Google My Business Archives

6 Steps to Claim and Optimize a Local Business Listing on Google My Business

September 1, 2018/0 Comments/in Blogs, Google My Business, SEO, Small Business /by Mark Toney

For a local business that wants to get discovered in search results, maintaining an accurate Google My Business listing is critical. The listing details (such as the business’ phone number, website, photos, and hours of operation) determine what information consumers see in Google Search and Maps.

Business owners need to take control of the company’s Google My Business listing to ensure up-to-date business information is displayed online. This means creating or claiming the business listing on Google My Business and optimizing the content to ensure accuracy and improve visibility.

Claim and Optimize a Google My Business Listing in Six Steps

Here are 6 Steps to claiming and optimizing a local business listing on Google My Business.

1. Search for the Business on Google

The first step is to find out if the business already has a Google My Business listing. Google often generates listings based on information available online, which may or may be fully accurate. An existing listing should be claimed so the information can be updated and kept accurate.

A simple Google search for the company name can reveal whether or not a Google My Business listing already exists. If a matching listing appears in search results, there should be a link that says “Are You the Business Owner” next to the listing. If, however, the business does not show up in search results, it’s important to create a new Google My Business listing and update it with correct information about the company.

2. Request Verification of an Existing Listing

To claim the listing, click on the “Are You the Business Owner” link. Next, sign into Google, search for the business name, and request verification. This will give you control of the listing and allow you to begin optimizing it. In most cases, Google will give you two options to verify the listing, “Mail me my code” or “Call me now.”

If the “Are You the Business Owner” button is not visible, then the listing has already been claimed. Talk to any partners, owners, or marketers involved with the business to find out who has claimed the listing. Double check if there is another Google account linked to the business. If you can’t figure out who verified the listing, you’ll have to go through Google Help to gain access.

3. Confirm Business Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP)

Once the business has been verified, you can easily edit and update the business details that will show up in search results. It’s crucial that the business’ name, physical address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across the web – so the NAP data in the Google My Business listing should exactly match what’s on the business’ website.

It’s highly recommended that if you need to make changes to the listing you make those before requesting the verification from Google. If you make the request and then make a change, you’ll quite possibly have to make a second request to get the listing verified.

4. Choose a Single Business Category

Customers and search engines both prefer business’ that accurately represent themselves online. So when selecting a category for a company’s Google My Business listing, it helps to be as specific as possible. Even if the business falls under multiple categories, it’s best to select the single most relevant category to describe the products or services offered. If you aren’t sure which category is the optimal choice for a particular business, search for similar companies on Google to see what categories they’ve selected.

5. Upload Relevant Images to Represent the Business

In order to provide customers with more context in search results, Google likes to display images next to business listings. Google My Business listings with photos receive 42% more requests for driving directions as well as a 32% better click-through rate to the company’s website.

If the business doesn’t upload official images, Google can display photos uploaded by the public – which can sometimes result in embarrassing mishaps for the business. Although a business can suggest a ‘preferred photo’ for search results, Google will only use the recommended photo if it truly represents the business.

Here are some tips for setting preferred photos that Google will approve:

Upload high-quality photos that give an accurate impression of the store location.
Use real pictures of products sold by the business.
Keep Google’s recommended file size (between 10KB and 5MB) and minimum resolution (720px tall, 720px wide) in mind.
Don’t use stock photos or text-based images.

6. Further Optimize the Business Listing

There are a few more ways to get the most out of a Google My Business listing, including:

Keeping the Business Hours Up-to-Date: Google displays hours of operation to tell consumers whether or not the business is open at the time of their search. Remember to update this information if business hours change during the holiday season.
Collecting More Customer Reviews: Encourage customers to leave reviews and take the time to reply when they do.
Adding a Description on Google+: Although businesses can no longer edit their descriptions on Google My Business, this field can still be viewed and edited on Google+.

Whether claiming an existing Google My Business listing or creating one from scratch, use the above tips to ensure accurate information shows up the next time a consumer searches. Keep customers happy, keep Google happy, and increase local visibility.

Need help claiming, creating, or optimizing a Google My Business listing? One location or one thousand, we have you covered!

This story first appeared on Advice Local

Social Media Marketing for New Businesses

July 17, 2018/0 Comments/in Case Studies, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Facebook, Google My Business, Instagram, LinkedIn, Paid Social, paid social media strategy, Paid Social Strategy, Small Business, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter /by Mark Toney

For most entrepreneurs and business leaders, social media marketing is an important tool. You need to be forward thinking and have a forward-looking approach towards it. However, having worked with many small businesses, we notice that many of them don’t take enough advantage of this amazing marketing channel. This is why, we have developed an easy social media strategy for startups, which everyone can implement.

Why should my business have a social media strategy?

The first and most obvious reason to do social media marketing is to avoid your startup to fail. You might have heard that, in the 3rd quarter of 2017, Facebook has reached 2+ billion monthly active users while Instagram reached 700 million, Snapchat 350 million, Twitter320 million, LinkedIn 500 million and Pinterest 150 million average monthly active users. Most marketers will tell you that a social media strategy is crucial for your business. The issue is that many entrepreneurs do not have a technical background and don’t see marketing or growth hacking as a serious tool. Social Media Marketing is the top channel to get your business discovered. Whether you are building a business from scratch or you have a more advanced business, social media needs to be part of your marketing strategy. Don’t miss out this opportunity. Luce Media can help with all your Social Media Marketing needs in McKinney.

Which social media channels should your startup use?

Each social media platform has its particularities, and your target might be using Facebook but not Instagram, Twitter or SnapChat. It is fundamental for you to know your target to choose which social media channel you should be using. To know more about social media, you can check social media demographics.

