Google is the most dominant search engine in use. If you want your flooring business to rank high in Google search results, it needs to have a Google My Business (GMB) profile. Research shows that GMB features are the single biggest driver for ranking high enough to get placement in the search engine results’ most highly valued real estate. In fact, the quality of your business’s GMB profile is the single most important driver in determining its search results page location.
Activity regarding your business on external review sites, such as HomeAdvisor and Thumbtack, is another strong driver of your website’s search results placement. Google often incorporates reviews of your business into your GMB profile, thus compounding their impact on search results placement. Whatsmore, their influence as local search ranking factors is growing.
If you want your business to be found by people searching for flooring contractors on Google - you must take your GMB profile and online review seriously. Otherwise, your website will end up in that wasteland that is the second page of Google search results.
Let's start with what GMB is not; it's not a social media site. It's (now) unconnected to Google+. It's vital to understand this distinction as it would be a huge mistake to consider GMB just another social media site where you should have a presence for your small business.
What GMB is: GMB is both a Google-based business directory plus a powerful suite of tools for business owners to use to develop their presence in that directory and online more generally. GMB matters because it's Google and its power to impact whether your flooring business gets a steady stream of new business inquiries from online searching is unparalleled.
The core of a GMB listing is the GMB landing page. The GMB is a free, Google-based mini-website for your business that embeds or links directly to your actual website. It displays information about your flooring business and shows reviews of your business.
Internet searchers get to your GMB landing page in one of two ways. First, they already know your business name but are Googling it to learn more about you. Second, they're doing a general search like "flooring businesses near me," and your business ranks well enough to make the first page listings.
These searches don't bring people directly to your GMB landing page. The search engine results page provides two potential opportunities for searchers to reach your GMB landing page. Your flooring business may be one of the three small businesses to appear in the Google Map box (also called the Local 3-Pack).
There may also be one small business featured in the Knowledge Panel, which appears to the right of the search engine desktop results list.
When a user clicks on any of the small businesses in either the Map Box or Knowledge Panel, it brings them to a Local Search or Local Finder page that lists a number of small companies that meet the original search criteria and have GMB listings.
Local business searchers can connect to your GMB landing page from the Local Search page. If your listing on the Local Finder page interests them and they click on your business name – they'll get to your GMB landing page.
You should be able to see how just this ecosystem of pages works together to drive traffic to your GMB landing page and your website. GMB has loftier ambitions than simply driving online traffic. Google provides a collection of GMB widgets and tools designed to get searchers to contact your small business at that moment.
GMB listings aren't merely about helping a prospect find your phone number or get directions to your premises. GMB is designed to drive new customers and generate revenue for your business. Moreover, if you want to get your small business showing up in the Map Box or Knowledge Panel, or even high on the Local Finder page – you must have a well-developed, active GMB listing.
There is a good chance that your flooring business already has a GMB listing. You just haven't claimed it. Google your business name to find out. You can get set up in about 10 minutes! Go to the GMB home page to create a GMB account and claim your listing. When you create your basic GMB listing, you'll add general logistical information (location, contact information, hours). You'll also select the business category that applies to your business, which is critical to improving search rankings and getting found by people doing the right searches. Based on Google's current category list, you may want to select an option like:
Once you've created your GMB account and claimed your listing, you need to request Google verify your listing. This step is Google's way of keeping people unrelated to your business from claiming your GMB listing. After you're verified, you can fill out your GMB listing:
The information above is the minimum, basic information your GMB listing should include. In truth, if you want to work towards ranking highly in the Local Finder page or even make the Local 3-Pack, you need to do a lot more with your GMB listing. Here are some other GMB features you should use:
While GMB isn't a social media platform, it shares one key attribute with social media: If you want your flooring business to be successful on the platform, you can't leave your listing alone after you first put it up.
A GMB listing that will improve your local search rankings and drive revenue to your business, in addition to traffic to your website, needs constant care and attention.
Indeed, your business's reviews and star rating that appear in your GMB listing will continuously change based on customer feedback. Managing and monitoring your Google reviews is so critical – it gets its own section!
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Google Reviews is powerful – use it to your advantage
Reviews are a critical part of your GMB profile
Business reviews, both native to GMB and those on other review sites, are now among the top factors prospects use to decide whether to contact your business or one of your competitors. Here's just a bit of the research on the impact of customer reviews on decision-making:
According to the 2018 Online Reviews Survey, Google is now the number one online review site. You cannot ignore the GMB review section. You need to:
Google sends you alerts when new Google reviews are posted, which makes the monitoring process easy. Snippets of reviews will appear wherever your GMB listing appears, from local search results page to Google Maps listing. Stay on top of them.
Replying to Google reviews is good customer relations management and helpful in improving your website’s search rankings. Set up notifications with your GMB account so you know when a new review has been posted. The best practices for replying to reviews on other external review sites apply here.
In all cases - be concise!
Think of your GMB listing as an online satellite location for your flooring business that shines the light on to your small business's main digital asset – your website.
Investing time and resources into developing and maintaining a complete and active GMB presence supports all your other online marketing efforts in critical ways.
You cannot win the local search results game without a GMB listing. Your flooring business's website plus its GMB listing are the foundation for all your marketing efforts, so give them their due, ongoing attention.