If you're looking to maximize your business's visibility on Google, a Google My Business audit is essential. A comprehensive audit will reveal any SEO issues that may be hindering your current performance, such as duplicate listings, NAP errors, and local classification identifiers that exist outside of your GMB profile. Before creating a GMB listing, it's important to study what works for your competitors. This will give you a clear picture of what you need to do to be better than them at what you do.
When observing other listings, take note of their business title optimization, average length, keyword stuffing, inclusion of location and service keywords, etc. If you notice that Google is grouping desired results into certain parts of the city, consider adding a business location in that area. Additionally, make sure to add your business hours to improve ad optimization. When auditing your Google My Business listing, check if you're using the Q&A section correctly.
As a local SEO consultant, if you're faced with the decision of whether or not to advise business owners on rebranding or keyword stuffing in the title of their GMB listing company, there are many factors to consider. Some companies have been given softer suspensions such as the removal of keywords, while others have been given more severe punishments such as being converted to an unverified profile and not showing up in certain searches. Although there are several GMB tools available, none of them offer what you need for a proper Google My Business audit. You can now view a portfolio of all your audit summaries and view your audit history.
Optimizing a Google business profile helps increase that company's visibility for local searches. When creating or editing a GMB listing, make sure to add an appropriate primary and secondary category. This will help customers access the map package (which are the local package listings of relevant map listings that appear at the top of search results). Additionally, be aware of keyword stuffing and other practices that could lead to suspension or removal from Google.
