Google My Business (GMB) is Google’s business listing service. When your Business Profile (your GMB listing) is optimized, your business is more likely to rank well in search results, including in the coveted 3-Pack:
*The 3-Pack, appearing here before all other search results, comes with pictures, reviews, and map data.
We’re going to dive straight into some Burnaby-specific tips for GMB. This article assumes you already have your GMB set up; if you don’t, check out our guide to setting up GMBs for Vancouver-based businesses. The info there is generalized to Metro Vancouver, but it will be enough to get you set up.
With that out of the way, let’s optimize for Burnaby SEO!
Location, location
It is absolutely essential that your address is accurate in your Business Profile. That means your city must be Burnaby – listing it as Vancouver in an effort to attract people from the rest of the Metro area is a bad idea. It will end up hurting, not helping your business.
On that note, you should always keep your business name, address, hours of operation, and other core data up to date. Google allows you to get really specific, so you can even include changed hours of operation for holidays and other events – that’s why it’s important to check your Business Profile regularly (more on that later).
Choosing the right categories
Google allows you to select a primary category and several secondary categories for your business. Your primary category should always reflect the core of your business, all while being as specific as possible. In other words, if you sell fish and chips, you should choose “Fish and chips restaurant”, and not just “restaurant”.
Your secondary category/categories, found under “Add another category”, can be used for services that fall outside of your primary business category. Let’s say your fish and chips shop offered meal delivery with frozen fish and chips – you could add “Meal delivery” as another category. Don’t overdo it in the secondary category – choose as few categories as possible to describe your whole business.
Not sure what categories to use? Look at what other Burnaby businesses are doing. Search your competitors; you’ll see their primary category here:
A final note before moving on from categories: Google will allow you to add category-specific features if you have certain types of primary category. If you do, it’s generally a good idea to enable those category specific-features.
Adding attributes
Attributes are kind of like categories, but you can feel free to use as many as you’d like. They describe your business in a much more granular way – for example, if your business is wheelchair accessible, you can let people know through attributes.
Unlike categories, it’s a good idea to add any and all relevant attributes. Have a rooftop patio with a beautiful view of Burnaby Lake or Burrard Inlet? Let people know. Is your business women-led and/or black-owned? Tell the world.
Attributes can also be incredibly functional – restaurants that select the delivery and take-out attributes will display those features when their listings come up in 3-Packs or other GMB-related search results.
Your business description
Business descriptions can be 750 words long. We recommend you use all 750 words to your advantage.
You want to avoid keyword stuffing – that is, the inorganic use of keywords in your description. But keywords are still important – you want, for example, to let people know your business is based in Burnaby. In the first 250 words of your 750 word description, you should include:
- Your business name
- Your business location (Burnaby)
- Your business category
Be sure to follow Google’s Business Description guidelines – no advertising sales, and no spammy content. You should also write multiple copies of your Business Description – both so you can work out something truly exciting, and in case Google rejects one or more of your descriptions.
It can be helpful to include more specific location details – “a block away from Burnaby Park”, for example. Your location is an important part of what makes your business unique!
Publish weekly
You can add both photos and text posts to your Business Profile. You should post both on a weekly basis.
Photos
Posting photos weekly can seem a bit extreme, but it’s a good idea. The more photos you have, the more chances of your customers finding photos of something they want. For restaurants this task is usually pretty simple – you have no shortage of delicious food you can post.
For other businesses, posting regularly can be a bit trickier. Fortunately, you live in Burnaby, where there is no shortage of beautiful scenery. You can even do a staff photo shoot, take a large number of photos, then post one of those photos every week.
You should always have professional shots of your business exterior and interior as well – these are the photos customers are most likely to see.
Posts
Make a text post at least once a week. Unlike the rest of your Business Profile, text posts can (and should, when applicable) be promotional in nature. Are you having a sales event? Let people know! Even if it’s a multi-week sales event, make a new post about it every week.
When your business isn’t hosting any promotions, feel free to post about new products or services you have available, an interesting anecdote that happened during the week, or even birthdays. Think of these posts as microblogging – we’re sure there’s no shortage of interesting things that happen at your place of business.
Answer questions and reviews
GMB is a more interactive service than you might think at first glance. Google users can even add attributes that are unavailable to business owners – and nefarious or ignorant users can change even your core information (more on that later).
This level of interaction can be a net positive for your business. There’s a question and answers section in which you can respond to common questions about your business – think of it as a FAQ. Answer every question – you can flag questions that are inappropriate.
You can also get reviews on your Business Profile – and you should encourage people to review you. Do this by using review management tools, or the classic approach of simply asking your customers for reviews.
Add products and services
We could write an entire article on adding products and services to your Business Profile. Here’s a brief summary: you can, and should do it. You can add photos, the product or service name, a description, the price of the product or service, and even an option to Buy. That means you can generate sales directly from your Business Profile.
To help you get set up, here are four links to guides created by Google:
- Product Editor
- Services Editor
- Menu Editor (for restaurants)
- Popular Dishes (for restaurants)
Check in regularly
Burnaby businesses should check their Business Profile regularly – daily if possible, weekly at a minimum. Google users can edit your hours of operation, your location, and a whole lot more. You also want to be constantly checking for reviews and questions, and ensuring that your core data is up to date.
You’ll be posting photos and text posts weekly anyway; consider staggering those posts so you have an excuse to check your Business Profile at least twice a week.
Google My Business is essential to local SEO
GMB and local SEO go hand-in-hand – your business profile is an excellent way to convert searches into leads. With the products and services functionality, customers can buy directly from your Business Profile, and with the 3-Pack, they’ll know exactly how to reach your business.
Want your Burnaby business to stand out? Optimize your GMB Business Profile – it’s as simple as that. Need any help? Get in touch with us. We’re First Rank – local SEO is our speciality.
Jacob Kettner is the owner and CEO of First Rank Inc., a digital marketing agency based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He currently sits on Manitoba Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advisor Council which assists people grow their small businesses in Manitoba.
