We’re kicking off the SEO Simplified Series by starting at the very beginning, where your customers start. By “Googling” your business. Your business should have a verified listing on all major search engines, but we’re going to focus hard on Google because it’s the most widely used. You can apply the tips from this article to any search engine listing and it’s going to be effective.

Claim your Google Business Listing

Also called your Business Profile, this is like your online “store signage” or first impression. Use your Business Profile to manage the information that Google users find when they search for your business or the products and services you offer. This includes your physical location, hours of operation, and website.

But that’s just scratching the surface when it comes to your profile information. Provide a detailed description of your business, the products and services you offer and the area you serve. This will boost your search relevance.

Relevance refers to how well a local Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.

Adding complete business information will help Google better understand your business and match your profile to relevant searches. This is where keywords come into play as well. Use keywords not only in your website’s content, but also in your Google business and product descriptions.

Do you have products listed on your Google Profile? Stop what you are doing (yes, stop reading this right now) and go add 5 of your website products to your listing. Make sure the image title name is descriptive of the product - think Yellow Lily and Pink Rose Bouquet instead of “Summer Sunshine Bouquet”. Your product description should include keywords - but use them naturally. Google is a smarty pants, it doesn’t like when you pack a bunch of keyword nonsense into sentences. Pick one or two “search terms” and work them into each product description. For example, “This bouquet includes yellow lilies, pink roses, and fresh local flowers grown right here in [town name/state]. This flower arrangement would make a beautiful birthday gift or anniversary present.”

We got the location in there, along with birthday, anniversary, gift, present and flower arrangement. So if someone searches “birthday gifts [town name]”, guess who’s going to be more likely to pop up? You :)

Photographs Build Trust

People like to buy from people. And consumers are way more confident purchasing from a business that has photos of their store, staff and products. In fact, businesses that add photos to their Business Profiles receive 42% more requests for directions on Google Maps, and 35% more clicks through to their websites than businesses that don’t. I’d recommend adding new store photos quarterly, and switching out a couple of your Google product listings weekly.

Think of your Google listing as another social media platform, and delegate or schedule time for it.

Luckily, once you have fabulous website content, it’s easy to copy a product description from your catalog, paste it into your Business listing and condense it down to the highlights. While you're there, be sure to respond to any new reviews. Getting Google reviews - and responding to them promptly - is another little piece of the SEO pie. I shared some ideas for getting Google reviews on this podcast episode. Google also provides a free marketing kit to verified businesses - which you will be after completing your Profile.

Head here:https://marketingkit.withgoogle.com/and follow the prompts. Google creates custom review graphics for you, as well as printable graphics and stickers to use in-store to encourage customers to leave a review.

Note: I pulled a lot of this information from the horses’ mouth - the Google Business Profile help center. They are the experts on themselves, obviously. I’d highly recommend cruising through that help center for a better understanding of what Google is looking for.

Short on time? I made you a free Google Profile checklist here.