DO’s and DON’Ts on Google My Business | Tips to Get Your Listing to the Top

Owning a Google MyBusiness page can be a great way to get your business listed multiple times on Google. It is an essential asset for any local business owner, but sometimes it can get confusing.

If you’re the only business in town, you’re always going to show up first. However, if there are hundreds of similar businesses nearby, it can get quite frustrating, especially if you’re new in the game. Incorporating the right Google My Business tips can make all the difference in standing out.

Some people pay marketing agencies a lot of money to get their local business listings to the top of search results. What they don’t realize is that these companies often use unorthodox techniques, which can lead to issues like a hard suspension, causing you to lose everything, including your photos and reviews.

Whether you manage your business profile yourself or hire an agency, it’s important to follow best practices for Google Business Profiles (formerly known as Google My Business) to ensure your listing is safe and compliant. For local search, following Google Businesses guidelines is key to maintaining visibility and a strong online presence. Make sure to review a list of do’s and don’ts to keep your listing secure while avoiding risky practices.

1. Listing Information Dos & Don’ts
2. Reviews, Questions and Answers Dos & Don’ts
3. Photos and Videos Dos & Don’ts
4. NAPW (Name, Address, Phone, Website) Dos & Don’ts

1. Listing Information

The information you provide is the most important thing. It’s often the client’s first contact with your business and most of time time people are looking for basic information, such as your phone number, address/location or opening and closing hours.

Therefore, you should make sure you spend enough time crafting this section.

Dos:

Add accurate profile information: The first step is to have a Google My Business listing, of course. If you don’t have one, head on to https://www.google.com/business/ and claim your Google profile.

Sometimes, the listings might already be there, so make sure to search for your physical locations on Google Maps. If it’s there, you can claim it and start filling out your profile with key information like your name, address, and phone (NAP) to improve your local search rankings.

After creating your business, Google will prompt you to edit crucial information such as Name, Address, Phone number, website, working hours, business category, and more. Accurate NAP and a physical address are essential to building trust with Google and attracting more customers.

Optimize your profile: One of the key criteria for ranking in local search is relevancy, which is determined by how well your business profile is filled out. Ensuring your contact details are correct, including phone calls, will help boost your profile in search engine optimization (SEO) results.

Add main SEO keyword in your title: The title should always contain the name of your business, but it’s also smart to add a targeted keyword related to your services or location for better SEO for Instagram and Google. For instance, a med spa might include “Med Spa in Miami” in its title to attract local business.

For example, if my business were simply called Arcadia LTD and it were in the hotel industry, I would put the title like this: “Arcadia: Hotel & Restaurant in London”

Verify your listing: An unverified listing risks losing edits and changes, and worse yet, someone else could claim it.

Verifying it through the Google My Business dashboard is easy—just look for the verification message, then you’ll be able to edit key sections like business profile optimizations and monitor and respond to google reviews link and google messages.

After you verify it, you should see the representative shield icon near your listing name:

Don’ts:

Keyword Stuffing: Avoid cramming multiple keywords and hashtags in your title, which can lead to hard suspensions. Instead, focus on one specific keyword and leave others for your website or social profiles.

A good example of keyword stuffing which you should avoid is the following: “Arcadia: Hotel, Motel, Bed and Breakfast, B&B, Restaurant in London.”

Google doesn’t like that and will often hard suspend pages that do this, so avoid it.

List outdated information: Keep your name, address, and phone current across all locations. Outdated details not only frustrate users but can also harm your search engine optimization efforts and local business growth.

It’s even worse when the brand has multiple locations with outdated information.

Although the phone number is the most common, imagine the frustration felt when Google MyBusiness says that a shop opens at 8 AM only to get there and find out that you have to wait for one more hour.

Google doesn’t want its users to end up having bad experiences from using its site, so that’s why it’s possible to suggest changes. However, do you really want other people to suggest changes on your schedule, or do you want to manage it yourself?

