Sometimes customers tell me they’ve found the miracle recipe with their GMB file, but my expertise is based on thousands of customer files from all over the world… and given the multi-factor nature of the business, you need to have done a lot of testing to be able to conclude that.

Even I’ve had a few beliefs or deep-seated feelings in the past, like keywords in GMB posts for example… but the real belief is whether it’s useful to the customer or not…;-)

Note that these elements may not be useful to Google, but they do have an impact on your customers when they read them.

Here’s the top30 list of myths and legends about Google My Business that would “boost” your visibility and traffic (but don’t):

  1. Geotagged photos uploaded to GBP
  2. Keywords in the GBP description (that doesn’t mean you can’t write a nice text for the customer!)
  3. Keywords in owner’s responses to comments (this doesn’t mean that your response isn’t read by other customers!)
  4. Sum of transactions identified by credit card partners
  5. The GBP messaging function is activated
  6. Keywords in Google Q&A
  7. Number of questions asked in Google Q&A
  8. The GMB reservation function is activated
  9. Number of transactions identified through credit card partners
  10. Number of Google posts
  11. Trusted photographer / Google Business View photography
  12. Participation in Adwords, Adwords Express, Hotel Finder or other paid Google products
  13. Keywords in Google messages
  14. Number of videos on GMB
  15. Keywords in image file names throughout the website
  16. Presence of appointment URL
  17. Google post frequency
  18. Number of bookings via the GMB booking function
  19. Google article justifications in local search results
  20. Quantity of products on the GMB site
  21. Keywords in meta descriptions across the entire website
  22. Defining GMB service areas
  23. Number of messages sent via Google My Business messaging system
  24. Keywords in image file names on GMB landing page
  25. Match between Google account domain and GBP homepage domain
  26. Complete Google Q&A section with owner-generated FAQs
  27. XML site map
  28. Keywords in GMB products
  29. In-store visits tracked by third-party beacons or location detection technology.
  30. Number of bookings through Google Booking partners

If you’re having trouble making your listing stand out or getting positive reviews, don’t hesitate to contact me.