Nearly 50% of all Google searches are local. Without a local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, however, you might not reach local consumers. They could struggle to find your storefront, website, or phone number online.

Before you risk losing customers, consider optimizing your Google My Business listing. What is Google My Business, exactly? It’s an online listing that can help consumers find your business online.

As part of your overall SEO strategy, your Google My Business listing can help you rank higher on Google. Higher rankings will help you reach more customers than ever before.

Not sure how to optimize your listing? Here are seven tips on how to use Google my Business for SEO.

Experience the benefits of local SEO firsthand! Get started with these seven Google My Business optimization tips today!

1. Claim Your Listing

Before you can optimize your Google My Business (GMB) listing, make sure you’ve claimed your business online. You can claim your listing here.

As you work through these steps, make sure you’re using a Google account that’s dedicated specifically to your business. Don’t use your personal account as you complete this process. If you don’t have a business Google account, create one.

When you create a new Google account, you should see an option that reads “to manage my business.” Select that option before following the remaining prompts.

Once you’ve claimed your Google My Business listing, you can make updates and improvements to your profile. Then, you can use your GMB listing as part of your overall SEO strategy.

Why is SEO important for your business? SEO can help you rank higher on Google search pages. When someone searches for your product or service, your website and GMB listing could appear.

Ranking higher on Google can help you gain more brand visibility. As you generate brand awareness and recognition, you can remain top-of-mind. When someone needs your product or service, they could recall encountering your brand.

Understanding the importance of SEO can also allow you to experience benefits such as:

More website traffic
Increased leads and sales
A higher ROI
Positioning yourself as an industry thought leader
Generating brand trust and loyalty
Ranking higher than competitors

Many consumers don’t look beyond the first page of a search. Reaching the top of the page will ensure they see your brand first.

2. Complete Each Section

Once you’ve claimed your GMB listing, you can learn how to use Google My Business for SEO effectively. Start by filling out every section of your profile.

As you work through this step, make sure to confirm each section is complete and accurate. Make sure the information matches what appears on your website, too. If your business appears on other online directories, match the information exactly.

For example, you should use the same abbreviations (“St.” versus “Street”) or formatting.

Neglecting to maintain consistency could impact your online presence. Your local SEO rankings might drop, too. If your rankings drop, interested customers might struggle to find you online.

Your Google My Business profile will ask for your:

Business name
Business category
Address
Phone number
Website URL
Photos and videos
Attributes
FAQs
Description
Business hours

Double-check and confirm that each piece of information matches what appears on your website. If the information is inconsistent, you could risk confusing customers.

For example, customers might try to call your business, only to dial a number that’s not in service. They might want to visit your store, only to find you’re not at that location. If you waste their time, they might choose a different business instead.

3. Optimize the Description

Once you’ve added the necessary information to your profile, make sure to optimize your description.

Start by gathering keyword research. What keywords do people search online to find your product or service? Look for a longtail keyword that’s more precise than “flowers” or “t-shirts.”

Then, add your target keyword to your business description. Optimizing your description could help your listing appear for relevant searches. You might have an easier time generating website traffic or visitors to your store.

Try to communicate the offers, benefits, or features your business can offer customers. Focus on your unique value proposition to stand out from competitors, too.

You only have 750 characters for your description! Make sure it’s clear, creative, and concise.

4. Choose a Category

When learning how to use Google My Business for SEO, many business owners neglect to choose the right business category. The right category will help consumers find your business. You’ll increase your chances of appearing for non-branded category-specific queries.

Then, you can generate more website traffic or foot traffic, even if customers aren’t searching for your specific business.

If it applies, consider adding a secondary category to your business listing as well.

5. Add Imagery

A picture says a thousand words, right? Optimize your listing further by adding eye-catching images. You can add both photo and video files to your GMB listing.

If you have a storefront, make sure to add photos of your shop’s interior and exterior. Consumers might have an easier time locating your business.

If you move, make sure to update the imagery.

6. Request Reviews

About 95% of people read reviews before making a purchase. Another 93% read reviews to determine the quality of a local business. Generating reviews could help brand trust grow, helping you generate leads and sales.

Ask your happy customers to post their reviews on your GMB listing. Then, use a plugin to feed those reviews to your website.

Generating fresh reviews could help with ranking higher on Google.

7. Share Regular Updates

Keep customers informed by sharing regular updates on your GMB listing.

For example, you might want to let them know if you’re closed for a holiday or event. Perhaps you want to inform customers of new products or a change in your business hours.

Sharing these updates will improve the customer experience.

How to Use Google My Business for SEO: 7 Optimization Tips for Success

Learning how to use Google My Business for SEO shouldn’t have to feel like a hassle. Instead, use these seven optimization tips to get started. Otherwise, consider working with our experienced SEO agency.

We can help boost your rankings, allowing you to reach more customers online.

Ready to start optimizing? We can help.

Contact our team today to get started.

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SEO, Uncategorized, Video

Video and SEO: Improving Your SEO Through Video Marketing

By Erin Schnittker on

September 28, 2021

- SEO, Uncategorized, Video

In 2021, SEO is extremely important. Are you aware that less than one percent of people click through to the second page of a search engine result? This means that if you wind up on the second page of search engine results, you’re as good as gone from the internet. But what few people know is that video marketing can be used to boost SEO. If you focused on customized video creation, you need to start learning the relationship between video and SEO so you can make the most of your campaign. This article will walk you through everything you need to know about video SEO, so you can make sure you wind up on that crucial first page.

