The launch of Google My Business dates back to 2014. It is a free tool that allows you to manage your Business profile and Business website on Google. It helps small businesses create and manage their google listings, with their online presence on Google search and Google maps. This tool not only maintains your business profile but also enables establishing a connection with the customers and see their involvement and reaction towards your business.
When you type the name of a local business, you need information about it, and the Google search engine will display relevant details about the same. With this feature, companies can appear right when people search for them, their products, or services. It allows interested customers to know more about the business or brand and get in touch as well.
More about Google My Business
With Google My Business, all this data about a particular business is easily made available,
- Business name
- Nature of business
- Contact details like the address and phone number
- Working hours of the business
- Link to the website
- Link to Google maps
- Related searches
- Images
- Reviews and many more
This helps you get an overall idea about the company and can thereby decide whether you would want to visit their page or not. Now you must be wondering, how will my business benefit by using Google My Business tool? Well, your business can use this tool to,
- Increase its visibility in search. It is the core element of local SEO.
- Bring in more traffic to the website
- Create a better buyer experience
But for this, you first need to get your business on Google. So, follow these steps,
- Set up a new account on Google
- Follow this link https://www.google.com/business/?ppsrc=GPDA2 and click on Manage now.
- Enter details of your business, like name, address and phone number, website URL.
- Add your service areas and category of business.
- Complete your Google My Business verification, done through a phone call, email verification, or postcard verification.
Once you have a verified listing, people can find you on Google search and Google map. You can promote your business with posts and images; you can use business analytics to know more about your customers, and can even respond to customer feedback.
But merely creating a Business account on Google will, however, not suffice. Therefore, you need to keep optimizing it. This will help you increase your sales, add more loyal customers, and will fetch you more money for your business. Here are a few steps you should follow to optimize your Google My Business listing.
Steps to optimize Google My Business listing
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Publish information that is correct and up-to-date
First of all, have your business details correctly listed, entirely in sync with information on your website. This consistency in information will further assist in search engine optimization. Along with the necessary details of your business, make sure to include a profile picture. Add a small description of the nature of your business. Also include the category of your business and some of its attributes.
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Reviews and feedbacks
Good reviews or good feedback will lead to more sales. But even when the reports are wrong, the business or brand should see it as an opportunity and work on resolving the issue. 86% of consumers read reviews for local businesses (including 95% of people aged 18-34 yrs). Positive reviews are a result of efforts being put in by companies to satisfy their customers.
As per data, 91% of consumers aged 18-34 trust reviews online, and I am sure most of us trust a product based on the reviews we read online. Ask customers to share their views on your offerings.
So, a business should ensure providing apt information, offer the best service, timely response to customer queries, and appreciate customer feedback.
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Use Google Messages and Google posts
If you are the owner of the business, you are entitled to use the Messaging service of Google my business. Because Google’s messaging service allows your business to feature a Message button, the customers can message you directly, i.e., through SMS. Also, you will receive the necessary notifications on receipt of any incoming message.
All the more, with Google Posts, you can create content directly on Google, you can add images, texts, and videos. Google posts usually expire after a week, so they have to be updated accordingly. A job is more like a Business card, and it shows on your Google my business profile when someone searches for your business online. And these features increase your possibility of being found.
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Use Google my Business Insights
Google my business Insights will tell you how a customer searches for your business listing on Google search or Google map and what he does with it, having found you. It will give you the customer engagement data derived from your GMB listing.
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Add high-resolution images
Make sure to incorporate high-quality photos or pictures relevant to your business, as plain text can be a little boring. Good images will attract people to visit your page. You can add a photo of your logo, a few cover images, and some informative videos.
So, don’t forget to follow Google’s best practices to put your pictures on GMB listing, in terms of image size and resolution.
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Use Google’s Booking button feature
There is a Booking button feature on the GMB platform, which can be enabled by choosing from one of the scheduling partners of Google. It allows a lot of businesses to offer a Book online option to their customers, and customers can conveniently book a slot with you.
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Follow guidelines set up by Google
Always stick to the set guidelines set up by Google as any deviation would result in permanent suspension of your Google My Business account. So before designing ways to optimize your GMB listing, refer to Google’s guidelines and follow them.
Conclusion
Google My Business puts up all your essential business information in a crisp manner for the customers to quickly get through to you. Also, it allows you to interact with your customers directly and engage with them better.
GMB is a tool that any business, irrespective of its size or location, can use for free, rank high in the search engines, enjoy the benefits offered by it, and build in a pool of loyal customers for your business. Furthermore, Google always checks out on the engagement level and your number of searches to grant you a higher ranking.
As a result, you need to keep optimizing your Google My Business listing with upcoming features to book yourself a preferred position in Google search and maps.