Painting Contractors: 7 Essential Google My Business Optimizations To Rank Higher In Local Search
As you may know, listing your painting business on Google My Business allows you to list your business location on Google Maps and local search results.
Optimizing your Google My Business listing is 100% essential for ranking higher in your local area.
It can result in a person visiting your website to book an estimate with you or contacting you for more info on the services you offer.
Let’s look at 7 Google My Business optimizations to rank higher in local search for Painting Contractors:
1. Be Specific In Your Description
When you’re making a Google My Business listing, you have to be quite specific in your description.
Yes, of course you’re going to say that you’re a professional painting contractor, but how will people know what kind?
If you specialize in painting kitchen cabinets, that’s exactly the kind of thing that you’re going to want to mention in your listing.
By including specifics in the description of your business, you make sure that people know what you do.
[Related: 7 Benefits of “Google My Business” for Your Painting Business]2. Make Sure You Have A Picture
One of the key things that separates a Google My Business listing that gets more views is a picture.
Specifically, if you have a Google My Business listing that doesn’t have any pictures, make sure to get one.
It’s said that the number of views that a listing gets is greatly increased just by adding a picture.
If you think about it, it makes sense — listings with no pictures seem anonymous, making people wonder who they really are.
People like to see pictures of people and business working, even if they don’t personally know them.
That way they can see that there are actual people working for the business, and they’ll be able to make a connection.
Here is a tutorial on setting up a good photo for Google My Business:
3. Get Reviews By Asking For Reviews
You may not realize it but one of the important things about Google My Business is the review side of it.
People who go to businesses listed on Google My Business can write about their experience with the business.
Of course, the better the reviews the business gets, the better the listing will do but just having reviews is a step in the right direction.
One way that you can make sure that you have reviews if you’re starting out is to reach out to your past customers.
You’re going to want to tell them that you’re now on Google My Business, and that you’d like their help.
Specifically, you need to get their help with getting reviews for your listing, and would they mind writing one.
Some might want to offer a discount off their next work, but this could be considered unethical, offering something for a review.
4. Make Sure All Sections Are Filled Out
There are many sections in your Google My Business listing, and it’s important that all of them are filled out properly.
The reason that this is the case is that it looks rather bad for your Google My Business listing to have incomplete information.
People might want to come to your listing and find out what time you open for business, and if they see nothing they could get frustrated.
The best practice for you to have is to have all of your information filled out so that people will know everything they need to know about your business.
5. Post Regularly (Updates And More)
Google My Business has an aspect to it that’s a bit like a blog, in that you’re able to post from your account.
These will come in a number of forms including updates, new offerings, and more.
To show that you have an interest in your Google My Business account, you should make an effort to post regularly.
You don’t even have to have anything particularly significant to write — you can try things like customer spotlights, service information, and more.
By writing regularly from your listing, people will see that you’re an active business and may be more likely to reach out to you.
6. Answer The Questions People Ask
Speaking of reaching out to you, you’re going to find that people are likely to ask questions on your listing.
The important thing to bear in mind is that anyone can answer these questions.
Since that’s the case, you’re going to want to make sure that you get to answer the questions and answer them well before anyone else does.
You can set up an alert so that you get notified the moment someone asks a question.
That way you can get right over to your listing and answer the question to the best you can and help your customers (or future customers.)
7. Have Your Services Listed
Lastly, you’re going to want to make sure that you have all of your services listed on your Google My Business listing.
This means that you’re going to have to go through and consider everything you do as a painting contractor, and write it down.
Of course, you don’t have to go into so precise detail that you write about it for pages, but a few lines about your services will do great.
By doing this, people searching for specific paint services in the area that you service will more likely find you.
Quick Recap:
1. To ensure that nobody is confused about what you do, be specific in your description.
2. Since it will make your listing stand out significantly, make sure you have a picture.
3. Listings with reviews are thought of better than those that do not have one, so get reviews — even just by asking for reviews.
4. People won’t want to look at your listing if the information is incomplete so make sure all sections are filled out.
5. Treat Google My Business like its own kind of blog and post regularly
6. People are likely to ask questions about your business so set up an alert for when you get them and answer the questions people ask.
7. To be sure that people are able to find out what services you offer, have your services listed in your Google My Business listing.