Your 10 point guide to monitoring Google My Business
0 likes73 views
This document is a comprehensive guide to monitoring and optimizing Google My Business (GMB) for local SEO. It outlines 10 key points, including the importance of regularly updating business information, using UTM tagging for tracking, leveraging reviews, and engaging with customers through GMB posts and Q&A. The guiding principle emphasizes that businesses should actively manage their GMB presence to enhance visibility and attract local customers effectively.
![[image]
Single Column with large image
Every SERP is a localized SERP,
because Google almost always
knows where you are.
@clairecarlile](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/sempdx-clairecarlilebrightlocal-220207132540/85/Your-10-point-guide-to-monitoring-Google-My-Business-12-320.jpg)
![How?
[image]
Text left image right
@clairecarlile](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/sempdx-clairecarlilebrightlocal-220207132540/85/Your-10-point-guide-to-monitoring-Google-My-Business-20-320.jpg)
Your 10 point guide to monitoring Google My Business
- 1. Main Title Slide Don’t just set it and forget it Your 10 point guide to monitoring Google My Business
- 2. Local SEO? “...is an incredibly effective way to market your local business online, as it helps business promote their products and services to local customers at the exact time they’re looking for them.” @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/what-is-local-seo/
- 3. Text right image left Google My Business “Business Profiles on Google My Business can only be created for businesses that either have a physical location that customers can visit, or that travel to visit customers where they are.” @clairecarlile
- 4. Section Title Green “I’m shopping in Cardiff city centre. I want a bubble tea.Where can I get one?” @clairecarlile
- 5. “bubble tea near me” @clairecarlile “mooboo” The business profile The map pack
- 6. Section Title Why ‘set it and forget it’ isn’t an option... @clairecarlile
- 7. Text left image right @clairecarlile When the pet store’s GMB says they’re open and you drive across town for treats, and they’re CLOSED
- 8. Text left image right @clairecarlile @MaryBowling
- 9. Over 50% of all traffic worldwide is generated through mobile phones https://www.statista.com/statistics/277125/share-of-website-traffic-coming-from-mobile-devices/ Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 10. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 11. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 12. [image] Single Column with large image Every SERP is a localized SERP, because Google almost always knows where you are. @clairecarlile
- 13. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 14. “Google is your new home page” Text left image right @clairecarlile Mike Blumenthal
- 15. Section Title Green DON’T PANIC @clairecarlile
- 16. Text left image right @clairecarlile Here come those 10 points...brace yourself!
- 18. How does your profile look? Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 19. Title and body copy blue One glance is never enough... ● Branded search ● Non branded search ● Map pack ● Local finder ● Business profile ● Google maps ● Desktop ● Mobile ● Operating systems ● Location @clairecarlile
- 20. How? [image] Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 21. Automate the process using tools Text left image right @clairecarlile BrightLocal Rank Checker
- 22. Automate the process using tools Text left image right @clairecarlile BrightLocal Local Search Grid
- 23. Automate the process using tools Text left image right @clairecarlile Mobile Moxie SERP Datalyser
- 24. Automate the process using the API Text left image right @clairecarlile Pull data from the API, warehouse it, compare data day by day
- 25. Keep ahead of the competition, and make the most of new opportunities Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 26. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 27. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://www.clairecarlilemarketing.com/resources/local-seo-resources-master-list/
- 28. Tell Google you want them to notify you about ALL THE THINGS Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 30. How? Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 31. GMB Insights Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 32. UTM Tagging FTW Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 33. Section Title Green “A UTM code helps us identify the source, medium, and campaign that a website visit comes from.” @clairecarlile https://www.annielytics.com/guides/definitive-guide-campaign-tagging-google-analytics/
- 34. Text left image right @clairecarlile Traffic from GMB with no UTM tagging... organic direct OR
- 35. Text left image right @clairecarlile How much £$ is GMB driving overall?
- 36. Text left image right @clairecarlile Conversions: what do we want people to do on our website besides spending £$?
- 37. Text left image right @clairecarlile How many conversions is GMB driving?
