Using Hashtag for Google My Business
-
I was told by a Google My Business representative to include #{keywords} in my description. I was told this would boost my rankings. Has anyone else heard of this?
-
Hey John,
Hmm, what a strange answer this is:
Answer In regards to the hashtags, you can either use them or if you prefer only the related keywords to be used, that works as well. Also, you can follow the tips I have shared in my previous email.
I am totally in the dark about why Google would even mention this. Maybe I've missed something
-
So below is a recent email chain with Google I thought I would share.
Question Good morning! I have spoken with a Google representative that informed me that I should used hashtags in my GMB descriptions, and that these hashtags will help push my business result up in the results. She said the hashtags could include key search terms or the category I want to be known as. For example, #keyword and #keywords. I'd like to confirm that this information is accurate before I implement it in my listings.
Answer My name is Sophia, following up on your query for adding related keywords in the business description.
Yes, this is a good idea and you can also add the city name with the most searched terms and this also plays important role in pushing up the ranking of a business page. However, we cannot promise that it will get effective overnight as the search results are something which is automatically pulled up by algorithm. Additionally, here are some tips which will definitely help in getting better ranking of your business on Google search :
- Enter complete data: Make sure you’ve entered all of your business information in Google My Business and keep it up-to-date. For example, your physical address, phone number and category. Learn how to edit your business information
- Manage and respond to reviews: Responding to reviews shows that you value your customers and the feedback they leave about your business. High quality, positive reviews from your customers will also help improve your ranking. Learn more about responding to reviews
- Add photos: Accurate and appealing pictures can show potential customers that your business offers what they’re searching for.Learn how to add local business photos
Prefer to watch a video? We have one for you here. And don’t forget to get insights for your business’ online presence via your Google My Business Account (more details).
I hope that you will find this information helpful. In case you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help you grow your business!
Question To confirm, we should just use the keywords in the description without the pound symbol (hashtag)?
Answer In regards to the hashtags, you can either use them or if you prefer only the related keywords to be used, that works as well. Also, you can follow the tips I have shared in my previous email.
-
Yeah, sounds like an untrained rep to me. That does happen. Unless - bwahhahaaa - Google just gave away the secret sauce! But ... I kinda don't think so.
Glad you asked about it though!
-
We called in to Google and asked a few questions. This is when they provided this "suggestion." I think at this point it was an untrained rep that didn't know what they were saying. If there were any legitimacy to this, I think others would have some insight to it.
-
Hi John,
Are you 100% positive you were talking to a Google rep? Did you phone them or did someone phone you? While there was the 2013 G dashboard update that permitted use of rich text in the description (with the warning that it could take longer to get approved) I do not recall ever seeing mention of the use of # in descriptions. I'm very curious about someone telling you this, and feel a little nervous that you may either have been speaking to an untrained Google rep or, possibly, a scammer misrepresenting themselves as a Google rep. Seems a bit odd.
As Eric mentions, Google has treated the description very strangely in recent years. It doesn't show in most place.
Can you shed any more light on the origin of the conversation you had?
-
They meant the description. However we have since had a conversation with a different representative they didn't agree. Sounds like Google is doing some stellar training for their representatives.
-
There aren't any rules how the description should be formatted in Google's Guidelines - https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177?hl=en - however it's worth noting that the description you list in your dashboard may not show up for customers searching for your service/company. Google made the shift a little while back to show a limited amount of information (NAP, website, hours of operation, reviews) which doesn't normally include the description. I haven't seen anything to suggest adding more keywords in the description will boost ranking, especially since it's a hidden element for that page.
Local SEO Guide did a great study on Local SEO ranking factors - http://www.localseoguide.com/guides/2016-local-seo-ranking-factors/
Read through that to get an idea what to test & try to get your page ranking better.
-
That would look pretty spammy to someone viewing the business page. Are you sure they did not mean on your google my business brand page?
Best!
Matthew
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What city to use for citations?
