Google My Business listings are oftentimes the first result that your customers see when searching Google for junk hauling services in their area.
Put simply – Google My Business results are essential for local junk removal companies because they are based on locality and are aimed at getting customers to act, whether that’s visiting your location, making a phone call, requesting directions, or visiting your website.
GMB listings also provide potential customers the ability to see your contact information, hours of operation, reviews, and ratings, and pinpoint where your business is located all from one platform.
If your information on Google My Business is complete with accurate information about your location, hours, and contact information, you will have a higher chance of getting a spot in Google’s local pack, which looks like this on the results page:
These types of results are shown towards the top of a Google search page, which is where most users will take their business, and where you want to be to reach them.
And, since Google holds nearly 93% of the search engine market, appearing on Google is essential to bringing leads to your junk hauling business.
When you create a free Google My Business account, business owners like you can control and update the information users see about your company so that your customers are getting accurate details at all times.
To learn how to take advantage of Google My Business and improve your local SEO, follow our five-step guide to Google My Business Optimization.
Step 1: Create Your Google My Business Profile
Setting up a Google My Business account is easy! All you need to sign up for a free profile is a business that is verified by Google and engages with customers in person.
To start, you can add or claim your business by going to Google My Business and signing in or registering with a Google Account. We recommend using something like [email protected] as a user. Doing so allows you to separate your business and personal Gmail accounts. You will then be prompted to enter:
- Your business name or DBA
- Your business (or home) address with the ability to hide your address if you don’t want it to be seen. That way, if you work out of your truck, you won't have people showing up at your house with their own trucks full of garbage.
- Your service area within a region, city, postcode, or a certain distance from your address
- Your business category
Tip: Google My Business doesn’t provide a junk hauler category, but it offers similar categories such as waste management service, cleaning service, and garbage collection service.
Verify Your Business
After filling out your company’s information, you need to verify your business. Verifying your junk removal business can be done in a few ways.
- Verify by mail and a postcard with a 5-digit verification code will be shipped to your business address (usually arriving within 14 days).
- Verify by phone. A verification code will be sent to your business phone number via an automated message.
- Verify by email. A verification email will be sent to your business email.
- Verify instantly by contacting a Google My Business Partner like JunkTrashRemoval.com
- Verify immediately if your business website has previously been verified through Google Search Console.
Once you’ve verified your business, you’ll have access to all of the Google My Business features.
Step 2: Optimize your Google My Business Profile
From your Business Profile, you can manage how your business appears on Google.
Update Your Business Information
You’ll want to provide as many details as possible on your profile so that customers know what services you offer and the benefits of working with you.
In addition to the information you entered when registering, you’ll want to include your business hours so that your leads know precisely when you’re available to pick up their junk, a brief description about your business, and a list of services that you provide.
Other business information you should include:
- Service Areas (this is a new feature if you already have a GMB account)
- Special Hours - Do you offer special after-hours pickups? Enter those here
- Phone Number - We'd recommend using your business phone or cell phone to capture as many customer calls as possible (you’re tracking those, right?)
- Website
- Services
- Appointment URL for booking hauling appointments online
- Attributes (you can only add factual attributes about your business like “Veteran-led.” Subjective attributes, like whether you’re family friendly, can be added by customers)
Photos & Video
Adding photos and video to your Business Profile is a great way to show potential leads the kind of work you perform. Google My Business gives you the ability to categorize your photos into many categories:
- By owner - Any photo posted by the owner of the GMB listing will appear here.
- By customer - Any photo posted by customers or Google Map users will appear here.
- 360 photos - This is a good section for any 360 photos or office tours you may have
- Video - A place for videos you've shot on your camera or had professionally shot
- Interior - Photos of your office, truck, or home based business
- Exterior - Do you have an office or location where you park your dump truck? Post those under the exterior category
- At work - This is a great place for before and after junk removal photos
- Team - Pictures of you and your team members
- Identity - Logo, brand images, etc.
As a junk hauler, some great photos to include would be before-and-after pictures showing how you’ve helped customers declutter their home. Pictures of unique items that you’ve hauled for people can be a great way to show customers what you can remove for them. To add a personal touch to the listing, you could include a photo of yourself or your crew.
Questions and Answers
If you find yourself getting asked a lot of the same questions from customers, you can save their time and yours by including a frequently asked questions section to your profile. Some examples can include:
- Do you haul _? (hot tubs, refrigerators, cars, etc.)
