[Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part series. Part II will run in the January 2020 edition of PRNEWS.]
Where do you go when you want information? When you’re researching a product or a company? It’s obvious, right? Everyone turns to Google. It dominates search.
Google is a discipline in itself. It’s also a verb. I googled to see if you can study for a Google degree. You can’t. I’m surprised, but not surprised. I am told that a U.K. university takes three years to develop a degree program. It’s hard to predict what Google will do tomorrow, let alone in 1,095 days.
Truth is that mastering Google is the best way to manage your reputation online. And I’m not talking about classic SEO. I’m not talking about ranking for important top, middle and bottom of sales funnel keywords, though these rankings undoubtedly have an impact on your reputation. As a result, I have approached this article with a mind-set of classic reputation management, which has nothing to do with SEO.
So, here are the first four points in our rundown of the nine best ways to manage your reputation on Google.
Google My Business (GMB)
This has been known as all kinds of things over the years (think Google Places etc). The map deck containing business listings appears at the top of the search engine results pages (SERPs). Or the GMB profile sits above/alongside your website in the SERPs when a prospect conducts a branded search. Most prominent GMB features include review stars and photos.
What do your reviews look like? Are they influencing the click-through rate on your normal website listing in Google? If you need better reviews, Google offers tips about how to generate GMB reviews here: https://bit.ly/33GdSEn
Have you verified/claimed your GMB listing? And what do your photos look like? Are they ‘on brand’? The GMB profile goes way further than reviews and photos to be fair. You can add Q&As, and list your services - it’s a powerful free tool. Invest in it; it’s probably the first thing a prospect will see.
Knowledge Panel
If GMB is all about your business (more often than not related to a particular area, for example, self storage in Manchester or property accountants in Nottingham, it’s such a feature-packed resource that can so drastically affect reputation, I advise every business to claim theirs, whether the company is geographically focused or not), then the Knowledge Panel is about an entity. Find a musician, a business, a place, for example. It serves as a snapshot, nothing more.
Still, though, the Knowledge Panel contains vital information. For example, your business name, its description and your associated social profiles.
These can make or break you, of course. What if prospects are sent to the wrong social profiles? Or what if you merge with another company and your business name changes? Claiming and verification require a Gmail address, so don’t give it to the intern and panic when he or she leaves and you no longer have the login details. Here are Google’s tips on Knowledge Panel verification: https://bit.ly/2sEVVJJ
Branded Search
Silly question, but does your website show up first when you Google your business name? Anyone searching for you online likely will be highly qualified. They’ve already decided they want to work with you and now they just need to find you.
If you’re not appearing first for your own branded searches, then address it as a matter of urgency.
‘People Also Ask’
Quite often if you conduct a search and scroll down the page, you’ll see a ‘People also ask’ box containing three or four questions, about a quarter to halfway down.
This box can be expanded limitlessly. To do so, click on the dropdown icon next to each question.
Have you checked to see the questions people are asking about your brand? If so, have you checked to see who’s answering them? Google’s returning content in response to the questions. It’s pulling the content from somewhere, maybe your competitor’s blog. If you’re not answering these questions, you should be.
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