My clients are always asking me what they can do to improve their Google business page listing on the local pack or maps. Until last week, my answer was “make sure all of your information is accurate, hours are listed, phone number, website, etc. Post images and get as many good reviews as you could. Build your SEO on your website and post to your social medias, especially, Google +… Of course there are a couple more things you can do to help your rankings, but that was the gist of it. Google wants to serve the best and most relevant content to someone searching. That said, Google just rolled out posting to your Google My Business (GMB) page, which will likely help improve your searchability. If nothing else, your conversion from the SERP (search engine results page) will get a big boost!
As of June 22nd, you can now make a post to your GMB page, much like you would to your Google + profile, that is visible from the SERP with a prominent call to action button. This is huge! You normally have to pay for this kind of conversion opportunity from the search pages of Google. Now you can simply post information with a link to a blog, or specials with links to coupon pages, or special events with time and reservation options. I am really excited to see how this will improve website traffic and conversion for those that use this new feature regularly. Frankly, it would be silly to not use this. So without further ramblings, here is how you can make your first GMB post!
Login to your GMB account and go to “manage location” for the business that you want to post to. You can select “post” from the left hand side of the screen from the other menu options. Here you click in the text field box that says “write your post” and you will see a pop up like the one below.
Here you can write your post of up to 300 characters, add an image, and decide what kind of post you want to make. You can make an event where you can choose the start and finish times and/or you can add a button. Your button options are Learn More, Reserve, Sign Up, Buy, or Get Offer. All of which will give you the option to enter in a specific URL of your choosing. You should use a URL that is directly related to the topic of the post and that will complete the action suggested. So if you use the Buy button, your link better go to a product page with a buy button on it. Get Offer should go to a printable coupon or specials page for the product or service that you mentioned in the post.
You can then preview or publish your post to make it live. Once you publish it, it will be displayed under your profile image and map on the SERP. Posts will expire after 7 days, but you will get a notification on day 6 letting you know. So you will want to actively be providing new posts every week to take full advantage of this feature.
Posts will show up in both Google search and maps results and Google says this gives businesses the ability to:
- share daily specials or current promotions that encourage new and existing customers to take advantage of your offers.
- promote events and tell customers about upcoming happenings at your location.
- showcase your top products and highlight new arrivals.
- choose one of the available options to connect with your customers directly from your Google listing: give them a one-click path to make a reservation, sign up for a newsletter, learn more about latest offers, or even buy a specific product from your website.
So start to play around with this brand new feature from Google and see what works for you. Keep an eye on all the metrics and analytics that GMB helps you track and look at what is getting you the most leads, reservations, sales, or whatever it is that makes you money. Feel free to call or email us if there is anything we can help you with regarding GMB, analytics, or anything else involving your online presence.
