The beginning of a new year brings so many opportunities to start fresh and revamp any out of date content—especially on your Google My Business listing.
Since business listings typically act as the first interaction consumers have with your business, it’s essential that you keep everything optimized and up to date so that you’ll look your best in search results.
Take a look below for tips and tricks for optimizing your Google My Business listing for 2021 to generate more qualified leads and rank higher among the local pack.
Last year Google made some changes to Google My Business to accommodate the pandemic—both to improve functionality and combat current limitations seen in posting capabilities.
Although we’re not quite in the same place we were last year, the global pandemic is still a huge influence on business operations, especially in real estate.
Because of this, you’ll want to go through your business listing and check to see if you’re providing the right information and regulations imposed to keep prospects and employees safe during the renting process.
This information could include specified times of service, the availability of virtual or in person tours, etc.
Overall, just ensure no one is left astray when interacting with your listing.
Google Business listings are essentially your virtual front door.
With that being said, you’ll want to ensure there’s enough content to inform consumers, but not too much so that it loses its directness.
So then, what should you have on your listing? Take a look below at some popular (and essential) items you should consider for your listing.
These are what we like to call the “non-negotiables.”
This key information is pertinent to finding, researching, and locating your business, and without it your ranking in Google search results would probably be starkly low.
Although the above list is pretty self explanatory, visual content deserves more elaboration.
When speaking of visual content on any type of listing, you probably think of photography. However, there’s a lot more detail that goes into strategizing content in order for it to reap the same results.
For starters, images on your GMB listing have a strict purpose: to show enough so that consumers understand the essentials of your business, but not too much so that it gets convoluted.
With that being said, take a look below at the list of images necessary for a successful Google My Business listing.
Having these images will not only dictate how your listing performs in search results, but it also helps people get the most out of your listing.
There should be an organized collection of optimized images to show more, and in turn, lease more. And remember, anyone can post images to your listing, so be sure you have enough quality content to drown out any negative posts.
To best optimize your Google My Business listing’s digital content, take a look at the next section.
If you want to succeed, you have to follow the rules.
Google analytics are very particular about what listings need, so whatever you do, it should coincide with those requirements.
Take a look at some of the updated Google My Business requirements to stay on top.
Google My Business image requirements
Images on your listing actually have quite a few requirements thanks to Google. Check out the list below for 2021’s guide to GMB images.
In addition, all images should be of high-quality, focused, and with decent lighting. You’ll want to get the best representation of your space to promote honesty and transparency while providing an accurate portrayal of your property.
Google My business video requirements
Similar to images, Google My Business videos have strict requirements as well. Take a look below for more information.
By implementing these requirements, your Google business listing is more likely to generate real leads, rank higher in the local pack, and provide visibility to your property or community.
Don’t have any video content? Take a look at these powerful video stats to inspire your marketing strategy.
Most people know of the Google car that drives around capturing Street View for businesses and residential areas.
Unfortunately, this process is only repeated once every couple of years - if you’re lucky - and sometimes it takes closer to ten if you’re in a less populated area.
So you may be asking yourself, how often should I update Google Street View? And the answer is, probably 2021.
With in-person tours taking a step back during the ongoing global pandemic, virtual leasing in multifamily has kicked in to provide renters with an informative, online alternative.
And if your business has digital content to provide renters with options during these uncertain times, you’re already ahead of the game.
To maximize your online efforts it will bode in your favor to update your Street View to a current version of your property so that renters know exactly what they are receiving.
This is so important because if your Street View is low quality, you might immediately turn off prospects. But if it shows an earlier version of your property that may have been different to the current version, they might think you’re trying to bait and switch them.
Overall, it’s best to try and stay up-to-date with content, especially when it’s interactive like Google Street View.
And if you want to really stand out among competition, getting a Google virtual tour can pretty much guarantee to bring in more qualified leads.
As stated, your Google My Business listing is essentially your virtual front door. To ensure you leave the right impression on consumers, and to be sure your property is accessible online, optimizing your listing for 2021 will be a great first step in finding success.
Need help optimizing your Google My Business listing? Talk to our team today.
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McKenna Hogan