Google My Business for SEO

The most common question we get asked at Sharpe Design Solutions is "how do I get my website noticed in Google search results?". Whilst there is no magic formula, there are lots of tactics to rank well as a local business. One of these tactics is Google My Business, a dashboard for managing listings.

What is Google My Business?

​My Business is Google’s one-stop shop to manage how your business will look and perform in the search engine. It is an essential tool to find out and adjust how your site shows in Maps, the Knowledge Graph, Google+ and organic search results. According to the 2017 edition of Moz’ Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, Google My Business continues to be the biggest driver of local SEO success.

​You can manage your business listing by adding all your details including opening hours, photos and more. You can also manage customer reviews.

How does it work?

Getting started with My Business is easy. If you don't have a Google account already, you'll need to create one in order to claim your business. After filling in your details, you will get a real-life postcard from Google sent to the address you specified in your account. This card is the only proof you’re the owner of the business listed at the address.

​Once verified, you can fill in all the necessary details and check how your listing is doing. You can also get insights into the number of views, clicks, and subscribers your listing receives.

Google My Business is an essential component of your local SEO strategy, but keep in mind that My Business is not the catch-all tool for your local SEO. It has to work in conjunction with all your SEO efforts. You won’t climb the search engine ranks if your profile is inaccurate and you won't reach the top without a well optimised website with localised content. Google My Business uses many factors to determine rankings, with the three most important being Relevance, Distance and Prominence.

Relevance determines how well your business fits the search intent of the customer. Be as clear as you can be about what your business does.

Distance is a well-known factor for ranking local businesses, however the exact way Google determine which business to show in local search is unknown. Other factors such as creating local-orientated content on your website play a significant factor. Google uses what's known about the location of the searcher to list the most relevant local businesses.

Prominence reflects the activity your listing attracts including local content, number of reviews, events and up-to-date information and photos.

Don't "set it and forget it"

It's important to remember that My Business is not a "set it and forget it" deal. If anything in your business changes, ensure you update your listing. Keep it active, monitor your reviews and stay on top of it for best results!

If you'd like help getting started with or updating your My Business account, give us a shout on 0423 252 855 or email enquiries@sharpedesignsolutions.com.au