Isn’t knowing how to use Google My Business expected of every digital marketer?

No, not at all.

There are plenty of lengthy but vague help docs out there, and finding answers to specific problems can still be tough. We’ve built a handy worksheet and chart tool to check your eligibility and walk you through what to do if you have multiple listings or service area businesses (SABs). We’ll also show you how adding content to your Google My Business listing can help your business in a range of ways.

Learn more about:
• What role does Google My Business play in my content strategy?
• Why should I care about Google My Business?
• Can Google My Business help me with SEO?
• How can a content marketing platform help me manage Google My Business?
• A troubleshooting guide for Google My Business verification.
• A Google My Business optimization guide

Why Should I Use Google My Business in My Content Distribution Strategy?

As content marketers, we often forget that a big part of the job is making sure our audience actually sees what we publish.

One way to do that is to use your Google My Business listing as a channel to share your latest content every week. Locally focused content, like events or specials, is especially relevant here.

What Is the Purpose of Google My Business?

Did you know businesses receive an average of 943 Search views and 317 Maps views per month? That figure, from a 2019 BrightLocal study of 45,000 anonymous local business listings, shows your localized content has strong potential to drive views, clicks, and actions.

You can see how many people viewed your listing, saw your post, clicked it, and engaged by checking Google My Business Insights.

Insights isn’t always accurate, though. Add Google tracked links to your posts so you can measure clicks and engagement more precisely in Google Analytics. Google My Business lets marketers get their content in front of more people without waiting for Google to rank it in the top ten search results.

The payoff from posting goes beyond extra views and clicks on your latest content. Regular posting can earn you a coveted spot in the local 3-pack, the top three business listings for a relevant search, and that alone is reason enough to add a new post at least once every seven days.

According to the same BrightLocal study, a typical business receives up to 59 actions per month on Google My Business.

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Those actions include clicks to your website, requests for directions, and phone calls. Most are clicks, but unless your listing is optimized, you may be missing out on phone calls or in-store visits. Yikes.

Your posts signal to Google that your business is the best one to show for related searches in your area.

Reviews matter, too. They’re your customers confirming that your company is trustworthy, especially when you take the time to respond to each one, positive or negative. A timely, thoughtful, helpful response to a negative review can be worth more than a positive one.

We’re all human and make mistakes. Customers appreciate businesses that own their problems and fix them quickly. Most important of all, your posts tell potential customers what’s new with your company at exactly the right moment: when they’re looking for it. A 2019 study by Ben Fisher found only 17% of the businesses reviewed had posted within the last 7 days. That means more than 80% had nothing new to share with searchers actively looking for their services. Inconceivable.

What Kind of Content Should I Produce for Google My Business?

Keep your listing complete and accurate. Before you create content, make sure your GMB listing is complete and accurate: address, phone number, business hours, business overview, products and services, plus links to your website, social accounts, and other relevant sources. This may seem obvious, but too many small businesses skip the details, and Google is all about details.

Special offers and discounts. Try creating content just for your listing. Remember, someone viewing it usually has more transactional intent, so you can take a direct sales approach: offers, specials, or what sets your company apart from the competition.

Post inspiring content. If customers visit your location, describe the experience you want them to have when they arrive. Use videos, photos, and even introductions to the team members they’ll meet. Make your page appealing with ideas like “Daily Specials,” “Seasonal Offerings,” or something tied to the weather: “Our Patio is Open!”

Make a media-heavy listing. Hire a Google-certified 360 virtual tour professional to add videos to your verified listing, or shoot your own to introduce yourself and your company. (Don’t forget to upload it to YouTube and optimize your channel, a big topic in its own right.)

Add photos. Your cover image should show your shop, office, or business. Include photos of your work or the products you sell, and share projects you’re proud of or that have earned special attention. In fact, many of your contributions should be photos. There’s strong evidence that businesses with more than 100 photos in their listing get more clicks.

Respond to questions. Look at what potential customers are asking about your company, then answer them in a blog post shared on your listing.

Does Google My Business Actually Help SEO?

Yes, it does, at least in my area, and it helps in several ways. A verified, optimized profile boosts your chances of landing in the local 3-pack at the top of search results, and it can also help your website rank indirectly. It does this by sending social signals to Google, driving traffic to your site, and providing social proof in the form of reviews.

According to Google, local results are determined by “relevance, distance, and prominence.”
• Relevance: how well a listing matches the searcher’s intent.
• Distance: Google matches searchers with verified businesses in their area.
• Prominence: how well-known your company is.

Can a Content Marketing Platform Help Me Manage My Google My Business Listing?

A content marketing platform helps you manage all of your content. It gives your content calendar structure and clarity and keeps you on track with regular Google My Business posts, an easily overlooked task. It brings focus to your strategy and lets you draw on the expertise of multiple team members through built-in collaboration features. It also gives you a process to follow, along with analytics to help you understand how your activities are performing. When you spot the activities that move the needle, you can build future content around them.

Tailoring Content for Google My Business Sounds Like a Lot of Work. Isn’t Updating My Website Enough?

Google My Business is a free tool with an immediate impact on local businesses. Like anything else, you have to feed it for it to grow, because Google won’t connect the dots for you. Its whole purpose is to give searchers timely, accurate information. Earning rank takes time, which makes it a poor fit for information that quickly goes stale. And because it’s a Google tool, it’s fair to assume Google places a high value on the content you maintain there.

Run Your Own Google My Business Experiment

It’s a tall order to expect marketing managers and small business owners to master Google My Business on top of every other activity that builds an online presence. Between Google’s hazy help docs and painfully slow response times, it’s tempting to put it off for another day.

So think back to the last time you ran a local search and how easy Google My Business made deciding where to go. Once your listing is verified, your time investment is likely only an hour or two a month, and we believe this free tool will keep opening up new opportunities. Make time to dig in and truly own your Google My Business listing.