The Holy Grail in marketing these days seems to be ranking on the first page of Google. Imagine your prime customer – a motivated seller. They type into Google something like:
“Sell my home fast [Town], [State]”
Will they click through to page 8 to see who will help them? Probably not. You want them to see your website’s listing first.
In order to have the Google gods shine down on you, you need to be good to the Google gods. One way you can do this is to make it easy for their users to learn about your business. The better the information Google has, the better their users will want to use the search engine.
The easiest way for Google to learn about (and boost) your business is to have a standard way for businesses to input their information. That standard process needed a name that all businesses would want.
So Google came up with, what else but…
Google My Business
“Google My Business” makes it very easy for business owners, especially local ones, to provide all the information Google needs to help consumers searching for it. Think of Google My Business as one-stop shopping for:
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Google Plus – Users can see any content you have on your Google Plus page
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Google Maps – Users can find you on the local maps that show up on the first page of Google
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Google Search – Users can look at a snapshot of your business when they are searching for your business name specifically
Google My Business ties into Google Plus, which is Google’s social media platform. At first glance, it’s easy to think Google Plus is just another Facebook or Twitter. Lots of people dismiss it because they don’t want another social media website to update.
Some of your competitors’ refusal to use it might be your advantage. There are a lot of advantages for using Google Plus – especially for real estate investors:
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Interesting statistics: There are 300+ million active users as of the end of last year. 38% of the U.S. population is on it in one form or another.
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Rank higher, quicker: Google indexes your Google Plus posts on their search engines much more quickly than your regular blog posts.
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Rank higher with your connections: Say you have a lot of posts on Google Plus explaining how to help get out of debt or avoid foreclosure, and you have motivated sellers following you. Then your future posts will rank much higher for searches done by people connected to you.
Set Your Business Up to be Googled
Google provides you a guide for setting up your business so your customers can find you. Here’s a video on how to set it up from scratch.
Once you have the Google My Business set up, here are some tips for maximizing its search engine power:
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Use Correct and Consistent Information – Not just on Google Plus, but everywhere you have an internet presence. Make sure all your contact information (email, phone, address, etc.) is consistent and correct across your websites and social media.
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Help Potential Customers Pick You: Fill out your complete profile with contact information, hours of operation, information about your real estate business and (very importantly) pictures. Motivated sellers make quick decisions. Make it easy for them.
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Choose Your Business Category Well: Google will rank your business listing based on the type of category for your business. Make sure you can be as specific as you can with one of Google’s categories. That will increase your chances of being seen. Here is some helpful advice on categories.
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Stay Active on Google Plus: Since Google Plus is one component of Google My Business, the more active you are on your Plus account, the higher your business will rank on Google.
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Encourage Your Clients to Leave Reviews: On Google Maps, there’s a review link for your business. Try to have as many people as possible write reviews for your business. Once you receive over 5 reviews, Google will start putting 1-5 stars by your business name, which will increase conversions (if the reviews are good, of course).
Google Plus and Google My Business can really help add visibility to your business online, which is where more and more people are turning. It’s a lot easier for motivated sellers and renters to find you online than to start asking around or using other means. The easier it is for them, the more likely they will choose you.
How Do You Google?
Share your experiences and tips below.
Be Social – You don’t have to be the king or queen of social media, but having an online presence helps people see you are a real person and are more likely to trust you.
Google Your Name and Company Name – See what is already out there about you and your business. Make sure there are not negative items. If there are, respond to them regularly.
Stay Up to Date – Google makes changes to how they run their business a lot. Either check on those changes or have your webmaster check on them for you. Make sure you don’t get left in the internet ‘dust.’
JP Moses
is a real estate investor in Memphis, TN, with experience ranging from land lording to note buying, rehabbing, and wholesaling. However, wholesaling is the area that he enjoys most and where he bring the most experience and expertise to his students.