5 Tricks to Help You Maximize Your Google Presence in 2024

The way your business uses Google’s services can determine a lot about the success of your digital marketing.

Many business owners utilize the most common and obvious features that Google offers, but the majority are not fine-tuning their SEO and Google Business Profiles to get the best possible results. Here are five things you should be working on right now to boost your traffic and get more eyes on your business.

Clean Up Your Content

Ever since Google launched the Helpful Content System, sites with high amounts of unhelpful content are less likely to perform well in search rankings, even for pages that do contain helpful content. So if you have some pages on your site with great info but you also have a lot of outdated content lurking in the background, start weeding out the unhelpful content to give your overall rankings a boost.

Take Advantage of Google Posts

A lot of businesses ignore Google Posts, mistakenly thinking it’s another social media platform. However, the difference is that the people who visit your Google Business Profile are already actively looking to make a purchase, so Google Posts is a great place to showcase your products and services. It’s a convenient way to distinguish yourself from your competitors.

Look Out for Social Feeds on GBP

If you haven’t connected all your social channels to your Google Business Profile, now’s the time. Google has been testing out placements of Facebook and other third-party social posts on GBP pages, so if your accounts are connected, then your business would automatically be among the first to take advantage of this potential feature. There’s no reason not to have your socials connected to your GBP anyway, so you may as well cover all your bases.

Potential Pitfall: Don’t Move Your Pin!

One thing to look out for is a recent trend where competitors might drag your Google Maps pin into the ocean to damage your local rankings. The temptation is to immediately put the pin back where it belongs, but beware — Google may see this as suspicious and suspend your profile (which is what your competitor is hoping for). Instead, what you want to do is log into a Google account that is NOT a manager of the business profile in question (that part is important!), and then click on “suggest an edit” from your business listing on Google Maps. This should keep the account from being suspended.

Secret Weapon: Access All Attributes

Here’s a little GBP trick: If you go to your Google Business Profile Manager, at the top right where the blue button says “Add Business”, you can select “Import Businesses” from the dropdown. On the next page, the third link down says “Download attributes reference spreadsheet”. This spreadsheet contains every possible available attribute for businesses listed on Google, and you’ll be shocked at just how many there are. If you can find attributes that are accurate for your business listing, you could potentially use them to help boost your visibility for customers searching for those attributes.

Want More Tips?

The world of SEO and Google can be a minefield. Contact us for a free consultation and we’ll help you navigate your way to more traffic and sales in 2024!

COGO Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy, web design, SEO and social media marketing. We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and across the nation.