fbpx
Image
Top
Navigation
September 21, 2018

Google My Business: List Your Way to Success

With an array of social media platforms to choose from out there, our go-to favourite is a Google My Business listing. One of the essential places to get started on, your Google My Business (GMB) listing can play a key role in your SEO strategy and overall success.

Why? Because the details listed on your business profile will appear alongside Google search results which in turn helps you occupy more SERP (search engine results page) real estate. So overall not only does it enable you to quickly and easily display your hours of operation, contact details, website new offers, etc to potential leads and customers—you’re gaining real traction on the web, as well.

By having a Google My Business listing, your chances of showing up in the Google Local 3-pack increases. Google Local 3-pack is an awesome tool devised to show searchers three local businesses up front; and definitely something you want to be a part of. Also, when searching for your business by name, Google often shows a Knowledge Panel with detailed information about your company. These details are compiled first from your GMB listing, in addition to other information Google finds from online sources and user-generated content (like third-party reviews, Q&As, user-suggested information, etc).

So why not get ahead with the information YOU want shared by directing the results with a GMB listing?

The Importance of Google My Business Posts

Google Business Listing Page Post

Google My Business Posts are essentially free advertising to promote your business. These posts show up when users search for your business on Google. When creating these posts, it is important to put yourself in the shoe of a potential clients. What would they be interested in—and thus typing into Google—that would results in your business popping up in their results?

What to consider when including information in your GMB post

  • News or new things going on at your business.
  • Events. Note: event titles should not include promotional language, pricing information or calls to action.
  • Offers. Sale or specials you are running.
  • Products.

We highly recommend including images in all your posts as strong visuals* are a fantastic way to catch a searcher’s attention in a sea of posts.

*Insider tip: Make sure the best part of the image is centered and that the image is sized correctly for Google Maps and the Knowledge Panel on desktop computers. This prevents the post image from being cut off on mobile devices.

Additional Things to Note About Google My Business

While they share similar characteristics, Google My Business posts are NOT social media posts. Be concise and clear in your post. The maximum allowed is 1,500 characters per post, while the ideal length is between 150 and 300 characters—so use them wisely! Which leads us to:

Make sure to put the most important content at the beginning of the post. When text gets cuts off, people may be less likely to click on the post to read everything you’ve written.

And most importantly, update your content frequently! Google My Business posts only stay live for seven days, and then “go dark”.

Past posts do stay visible when a current post is clicked on. If you’ve created an event or write dated posts (like a sale that runs from Sept 10-15), then the post will “expire” when the offer or event ends.

Google My Business Expire Posts

One More Thing: Google My Business Videos

Really grab their attention with videos!

Video specs for GMB Posts should be:

  • 30 seconds or shorter
  • 100 MB or smaller
  • 720p resolution or higher.

Adding videos to your profile is a great way to create variety and make you to stand out. However, don’t fret if you don’t have video content just yet — unlike photos, they’re not absolutely necessary.

We hope you found this content useful! If you have any questions about Google My Business or anything else related to Social Media Marketing—we’d love to chat! Feel free to email us at: [email protected] for more information.

Also, if you enjoyed this article and know someone who could benefit from reading this, please share it!