Story: Study and practice
I researched Google Business Profile(ex. Google My Business) at the previous blog. We have to practice once we learned something new. Knowledge without experience/experiment is low value.
*Updated: August 20, 2022
It’s been 1 year since I wrote this blog. There were many tries and errors. I am still keeping update the SEO practice through real projects.
I have a couple of clients who need SEO in the United States. I monitor and audit websites weekly. Thankfully, one client who developed website in January 2022 receives inquiries regularly. However, the other client who developed website in November 2021 does not receive it. Before thinking about traffic, an impression is still low.
They are different businesses and industries, but I can see clearly what Google prefers from these experiences. I am going to help future clients based on this practice.
Google My Business Shuts Down Reviews, Faqs And More…
©Ranking Academy
I asked a client to write a review. I received it, but the review didn’t display. I searched for why it happened. Then, I found the reason. Is this action really necessary?
Keyword
If you start a business from now on, you can consider this method. Unfortunately, I cannot do it anymore.
At first, you need a Gmail account. I recommend separating business and private. Then, go to Google Business Profile(ex. Google My Business) or you can go below directly.
Please research your business category on Google. I don’t know what the window looks like if you don’t have any Google My Business account, but I believe that process is the same. Google asks your business name first. You can put on anything. You can come back here. After the business name page, you can search the business category.
Think about how your target audient finds you, what’s words s/he searches on Google. ✓✓✓
For instance, one of my target audience is a small business owner. S/he starts her/his own business. S/he tried to make a website by WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, but s/he gave up. Making websites consumes much time and cannot satisfy the looks. S/he asks on Google.
“web designer, vancouver”
Google shows so many web design agencies, web designers, and some linking sites. It makes them overwhelmed. S/he does not look for an agency. They cannot afford it.
“web designer, freelance, vancouver”
Google still shows a linking site but also shows web designer. This is a start line.
Back to the topic of this section. If I start my business from scratch, I consider including the keywords below in a business name below.
Gold domain = Keyword + Location
e.g. Vancouver, Freelance, Web Design, Web & Graphic Design, Digital, Studio, Agency, WordPress, Webflow…
*Business name is also important. Business name should include what your business is, accounting, investor, lawyer, coaching, etc. If so, you can register it confidently on Google Business Profile
At the very early stage of business, you don’t have to stick to your brand image. If people cannot find your business, people have never known how much you are worth. You may spend money on marketing. That’s 1 potential solution. Finding your business is starting to consider with competitors. It is free if people can find your business on Google.
My business name, Open Bookmarks Co. is not a good example. Why? Because people never search for my business name when they look for a web designer.
As you see people can find me on Google Maps, but I have no review on July 7th, 2020. I can compete with others by the quality of the website, but I admit this weakness.
Citation
A local citation is any online mention of the name, address, and phone number for a local business. Citations can occur on local business directories, on websites and apps, and on social platforms. Citations help Internet users to discover local businesses and can also impact local search engine rankings. – Moz
In short, we have to put on precisely correct information, business name, phone number, address, on each platform. I could not control some details, area code(Canada: +1) for a phone number, including the country(Canada) for address.
Review
You can generate a URL for Google My Business Review.
Google My Business Review URL: https://whitespark.ca/google-review-link-generator/
Before sending the link, I asked clients, would you mind if I ask you to write a review? I send it only I expected that I provided at least 4.5 stars service for them.
Example 01:
Hi [CUSTOMER NAME],
Thank you for your recent [TYPE OF SERVICE] with Open Bookmarks Co. I truly value all of my customers that come to us for help – that includes [CUSTOMER’S COMPANY NAME]!
Customer satisfaction is extremely important to me, so I’d love to hear your feedback on how you feel about your recent service! If you have a few minutes, we would really appreciate a quick Google review [INCLUDE LINK] letting us know how I did.
To submit your review, click the link below and let us know what you think!
[INSERT CTA/BUTTON WITH GOOGLE REVIEW LINK]
Thanks in advance for taking the time to leave a review! If you have any questions or would like to speak directly about your [TYPE OF SERVICE], don’t hesitate to reach out [INCLUDE LINK] at any time.
