Category

Online reputation

google my business

Google My Business FAQs

By | Digital Marketing, Google, Online reputation, Website

Google My Business is a free tool for business owners to manage their online presence across Google Search and Google Maps. It helps your customers to find you when they search for a business like yours. Hence having a Google My Business page is an integral part of digital marketing. If you have not claimed your listing yet, do it now.

If you are a new business owner, or if you are new to Google My Business, you may have many questions. To answer all your queries, we are listing all the common Google My Business frequently asked questions, and answering them. Read this blog post, and get all the answers for your queries at one place. Here we go.

1. What is Google My Business Q&As?

Google wants to provide all the information at one place. A typical Google My Business page has information about opening and closing times, address, contact number, reviews, map, pictures, directions, link to the business website and business description. These are the most basic questions that potential customers try to find an answer before making a contact.

However, there can be some more questions that should be answered. For instance, whether the business has a parking space? Or is the business handicap friendly? So, Google has smartly come up with the GMB Q&As. Google My Business Questions and Answers are crowdsourced. In other words, anyone can question, and anyone can answer the question. The best part is that your customers will get to know your business more closely. In addition to that, you will know what are the consumer concerns and how to satisfy them.

2. How much does it cost?

Google My Business is absolutely free. Do not pay any kind of amount to any person. There are many scams that try to charge you for setting up your GMB page. Do not fall for these scams. Setting up Google My Business is as simple as creating a Facebook account. Adding the correct business name, phone number, address, description, pictures and videos, and other important details is all it takes to set up. The whole process is, simple, effortless, and less time-consuming. Even a person who is new to Google My Business can create his page within a couple of minutes.

3. Why do I need Google My Business If I already have my own website?

GMB is not a substitute for your website. Your website and Google My Business page, go hand in hand. So, having both a website and Google My business account can work in favor of you and improve your search engine optimization and other digital marketing efforts.

The main purpose of Google My Business is to give your local business a public identity and presence on Google, so that, when a customer searches for a business like yours reaches you. In simple words, the information you provide can appear on Google Search and Maps and help your website to get more exposure and customers. Since Google My Business costs nothing, there is no reason to ignore it.

4. Does Google My Business have a mobile app?

Yes, Google My Business has a mobile app, and it is free. And this is one of the reasons why people love GMB. The mobile app allows you to do everything you do in your web account. Here are the main features:
Edit or add new information directly through the Profile Editor.
Click photos and enhance them with a range of excellent filters, and post in your Profile.
Create posts for new events, offers, and launches.
Know who is interacting with your GMB profile, and continue the connection. You can do this by using Customer tab. A Customer tab allows you to respond to reviews, messages directly with customers.
So, it can be said that Google makes it easy to manage your Google My Business page by providing a free mobile application.

5. Do I need to create a business website?

No. It is not necessary to build a website to create a Google My Business page. However, it will be good if you own a website. Just like social media accounts or pages boost the visibility of your business website, Google My Business improves organic traffic.

The good news is that Google My Business offers you to generate a simple website for free. Google does this with the help of website builder, which uses the information present in Google My Business profile. Although this website will be a simple one, you can customize it to suit your business.

6. How do I manage multiple business locations?

This is one of the frequently asked Google My Business questions. Managing multiple business locations is easy with Google My Business. Based on the number of location, there are two methods. If there are few locations, you can set up every single location under one Google login. In case, if you have ten or more locations, you can use the bulk upload tool. A bulk upload tool is a tool which helps you to upload numerous business locations at once. If you want to upload or edit your locations, you can go to Google My Business Locations.

7. What should I do if my listing is claimed by someone else?

In rare cases, you can see a “someone else has already verified this listing” message when you try to verify your Google My Business listing. If this is the case, then you have nothing to worry. GMB gives you an option to reclaim your listing. All you need to do is a request for admin rights and submit a transfer of the ownership request. Google will try to contact the existing owner to verify the transfer. If the owner does not respond within the period of seven days, then the current owner is unverified, and a verification code is sent to confirm his or her identity.