- 38. Main Title Slide Alternate 3.Local Search Justifications @clairecarlile
- 39. Search justifications? “Search justifications help searchers better connect results with their query. In most cases, search engines show bolded words to demonstrate the ways the search query matches the result provided.” @clairecarlile https://www.patientpop.com/blog/marketing/local-search-marketing/local-search-justifications/
- 40. Justifications in the map pack Reviews Search term “emergency dentist anchorage” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 41. Justifications in the map pack Website Search term “emergency dentist anchorage” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 42. Justifications in the map pack GMB Posts Search term “custody lawyer” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 43. Justifications in the map pack Website Search term “music therapy” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 44. Justifications in the map pack Services Search term “family adventure weekends” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 45. Justifications in the map pack Menu Search term “chicken tikka near me” Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 46. Title and body copy blue How to influence these local search justifications ● Make a list of the search terms you wish to target ● Make sure you include modifiers, synonyms, plurals, related phrases. Focus on themes and topics rather than keywords. THINGS NOT STRINGS! ● Plan out how you’ll map these out against the information that (currently) gets pulled into GMB - content from your website, GMB reviews, GMB posts, GMB Services ● Justifications come from MANY PLACES, make sure you’re ready! @clairecarlile
- 48. Section Title Green @clairecarlile “A picture is worth a thousand words...” OUR VISUAL INTERNET CULTURE
- 49. “60% of consumers said local search results with good images pushed them towards a decision” Text left image right @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/blog/google-my-business-photos-guide/
- 50. So why do we allow things like this to happen to our business listing? Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 51. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 52. Reporting user images Text left image right @clairecarlile https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7411351
- 53. Text left image right @clairecarlile Flagging images
- 54. Text left image right @clairecarlile Add photos to populate all tabs
- 55. 😷 Text left image right @clairecarlile How do we look NOW? Regular upload Seasonality Social media channels
- 56. Text left image right @clairecarlile Houston, we have a problem... https://support.google.com/business/answer/6103862
- 57. Text left image right @clairecarlile Mobile Moxie - Page Datalyzer
- 58. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 59. Text left image right @clairecarlile Desktop in UK
- 60. Text left image right @clairecarlile Mobile in UK
- 61. Text left image right @clairecarlile Desktop in US
- 62. Text left image right @clairecarlile Mobile in US
- 63. Text left image right @clairecarlile Mobile in US
- 64. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://www.clairecarlilemarketing.com/blog/ how-google-treats-see-photos-in-the-local-knowledge-panel/
- 65. Text left image right @clairecarlile Monitor Moral of the story... Test In the locations that are important to you
- 66. Geotagging photos? “...the effect is very small and you wouldn’t even notice a difference between normal and competitive markets. Only areas with very little or no competition offer good opportunities to rank using only geotagged images.” @clairecarlile https://timkahlert.com/blog/the-truth-about-geotagging-images-on-google-my-business/
- 67. Main Title Slide Alternate 5.GMB Products @clairecarlile
- 68. Section Title Green “The Product Editor allows merchants to build a presence on mobile and the computer to showcase their products and drive customer interactions.” @clairecarlile https://support.google.com/business/answer/9124203
- 69. Text left image right @clairecarlile Access depends on primary category Alcohol Guns Cannabis Adult entertainment
- 70. Text left image right @clairecarlile In ye olden days GMB Products circa April 2019
- 71. Text left image right @clairecarlile NOW GMB Products July 2021
- 72. Text left image right @clairecarlile Desktop “View all” Individual product
- 73. Text left image right @clairecarlile The gif that keeps on giving ● Save with .jpg file extension ● Use sparingly
- 74. ● Look great and take up lots of SERP real estate ● Link to products on your website ● Measure conversions using UTM tags @clairecarlile ● Not available for all businesses ● Require manual curation (choose evergreen) ● Don’t scale / not available via API
- 75. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/google-my-business-products-and-services-guide/
- 77. Section Title Green “In Google My Business, you may get an option to add the services that you offer, along with their descriptions and prices. If your business has multiple categories, group services together into sections under the appropriate category to keep your services organised.” @clairecarlile https://support.google.com/business/answer/9455399
- 78. Text left image right @clairecarlile Showing on mobile only
- 79. Text left image right @clairecarlile Services as justifications Started showing June 2021?
