Our mission at LMI Web Solutions is it to keep our customers in the loop on the latest and greatest things happening that affect their online search presence. Today’s post will focus on a number of important changes happening in Google My Business. 

How important is Google My Business? In a word, extremely important. Moz’s 2018 local ranking factors survey indicated that approximately 25% of a website’s local rankings are due to Google My Business factors. That is up from 17% in 2017.  We believe Google My Business will only increase in importance as a ranking factor going forward as Google’s goal is to eliminate the need for Google search engine users to ever visit a website. While that may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, the list of new features we examine will show you that Google is doing just that.

Feature #1: Google Posts

As we mentioned above, Google is trying to replace your website as the end destination with your Google My Business listing. The first step in that process is Google Posts. A Google Post allows you to post blogs directly on Google My Business. How important is this in terms of a ranking factor? Moz listed this as the number one thing to do this year to move your rankings. If you are currently placing 100% of your blogs on your website, we recommend splitting that 50/50 with your Google My Business listing. While the topics that can be covered on GMB and on your website have a ton of overlap, we recommend that you do a few things when writing a Google My Business blog post. The first thing to do is to mention local events, landmarks, and other companies, as that will place you in the community. For example, you can say “We intend to be at the Fireman’s Carnival on August 15 and 16.” We also recommend that you lightly edit older blog posts and publish them on Google My Business. This is an efficient way to use old content and save you time while still providing the rankings impact your business needs.

Feature #2: Google Services

The second change will allow you to exponentially increase the specificity of your product offering in Google My Business. We love this feature as Google previously limited users to choosing from three preexisting categories to describe their products and services. With the advent of Google Services, that is no longer the case. Business owners can now jump into their GMB listing and enter each service one by one. For example, if you are an injury attorney, you can now list each kind of injury case you handle. Injury attorneys can now indicate that they handle car accidents, truck accidents, bike accidents, brain injury, etc. There is no limit to the number of services you can input into your Google My Business listing. With increasing competition for limited first page space, it is absolutely critical that you list as many services as possible, accurately and in great detail. Check out the screenshots below to see where you need to click to make the changes. The Google Services feature is meant to replicate your products and services pages on your website.

Feature #3: Google Q&A

Google Q&A is a simple, straightforward feature meant to replicate your website’s FAQ page. The main difference is that users can input questions anytime they want. It’s important to monitor the Q&A area as it is ideal if you are the one to answer the questions posed by potential customers. The reason it is so important to answer first is that other customers can also answer questions and they may not be as well versed in your product set as you are. It’s important to note that you will need to download the Google Maps app and be signed in if you wish to monitor and answer questions.

Feature #4: Google Short Names

This last feature is a convenience feature, and we believe a conversion rate optimization feature as well. This is one of the newest features available in GMB that was released in June of 2018. A Google My Business short name allows you to send a shorter branded URL to your prospects and potential customers to make getting to your business listing easier. Any verified GMB user can create a short name. Here we’ll show you how to create a short name step by step.

• Make sure you are signed into your GMB account
• Navigate to the left side menu
• Click the info tab
• Add your short name to the “add profile short name”  field

Your short name will follow the short name structure below:

g.page.companyname

How would that look for a real business? Let’s say, for example, your company name was Cindy’s Pizzeria. Your short name could be “g.page.cindyspizzeria“

The benefit of the short name is that it’s easier for customers to remember as well as being more concise. Make sure that your short name has no fewer than five characters and is not longer than 32 characters in length.

Conclusion

It is our conviction that the four Google My Business tips we have outlined above will have a lasting impact on your search visibility. Google Posts will help with rankings and for users to understand more about your company, Google Q&A gives users the ability to ask questions and get quick answers, Google Services will help you shop for more long-tail searches, and Google’s Short Name feature can potentially increase your conversion rate. If you do not feel comfortable making these changes on your own, call LMI Web Solutions and we will assist you. If you are an advertising agency that does not have the internal capacity to make the changes above, we recommend that you contact an SEO reseller company to help you fulfill these services.Whether you make these changes yourself or seek assistance, the important thing is to make sure they are done as your competition may already be making these changes themselves.