8. I am an individual practitioner. Can I set up a Google My Business listing?

Yes, it is possible. In fact, Google My Business is more popular among local business and individual practitioners such as lawyers, tutors, doctors, dentists, real estate agents, carpenters, painters, electricians or plumbers. What if there are multiple practitioners who belong to a common organization at one location? Digital marketing experts usually advise creating a listing for all the practitioners separately, in such cases. Not doing so will affect the visibility of the individual practitioners of the same organization. As the result, having a listing will not serve the purpose of owning a listing.

9. Can I skip business address on Google as I work from home?

No, you cannot leave the address field blank. However, Google My Business provides an option that resolves this issue. That is you can hide your business address by listing your business as a service area. Google gives you an option to provide the areas and cities that you cover. You can also choose to remove a service area entirely. If you are not sure about the service area listed in the GMB listing, you can go now and update the location.

10. I am shifting to a new address. How to update?

In most cases, the new address might be occupied by a business before you. If this is the case, then you must find out who the business owner is and mark the listing as closed. Closing the old listing before updating your new address is important for two reasons. One, customers of old business will not mistake you for the old business in your new address. Two, your potential customers will contact you at the correct place. Once the address is changed, your other information can also change such as a phone number, and office hours. So update all the information.

What if your new address is not occupied by a former business? Well, this makes your work easy. The only thing you need to do is update your listing.

Google My Business

10 Tips To Rank Higher in Google My Business Listing

By | Link Building, Online reputation, Search Engine Optimizaion, Social Media

Did you know? If you search something on Google, no matter which browser you use, you are more likely to receive results based on your location. These local search results play an important role in building a bridge between you and your customers. As a result, your potential customer can easily find you and rate your business.

Google My Business, is a platform that helps you to achieve the aforementioned goals. In addition to that, it makes easy for the customers to find vital information such as address, business hours, close and open days, contact numbers, about the business, directions, and service information.

Hence, from a Local SEO point of view, it is critical to be listed in the GMB listing. However, just having a presence on Google My Business is not enough. You need to rank your page in the topmost position. Therefore, in this blog post, we are presenting top ten tricks to rank higher in Google My Business listing.

1. Create posts

Let us start with the most important tip. Very few people know that it is extremely vital to add a post in Google My Business. If you have not created any post yet, you can go to the “posts” section of the Google My Business app, and write a lengthy and informative post that is relevant to your business and audience. Furthermore, it is a good idea to provide the link to any page along with a photo and submit it. Once, the post is published, you can see them on your Google My Business listing.

2. Add labels

Labels feature help you to organize the location into the groups. You can search location by the labels you added, from the dashboard. In addition to that, you can use labels to filter location extensions in AdWords. Google My business gives you an opportunity to assign up to 10 unique labels for each location. Note that the length of the labels can be up to 50 characters, and invalid characters are not allowed to use. However, you can add commas. To add commas in the label, use the string “%2c.” For example, “5%2c000+ customers” would create the label “5,000+ customers.”

3. Write an in-depth description.

If you want to rank your local business high, you must write a detailed description. Now, that does not mean you have to write a bulky article of 2500 words. Keep the words of the description to a decent number, and try to cover almost all relevant information. Your description should contain all the information that your customers look for. Since local results are more driven towards the relevant information provided by the business owners, a detailed description can enhance Local SEO.

There is one more factor that is equally important. That is accuracy. Yes, Google expects you to add accurate information. When you do, you are rewarded. The Google My Business pages, which have accurate information, are prioritized over the others. This is because Google wants your customers to know you better.

4. Build a free Google My Business Website

Yes, Google can create a website for you for free. Google My Business comes with a website builder tool that helps you to create a website within a couple of minutes. All you have to do is sign in to your Google My Business page and click on the option of a website on your dashboard.

