Unlock Your Local Search Dominance: The Ultimate 2023 Roadmap 🧭 for Crushing Your Competition
Article Table of Contents
- No Half Measures: Fill Out Every Section
- No Room for Error: Perfect Your Contact Info
- Hook ‘Em with a Killer Description
- Nail Your Category for Maximum Visibility
- Make ‘Em Drool with Stunning Photos
- Gain Trust (and Envy) with Rave Reviews
- Keep ‘Em Hooked: Post Regular Updates
- Show You Care: Answer Questions Promptly
- Flaunt Your Offerings: List Products & Services
- Be Accessible: Embrace Messaging
- Stay Ahead of the Pack: Implement a Killer GMB Strategy
- That’s All Folks
Tired of playing second fiddle to your competitors in local search results? It’s time to take control and dominate your market.
An optimized Google Business Profile is your secret weapon to outranking your rivals and attracting more customers.
This no-nonsense guide will show you how to unleash the full power of your Google Business Profile and leave your competitors eating your dust.
No Half Measures: Fill Out Every Section
Leaving your Google Business Profile incomplete is like giving your competitors a head start in the race for customers.
Don’t let them win.
Fill out every section, including business name, address, phone number, and hours of operation.
Your potential customers want the full picture, so give it to them and watch the leads roll in.
No Room for Error: Perfect Your Contact Info
If your contact information is inconsistent, you’re practically telling customers to look elsewhere.
Get your act together and double-check your business name, address, and phone number. Make sure they’re consistent across all platforms, including your website, review sites (i.e. Yelp), & social media.
💡 Helpful Tip:
If you use multiple phone numbers for lead source tracking, put your lead tracking phone number first and your “official” phone number (the one listed on your website) second.
This will allow you to track leads from your Google Business Profile listing and allow Google to attribute your listing (NAP) to your business to your website and other sources online. Not doing so will put your listing at a disadvantage.
📖 Additional Reading:
Why is NAP important for Local SEO?
You want customers to find you easily, right? Then give them no excuse to get lost.
💡 Bonus Tip:
Tracking visits to your website from your Google Business Profile page can be done through the use of UTM parameters. Simply add these to the end of your website link to easily track visits in Google Analytics.
📖 Additional Reading:
How to use UTM parameters
Hook ‘Em with a Killer Description
Your business description is your chance to reel in customers and make your competitors green with envy.
Use a compelling 750-character description to showcase your services, expertise, and what makes you the top dog in your industry.
Clear language and relevant keywords are your friends here. Don’t waste this opportunity.
🤖 Artificial Advantage 🦾 Tip:
Not good at copywriting? Let ChatGPT write your description for you.
Want help with a prompt?
Sample ChatGPT Prompt:
write a 750 character description for a pest control company’s Google Business Profile. The company name is <My Company>. write in persuasive style while talking about the frustration and pain of having bugs in your home.
Here are our key selling points:
– residential services
– quarterly pest prevention
– treat ants, spiders, cockroach’s
– satisfaction guaranteed or we come back
– friendly service
– low cost
Nail Your Category for Maximum Visibility
Choosing the right category is like hitting the bullseye in a game of darts. It puts you right where you need to be – in front of customers who want what you’re offering.
💡 Helpful Tip:
Be laser-focused when selecting your category, and resist the temptation to go overboard and add unrelated categories thinking it will help. It won’t.
If you offer multiple services, consider separate Google Business Profiles for each one.
🔗 Additional Resource:
List of Google Business Profile Categories
Make ‘Em Drool with Stunning Photos
Visuals are the secret sauce to winning over customers. Add high-quality, professional photos to your Google Business Profile to showcase your products, services, and team.
👀 Short on images?
All of your employee’s have a high quality digital camera in their pocket. Incentivize your employee’s out in the field take photos.
After a few jobs you should have a few photos ready to upload to your Google Profile.
Here are a few types of photos that work well:
- Before / After
- Bugs (Pest Control)
- Weeds (Lawn)
- Happy Employees in action
- Employee in branded truck
- Branded Work Trucks
- Field Worker in action
- Home Damage or Problem (why you were called)
- Your Brand in the community
- Dogs & Kids (everyone loves dogs & kids)
- Guarantee Graphic
Show potential customers why they’d be crazy not to choose you.
