000 listed providers—from marketing agencies to accounting firms to HR consultants to IT specialists, and many more—1.5 million businesses (and counting) have visited UpCity to research and identify the best partner for their needs. UpCity’s proprietary algorithm utilizes a variety of digital signals to measure the credibility, trustworthiness, and recommendability of B2B service providers across the U.S. and Canada. These digital data points like reviews (both on UpCity and other third-party review sites), presence in relevant search results, domain authority, website speed and experience help UpCity connect businesses with outstanding service providers like 502ads. Dan Olson, CEO of UpCity, had this to say about the 502ads team: “502ads provides an excellent service for their area. Not only do they have experience, but a true understanding of how to partner with local clients to effectively leverage the power of digital marketing.” “We are proud to be partnering with UpCity and thankful for the recognition,” said 502ads founder Joshua Coffman. “This wouldn’t be possible without our fantastic clients, who inspire us every day.” ABOUT UPCITY UpCity is a resource that helps connect businesses to service providers they can trust. With more than 50,000 listed providers—from marketing agencies to accounting firms to HR consultants, and many more—1.5 million businesses (and counting) have visited UpCity to identify the best partner for their needs. ABOUT 502ads Founded in April 2020 by longtime Louisville journalist Joshua Coffman, 502ads provides marketing strategies and campaign management for small businesses in Louisville and the surrounding area in Kentucky to succeed in finding customers online, particularly in the realms of SEO, social media and Google Ads management. FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Joshua Coffman at (502) 619-4195 or via email at josh@502ads.com .

Big changes expected in 2021 for how Google ranks web sites

By Joshua Coffman • 16 Mar, 2021

Mobile First Indexing & Core Web Vitals updates could shake up where small businesses rank on Google

Web design - Why having a site map beforehand matters

By Writemaps.com Guest Post • 05 Mar, 2021

Let’s agree, when you are starting something new, it’s possible to forget even the simplest aspects of the task. Web designers find themselves overwhelmed with tasks like filling each page, fixing broken links, and aesthetics. When this happens, you end up wasting time on creating unnecessary pages. The result is your site can become clumsy, making it hard to navigate not only for site visitors but also for you as the designer or owner. Here’s why you should have a visual sitemap before starting content creation and design. Highlight your website purpose Not many websites (or any business for that matter) succeed without having a clear goal and purpose. Those without end up confusing the visitors thus leading to an overall poor user experience. Having a visual sitemap is one of the most effective ways to chart the path of your site and to it a goal and a purpose. By mapping it out, you can determine how the site will look, key pages to include, keywords to target and the site structure to use. Ultimately, you will save a lot of time and resources by just having this tool. Avoid duplicate content A sitemap provides an easy point of reference to help you avoid repeating the same information over and over. Additionally, it helps you avoid creating conflicting content by showing you the various pages to update once you’ve added a new topic. Save on cost Creating high-quality content for your website can be resource-intensive. A visual sitemap such as WriteMaps.com can help you decide the most important pages so you can prioritize those for quick results. For example, if you intend to start an affiliate website, you could focus on creating pages that generate revenue quickly before creating content for other pages. Simplify the work of crawlers You want to help Google’s spiders in any way you can. This includes assisting them to find your content by moving it up the crawl queue. A visual sitemap is more than just an outline list of links. It also helps crawlers know what your website is all about and the keywords used per page to better search results. You can also use it to identify pages that can be interlinked to make it easier for search engines to navigate them. Improve UI A well-functioning website is one that enables users to interact seamlessly with its conversion funnels using the available content. If the process is lengthy and complicated, chances are that they’ll leave before completing the conversion steps e.g., signing up for your newsletter. A sitemap helps you identify the shortest route from the moment a visitor lands on your site to the top of the funnel. Conclusion Having a visual sitemap beforehand can help you determine how many pages your site should have and what should be included in each. Besides, it helps you identify ways to enhance navigation for both users and search engine crawlers. Think of it as a blueprint on which your website is built. Do you use visual sitemaps when designing a website? We’d love to hear your views in the comments below.