That is it. Google will automatically create a website by taking all the necessary information from your Google My Business account. Once the website is created, Google will ask you to choose a theme. SEO experts usually do not recommend business owners to use the websites like these. Google My Business websites are very basic and are only for the small-business owners who do not want to spend money on building a website.

5. Build backlinks

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), backlinks are the deciding factor. They are considered one of the most important pillars of white hat SEO. The same thing is important for local search engine optimization. Do not go for quantity, instead strive for quality. Stuffing the websites with backlinks can do more damage than any good.

Build links via natural methods that do not violate Google webmaster guidelines. Quality link building takes time. Google understands this fact very well. If you build numerous links within a couple of days, Google will get suspicious and penalize you. In the worst case, your website might get deleted from the index.

6. Use keywords in the business name

Keywords tell a search engine when to display your website. So, without keywords, there is no search engine optimization. One of the easiest ways to rank your business locally is to use the keywords in the business name. Developing content only for the sake of giving words to your voice is not a good idea. You also need to optimize your content with keywords.

Before optimizing your content, it is really important to figure out what are the keywords. Keywords differ even if the two websites run the same business. So, carry out a proper keyword research to select the search terms that are relevant to your business. SEO experts usually recommend business owners to pick the keywords that improve the conversion rate.

7. Gain Google reviews

Not many people know that Google reviews influence search engine ranking. Yes, Google trusts your customers more than you. Reviews and star rating are the best ways to know the ground realities of a business. So, it is good to gain as many reviews as possible. There are many methods to increase the review count. Here are the most popular methods.
Send the follow-up emails with the link to the review page.
Encourage happy customers to leave a review.
Offer discount code for leaving a review.
Distribute prizes for the lucky reviewers.
Add the link to the review page on the home page and service page.
Make the whole process of posting a review simple and effortless.
Be calm and professional while responding to the reviews.
Share the links to the review page on the social media platforms.

8. Keep contact number and working hours up to date

In a business, it is not uncommon to change phone numbers, working hours, address, and other important information. So, make sure that all the information in your Google My Business profile stays up to date. These things make the work of the customers easy. They will come to know when you are open without calling you. The whole point here is that Google wants to reduce the work for the customers. When you do the same, Google does reward you indirectly. After all, Google, business owners, and SEO experts want to provide a good user-friendly experience to the visitors.

9. Upload high-quality photos

Just filling your Google My Business account with all the necessary details is not enough. Your profile is incomplete without pictures. Think like an audience. If you own a school, people will like to see how the playground, kindergarten, and classrooms look. They might also be interested in knowing the staff, and achievements of your school.

Google My Business gives you an opportunity to express more with the photos. Make sure that you add high-quality pictures that the potential customers are interested to see. Adding irrelevant pictures can put them off, and you might lose them at the beginning itself. So, if you have not added pics yet, get ready to tell your stories through the pictures.

10. Create multiple categories

Last but not least, it is very important to add categories. This helps both the audience and Google to know what kind of business you run. The main purpose of providing a feature to add multiple categories is to describe your business and establish a relationship with the customers. Let us take an example. If you are mutual funds, you can add categories such as mutual funds, finance, commerce, etc. Such categories impact local search engine ranking to a great extent.

Google maps

8 Reasons Why Your Business Isn’t Showing In Google Maps

By | Google, Local SEO, Online reputation

You are a small-business owner. You know the importance of Google My Business page for Local SEO. So you have created a Google My Business account. Unfortunately, your business is not showing in Google Maps. Yes, this is so frustrating. This issue can be fixed easily.

There can be many reasons for not finding your business on Google Maps. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the problem to discover the cause. Only when you come to know the cause, you can resolve the issue. Hence, to help you out, we are listing top 8 reasons why your business is not appearing in Google Maps.

1. Your listing is unverified.

One of the most common and obvious reasons for not seeing your business is your Google My Business listing is not verified. So, how will you find whether your business is verified or not? It is quite simple. Open your browser and search your business name. You will find search results on the left side of the search engine results page, and on the right side, you will see your business profile.

