ARE YOU MAKING THESE GOOGLE MY BUSINESS LISTINGS MISTAKES?

Have you ever had a frustrating experience with a company’s Google My Business listing? Maybe you drove to the store and realized they had the wrong hours listed. Perhaps, the phone number they list is no longer in service. Or, you found a listing with a title so long that you second guessed whether it was actually the company you were looking for?

For those who might be unfamiliar, a Google My Business listing is the box of company information that typically appears on the right side of your Google search results.

Potential customers use the information in your listing so that they know the location of your business, your operating hours, your phone number and can even read your reviews.

While Google My Business has more or less been a vital part of the internet since 2004, there are still a lot of local businesses that have yet to take advantage of this excellent online tool. Not only is Google My Business easily accessible, but it's also free to use and optimize!

5 Common Google My Business Listing Issues

Unfortunately, thousands of companies make the same mistakes with their Google My Business that ultimately inhibit people from finding their business. Luckily for you, it's pretty easy to fix these issues, which we’ll cover here.

1. Unclaimed Listing

The biggest mistake you can make is not claiming your Google My Business listing. If your business still has an unclaimed listing, that's something that you can fix right away. You're only hurting yourself in the long run by leaving it unclaimed. Setting up your Google My Business listing not only makes it easier for people to find your business, but it also helps with your website's Search Engine Optimization. We can’t preach the importance enough: if you haven’t claimed your GMB listing yet, stop what you’re doing and take the steps today to get it done.

2. Missing Information

Now that you have your Google My Business set up, the next thing you need to do is make sure there's no missing information. People can't call you if you don't have a phone number listed. If you don't have an address or at least a general location featured, you're less likely to show up in Google search results. Google knows that when people search for a service, they're more than likely looking for a company nearby. Therefore, if you don't have a specified location, there's a good chance you'll miss out on local leads.

3. Incorrect information

The only thing worse than missing information is incorrect information. One of the most common frustrations with false information concerns business hours. You don't want to accidentally turn away customers because your listing states that you're open until 4:30 p.m. when you actually don’t close until 6:00 p.m.—especially if you're a business that requires people to come to you. It’s good practice to schedule regular Google My Business management check-ins so that you can respond to customer reviews and ensure that your information is always accurate.

4. No Photos or Videos

Build trust and credibility by uploading photos or videos to your listing. Some examples of images or videos include a photo of your business location, employee pictures, product images, and you can even upload an explainer video or testimonial video. By adding some kind of media to your listing, you're showing potential customers that you are a legitimate business by putting a face to the name—literally!

5. Keyword Stuffing

Lastly, creating multiple listings stuffed with keywords is confusing to prospective customers and could do a lot more damage in the long run. Instead of using their company's name as their listing, some businesses will stuff the title full of keywords.

For example, Jo's Roofing Company might have one listing that looks like: Jo's Roofing Company: Roofing Contractor & Roofing Services Phoenix, AZ. Or, they might have a handful of other listings that look similar. Take it from us, you don't want to keyword stuff your GMB listing for several reasons:

• Stuffing your title full of keywords looks spammy and unprofessional.
  
• It's more difficult for people to find your business, especially with several keyword-stuffed listings.
• The reviews people leave will be spread across different listings.
• Anyone on the internet can flag your company for having an incorrect name and request a change.

If your listing gets flagged enough times, Google will shut it down, and you'll lose everything you worked so hard to cultivate. So, in the interest of keeping all your reviews in one place and not losing your listing, be sure your title is as accurate as possible.

Optimize Your Google My Business Listing with Triton

Don't let simple Google My Business listing mistakes get in the way of online lead generation. Our digital marketing experts at Triton Commerce stay on top of the latest updates and trends so that our customers' listings are always optimized for ideal performance. If you're interested in what our company can do for you, let's have a conversation about it! Give us a call at 651.321.0578 or contact us online today.