Keyword stuffing in Google My Business is something that should be avoided where possible. This practice has been something that many businesses have done over the years, but it is not something that everyone should be doing. When everyone ranks using this method, its impact in the industry diminishes. Let’s take a closer look at why this is something that needs to be avoided.
What is keyword stuffing?
A Google My Business listing relays many important details about your business to someone who might be searching for your services. What some companies choose to do is add extra keywords and descriptors to their business name on their profile, when these are not part of the business’s legal name. This is one example of the practice known as keyword stuffing.
Adding keywords to your business name will help it to rank more successfully, but this won’t always be a good path to follow. Google does take action against businesses that it feels has descriptors that don’t match with the real and legal name of the company. Some of these can even result in suspensions from the Google My Business service.
What are companies doing to get around Google’s restrictions?
Some companies are taking steps to try to avoid the restrictions that Google places so that they are able to rank well and fairly. The step often taken here is to legitimately rebrand so that the keywords that they want to rank for appear in their business name, and therefore are able to be used as part of Google My Business.
Google appears to be fine with a long descriptor name so long as it does match branding and logos. However, is a rebrand actually worth it in the long run?
Remember to rank smartly
Nothing makes ranking power diminish quite like everyone jumping on the same bandwagon. Though it might appear beneficial to add localised keywords to your Google My Business title, it will be of little use if your immediate competitors in your local area are doing exactly the same thing.
Google has not taken much in the way of action against keyword stuffing, though it has been an issue for many years. Compared to some of the things that they have penalised in terms of SEO, it has barely been addressed. This is probably due to the fact that adding these extra keywords is not actually harmful to Google users compared to some SEO practices. There are others that manipulate the SERPs to a much greater extent.
Business owners should receive a small ranking boost if they decide that they want to try keyword stuffing with their Google My Business listings. However, the cons of doing so often far outweigh the positive gain that can be taken from here. You can face issues with your branding – something that always needs to be clear and distinct, and the benefit that you can grab initially can soon vanish when your competitors also begin to stuff in keywords.
Think carefully before deciding to add any unnecessary descriptors to your company’s name on Google.