Gain Trust (and Envy) with Rave Reviews
Positive reviews are your golden ticket to building trust and leaving your competitors shaking in their boots. This is one of the most important factors in growing your Google Business Profile leads, so listen up!
Provide Exceptional Service
The foundation for receiving more Google reviews is delivering an outstanding customer experience.
Go above and beyond to exceed your customers’ expectations, whether it’s through timely and efficient service, professional demeanor, or attention to detail.
A memorable experience will encourage your customers to share their positive feedback online.
Ask For Reviews
Sometimes, all it takes is a simple request. After you’ve provided top-notch service, politely ask your customers to leave a review on Google.
You can do this in person, through email, or even via text message. Be genuine and express how much their feedback means to your business.
If they’ve had a great experience, most customers will be happy to oblige.
Make It Stupid Easy
The simpler the process, the more likely customers are to leave a review. You can create a step-by-step guide with screenshots, send a direct link to your Google review page, or use QR codes on your invoices or promotional materials.
Respond to EVERY Review
If reviews are critical, show your customers (and future customers) how much you value them.
Thank them for taking the time to write a review and acknowledge any compliments or concerns they’ve raised.
This not only demonstrates your commitment to customer satisfaction but also encourages others to leave a review as well.
Leverage Your Software
You are probably using some sort of software to email your clients. You are using software to streamline your business, right? RIGHT?
Ok, let’s assume you are. Create a simple ask in your email correspondence with your customers. Include previous customer’s reviews as a guide to show them how other’s have provided these reviews for you.
These are just a few ways of increasing your reviews and building up your online war chest to CRUSH the competition.
Keep ‘Em Hooked: Post Regular Updates
Don’t let your Google Business Profile stagnate.
Keep customers engaged by posting updates, photos, offers, and news. Share photos, videos, and text updates to show your business is alive, kicking, and ready to serve.
Set a regular schedule to create a new post. Consistency is key. Make your competitors wonder how you do it.
Show You Care: Answer Questions Promptly
Customers have questions, and they want answers.
Monitor the Questions and Answers section of your Google Business Profile and address inquiries with speed and accuracy.
Show potential customers you’re not just another faceless business – you genuinely care about their needs.
Haven’t received any questions from customers? Beat them to the punch by adding your own commonly asked questions and answer them.
Flaunt Your Offerings: List Products & Services
Give customers a taste of what you offer by adding a detailed list of products and services to your Google Business Profile.
Descriptions, prices, and photos for each item should be accurate and up-to-date.
Make it easy for customers to choose you over your competitors by showing them exactly what they can expect from your business.
Include keywords in your service names as well as the descriptions. Again, utilize the power of ChatGPT in coming up with compelling descriptions.
💡 Keyword Tips:
Not sure which keywords to use for your services and service descriptions? Let ChatGPT do the work.
Sample ChatGPT Prompt:
provide a list of LSI keywords for <your service>
❓ What are LSI Keywords?
These details set you apart from the competition and make customers eager to choose you over the other guys.
Be Accessible: Embrace Messaging
Open the lines of communication by enabling messaging on your Google Business Profile.
Respond to messages promptly and professionally, proving you’re a business that cares about its customers.
Remember, your response times are visible on your profile, so don’t let your reputation take a hit by slacking off.
❗ Important:
If you are unable or unwilling to devote time to ensure a timely response (during working hours), don’t enable messaging. Doing this half-🍑 will do more harm than good.
Stay Ahead of the Pack: Implement a Killer GMB Strategy
Mastering your Google Business Profile isn’t a one-and-done deal.
Keep your profile in tip-top shape with a solid Google My Business strategy that includes regular updates, monitoring and responding to reviews, and tracking performance data.
Stay ahead of the competition and watch your business soar to new heights.
That’s All Folks
There you have it – the no-bull guide to optimizing your Google Business Profile and leaving your competitors in the dust.
Implement these tactics, and watch your business rise in local search rankings, attract more customers, and dominate your market.
Don’t expect results overnight, but with consistency you will begin to see results and these results feed off each other. You are building a flywheel of low cost, high quality leads into your business that will pay dividends for years to come.
It’s time to claim your spot at the top and make your competition wish they’d never heard of you.