If you have a limited budget for Search Engine Optimisation the number one thing you need to do TODAY is make sure you are effectively using Google My Business.
For the vast majority of small florists you simply cannot compete with the money spent on Google advertising campaigns from the Order Gatherers. Which means SEO and in particular Local Marketing is vital to your success and this is where Google My Business comes becomes the single most important activity for SEO.
PS if your SEO firm hasn’t already helped you with your Google My Business Listing Sack them now!
What is Google My Business?
Google My Business (GMB) is the definitive way for you to easily add and manage information about your business in Google. It’s a single place that Google will allow you to manage information such as:
- Telephone Number
- Website Address
- Physical Address
- Opening Hours
- Products
- Descriptions
- Reviews
- Google Maps Listings and much more.
You can also add photos, videos and articles about your business that are visible whenever someone views your GMB listing.
It’s totally free and is the most essential tool for your florist business.
Why is it so important for florists?
With Google being the most visited Search Engine on the planet making sure that all the most common business information is presented correctly when someone searches for your business is of primary importance.
More users are not even clicking through to websites and instead using the GMB information call a business or find out whether they are open or closed.
Customers are also looking at the Google Reviews on your GMB listing to decided whether or not they want to transact with your business.
For florists this also extends to the local marketing component when someone is searching for a florist in your suburb you should appear in the Google Maps listing.
To “claim” or add a GMB listing you have to verify that you are in fact a REAL business and your phone number / address is real.
This means instantly that the Order Gatherers cannot create a fake GMB listing for your business name or for flowers / florist in your location. Unlike their ability to create clickbait ads, pages and websites that target your suburbs.
So if someone googles your suburb and florist or flowers you will appear in the search results.
With 40% of users not clicking anything when they do a google search this means they are getting the information they are looking for from the search results or the GMB Listing.
Managing your GMB also means that you can respond to Google Reviews and add more information, essential if someone has left a not so positive review!
How Do I access Google My Business?
Start by doing a Google Search for your business name and check to see whether a google Business Listing already exists. If it does there will be a link called:
Claim or verify my business.
Follow this link and then sign up.
If someone else has claimed your business listing use these steps to claim it back: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4566671?hl=en
Otherwise if there is no existing listing go to:
https://www.google.com/business
Then sign up and follow the instructions.
After filling in your business details (be as specific as possible) choose a verification option.
This will either be a verification postcode to your business address with a code to enter or a verification phone number.
If you choose the phone verification make sure you will be there to answer the phone as you need to grab the verification code.
If you choose the postcard it can take a week or two to arrive,
What Information should I include?
Once you have verified your GMB it’s not time to enter information this will take some time but it’s worth every minute you spend!
Start off with the important stuff:
- Website
- Phone Number
- Address
- Opening Hours
- Description
Don’t forget to add all your social media profiles such as Instagram and Facebook as these are listed here too for added authority.
Photos and Videos
Add photos of the inside of your store and your store front, you can add as many photos as you would like:
- Cover Photos
- Profile Photo
- Products
- Inside your business
- Shopfront
As a tip the best size for these pictures is 720px x 720 px!
Posts
A newer feature of GMB is your ability to add Posts, there are like blog articles and can be anything to do with your business.
- Sales
- Special Offers
- Mothers Day / Valentines day etc.
Questions and Answers
You can use this section to allow people to ask you questions, the key though is you HAVE to answer the questions!
A word of warning
It’s important that the information in your GMB listing also matches the information on your website or google may penalize you. For example if you have different shop opening hours on GMB on your website google may send you a notification and or not display the opening hours!
What about Reviews?
Reviews are essential for both your SEO and your overall business success, and Google Reviews are the bees knees of reviews.
You manage your reviews through your listing and it’s vital that you respond to reviews. If you are looking to build your ratings you can use our FREE Flower Store In a Box Review Request Engine!
Conclusion
If you have a limited budget and want to know the best thing you can do for SEO is to manage your Google Business and set up a process for driving customer reviews on your business listing!
Whilst this is only one part of a comprehensive SEO Campaign it should be the first thing that you or your SEO firm helps you with!