- 80. Text left image right @clairecarlile Monitor for auto populated edits by Google
- 81. ● ‘Feed the machine’ ● People *might* use them ● Scale via API ● Available to some businesses that don’t have the more attractive ‘GMB products’ @clairecarlile ● Only available on mobile ● No CTA / no link ● No images ● Google keeps BORKING them by adding scraped content
- 83. Text left image right @clairecarlile “Attributes appear on your Business Profile on Google Search and Maps. If you add certain attributes to your profile, your business might show up in search results when people search for places with those attributes on Google Search and Google Maps.” https://support.google.com/business/answer/9049526
- 84. Text left image right @clairecarlile User generated attributes A user generated attribute is under the control of user submitted answers - usually via Google Maps or the business profile Via the business profile Push notifications in Google Maps app
- 85. Text left image right @clairecarlile Business generated attributes A business generated attribute is added by the business via the GMB dash or the API
- 86. Text left image right @clairecarlile Can we influence the attributes that show for our business? What questions are asked about your business? Check regularly What attributes are available in your GMB dashboard? Check regularly What attributes show in your business profile? Check regularly What attributes show in your competitors profiles? Check regularly What words are people using in reviews? Check regularly What images are your users uploading? Check regularly
- 87. Text left image right @clairecarlile What attributes would we like people to agree that we have, and to demonstrate to Google that we have? Make sure that we actually ARE those things Use these words in our marketing materials and the things we say - offline and online Work to make sure the melting pot (business and user generated attributes, reviews, images, website, third party sources etc) includes those attributes, so Google can associate these with our entity
- 89. Section Title Green 87% @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/resources/online-reviews-statistics-2020/ of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020
- 90. Section Title Green 48% @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/resources/online-reviews-statistics-2020/ of consumers would consider using a business with fewer than 4 stars Only
- 91. Section Title Green @clairecarlile “The purchase likelihood for a product with five reviews is 270% greater than the purchase likelihood of a product with no reviews” https://spiegel.medill.northwestern.edu/
- 92. Text left image right @clairecarlile Featured reviews in the business profile
- 93. Text left image right @clairecarlile Featured reviews in the business profile ‘Place topics’ starting to replace Google’s previous ‘shit sandwich’ implementation https://whitespark.ca/blog/featured-reviews-in-gmb-place-topics/
- 94. Text left image right @clairecarlile I saw place topic based reviews...for two weeks only
- 95. Text left image right @clairecarlile “Place Topics uses data from your business’s reviews to provide topics based on concise information and keywords from what your customers highlight. Business owners don’t need to manage Place Topics because they are based on your customers’ reviews.” https://support.google.com/business/answer/6088158
- 96. Text left image right @clairecarlile Place topics
- 97. Text left image right @clairecarlile “Review snippets show keywords most mentioned in quotes from Google reviewers. These snippets are selected by an algorithm. You can find the most common words and phrases associated with a business in bold. Under each snippet, you’ll find the number of other users who have mentioned those terms in their reviews.” https://support.google.com/business/answer/6088158
- 98. Text left image right @clairecarlile Review snippets https://whitespark.ca/blog/featured-reviews-in-gmb-place-topics/
- 99. Text left image right @clairecarlile Can I influence the featured reviews for my business ? Use an N-Gram analyser to get an idea of likely place topics. https://seodataviz.com/ngram.php
- 100. N-gram analysis output versus place topics Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 101. Google clusters semantically connected words into one place topic Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 102. Text left image right @clairecarlile Can I influence the featured reviews for my business ? Probably / Maybe ● What words would we like people to use in their reviews? ● Be those things ● Use those words in your marketing materials online and offline ● Use an ‘enhanced ask’ when soliciting reviews
