As a valuable piece of local search real estate, Google My Business (GMB) listings offer opportunities to increase local search rankings, traffic and engagement with customers.
Over time, Google has expanded the features and attributes available for businesses to enhance their listings. Improve your GMB listing by personalizing and updating it with attributes and information that can help your business stand out from the competition.
To help consumers find what they’re looking for and make decisions, GMB profiles now highlight specific service offerings via attributes.
Attribute options vary depending on your distinct business category. For example, some attributes are category-specific, others are location-specific (for those that service customers at their location). You may have noticed that GMB listings for restaurants may now contain a menu, and may indicate whether or not their services include Dine-In, Takeout and Delivery.
Attributes can include:
- Ownership Highlights: Veteran-led or Women-led businesses
- Amenities: Online Scheduling, Restrooms, Wifi, Outdoor Seating
- Service Options: Online Estimates, Online Care, Restaurant Service Options (Dine-In, Takeout and Delivery)
- Accessibility: Wheelchair Accessible (Entrance, Elevator, Restroom)
In addition, businesses offering online services can add an appointment link and virtual service link to their GMB profile, facilitating easy scheduling for specific service.
How to Implement and Manage GMB Attributes
To view, add and update the available attributes of your GMB profile, simply log in to your Google My Business listing and follow the steps below.
- Navigate to the left-hand menu and click the Info tab.
- Scroll down until you see the option to “Add attributes” and click the pencil icon to edit.
- Scroll through available attribute options or search for the one you want to add.
- Once you’ve added or updated your attributes, click Apply.
Additional Ways to Improve Your GMB Listing
Add a Business Description to Your GMB Listing
This 750-character section for a company description allows you to briefly describe your business and how you serve your customers. Describe how your offerings add value and benefit customers. It’s important to showcase your unique selling proposition and what sets you apart from the competition. Try to use relevant industry keywords, but also be sure to write as if this is the first (and possible only) company description a prospect will read.
Add Photos to Your GMB Profile
Adding photos to your GMB listing is an easy way to personalize it with your company’s branding. Photos also make the business more appealing to customers! Since you can add multiple photos, it’s encouraged to add a company logo, image of the storefront/office location and building interior, product photos or images of your staff assisting customers. Show off your company’s selling points here to visually show your distinctive competencies to prospective customers!
Publish GMB Posts, Updates and Offers Regularly
Did you know you can publish weekly posts on your Google My Business listing? Posts can include images, titles, descriptions, links and more! Allowable post types are classified as updates, events, products and offers. While regular posts expire from your listing within a week, customers can still view the archive of past posts. You can set dates and deadlines for offer-type posts and events posts, so they stay active on your GMB listing for a specified time period.
Generate more interaction and engagement with weekly posts and seasonal offers that incentivize people to visit your website and interact with your business. Promotional posts with limited-time offers and clear calls-to-action will generate interest and clicks. It’s also possible to track engagement via clicks on the post itself and clicks through to your website.
Request Reviews through Your GMB Profile
Building credibility with Google reviews can translate to gaining more prospective customers, who view the social proof provided by others as a strong reason to place their trust in your business and consider purchasing goods and services from your company.
It can be difficult to cultivate positive reviews, but you can increase the likelihood of receiving them by sending customers a direct link to review your business at your GMB profile.
All you’ll need to do is create a Google My Business short name, which is then used to create a simple link for customers to directly leave GMB reviews. Send the short URL – g.page/customshortname – and voila! Watch your Google reviews increase.
Expand Listed GMB Services and Add Custom Services
Based on the service category you chose for your GMB profile, you also have the option to add more services from Google suggestions or add your own custom services.
To fully highlight and encompass the services your company provides, it’s recommended to expand your list until it includes all your service offerings.
Select from and add the available auto-populated options, then click “Add custom service” to add the ones not already listed. When you’re finished, click “Apply” to save your changes.
Future GMB Profile Improvements
As time goes on, Google will likely roll out additional updates, attributes and options to help businesses further differentiate their GMB listings. Ultimately, Google’s end goal is to serve users by providing relevant and useful information, which is why additional improvements to GMB listings for consumer benefit will likely come to pass.
At Bleevit Interactive, we stay abreast of important updates like these that impact local search rankings and business performance and enhance our GMB management services to encompass such improvements for our existing and new customers. If you have questions about managing or optimizing your Google My Business listing, contact us today!
WRITTEN BY
Rick Hogan, CEO & Co-Founder – Bleevit Interactive Rick possesses over 20 years of digital marketing experience and started Bleevit Interactive with the primary mission of helping local businesses succeed online. When he is not working he can often be found hiking Great Falls, Virginia with his Labradoodle Lily, or sailing the Chesapeake Bay. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve this post or otherwise want to give us a shout, send an email to hello@bleevit.com.