Sincerely,
[YOU/YOUR SALES REP’S NAME]
Example 02:
Hello [First Name],
It was a pleasure doing business with you. Thank you for [being a loyal customer, giving us a try, etc.].
As you may know, many people like you rely on online reviews to make sure they get the best service possible. With that said, I would love if you could leave me a testimonial on my Google page.
You can click this link to leave your feedback and help other people like you get the help they need in [primary customer pain point].
Thank you for taking time out of your day. We greatly appreciate it!
Best Regards,
[Your Name]
I thought that good work opens to the next door automatically, but it was my misunderstanding. I learned it at The Futur as well. At first, I have to serve the client as much as I can. Once I delivered the design service, I have to ask a client review and reference.
I have an experience that I felt annoyed when I received an email after I bought something online. I understand that. Even so, I have to ask review after I delivered the graphic/web design. There is no need for hesitation.
©Ranking Academy
“Flag as inappropriate” does not work often.
Google my business twitter account: https://twitter.com/GoogleMyBiz
Google my business direct contacts: https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773
Backlink
©Darrel Wilson: 8 EASY Ways To Get More Traffic To Your Website + FAST GROWTH HACK
So many tips. Don’t be overwhelmed and please focus on the backlinks.
He mentions:
1. Backlinks
2. Google My Business
3. Blog
4. Social Media
5. Question website: Quora, Reddit, Yahoo…
6. Influencer marketing
7. Forums: Craigslist
8. Directory website: Yelp
You can confirm how many backlinks you have above.
I learned that backlinks are quite an influence on Google. When I asked it to a digital marketing agency, they buy the quality of a backlink. It costs over US$100. You can find a lot of information on SEO tools. If you have enough practice about SEO, you can introduce a new customer to clients, you can start an SEO company.
I sent a request to a local public organization, Small Business BC, for listing my business. I waited for a response for a while, but I could list my business on their website. I think I can count it as 1 backlink.
Backlink Vol.2
*Update: August 13, 2022
I am writing a blog once every 5 days for 3 years. So, my backlinks naturally increased. I am sure that it is not high-authority backlinks, but it’s okay. If you seriously need to develop backlinks quickly, please search SEO services on UpWork. You can find a lot of services which basically located in India. Please choose only a white hat. If you choose 5-star freelance, it costs US$150-200 per month. When you post a job, you mention fixed price and budget, but they don’t care about your budget. They give you an audit for free and inform you a lot of issues, but please ignore it. Please focus on what you need. Whatever your condition is, they try to charge at least $150/website. It takes 4 – 6 months until you see the results or some difference.
Post
A post on Google My Business is valid in a week. A post shows under the business information on the sidebar. I don’t know how much impact a post has, but SEO is never ended. I Keep updated include keywords consistently.
Photo
A video mentions the value of upload photos regularly. To be honest, I had not uploaded for a while. I looked at it after a long time. Here is a good presentation opportunity. People can see all images on one window. I cannot expect to every client visits the website. This is the first hurdle for freelance.
Guest posting
I received some offers by email. I thought it’s just spam mail. The video mentions that a guest post is one way for backlinks. I may need to welcome them. I don’t think that I can do a guest post on other pages. Should I hire a copywriter?
Appointment links
I am not sure it’s necessary or not. If Google likes it, that’s okay.
Conclusion: Execution
Many people struggle to get a client, but I don’t think people tried to overcome it enough. Af first, I doubt how many people really searched on Google, how to get a client? Many people have the same experience and tons of articles on Google. If you are not satisfying the current situation, just search, learn and execute their advice. You lose nothing.
I listed what I executed after learning. SEO is the long term game. The result is not come out the day after tomorrow.
I will report it a few months later. Good luck 👍🏻
P.S. You should not just wait for uncertain customers. Let’s think about mulch-revenue sources when you have time.
Reference:
Google My Business: Drive Customer Engagement on Google
SEMrush blog: How to Build an Impeccable Go-to-Market Strategy [Checklist]