- 103. Main Title Slide Alternate 9.GMB Posts @clairecarlile
- 104. Text left image right @clairecarlile “You can connect with existing and potential customers through your Business Profile on Google Search and Maps by using posts. You can create and share announcements, offers, new or popular items in stock, or event details directly with your customers.” https://support.google.com/business/answer/7662907
- 105. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 106. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 107. On a mobile Text left image right @clairecarlile Suggested post image size 1200 x 900 px On a desktop Desktop ‘pop out’
- 108. Text left image right @clairecarlile My suggested fixes Use a black background Use multiple images
- 109. Section Title Green Posts not available for certain categories @clairecarlile ● Hotel ● Vacation rental ● Gas station ● Cannabis shop ● Gun shop ● Adult entertainment ● Booze stores ● Sometimes pharmacies and medical centres
- 110. Text left image right @clairecarlile Likely not an intended feature
- 111. Text left image right @clairecarlile “GMB posts are NOT the same as social media posts or blog posts and shouldn’t be treated as such” Said Claire Carlile, in some content she is writing
- 112. Text left image right @clairecarlile Viewers of your GMB posts - where are they in terms of your customer funnel? Said Claire Carlile, in some content she is writing
- 113. Text left image right @clairecarlile In her analysis of 1000 posts Joy Hawkins identified these features of the best performing posts... Joy Hawkins, MozCon July 2021 ● Offer posts and Covid posts performed the best ● Justifications can be drawn from posts that are up to 60 days old ● Posts with emojis performed well ● ‘What’s new’ posts now stay in business profile for 6 months (used to be 7 days) ● Posts with text in images performed better ● Posts that didn’t include stock images performed better
- 114. Text left image right @clairecarlile I suggest setting up your own simple tests for YOUR business(es)
- 115. Text left image right @clairecarlile I suggest setting up your own simple tests for YOUR business
- 116. Text left image right @clairecarlile So you can work out which posts types and post content works the best according to your KPIs
- 117. Text left image right @clairecarlile My fave GMB posts scheduling tool is FREE and auto generates UTM tagging on all posts
- 119. Text left image right @clairecarlile “In Google Maps, you can ask and answer questions about the places and business that you see. Business owners and others can respond to these Q&As directly. You can ask or answer questions from search on any device, and from Google Maps.” https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7421661
- 120. Text left image right @clairecarlile
- 121. Text left image right @clairecarlile Monitor and respond b/c otherwise you can look very silly...
- 122. Text left image right @clairecarlile And user answers are sometimes LESS THAN HELPFUL
- 123. Text left image right @clairecarlile Introduced late 2017 Q&A is a function of Google Maps
- 124. Text left image right @clairecarlile Make sure you get notified of new questions and answers
- 125. Text left image right @clairecarlile Upvotes FTW
- 126. Text left image right @clairecarlile Ask and answer your own questions
- 127. Section Title Green Ideas for Q&A content @clairecarlile ● What are your USPs? ● What are your primary products and services? ● What are customer FAQs (ask relevant staff) ● What’s happening on your competitor’s profiles? ● Switch up according to seasonality / current affairs ● Make your answers short and scannable ● Consider your tone of voice
- 128. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7421661
- 129. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://support.google.com/maps/answer/7421661
- 130. Text left image right @clairecarlile Save time by putting together a common Q&A sheet
- 131. Section Title THE END What have we learned? @clairecarlile
- 132. Text left image right @clairecarlile You need to monitor your business profile because it’s kind of IMPORTANT
- 133. Text left image right @clairecarlile Things move pretty quickly in the world of Google My Business
- 134. Text left image right @clairecarlile But if you monitor for changes, and keep your business info accurate, fresh and compelling...
- 135. Text left image right @clairecarlile Your business profile can attract and convert customers, and outperform your competitors
- 136. Text left image right @clairecarlile https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/google-my-business-complete-guide/
- 137. Section Title Green FIN @clairecarlile Thanks for listening!