Take 5
How to Claim Your ‘Google My Business’ Profile & Make It Work for You
with Sherry Bonelli
TRT 4:40
Transcribed

Sherri Bonelli Directly addresses camera:  You might already know that there’s a free listing on Google for qualified local businesses. But what you may not know is that if you don't claim your listing, your company will have less of a chance to get in that coveted spot in the top three local listings when someone searches for real estate in your local area. And, it’s not just for brokers or company owners. Sales associates can claim a listing, too.

I’m Sherry Bonelli, a digital marketer and owner of Early Bird Digital Marketing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Let’s take five minutes to learn how to claim your Google My Business profile and what information you should include. Before you start, remember that it is considered advertising, and you want to adhere to your real estate commission’s rules when optimizing your Google My Business profile. 

The Google My Business profile is what you see on the right-hand side of a Google search page when you search for a local business name. It’s also referred to as a “Knowledge Panel.” It includes a company’s name, address, phone number, website, business hours, a map to show the location of the company and more.

If you’re an individual sales associate, ideally, you want your brokerage to claim their business profile first. Then, any agents who work for that brokerage can claim their profiles, which will then include their personal name, the brokerage address and a phone number. They can do this by going to www.google.com/business. Once that’s done, individual sales associates can claim their profiles and get listed. Google considers individual real estate agents to be “practitioners” similar to lawyers who work for a law firm. So, when you claim your individual Google My Business profile, your business name should be your personal name (like “Tammy Meyer” for example). Do NOT include any words, including the brokerage name, the city you work in, or the word “Realtor” or any other words – just your name. If you add any other words, it violates Google’s Terms Of Service and you can get your profile suspended or removed.

Here are some other best practices. 

There are a variety of questions Google wants you to fill out to complete your Google My Business profile. In order to improve your search rankings, you want to complete all the information Google asks for. When done, your listings will have valuable data that will make it easier for potential customers to find information about your company. And if you don’t fill out that information, someone else could. Many business owners don’t realize that anyone can suggest a change (or edit) to your business listing—and that includes your competitors. So, log into your Google My Business dashboard regularly to ensure that no one made any unwanted changes to your profile. 

Next, there is a feature that allows people to message you directly. There is also a question and answer section. Just remember, anyone can ask these questions and anyone can answer. So, be sure to check these often and try to be the first to answer any questions. 

Reviews are also a local ranking factor and Google has recently started using Google My Business reviews to try and answer questions people ask on Google My Business Q&A. So, reviews are becoming even more crucial. And reviews that include KEYWORDS are extra important! After a transaction has closed successfully, direct your customers to your Google My Business profile and ask them to leave you a review, then make sure you reply to that review—good or bad. Online reviews appear next to your listing in Google Maps and your business’ Knowledge Panel in search results. Online reviews help your business stand out among a sea of search results. Additionally, online reviews are known to impact search result rankings, build consumer trust and improve click-through rates.

You can also add photos and 30-second videos to your business’ listing on Google My Business. Be sure the photos and videos you upload are of high quality and pertain to your business – no stock photos. Also, your business description is important. Google only allows so many characters and you can’t have a business description loaded with spammy keywords. Be clear and concise in your business description and be careful about being too promotional, as Google will review your business description. 

When it comes to search, the higher the better. Claiming and optimizing your Google My Business Profile can give you the boost you need to come out on top.