The Power of the Thumbnail

It doesn’t take long searching through Google to see that when a page has a video on it, the search engine result shows up with a video in the thumbnail. A person rocketing through the world of Google will immediately have their eye pulled to this visual thumbnail. It might even inspire them to click on it. As you can see, video can help out SEO without the video even being optimized to add value. However, as with all things, adding value can only help. Let’s say your video isn’t even on your website. You’ve created a video explaining how you package a certain product, and you put it on YouTube. A client looking for your product will come across the video and click on it because they like the thumbnail. They’ll watch your video, and realize that you generate quality content, which means you truly care about your customers. If you’ve put the link to your website in your bio, they’ll scroll down and find it, click on it, and land on your website. If your website has even more video content, they’re more likely to stick around longer. The longer they stick around, the better your SEO will do. As you can, see everything in the world of online marketing is connected. This is why it’s important to make sure that you’re generating value every step of the way. There’s a rumor going around in the marketing world as well that search engines results with thumbnails in them are prioritized. It might not be true, by why not put yourself in the way of success? Once the clients land on your site, you have the opportunity to turn them into long-time customers. Make use of our conversion rate optimization service to truly shine.

Optimize Your Captions

Every space for text on your website is a space for SEO content. Keywords are the key to any SEO strategy. If you’ve done your research (and hired a good SEO company), you’ll know which keywords you need to focus on. However, you can’t simply load your website up with whatever keyword comes to mind. Google will recognize this as spamming and punish you for it. You can’t blame them — if they didn’t do this, the top website in search results would simply be websites filled with the same word over and over. Instead, you have to bake your keywords into high-quality content. The most popular option for this is online blogs. Blogs allow a high volume of constantly updated text-based content. However, ironically enough, video content allows space for text-based content well. In the caption section. Putting out a steady stream of video content doesn’t just create value for your audience, it also gives you an opportunity to load up your site with as many SEO keywords as possible. If you have a stream of video content in addition to your blogs, you’re far more likely to blow your customers out of the water when it comes to SEO keywords.

You Can Gain Backlinks

Backlinks are one of the most important parts of an SEO strategy — if you can make them work. They’re links that come from other websites, which drive traffic to your site. If you can create awesome content that people are going to become engaged with, you’re more likely to gain mentioned on other people’s blogs, news articles, and social media posts. Some of the best marketing these days doesn’t come from marketing campaigns themselves. Video content will also enhance your profile, so you can make use of influencer marketing to a greater degree. Of course, influencers work mainly for pay. However, it will help distinguish you from competitors if you’re also known as a site that creates great content. At the end of the day, all of these types of marketing can work together. High-quality viral content can gain you more backlinks, and gain you the attention of influencers. Making use of these influencers can, in turn, cause more people to get interested in you, and can cause even more backlinks to develop. As stated earlier, in the world of digital marketing, everything is related. You only need a little push to get the ball rolling that could generate you tons of business.

Video and SEO Are Closely Related

In the world of the internet, all types of marketing can help each other out. Though SEO is a more indirect type of marketing, you can leverage your other sorts of advertising to improve it. The relationship between video and SEO is a lot closer than it seems at first. Make sure that you rely on a good video thumbnail, optimize your captions and links, and deliver on your content, and you’re sure to improve your SEO. For more information, contact us today.

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SEO

What Is Local SEO and How Can I Do It Better?

By Erin Schnittker on

June 4, 2021

- SEO

Did you know that 76% of people who search for a local business on their phones visit within one day?

Almost one-third of online searches are related to the user’s location. Just under half order online then pick-up from the offline store.

If your site isn’t optimized for local search then you’re missing out on sales.

This article asks what is local SEO and how can you improve your company’s search engine placement.

Read on to discover what is Google local SEO and how to claim your listing. Learn how to get started with local SEO. And see why hiring the right local SEO team can increase your online and offline sales.

What Is Local SEO?

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s a process that helps your website reach the first page on Google which in turn boosts your visitor count.

Local SEO relates to improving ‘nearby’ searches. For example:

Plumbers near me
Beautician in Naperville
Buy CBD oil in Illinois

If your current website isn’t geared for local SEO near me keywords then you’re missing out. But how can you improve for these types of searches?

What Is Google Local SEO?

Google My Business is a free service that lets you promote your company directly within Google Search.

The listing appears on the right of the screen for desktop users and at the very top for mobile devices. You can add:

Contact and address details
Directions within an interactive map
Photos and opening hours

Google provides you with full analytics so you can track how many people phoned you or asked for driving directions. Combined with optimizing your website, you’ll see a marked increase in inbound traffic with the right content.

How to Get Started With Local SEO

To claim your listing, all you need is a Google account and the time and computer know-how to fill in the details. Companies that need assistance can call on us for help.

Our startup marketing package is an excellent service designed to promote your business to a local audience. It also includes PR, video production, social media, and link building.

Local SEO Help for Your Website

Google My Business is a great tool but what about your website? How can you improve your search engine results for local queries?

Ensure your address and contact details are easy to find and not hidden behind a broken link. Google actively checks for your location and will promote it if it’s easy to find.

Inbound links from other local companies in your area will also improve your position.

Our team can help with your inbound link strategy along with technical issues that can impact your site. Social media plays an important part in local SEO too and we can manage your online profiles to enhance their performance.

Forging Your Local SEO Strategy

Now you know the answers to what is local SEO and how you can do better it’s time to call the experts.

Forge Digital Marketing offers search engine optimization services including local SEO help.

Whether you sell beauty products, supplements, CBD oils, or you’re a plumber, Forge can attract more local visitors. We can set up and optimize your Google My Business account and improve your website. And we also specialize in local link-building strategies along with online and offline marketing.

Contact us today to see how we can drive more traffic to your site and store.

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