Categories
Local SEO Marketing Small Business Marketing Small Business SEO

Three Reasons To Claim Your Google My Business Listing

If you haven’t already jumped on the Google My Business bandwagon, now’s the time. Leaving a Google My Business profile unclaimed (psst: even if you’re virtual) is like leaving an entire host of free marketing opportunities on the table and willingly ignoring their existence…and you know better than that. 

Here’s the deal: 80 percent of internet searches go through Google. Think of the last time you actually searched through Bing or Yahoo. Yet, 56 percent of potential Google My Business accounts have not been claimed. This means the business will not be told when a review comes through, you’re allowing third-party photos to be attached to your business without your knowledge, and you’re missing out on a wealth of leads and potential sales.

Keep reading for the top 3 reasons to claim your Google My Business listing.

1. Claim Google My Business Listing for Local SEO

Claiming your Google My Business profile gives you the ability to boost your ranking, free of charge, by instantly making yourself more of an authority in your space. See, Google’s algorithm primarily considers three features: relevance, proximity, and prominence. By claiming your profile, you are essentially sounding an alarm to the algorithm that your listing deserves a higher ranking because of information you’ve provided. Here’s why:

  • By adding your website to your profile, you are adding backlinks, which builds up your site’s reliability.
  • You’ve now provided Google with a location, which tells the algorithm when it should come up in more localized searches.
  • It makes your business more established and well-known in the eyes of Google.

2. Get Found By Potential Clients

As your SEO improves, your business appears earlier in the search ranking, and, as a result, your website traffic increases. Even simply filling out the information in the profile, however, and turning it into your own, enables your business to share necessary content with your potential customers. 

By claiming the profile, you are able to put your ideas, via posts and blogs, in front of them. You give your audience a chance to learn about your business, the hours it operates, any pertinent or new information, and how to find out more. The more information your customers consume, the more likely it is the interaction will end in a sale.

3. Use GMB for Reputation Management

Google reviews are all the rage right now, and it makes total sense. The last restaurant you’ve visited, the electrician you’ve hired, the last salon you’ve entered…I would be surprised if you’ve never checked out some reviews before making a decision. 90 percent of people read reviews. 90 percent. 

When you claim your Google My Business profile, you become notified when there’s a review. And, as every smart business owner knows, when there’s a review, there needs to be a response. Without claiming the profile, you don’t know when the review comes in, and you leave it unnoticed. As positive reviews build up, more positive reviews come in, and all this leads to more sales for you.

Beyond that, Google My Business recently added a messaging feature. More customer interaction means more engagement and loyalty which, again, means more sales.

How Do I Claim My Business on Google?

So now you’re convinced, but have no idea how to claim your Google My Business listing. Follow this process, and if you run into an issue, don’t hesitate to reach out for help.

  1. Go to https://business.google.com/create and create an account.
  2. Add your business name.
  3. Add your business category. If your business shows up after this step, it’s possible that your business has already been added via a third-party. This may require a bit more poking around. If you get stuck, reach out for assistance.
  4. Add your location or indicate that you’re virtual.
  5. Different questions will arise based on your answers. Just fill them out.
  6. Add pictures where you can. When adding your pictures, give them names. Most images are labeled with IMG_123 or something to that effect, which doesn’t help your SEO at all. Label your images with a specific name that lets Google know what you’re about, such as “Best-Dog-Groomer-Charlotte”.
  7. Once you’ve completed and reviewed your details, click “Claim this business.”
  8. It typically takes about 24 hours for your business to show up in the Google listings. You’ll receive an email confirmation that your business listing is active.

Don’t leave your business behind by leaving your profile unattended. Google My Business is a fast and easy way to improve your visibility, engage your audience, and provide a ton of content, and it’s all for free. 

Categories
GoBeyond Graphic Design How We Can Help Inbound Marketing Lead Generation Local SEO PPC Small Business Marketing Small Business SEO Social Media

How to Hire the Best Digital Marketing Company

An appealing website is a great start for establishing an online presence, and the website may even be worth the investment, but the right digital marketing plan can help potential clients find you online.

If you’re going to outsource Digital Marketing (SEO, PPC, Social Media) follow these steps and hire the best company.

1. Know Your Needs Before Choosing an SEO Company

Understanding your needs is the first crucial step. Do you just need SEO or graphic design, social media, and/or paid advertising. Take an audit of your existing online presence, see what’s missing and what you need moving forward. You can’t hire the right company if you don’t know what you need.  The right company can make recommendations of course, but in the end it’s up to you. No one knows your business better than you do.

Draft a budget, and be realistic about the services you’ll get.  SEO costs can vary so your budget may need to be flexible, but have a good idea on what you want to spend.

2. Use the ‘Two-way Interview’ Approach

In a one-way interview, the potential SEO company will submit a proposal for you to review. It’s hard to learn about a company with this type of approach, and SEO is not a one-size-fits-all approach.  The company you’re hiring needs to know specifics about your business as well.

Two-way interviews make the recruitment process more engaging, and help you explore multiple aspects of your marketing operations.  Maybe you’ll discover that Google Ads or social media is a better strategy for your type of business.  Either way, an in-depth conversations should happen so your money is well spent.

The potential SEO agency should always inquire about your company’s unique selling point (USP).   Expect to share the goals of your website, your current means for attracting customers, your CPC, current budget, what’s working, and what’s not.  Keeping this information private only makes the agencies job harder.  If needed, have them sign an NDA but in my experience I’ve found that the more thorough and open the process is, the faster you can hit the ground running, and start generation positive ROI.

3. Do Your Own Research

As a client you need to be researching SEO companies before hiring them.