In the right, where your business is displayed, you will find a “suggest an edit” link. All you need to do is see what is next to “suggest an edit” link. If you do not find anything next to this link, then that means your listing is verified. However, if you find “own this business?” link, then that means your business is not verified. Just in case, if your business is not verified, you can follow the below steps to verify your business.

One of the easiest methods for verifying your Google My Business Listing is via phone. It is easy, simple, and less time-consuming. Here we go.
Sign in to your Google My Business account.
Select the business you want to verify, and click on verify now.
Go for the “verify by the phone” option.
A code will be sent to your mobile, enter the same code.
Your business will be verified.

2. Your Google My Business page has a new address.

It is not uncommon to change the business location. An incorrect or old address can be a reason for not seeing your Google My Business listing on Google Maps. So, if you have recently changed your business locations, then log in to your Google My Business account and update your address. Here are the few steps you need to follow:
Sign in to your GMB account.
Go to the menu option and click info.
Next, click on the “address” field.
Enter your new address and click on the Apply button.
If Google doesn’t find your address, you will find a red set marker on the right side over the map. Click on it.
Drag this pin in the map and place it on the new address. You can make use of zoom in and zoom out features of Google Maps while doing so.
After pinpointing, click on OK. Google will review your edit and publish it.

3. Your Google My Business listing is suspended.

This is the other common reason for not seeing your local business on Google Maps. Yes, Google My Business can suspend your listing based on various factors. Here are the common reasons why Google suspends Google My Business listing.
Your site contains a forwarding URL.
Keyword stuffing.
You are a service area business and your address is not hidden.
You run a sensitive business.
You do not have a physical storefront.
You run a business at a place you don’t own.
Find what is the reason behind Google suspending your listing, and fix the issue. Sometimes, Google may suspend the listing based on quality issues. Contact Google Support for assistance and improve the standard of your Google My business listing. At times, this can be confusing. In such a case, it is always better to take professional help of a Local SEO agency.

4. You chose a wrong business category.

Choosing the precise business category really matters. Google wants to know what business category or categories your business falls in, so that, it can show your business to the right audience and help them. Make sure that you have selected the correct business categories for your business. If you have selected the wrong business category, make sure that you correct it. While adding the business category, ensure your first business category is the best match to your local business. Select a second business category only if it makes sense. Do not opt for multiple irrelevant categories in the hope of reaching more people. It can harm your online presence.

5. You have fake or paid reviews.

This issue is common among new business owners. New owners tend to establish an online reputation quickly. So, they adopt methods that violate Google Guidelines. One such method is to buy paid reviews or post fake reviews. Google has built strong algorithms to detect fake Google reviews. With time, these algorithms are becoming smarter and smarter. That is the reason why ORM experts suggest to gain positive online reviews naturally. Below are some proven methods to avoid negative Google reviews, and gain good Google reviews.
Provide an awesome customer service.
Encourage your happy customers to post a review.
Generate a positive feedback loop.
Resolve customer issues within time.
Run online reputation management campaigns.
Report and delete negative Google reviews.

6. You have not updated your business listing.

Normally, a person begins his business journey with something small. With time, both the business owner and the business go through various changes. A business owner tries to evolve the business to adopt the changes. During this process, a business owner should reflect these changes in the Google My Business page.

Setting up Google My Business Page, and adding all the necessary data is not enough. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to keep the information on the Google My Business page up to date. Google expects you to be active when it comes to updating the listing. Here are some of the best practices to follow.
Add a business description in the story section.
Create a logo of your business and add it to GMB account.
Post business images regularly.
Publish status updates.
Share a link to review page.
Engage the audience via content.

