Google My Business (GMB) is an essential tool to helping your business grow online and enabling it to appear in local search results with ease. Claiming and verifying your GMB listing provides several benefits such as helping your website rank better, showcasing your products or service offerings, and increasing traffic and sales. To help you make the most of your GMB listing, we've highlighted 10 important strategies to ensure you fully optimise your Google My Business listing. To learn more, read our full guide on Google My Business: https://bit.ly/2JaQmaH.

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How to Completely
OPTIMIZE
YOUR GOOGLE
MY BUSINESS LISTING
For More Sales
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MAKE YOUR GMB
LISTING STAND
OUT WITH A
KILLER BUSINESS
DESCRIPTION
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Google gives you 750 characters to
write a business description in your
GMB profile.
Use the first 250 characters as an
elevator pitch: Make your
description compelling and
highlight what sets you apart from
the competition.

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BOOST YOUR
RANKINGS WITH
SECONDARY
CATEGORIES
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Secondary categories increase your
listing's ranking and relevance.
Maximise the benefits of your GMB
secondary categories (you can add
up to 10!) by using the PlePer tool.
Simply type in your primary
category and the PlePer tool will
generate a list of similar categories.

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RESERVE YOUR
GMB SHORT NAME
AND SHARE YOUR
LISTING WITH
EASE
R E S E R V E
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Your GMB short name makes it
exceptionally easy for your customers
to remember your listing’s URL.
To claim your GMB short name:
Step 1: Sign in to your GMB account.
Step 2: Click on the “Info” tab
Step 3: Scroll down to find the @ symbol and click
the pencil icon
Step 4: Enter a short name
Step 5: Click “Apply”
R E S E R V E

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The short name you select must be
between 5-32 characters in length
and be short, punchy, and
memorable.
R E S E R V E

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GENERATE
INTEREST WITH
THE RIGHT
VISUALS
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To get more mileage out of your images
and video on GMB:
Photo requirements:
Format: JPG or PNG.
Size: Between 10 KB and 5 MB.
Recommended resolution: 720 px tall, 720 px wide.
Minimum resolution: 250 px tall, 250 px wide.
Quality: The photo should be in focus and well lit,
and have no significant alterations or excessive use
of filters. In other words, the image should
represent reality.

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To get more mileage out of your images
and video on GMB:
Video requirements:
Duration: Up to 30 seconds long
File size: Up to 100 MB
Resolution: 720p or higher

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OPTIMISE YOUR
SERVICE, MENU,
OR PRODUCT
CATALOGUE
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Depending on your selected primary category,
you can add a Service, Menu, or Product Catalogue.
Add services to your listing by:
Navigate to the “Services” tab:
Add or edit categories and add services to these
categories
Be sure to enter an appropriate name and price
for each service
Add a description (up to 1,000 characters)
describing your service

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Add services to your listing by:
Navigate to the “Info” tab:
Scroll down to find the “Menu” option (fork and
spoon icon)
Add your menu and categorise by section
Don’t confuse the menu editor with the “Menu
URL” option

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Add services to your listing by:
Navigate your way to the
“Products” tab:
Create separate collections/product categories
Name your listed products and upload an enticing
photo
Consider setting a price and adding a description

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WIN MORE
CUSTOMERS WITH
GOOGLE POSTS
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Each post type (What’s New,
Events, and Offers) can be
published with an image, GIF,
or 30-second video.

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5 KEYS TO WRITING
A GOOGLE POST
Offer What’s New
Addphotos or videos
Event
Write your post
None
Add a button (optional)
i
Preview Publish
Consider what you want
your post to do
Include a high-resolution
photo or video
Add a title (if your post is an
event)
Add more details in the first
300 characters
Include a CTA
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2.
3.
4.
5.

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ENGAGE WITH
CUSTOMERS
THROUGH
MESSAGING
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To turn Google’s messaging feature on,
install the Google My Business app onto
your phone.
Once installed, open the app and tap the
“Customers” tab. Select “Messages.”
Activate the Messaging feature by
tapping “Turn on” when the pop-up
appears.

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BE CONSISTENT
WITH YOUR
NAP
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NAP is an SEO acronym that stands
for Name, Address, and Phone
Number.
The more consistent your NAP is,
the more confidently Google can
display your business to in local
search results.

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BRAND BUILD
WITH
CROWD-SOURCED
Q&AS
?
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Google's Question and Answer
feature allows anyone to ask and
answer questions posted on your
profile.
Increase engagement and impress
your customers by providing timely
answers to any questions posted.

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STAND OUT
FROM THE
COMPETITION
WITH EMOJIS
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There are two different ways you can
incorporate emojis to your GMB profile.
The first way is to create a Google
Post with a relevant emoji. This can
give your post a visual boost and
potentially impact how rankings in
the relevant emoji-based search.

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The other way is by adding a
relevant emoji to your business
name. If you run a pizzeria, adding
a pizza emoji to your GMB
name can be a great branding
opportunity for the business.

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DOMINATE SEARCH
ENGINES AND GET
SEO SHERPA TO
MANAGE YOUR SEO.