Today, we are interviewing Danielle Gagne. Danielle recently came into my From Broke to Booked Blueprint Program and did an in-depth training for us on the importance of your Google ranking, how to increase your Google ranking and show up on the first page through SEO + Google My Business.

You are going to get a little taste of the things that we talked about. We are going to be focusing on using Google My Business. Is it something you should be doing? Why is it important to secure a higher Google ranking?

Brooke:
Danielle, will you take just a minute and introduce yourself to my audience?

Danielle:
Yeah, thank you so much for having me; I’m really excited to chat with you. I am a search engine optimization specialist, I have been working in SEO now in some capacity since about 2014 and I actually learned about it while running my own blog, today, I primarily work with locally owned businesses.

I have seen firsthand the impact that SEO can have on a local business.

When you think about it, if you need a photographer or you need any other service provider, you’re typically heading straight to Google and because of this, it’s just as critically important for service-based businesses in a local area to leverage the power of Google, too.

Let’s Dive In on How to Secure a Higher Google Ranking!

Brooke:
I love that.
The questions that I hear from a lot of photographers are:

• How do I start showing up in these local searches?
• How do I get my name there

So, how do we start getting our photography businesses to show up in those local searches, Danielle?

Local Searches to Help Elevate your Google Ranking

Danielle:
There are obviously tons of different SEO strategies out there. The first thing to do is make sure that you are talking about your location on your website, you would be surprised how many people barely mentioned their location at all.
Google wants to know who you serve and where you serve them.

From there, for local searches, Google My Business is especially key. If you’ve ever done a local search, there is typically three business listings underneath the map. That is what’s called Google’s three-pack, and it is prime real estate.

If you can get your business in that three-pack, you are going to transform the way you generate leads. Simply put, you’re going to naturally get leads from Google, very consistently.

If you want to show up higher in those local searches, get more clicks from search engines and get more leads…which is what we all want, right?! You have to optimize Google My Business.

Brooke:
I think everybody has their hand raised! That’s definitely what we want. I’ve had Google My Business now for maybe two years and it works wonders! I would love to hear your perspective on how we get started on Google My Business?

How To Get Started on Elevating your Google Ranking:

Danielle:
The first thing you need to do, is go to Google My Business and claim an account. They literally send you a postcard in the mail, in order to verify your account. That is the most important step, to make sure that your listing is actually appearing. A lot of times people work out of their homes. Some get nervous thinking they have to put their home address on Google, you do have to give your address to Google to send you the postcard, but it does not have to be listed publicly if you don’t want it to be.

From there, it’s really about setting up your account really strategically. When you go into Google My Business you get to describe your business; for example, if you were a photographer who did maternity photography, newborn photography, and family photography, you can describe all three of those services.

Things to Remember:

When you are filling out your profile, something that’s really important is to make sure that you do a little bit of research, even if it’s just within Google, to figure out what people are searching for. It’s called keyword research. When you’re describing your services, you want to use those keywords people are using, this is how you’re then able to best optimize that Google My Business listing to show up in those searches.

A simple way to do that is to literally go into Google, start typing a phrase that you think people might search. Just think about how you would search for your business or a service like you offer. Google is going to pop up a predictive search box and gives us a drop-down of suggested searches. Those suggested searches are all based on what other people have searched. So it’s a really simple way to get a basic understanding of the words and phrases people are using when they’re searching for a business like yours. Simple tweaks like that can really impact how your business shows up in those local search results.

BONUS TIP TO INCREASE YOUR GOOGLE RANKING:

Brooke: So one thing I want to point out here, I think a lot of people go wrong when they try to use a lot of industry lingo. You know things like: I’m a storytelling, emotive photographer. That’s great, but your client has absolutely no idea what any of that means. So make sure that you guys are using very basic terminology.

Another interesting tip here that I have found is not everybody knows the term maternity photographer, which I know is crazy, but it’s true. So if you’re a maternity photographer, make sure that you’re using the word pregnancy somewhere in your description. You’ve got to think, “What would the five-year-old type in if they were searching for my type of business?”

