Improve Your Google Business Profile Ranking on the Sunshine Coast
Local search now spans several platforms, and for our clients on the Sunshine Coast, Google Business Profile is still the one driving the most referring traffic to their sites. If you want the #1 local ranking on Google, you need an active, fully optimised Google Business Profile listing that positions your company as the leader in your niche and location.
There are several important principles that you must implement to improve your chances of effective local ranking in Google Business Profile, by optimising your listing.
Business Name – Obviously ensure that it’s your current, legal name and showing correctly and don’t add any additional keywords, or Google will detect it’s not corresponding to other entries on advertising sites.
Business Address – Of course, this should match up exactly, with the details on the contact page of your website.
Contact Information – Use the same contact telephone number as on your site, and add your email address and website URL too.
Business Hours – Customers don’t need to visit your website to discover your working hours, as these will show on your listing, so make sure they are correct.
Category – Select the 5 most popular services you provide. Any more than this and you risk over-exposing your business which will be detected by Google.
Photos – You can be quite creative with your pictures, but remember that this could be the first impression your customer will get of your store. Name your pictures with relevant tags with search and keywords. As an example, add “Queensland+SunshineCoast/your trade.jpg”.
Optimise your listing – In the same way that you optimise a website for Google Search, make sure that your list appears at the top of a SERP. Use relevant keywords in your listing, and engage existing customers to increase your reviews. Add your Google listing to your email signature and on your website, to ensure the most interaction.
Embed a Virtual Tour and a Google Map – Obtain an embed map code for your business from Google Maps (click the 3 lines beside your business name) and copy and paste it to your contact page. Google can confirm your Places listing and your location address is verified to them.
Google Business Profile rank companies higher when they can verify the existence of your actual business. This is done by governing how often your company information (NAP) is listed or cited on the internet. This NAP information must also be consistent, and the best way to verify this is to do a search for your own company, then click through to check your information. Contact any websites with incorrect details, and get it changed.
According to Google, 97% of end-users search online for local businesses, with Google Business Profile providing an instrumental platform for smaller enterprises and companies to get noticed through cost-effective marketing and to increase their online presence.
Is your company using Google Business Profile? For different services and packages aimed at improving your rankings, for businesses located on the Sunshine Coast, contact us.
