You’ve probably seen the business and location information that Google displays alongside search results. A lot of times this is the information that brings visitors to your door! This information is driven by a service called “Google My Business” and you can gain control over that information and tie it to your website.
First step: Claim or create your Google My Business listing
You can claim your Google My Business page from google.com/business — just follow the instructions to claim or create your listing. (We can also do it for you, see below)
Second step: Set up local business schema on your site.
Wait… what is local business schema and why does my site need it? This is data about your business (business name, location, hours, etc) that can be hidden in the code of your site that helps search engines understand your site as a local business. You need it because a recent update of Google Map search results (known as the Bedlam Update) has meant that sites without local business schema have lost priority over those that do have it. For WordPress sites, this data is typically configured and installed using a plugin, of which there are many to choose from.
9 Planets Web Design is now offering some services to help you with Google My Business and local business schema:
- We can set up your Google My Business listing and add local business schema to your website.
If you are interested in either of the services above, just contact us and let us know. We are also happy to take a look at your site and Google listing and let you know if you have either of them already.