7. Poor web experience.

The primary goal of a search engine is to provide a superior web experience. Therefore, the web experience is a ranking factor. That is the reason why good website experience has become an integral part of search engine optimization. If your website provides a poor website experience, then do not expect Google to display your Google My Business listing in the Map pack. So, it is good to have a website that enhances search engine optimization and user experience. Here are some of the basic qualities your website needs to have.
Original high-quality content
Device friendly
Browser friendly
Simple and easy to understand navigation
Lightning speed
Security

8. Inaccurate business information.

Yes, inaccurate business information can become a reason for disappearing your business from the Google My Business listing. Make sure every single detail you add in your profile is accurate. Double check all information present on your Google My Business listing such as contact number, address, business hours, open and close days, labels, keywords, etc. are correct and up to date.

Google does not like Google My Business accounts that have incomplete or inaccurate information. You may lose your search engine ranking and the presence on Google Maps. It is better to not to take the control in your hand unless you know how local search engine optimization is done. Lack of knowledge can harm your both online reputation and online presence. Hence, it makes sense to hire a Local SEO agency to improve your online visibility, conversion rate, sales, and customer base.

Online Reputation Management

10 Online Reputation Management Tips For Your Business 

By | Digital Marketing, Google, Online reputation, Social Media

Online reputation is one of the most important pillars of any business. A good reputation helps a business in retaining existing customers and as well as gaining new customers. On the other hand, a poor reputation and make you lose the market to your competitors. Hence, it is really important for a business to maintain a solid online reputation. Therefore, in this blog post, we are going to present the top online reputation management tips to establish a strong reputation.

Tip 1: Know your audience

Let us start with something very important and basic. To maintain an online reputation you have to do several things such as:

  • Fulfilling the expectations
  • Engaging the audience
  • Creating suitable content.

To do the above-mentioned things it is really important to understand the audience. Stepping into online reputation management without knowing your audience can harm your reputation. Therefore, know your audience very well. Make sure that you have a good understanding about their likes, dislikes, behavior, expectations, interests and many other things. This is vital because both your online reputation and business revolve around these things. You cannot run a business without a clear picture of your audience.

Tip 2: Avoid online argument

This is one of the major mistakes that most of the businessmen do. You might be right and have every reason to argue, but arguments show the unprofessional side of a business or a brand. The best way to handle such situations is by giving a standard reply and taking the matter offline. Keep calm and deal with the customer problems professionally. Solving an issue successfully will not only turn an unhappy customer happy but also attracts new customers.

Tip 3: Be a good listener

Today, there are various online reputation tools available to know what people are talking about your brand. Read what others are talking about you and how is your reputation is getting shaped. Popular tools such as Mention tool and Google Alerts can serve this purpose. Listening to what is being said about your brand is beneficial in multiple ways.

  • Helps you in understanding of current brand image
  • Improves the problem-solving ability
  • Introduces new customers
  • Connects with the probable customers

Tip 4: Apologize

Saying we are sorry or apologizing, even when the mistake is not on your side is a smart thing to do. It absorbs the anger of an unhappy customer and resolves the issue most of the time. Furthermore, it shows that you value your customer and establish you as a professional in the minds of other customers. The worst thing to do here is to be defensive. This will not solve the issue, but instead it makes it bigger. Your focus should be on resolving the issue. Therefore, it’s not a good idea to explain or defend yourself. Apologize, take the issue offline and resolve it. That’s the best thing to do.

Tip 5: Keep an eye on your employees

When it comes to fake reviews, angry employees are the common source. Although there is nothing much you can do, taking some precautionary measures can minimize the risk. Make sure that you check out their social media profiles before hiring them. Use online reputation management tools such as Mention tool for knowing and understanding the corporate image of your employees. This will help you to identify the problem early. As the result, you can resolve an issue before it turns big.

Tip 6: Be almost everywhere

Today, we have various online platforms to reach people across the globe. Your brand should have an online presence at these platforms. Well, at least on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. If you have a B2B business, then Linkedin can be more helpful. If your business has more visual content, then prefer Pinterest, Flickr and Instagram. If you can create videos, Youtube and Vimeo are the best. The point here is to be there where your customer is. Customers are more likely to share their experiences on social media. Having an online presence can give a better option to deal with negative reviews.