If you’re a marketing professional, prepare an e-mail to ask your clients if they have any unverified listings on Google. If they do, then they (or you) should manage them.

Create fake locations: Only create listings for physical locations. For businesses offering services in different areas, select a service-area option to avoid confusion and comply with community guidelines.

I mentioned above the frustration about a business’s hours being wrong, now imagine someone going there and not finding what they were looking for at all!

If you have a digital store or run a company from home, you can always just select the Service-area option from the edit address section. There you’ll be able to select locations that you serve. Make sure you uncheck the “I also serve customers at my business address” box. This will prevent people from knocking on your door.

For better results, use Google Analytics, social media marketing, and social media tools to track performance and engage with accounts to build brand awareness. Incorporating social listening, customer stories, and seo hashtag strategies will enhance your marketing efforts across multiple platforms, whether you’re posting an update or using bio generator tools for more dynamic profiles.

2. Reviews, Questions and Answers

Reviews are a critical part of your Google My Business profile success. Not only do they impact local search rankings, but they also greatly influence potential customers’ opinions about your business and your online presence.

Dos:

When managing your reviews, do the following things:

Ask clients for reviews: 

When starting out, it can be tough to get reviews, but a good strategy is to ask early customers or friends to leave reviews for your business account. If customers are happy, encourage them to leave positive reviews, perhaps by offering a discount for their next purchase. This helps boost your listing in search rankings and builds trust with your audience.

It’s almost guaranteed for customers to leave a review if their experience is bad. To compensate for that, try to get your happy customers to leave positive reviews. This can be achieved by asking them to do it once they make a purchase in your store or via e-mail, if it’s eCommerce. You can add incentives like discounts for the next purchase in the menu, if they leave a review.

Get renowned local guides to review your place: Local guides reviews have a lot more weight into Google’s and potential customers’ eyes. They are known for visiting and reviewing places and do this on a regular basis. The higher their Google Guide Level, the better.

Getting a high level local guide to review your business can help your listing get a boost.

But how do you find these local guides? Well, the best way is to become a guide yourself. You don’t necessarily have to take this as a business opportunity. I’m sure you often visit places, so just take a couple of pictures and say 2-3 phrases about that location.

Then, you can meet other guides at Local Guides Connect. It’s probably a bad idea to pay them to review you. Some might accept, but others might leave you a negative review instead. However, if you invite them to your restaurant to check it out or tell them about your business when you chat you’re most probably going to get a review.

Try to make some new friends.

Incentivize clients to share photos: Encouraging customers to share photos along with their reviews adds authenticity to your Google My Business listings. Whether it’s a restaurant or retail shop, photos of your products or services can help enhance your Google Business profile and attract more customers.

This is pretty common in restaurants, but nobody says you can’t ask your clients to review the new T-shirt they bought by publishing a photo with them wearing it.

The photos will also add to the MyBusiness photo collection. Keep in mind that people can also publish photos with bad reviews, such as flies in their soup or bad quality products!

Answer questions and reviews: Engage with both positive and negative reviews. Answering questions or replying to reviews shows you’re active and attentive. Google determines local ranking partly based on profile optimizations and user activity.

Ignoring reviews, especially negative ones, can hurt your business. A thoughtful response can help turn a negative review into a returning customer.

Learn from your negative reviews: Negative reviews provide valuable insights into your business’s weaknesses. Take them seriously and use them to improve your services, which can, in turn, enhance your business growth.

Negative reviews can be a great way of learning how customers act and what makes them angry. Try to avoid the same mistakes in the future.

Don’ts:

When managing your reviews, don’t do the following things:

Ignore clients or argue with them: Ignoring reviews, particularly negative ones, can damage your reputation. Always respond politely and offer solutions, such as discounts, to resolve any issues. This shows potential customers that you care about customer service.

Never ignore the negative reviews! Always answer them and try to turn that negative review into a happy customer. You can offer a discount for their purchase.