At the very least visit the potential agencies website to see if there are clients listed, biographies or addresses listed. The firm shouldn’t be hiding anything from you if it wants to have you as a customer.   At the very least you’ll be able to tell what type of business they are i.e a small agency with a few people or a huge organization with a huge sales team.  Working with either can have its pros and cons but know what you’re getting into.

4. Verify References

References help determine if a company has an impressive track record, and gives you insights on the types of clients they’ve worked with.  Even if you don’t call the references there’s value in asking.  Do they push back or are they glad to provide them?

Ask each digital marketing agency for at least three customers you can reach, and ask about the results generated from the SEO and digital marketing efforts.

Use the references to identify the pros & cons of each SEO firm.  You’ll learn about quality of work, customer support and many other things you won’t get directly from the agency.

5. Credibility

Review sites are a great way to determine an agency’s credibility. Check Google My Business, Yelp and other industry listings for positive & negative reviews.  Negative reviews may not be a deal breaker but check and see how the company responded to those reviews. Did they do it in a professional manner?

Check whether the company is listed on BBB. See if the agency’s employees are members of any groups or associations.

The agency should also have a nice website and a solid online presence. Visit the agency’s social media pages to see whether they feature quality content.

6. Request an Audit for Your Site

Any reputable online marketing agency will audit your website and be able to tell you where your short comings are, but it also takes a little homework on your end as well.

If they ask give the agency access to your analytics data and let them know what online resources you’ve used already. Having several candidates perform the audits helps you compare the results and choose the best company for you.

The SEO company should evaluate your website’s rankings in the search engines, and identify what issues may be preventing your website from ranking higher.

Website audits will help determine your businesses relevance on the web. The reports should suggest ways to make your content easier to find, and they should list SEO strategies that suit your budget and needs.

7. Involve Your Team When Making the Final Decision

SEO can help your site draw larger audiences, increase conversion rates and have positive ROI. An SEO company should offer you and your team strategies to make these goals achievable.  Depending on what your goals are that will determine who in your company they’ll be working with.

If they’ll be working heavily with the sales team then you’ll want their opinion.  Respect their suggestions and use them to guide your final decision.

The Right Digital Marketing

Our company targets businesses like yours looking to use digital marketing services to optimize their online presence. Our digital marketing portfolio includes web design, SEO, PPC and social media marketing.

Talk to us about how we can help you outsmart your competition with our Predictable Leads System.

Categories
GoBeyond Law Firm Marketing Lead Generation Marketing PPC SEO Services

GoBeyond SEO is a 5-Star PPC & SEO Agency on Clutch

The shift of the customer journey to digital platforms has irreversibly changed the way that firms interact with their clients. Mobile traffic drives most markets, and many companies are resistant to this change, lacking an understanding of how important it really is to have a strong SEO and online strategy. Having positive interactions with clients on their preferred platform not only grants a competitive edge to businesses willing to take the time, but it also demonstrates a level of care that can’t be found with most firms.

Armed with this knowledge, a wealth of experience, and a commitment to our clients, we have set out to establish ourselves as a trusted digital partner. We are always taking steps to improve our work and better serve our clients, and we are excited to share one of those steps with you. We are featured on the B2B ratings and reviews platform, Clutch. Clutch conducts in depth research on firms, considering factors such as marketing presence, social media efforts, and verified client reviews to identify top service providers around the world. We can be found on their directory of SEO companies in Charlotte, keeping company with some of the best B2B service providers in the country.

SEO Companies on Clutch

Our presence on Clutch grants us the opportunity to be evaluated by industry analysts, but it also provides us with an even greater source of feedback. Clutch’s main function is to collect verified client reviews and help firms find the best service providers to fit their needs. The first review we have on our profile has been tremendously helpful for our team to learn more about what we do well and where we can grow. Take a look at a quote from that review:

Charlotte PPC Clutch Review

In addition to our presence on Clutch, we have also been recognized as one of the best social media marketing agencies in 2019 by The Manifest. The Manifest is a resource for small to midsize firms, offering industry insights, how-to guides, and recommendations of top service providers. Our presence and high ratings on both Clutch and The Manifest help cement our reputation as a top digital service provider. Although our reputation has been bolstered by industry praise, we believe in letting our work speak for itself. We have submitted a portfolio of some of our best work to Visual Objects, a space for web designers and digital marketing agencies to showcase their work to prospective clients. Online presence is everything, and we are grateful for the recent opportunities we had to bolster ours.

We are proud of everything that we have achieved, but more than anything we are thankful. Thank you to all of our amazing clients; we could not have done this without you. It has been a pleasure working with you, and we cannot wait to see what else is in store for the GoBeyond SEO team.

Sign Up for the GoBeyond SEO Blog

Kristy is an Assistant & Coordinator of Awesome. She has worked extensively in academic administration and brings a varied wealth of knowledge. As a self-starter, she is ready to take on news projects and see them through to completion. Always curious, Kristy is an avid researcher and delights in the challenge of learning new skills.

When Kristy isn’t organizing or researching something, you can find her listening to a true crime podcast, re-watching How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory and coming up with some crazy shenanigan for her family’s next adventure.

5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT KRISTY

  1. Kristy prefers the Harry Potter books over the movies. Her favorite book is The Prisoner of Azkaban and her favorite character is Luna Lovegood. Ravenclaw house. She just started her 8-year-old son on listening to the books.
  2. Kristy has a nail technician license, esthetician license, medical assisting certification, associate degree, and bachelor’s degree. She didn’t get her full cosmetology license because she can barely do her own hair, she shouldn’t be trusted with someone else’s.
  3. She doesn’t know how to gamble but is originally from Las Vegas, Nevada. She moved to Colorado three months before her 21st birthday.
  4. Her high school graduating class consisted of only 20 people.
  5. Kristy loves gift giving. One of her great joys in life is finding the “perfect” gift.
Kristy Elias