Hey everyone, I have a question about what city to use for citations in this case. My client is a service-area business in the Seattle area. The business is home-based, in Everett, WA, which if you’re not familiar is in the northern part of the Seattle metro area. They only serve clients outside the home. For their GBP that’s no problem, as of course their address isn’t shown. For all the citations we’ll be building though, I’m not entirely sure what we should do. The client does not want their street address anywhere online. So, since their city won't be listed on their GBP, should we still use Everett as the city for all the citations, or should we use Seattle? I'm unsure here because with some citations you have to list a full address, and then you're able to hide the street address later. And since they don't technically have a Seattle address, I'm not if that would be the way to go. But I’m wondering because no one will be searching for “[service] in Everett”, they would search for “[service] in Seattle”. What do you think?
Local Listings | | SamB470 -
Google Is Linking to Wrong Local Page - How To Change?
Hi All Thanks in advance for any support. I've setup two "local" pages to target the next door town for one of my clients. One page targets "t shirt printing" and one page targets "embroidered workwear" However when I search for "embroidered workwear town in question" google connects the search to my t-shirt printing page and not the embroidered workwear page. Would it be possible to advise on what I need to do for the correct page to be linked to the search term? Here is a link to the search term in question **https://tinyurl.com/vvgr5r5 ** and the page that we would like to appear in the results, not our tshirt printing page https://tinyurl.com/s77md9o Thanks in advance for any help
Local Listings | | ruislip180 -
Unlinking Google Local Listing from your GMB Account with other locations you have
I have listings that I need disconnected from my main Google My Business account. I can close, or remove which is similar as closing, but the goal is not to close the listings, just to remove the association to my google account, and im not transferring the listing as well. Anyone know how to accomplish this? Goal is to clean up old listings that are exist but I dont manage Thanks for all the help
Local Listings | | vmialik0 -
Google Suspended My business listing
hi there, Google has Suspended By Google Business Listing Google has suspended your page due to quality issues. there is No spam Things in My Business, i have Requested Google, But It has not made active Since 10 Days, Is there any way to make My listing Publish on Google please Guide me to which steps Need take Thnx
Local Listings | | innovative.rohit0 -
Maps: How to get business showing for [keyword] + [location]
Hi there, I'd like to know how to improve a business listing so that it shows up not only when people type in the company name but also when they type in keywords related to that company. Say the company is a yacht broker based in Portsmouth. How would I get their listing to show in Google Maps when people search for: 'yacht broker' (when Google knows their location is near Portsmouth) and 'yacht broker portsmouth' or 'yacht broker hampshire'. Many thanks.
Local Listings | | Bee1591 -
Duplicate Google Plus and Google My Business Listings
My business has duplicate listings for both Google + and Google Places or Maps or My Business or whatever it's called today. Of course the listings that I want to show are marked as duplicates, and the only option is to remove the duplicates. Is there any way to merge these listings or switch which one Google recognizes?
Local Listings | | lmsybiatb0 -
Help tracking phone number calls from Google Plus & Yahoo Local
Hi, I own a business in United States and serving multiple locations around US. I have listings for all my locations in Google Business as well as in Yahoo Local. To track the phone calls that are made through Google & Yahoo, I have provided a 2 different phone numbers in these listings in order to track it effectively. Recently, I read that even the tracking phone numbers will rise an inconsistent NAP in Google local ranking factors. If such is the case, how can can effectively track the phone calls separately from these business listing? Does anyone have any better idea for this? Thank you,
Local Listings | | Luckydtech1 -
2 listings on Google Local....Need Help!
Hi All, One of our client have 2 business listings on Google Local for same business (same NAP but different website). Actually, their first website was under Google Penalty. They tried to remove the penalty but could not get rid of it so they bought a new domain and started working on it and listed the same business with new website URL. Now, their business is having 2 listings but with different URLs. How can we merge these two? Please advice. Thanks in Advance.
Local Listings | | sachin-sv0