In this article, we’re putting together a comprehensive guideline of recommendations to get the best results in search engines with your business listing:
Use NAP principles
Using your business Name (in the title), Address and Phone number that’s consistent with what’s on your website and other business listings show Google that you’re likely a legitimate business.
Do some keyword research
Some cool free keyword research tools:
- Google – simply doing searches in Google and browsing to the bottom where it says “People also searched for” will give you good data.
- Google Trends – a great tool for discovering trends around topics your business deal with.
- Wordstream – free version of the paid keyword research tool.
- Keyword Surfer – free chrome browser plugin to discover keywords with.
- Answer the Public – very interesting keyword research tools to discover what people are searching for.
Use selective keywords in your listing title
Add one or two keywords after your business name in the title that describes your business if not contained in your business name. For example “Joe Bloggs Pty Ltd Dental Studio”. NOTE: Be careful not to make it too long or stuff your title with keywords (that’s against our policies). A good title is around 60 characters long.Use the first paragraph of your description to write your elevator pitch statement.
Write a strong introductory paragraph
Describe your business in one concise sentence and include your main search keyword, for example, “Joe Bloggs is a Dental Studio located in Cape Town that specialises in implants, dental tech and repairs on broken dentures.” A good length for that first sentence would be around 155 characters. Even though these are the guidelines for meta descriptions, we often find that Google grabs parts of your content to rewrite meta descriptions anyway and this way you stand a better chance of controlling what that meta description is.
Use the full description length available in your package
Write up to 1,500 unique words describing your business. The emphasis is on uniqueness since you then give your content the best chance of being ranked. If you copied content from your Google My Business or website, make some adjustments to it and add typical keywords that your ideal customer would be searching for to find your business. NOTE: Your description needs to be written in natural English and keyword stuffing is not allowed (part of our Ts&Cs) and won’t serve you anyway.
Break up the content with comprehensive headings
Add comprehensive headings to your listing description like Products, Services, Areas of operation and your USP (Unique Selling Proposition). If the editor doesn’t allow you to create headings, just add your headings as normal text on separate lines so that it’s easier to read.
Choose your images wisely
Use images of your products, team & general business to create more trust with potential customers. The better you can represent yourself as a real business, the more likely potential customers would want to do business with you. When you upload images, also make sure to give them proper descriptions. After you’ve uploaded your images, you’ll see a little edit icon when you hover over the image where you can add titles and descriptions. Write something that describes what is in the image and be sure not to stuff with keywords or add content that’s against our TOS. Google simply wants to understand what’s in the image and it’s also great for accessibility helping customers that are vision-impaired to understand images better when browsing the web.
Write toward user intent
Write about the problem your products or services solve. Talk directly to your typical customer persona(s) and help them understand why your business is the one to spend their hard-earned money on. Explain the outcomes and the value that your products and services provide. The better you match user search intent, the more likely it is that you’ll gain more leads and ranking with Google.