Danielle: That’s really good advice! That is a very common mistake that people make. Everybody has their own style and everybody’s really proud of their style and their work. While there’s 100% a place for that. It’s just not Google My Business.

What’s The Commitment for Google My Business?

Now, once you’ve done that research, and you’re optimized, then it’s really just about making sure that you’re keeping your listing updated. You can add images as you have a new shoot. Or, if you share a blog post from a recent client, link the blog post in your Google My Business posts. This helps Google see that you are active.
Google is much more likely to push a very active business to the top of search results.

Brooke: I’m glad that you brought that up. Please note: we’re talking like once a month, maybe twice a month. Don’t overcomplicate it, keep it very simple and update it every single month. I’ll be honest with you guys, I still rank pretty well and I am not by any means on a monthly rotation quite yet.

Do reviews impact my Google Ranking?

So, Danielle, I teach them that reviews are very important. And, I believe that consumers now are wanting to read reviews before they are buying anything, I know I do. I have had my clients stop leaving reviews on social media, instead I send them to Google My Business, it’s become my number one place for reviews. I’d love to hear your take on that.

Danielle:
Yes. Oh my gosh! Reviews are so so important! You’re exactly right, Brooke, people rely on reviews to help make their buying decisions. I don’t remember the exact stat now, but it was something like 97% of people said customer reviews factor into their buying decisions.

They want to know that not only is your work good and that you’re a talented photographer, but also that you’re a pleasure to work with. They want to see what people’s experiences have been. Google reviews factor into how you show up in local searches as well.

One of the tips that I like to say to people is to respond to your reviews, both negative and positive. If you get a positive review, just write a simple like thank you, it was so great to work with you. A negative review obviously is a little bit trickier in terms of how to respond, but it’s really important that you do respond.

How To Ask For Reviews:

Brooke: So one more thing that I actually do in my own business, is a giveaway to my prior clients who leave me a review. I will give away a session credit (please note: I didn’t say a free session). That is a perfect way for you to build up reviews. So photographers, please steal that strategy.

Danielle:
I love that idea, I think that’s awesome. I would also recommend is to make sure that asking for reviews is just part of your normal customer journey. Most people, if they’ve had a good experience with your business, want to support you and they’re happy to share their thoughts. This has a really profound impact on my business and my ability to get more clients.

Brooke:
Absolutely. I think that’s awesome.

I know some are asking, what do I do if I’ve never even had a paid session? You’ve still had people work with you. They can talk about the experience. It’s not about the money. I’m talking anybody even if it was a model call that you did guys, go ask those people to leave your review. Danielle, how do we want to end the Google My Business conversation?

Danielle:
I think it just goes back to understanding that if you want to have consistent leads that you are not actively having to go seek out, then Google My Business is going to be a really critical tool. If you are not on that first page, in some capacity on the search results, you could be missing out on 75% of leads.

Brooke:
Yes, but don’t get stuck in this mindset because I know some of you are like, why bother, right? I live in an area with 200 plus photographers? Well, let me tell you, not all photographers are even registering their business on Google My Business. While you’re not gonna wake up one day and magically find yourself on the first page of Google, if you start now, a year from now you should be on the first page of Google!

I hope that you guys are ready to take action.
So here’s your action checklist:

• Go register your business on Google My Business, today.
  Guys, you can have it up in five minutes. I mean, it is that fast. (You just have to wait to get verified.)
• Go add your images, make sure you’re adding in all these tips that Danielle went over.
• Do the review giveaway. I promise you will get reviews!

Brooke:
So, Danielle, where can people find you and follow along with you online?

Danielle:
I am most active on Instagram @Danielle Gagnon_ SEO

That is really like the hub of all the things and I have all my links there my bio.

Brooke:
Yes, she does. And, if you are not one of the From Broke to Booked Blueprint students, I just want you to know that when you join the program, you’re going to get an awesome, lengthy training from Danielle. She goes all over SEO and Google My Business + visual slides to follow along.

Well, thank you so much, Danielle, for coming on today’s show. I’m excited for all these photographers to get their businesses up on Google My Business!

Danielle:
Thank you so much for having me. This was super fun!

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