It’s a small price to pay because this will prove to other potential customers who are researching your business that you are active and care about your customers’ thoughts.

Add fake reviews: Creating fake reviews can lead to penalties, including being dropped in search results or getting banned.

Even worse, customers will likely detect them, leading to a loss of trust and credibility.

This is even more dangerous, as they will most probably leave a review saying all other reviews are fake, which can greatly impact your business!

Also, keep in mind that people are more likely to leave a negative review than a positive one. You can create only so many accounts to keep reviewing your business 5 stars, but if your services aren’t up to the task, you’ll soon get outnumbered by the negative ones anyway.

Add negative reviews to competitors: Leaving negative reviews for competitors is not only unethical but also a waste of time.

Instead, focus on optimizing your Google Business profile, using GMB posts, and improving your service to stand out from the competition.

You can also get into trouble if people find out. You’ll ruin your business’s reputation.

Finally, verify your Google business to make sure your listing is secure, and take advantage of the Google My Business dashboard to monitor reviews, post type updates, and engage with customers. By focusing on profile optimizations and optimizing your Google business, you can boost your visibility, increase engagement, and drive more traffic to your business.

3. Photos and Videos

Photos and videos play a critical role in your business listing. People often want to see where they’re going, especially if it’s a restaurant or hotel. High-quality visuals can also improve local rankings by helping users recognize your business location and giving them a sense of what to expect.

Dos:

Include images in every category: When creating your Google My Business listing, make sure to upload photos in each category: Interior, Exterior, Products, Menu, Team, etc. This business information enhances transparency and can build trust with potential customers.

The “Team” section is particularly important, as it shows you treat your employees well, which often correlates with better customer experiences.

Add videos: Videos are a great asset to your business profile optimizations. Whether it’s a store or a restaurant, you can upload videos of the entrance or the products you’re offering. This not only helps customers find your location but also gives them a preview of what you offer.

Videos also enhance conversion rates because they help potential customers engage more deeply with your business.

If you’re a store, you can always make a video showing the entrance. Maybe it’s a little bit hidden and not really into the view. Help them out. You can also add videos of products, even say a word or two about those products. Invite them to the store. People like to be told what to do!

Optimize Google My Business with post updates that include images or videos regularly. Posting high-definition visuals can help keep your listing fresh and encourage more interaction, improving your local ranking on Google.

Again… it’s easy to get videos done. Everyone has a smartphone these days.

Go crazy with uploads on Google’s servers: When you upload images or videos to your Google My Business account, you don’t have to worry about file size slowing down your site.

Google’s powerful servers will handle the load. So, feel free to upload high-definition images that showcase your business in the best light.

If needed, Google will automatically resize them, helping to optimize your listing for search engines.

Don’ts:

Add fake images: Never upload images that aren’t from your business. This can hurt your credibility and may lead to copyright issues.

If you sell products like Nike shoes, don’t rely on official images from the Nike website. Instead, take your own photos of the products in your store. This keeps your local search results authentic and engaging.

Post pictures of clients without approval: Be careful about posting images of customers without their permission.

Even if someone tags your business, avoid adding those photos without consent. This can lead to potential privacy issues and affect business optimization.

I’ll share a story: there was this guy speeding on a highway. The static camera got him, so he received a ticket at home about 2 weeks later. However, his wife received the ticket first. She didn’t have any problems with the ticket, but with the location of the car. Turns out that the husband had lied about where he was going and, apparently, in the passenger seat a very pretty blonde woman could be spotted. The woman filed for divorce so the man sued the police and won the trial for them ruining his life.

I consider the man ruined his own life, but if you don’t want to take any part in ruined marriages and get yourself in a hell of a lawsuit, you’d better not post any pictures with clients in them without their approval!