- How much do you charge for junk removal?
- Do you provide construction debris removal?
This section also provides customers with the ability to ask questions, allowing you to post an answer for visitors to see. Google will send out an email notification when a question has been asked so that you can reply quickly.
GMB Posts
With Google My Business, you can keep your customers updated about offers and discounts through posts. GMB posts are a relatively new feature and still underutilized by most junk removal pros.
Types of posts include:
- What’s New
- Events
- Offers
- Products
Each post can include a button to encourage your customer to take action such as:
- Book
- Order online
- Buy
- Learn more
- Sign up
- Call now
As shown in the post examples below, you can give your customers more information on a specific service, such as Same Day Junk Removal, or on an exciting job your team finished.
You will have the ability to see how many views your posts have gotten as well as how many people have clicked on it once enough data has been collected.
Step 3: Collect Reviews
Having customer reviews on your Google My Business profile provides value for both you and your customers.
As a business, it’s important to be aware of how your customer feels about your business, whether it’s positive or negative. It also allows you to emphasize what people like about your business and improve on areas where people weren’t satisfied.
Reviews help build trust with customers and can influence whether they choose you for their junk hauling needs.
The easiest way you can encourage customer reviews is to ask for one in a follow-up email. Replying to customer reviews can also motivate new customers to leave a review, especially if you’re providing useful and genuine responses.
Step 4: Set Up Your Mobile Friendly Website (For Free!)
If you want to expand your web presence, Google My Business gives you the option to create a free website with a custom domain name. All you need to do is enter your business name, and a website preview will be created for you. This free website generates automatically, using the information from your Business Profile. Very cool.
Free templates allow you to create a basic website to meet your business needs. Design your site using the website builder, which makes it easy for you to customize your website without needing to know a single line of code.
Having a website not only provides a professional way to display information about your business to your customers, but it also allows you to set up online booking and offer fast quotes to customers, making it easier to capture a junk removal lead.
Step 5: Analyze Your Stats
After you set up your new account, you can use the Google My Business dashboard to review all of the activity from your listing and website, such as searches, clicks, views, and calls. Metrics can be viewed by one week, one month, or one quarter. Phone calls are broken down further by day of week or time of day, giving you more insights about when your customers are calling your business. Analyzing these statistics will provide you with the information you need to optimize your profile and website to meet your objectives.
Other metrics in Google My Business include:
Queries used to find your business
Find out what potential customers are searching for when your business appears on the Google search results page.
How customers search for your business
Direct - These are customers who find your listing while searching for your business name or address
Discovery - These are customers who see your listing while searching for a category, product, or service
Branded - These are customers who find your listing while searching for a brand related to your business
Where customers view your business on Google
See how many people have seen your business on Google as well as whether they found you on Search or Maps.
Customer Actions
Monitor your business by seeing how many visits your website gets, how many people requested directions to your location, how many calls you received, and how many customers messaged you.
Direction Requests
See where your customers are searching for your business nearby, which can be helpful if you want to create paid ads that target a specific location.
Phone Calls
Track when your customers are calling and how many times customers call.
Photo Views
Compare how your business is doing relative to those similar to yours.
Next Steps
Once you’ve completed your Google My Business profile, it’s important to keep it maintained. Ensure that your information is accurate and up-to-date, reply to any questions or reviews that customers have left, and build a relationship with your customers by keeping them updated with posts and photos.
Another crucial step is to check your stats regularly so that you can see how your business is doing. Examining your stats will allow you to assess what you may be doing right or wrong and improve your business accordingly.
While Google My Business is an excellent way to reach potential customers online, we recommend you diversify your lead generation across many different channels to generate more customers.
Taking a multipronged approach to generating leads can include:
- Starting a paid search campaign using Google Ads
- Optimizing your website to rank higher on organic search results
- Using appropriate social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) to reach out and connect with customers
In the end, Google My Business can generate awareness, interest, and most importantly, new revenue for your junk hauling business.
Use it to highlight what makes your hauling business unique, update it weekly with posts to increase your reach, and review your listings monthly to ensure that you're using all the tools available to boost your visibility to potential customers in your area.
In addition to all the other features we've mentioned, Google My Business is also free! So what are you waiting for? Get started with a Google My Business profile today.
How will you use your Google My Business listing to generate additional leads for your junk hauling business? Have you had success with your listing?
Let us know in the comments section below!
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