Tip 7: Get rid of negative reviews

To be honest, getting rid of negative reviews is quite difficult. However, it is possible is some cases where the review violates the policy. Therefore, check, whether a review is violating any guidelines. In case of any violation, contact concern officials and appeal to remove them. Another good method of removing negative removes is to contact the person and make a request politely. Customers usually tend to change the bad reviews into good owns when approached respectfully.

Tip 8: Blog

You might already know that blogging plays an important role in digital marketing by enhancing search engine optimization. In addition to that, blogging can improve your online reputation. Yes, you read it right. It can give you a solid “home court” ground where you can respond to any serious assertions made about your brand if required. It gives you an opportunity to tell your side of the story. Be honest and transparent. Over explaining or over defending yourself can do more harm than good.

Tip 9: Dilute negative reviews

If you can’t remove negative Google reviews, then dilute them. Encourage your satisfied customer to leave a review. A happy customer is more likely to give a positive review. Gaining better reviews will minimize the impact of negative reviews. In addition to that couple of negative reviews makes your brand look more genuine and credible. Having only positive reviews can make the customers question the credibility of the reviews. Therefore, fake positive reviews are definitely a bad idea.

Tip 10: Be transparent

Well a good reputation cannot be earned without being transparent. Therefore, be transparent with your employees, customers and probable customers. One of the common things that are responsible for negative Google reviews is a mismatch between the expectation created, and the result delivered. Hence, be honest about your products, services, company, staff, etc., and avoid overhype. So as you set out on the journey of building a good online reputation, keep these ten things in mind.

Online Reviews

How Do Online Reviews Impact Business

By | Online reputation

Your digital marketing efforts make your audience aware of your products and feed all the necessary information. A person before becoming a customer come across these questions:

  • Is the product worth the money?
  • Do I get the quality which I have been promised?
  • Will it fulfill my needs?
  • Will I repent after the purchase?
  • Should I purchase? Etc.

Of course, you being a seller will proclaim that your products are worth the money and have quality. Will a new customer take your word? That’s where reviews come into the picture. Let’s know how online reviews can impact your business.

Trust

Reviews from the recent customers or consumers are considered as trustworthy. Positive reviews always elevate trust in your product, and negative reviews might harm your business reputation. Trust is a foundation which needs to be built for all businesses; good reviews exactly do that. Nobody will spend money on anything that they don’t trust.

Buying Decision

 We live in a digital age. Before downloading a free app from the Play Store, we look at the star rating. It is very obvious that a potential customer will do a research before spending money on your product or service. Reading online reviews is one of the most popular and common methods to do a research on a particular brand. Every probable customer wants to know what your recent customers have to say. That’s how a review can make a great impact on buying decision.

Conversion rate

A conversion rate is equal to the number of people who bought your product divided by the total number of visitors. Conversion rate is highly dependent on trust established and buying decision of customers. Building trust and influencing a customer’s buying decision in a positive way help you achieve a higher conversion rate. A higher conversion rate indicates that your products & services are liked by customers especially new customers.

Search Engine Ranking

 Conversion rate is one of the key factors which search engines use to rank websites. In simple words, higher conversion rates help you attain higher search engine rankings. In digital marketing, getting a higher search engine ranking is very vital because it provides greater visibility, traffic and credibility.

Positive reviews have an added advantage. Reviews can be a source of quality backlinks. If your website is featured in many review websites, then it can attract quality backlinks. Quality backlinks further adds traffic to your websites and help to build new relationships.

Conclusion:

Reviews are important as well as powerful. Positive reviews will bring more business with other benefits, and negative reviews will harm your business. Good thing is that bad reviews can be changed by smart and honest responding. It is a good practice to communicate with customers and respond to reviews. It makes your site engaging and increases the quality of service you provide.

Do you want more traffic?

Get in contact with our team to chat about what we can do for your brand today.