In conclusion, optimizing your visual content is key for optimizing your Google business and improving your local search rankings. Regular business profile optimizations using relevant and high-quality images help customers engage more with your business, increasing your chances of showing up higher in Google searches. Be sure to include all relevant contact information, business description, and relevant keywords in your posts to make the most of your Google My Business profile. And of course, always verify your Google account with the verification code to secure your listing and boost your local rankings.

5. NAPW (Name, Address, Phone, Website)

NAPW stands for Name, Address, Phone, and Website. It’s commonly referred to as NAP, but including the website (NAPW) is also important for online visibility.

Dos:

List the information on your website: Ensure the same information in your GMB profile (Name, Address, Phone) is also listed on your website. Including this in your footer is efficient, but be sure to also add your business name, business hours, and other relevant info on your contact page. This consistency is key for Google business profile optimizations and helps attract customers.

You can add those in your footer as they don’t take up much space, but on your contact page you should also add your company’s real name, opening hours and other relevant information.

Build citations: Citations are like backlinks for your Google My Business profile. They help boost local SEO and increase visibility in competitor profiles. To stay ahead of the competition, you can research their citations using tools like BrandMentions.

Make sure your citations are accurate and include your relevant category to ensure Google recognizes your business correctly.

Post on Google: Regularly post on Google through Google Posts to keep your profile active. Whether it’s a promotion, a blog post, or new updates, these posts help you stay relevant and attract new customers.

Use google qa to answer common questions and interact with potential clients directly through your business profile dashboard.

Optimize your business: To further improve visibility, optimize your business by enabling features like enabling messaging, which allows direct communication with potential customers.

This personal touch can improve engagement and enhance your digital marketing strategy.

Don’ts: 

Be inconsistent: If your citations, business hours, or other information vary between your website and Google My Business profile, Google will get confused, negatively impacting your local SEO. Consistency is crucial.

Even if you have multiple locations, include the city name in your GMB title to differentiate listings and ensure accurate local search results.

Avoid irrelevant categories: Ensure your business is categorized correctly. Choosing an irrelevant category can confuse search engines and customers, making it harder to reach your target audience.

By following these tips and tricks, you can optimize your business for local SEO success. Consistent citations, accurate business information, and regular Google posts will not only help you collect customer data but also boost your visibility in search engines.

And don’t forget to verify your business for better rankings!

Conclusion:

Having your business at the top of Google Maps might take some time, which is normal for any new business types. Initially, you’ll get noticed by people searching near your physical address, but as you continue to satisfy your customers, your reach will expand. Google determines local visibility based on factors like conversion rates, customer satisfaction, and google business profile optimizations.

Improving your listing is relatively simple—avoid shortcuts and tricks. Instead, focus on filling out your profile with accurate contact details, adding a complete business description, and selecting a relevant category. Keep your GMB profile updated with correct profile information, including your business name, phone calls, and post updates. Regular google posts and gmb posts will help keep your listing active and engaging. Also, ensure that you verify your Google business and claim your Google listing to avoid issues with ownership or edits.

Engage with customers by monitoring and responding to reviews and google messages. Answering common questions and enabling enabling messaging helps build trust, improving local ranking on Google. Don’t forget to include relevant keywords in your profile for better search engine optimization (SEO), which will enhance your visibility in google searches. Tools like Google Analytics can help you track your marketing efforts and see what attracts customers the most.

If you’re running a business, or managing a client’s Google My Business account, consistency is key. Update your business profile dashboard regularly, optimize your listing with business profile optimizations, and use a variety of post types to keep your profile active. Using a google reviews link in communications also encourages customers to leave feedback, which helps boost your ranking.

Lastly, make sure to optimize your Google My Business profile by ensuring all contact information is accurate and that you’re listed in the correct business category. Use these tips and tricks to help boost your local ranking on Google, and don’t forget to verify your business with the verification code provided by Google. Focus on business optimization and good digital marketing practices, and soon enough, you’ll see results. Have you had any issues or successes with Google My Business? Leave a comment, and maybe we or other readers can help!