Social media marketing in McKinney has a huge potential to drive traffic, get new leads and increase sales. There are many ways to promote your content on social media. But, with a lack of understanding and without effective tools and tactics, you’ll struggle to get results.

Using social media marketing in McKinney, TX will improve your brand recognition, make your voice heard and connect you with your potential users. Word-of-mouth is known as being the most effective channel to get new customers. You have to picture social media as word-of-mouth on steroids.

Having a social media strategy for your business will make you connect with potential and current users in a more personal way. If you do it right, you will build brand loyalty and create more leads and sales.

Define your message and identity

To reach the right audience, you should have a relevant identity. If you are in the banking industry, have a professional profile picture and post about FinTech, BlockChain or funding; if you are in the sports industry, talk about sports. This might seem obvious to most, but a lot of people use social media in the wrong way and don’t deliver the right message, image or branding.

If you want a successful Instagram marketing strategy, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or else, it’s key that you define your identity.

Engage and interact with your potential or existing users

You need to interact by following potential users on social media, posting interesting and relevant content, sending discounts, reposting content from others, answering your followers or commenting on their posts. Social Media Marketing is all about creating a relationship with the user. You should also be interacting and joining conversations on social media with people who may need your products or services. Staying active on social media will allow you to get direct answers and feedbacks about your startup, idea or concept. Luce Media provides Digital Media Consulting in McKinney, TX.

Create unique content for your startup

This takes time, but content creation should be part of your social media strategy. It could be blog posts, visuals or infographics. By creating your own content, you will deliver a message and build your startup branding. The goal is to interact with your audience and see their reactions about your content. You can apply growth hacking to your social media strategy in order to A/B test what you post and according to the data or feedback you get, you can optimize your content. The content itself should be relevant to your business industry but it could also be informative, funny, shocking depending on what your goal is. There are many content marketing tactics you can get inspiration from to create perfect content. Remember that you should find the right spot between what you want to tell and what your readers are looking for.

Should your business pay for social media ads?

It really depends on what stage your business is at. However, we love A/B Testing and I believe that you should A/B test social media ads for your business, even if it is as little as $ 1 / day. This will help you understand how social media ads work, as well as train you to understanding data and even give you some insights about your users that you wouldn’t have known without testing. Testing, tracking, and measuring is key for your business’s social media strategy.

What you learned about implementing a social media strategy for your startup

Graphic showing Digital Marketing Services in McKinney, TX provided by Luce Media

Having a social media strategy is essential. If you want to outperform your competitors, you need to create better content than they do, engage with your community, etc. You learned that social media is a must for your business to get your first users’ feedback and also to get traction. There are top social media marketing tips out there, don’t hesitate to apply what you learn. On social media, you need to curate great content, create and share compelling content as well as being personal and talking directly to potential users or customers.

Social media is a great marketing channel and needs to be A/B tested in order to take the best from it. You have to know that social media is only 1 marketing channel your business can use and you can define a marketing strategy around it. Social media should be part of a bigger picture and is an essential element of inbound marketing. At Luce Media, we are experts in the area of Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing. We are kind of social media hackers if you want. We will A/B test different social media, grow your community with our growth hacking methods, improve your business’s brand image, interact with your users, analyze the data, get users feedback; all this in order to accompany your product development growth and success.

If your business needs help with social media marketing in McKinney, TX., please call us at (469) 907-1057. Luce Media has deep expertise in Digital Marketing, B2B Marketing, Internet Marketing and is a well-established Digital Media Consultant in McKinney, TX.

July 13, 2018/1 Comment/in Blogs, Digital Marketing, Google My Business, Google Reviews, Online Reviews, SEO, Social Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Todays Tips, Tools /by Mark Toney

Why Google My Business, Google Maps, and Online Reviews are CRUCIAL to your business? Here’s What You Need To Know.

Google My Business provides you with the ability to list your business location on Google Maps and local search results. You can display valuable and key information about your business, including the opening/closing times, contact phone number or a link to your website. You can display important information about your business, including the opening/closing times, contact phone number or a link to your website. More recently Google has also released a new feature allowing you to post a link to articles or up and coming events.

Setting up your Google My Business listing is one of the simplest and most effective ways of establishing your business to be found online. More and more search queries are becoming geographically specific, and Google’s algorithms have been developed to consider user intent. Why do this? Check how often your business shows up in local searches by clicking here. (Scroll down to FREE Online Visibility Check)

So, how important are Google Reviews for Local SEO in 2018? Several studies regarding Google reviews provide proof of the reasons that your business should be soliciting reviews. These reasons include things like “most consumers read reviews before making a decision” and “people trust online reviews as much as personal reviews.”

These reasons are completely valid and will come into play creating larger conversion and clickthrough rates to your website when a potential customer has found you and is deciding between your business and a competitor. For these reasons Luce Media Video Talks About Google My Business and Google Reviews

When it comes to reviews – here is the bottom line.

The quality and quantity of reviews on Google is one of the most important ranking factors for local SEO. And, when a person scans the search results for a local product or service in Google, the business listings that include customer reviews present greater credibility and, naturally, receive more clicks.

Watch as Mark Toney, CEO of Luce Media talks about the latest information for small to medium-sized businesses in completely filling out the information on Google My Business as well as the importance of soliciting Google Reviews for your business.

We can not stress the Importance of Google My Business, Google Maps and Good Reviews for Small to Medium Sized Businesses.

This is just one of many of the aspects we focus on for your business -and encourage YOU to look at all these variables. Do you want to GROW your business? Do you want more online presence?

Luce Media works strategically helping all of our clients grow. Get started today with our FREE Social Media Analysis. We analyze your website, all current social platforms you are on plus tell you immediately what your Online Visibility looks like. I guarantee you will learn key elements to grow your business. And it is FREE.

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