Google has always been an avid supporter of small businesses and with the launch of Google My Business, it’s never been easier for customers to find you. Gone are the days of flipping through yellow pages when customers can easily find businesses, restaurants and other services near them in an instant.
There’s really no downside to putting your business on Google My Business, or GMB for short. It’s a vital SEO tool to help businesses be found online, get in touch with potential customers, share news, and open up a correspondence with past, present and future clients. The intuitive and easy to use interface also allows you to instantly update your business information.
And because time is of the essence for all businesses, signing up to GMB is a quick and easy process, and you can immediately start reaping the benefits of your business listing. Just sign up, upload some great pictures of your business, put in your business information such as contact number, physical address, web address, contact number, your operating hours, and your email address. An about your business section wouldn’t hurt either! It’s a great way to set up an appealing profile for potential customers to see just what your business is about, where they can find/contact you, and what they stand to gain from doing business with you.
GMB is a game-changer for local SEO. Customers are always looking for places close by, be it a restaurant, cafe service or shop. This is where GMB comes in, as this falls part of your local SEO, it aims to reach potential customers that are in close proximity to you and bring in foot traffic. Whenever a potential client searches for something, they’ll encounter a panel of 3 of the top local businesses in their area related to their search. Those 3 businesses are only in this panel because they have a GMB listing. Most searchers looking for a place nearby will look at those 3 results first before looking anywhere else, and the better your listing and website, the more likely they are to convert or visit your store in person.
So do all that you can to make your Google My Business profile as relevant, accurate and appealing as possible, with continuous updates and interactions with your client base to maintain your rankings and followers.
Gone are the days when people would use a printed map to find a business, and with Google Maps customers can search for businesses they know of or find new ones.
Almost all businesses with a physical address are on Google Maps, but this doesn’t equate to a GMB listing. If you don’t have a listing, you can search for your own business and find it on Google Maps as an unclaimed business. This, however, isn’t enough to help you rank and claimed businesses look more reputable than unclaimed businesses. Bottom line, unclaimed businesses don’t rank highly, but by claiming your business you can get higher up in the local search results.
Another thing to consider is that unclaimed businesses can be claimed by other people, which is more alarming. Competitors and other nefarious parties can claim your business and delete it, change its location or mark it as permanently closed. While Google does review instances like this, it’s still disastrous for your business, as you’ll appear as no longer open.
But plainly and simply, you want customers to be able to find your business. That’s where they’ll go from being interested consumers to paying customers.
Good reviews speak for themselves, and there’s no better place for customers to leave a good review than on your GMB listing. The more positive reviews your business has, the more legitimate it will appear in the searches. This means higher rankings and more traffic to your website and business.
Reviews also help give a clearer picture of the services and products you offer, and what kind of experience they’ll receive when they choose your business. Most customers look to past reviews before visiting a business.
GMB is almost like social media where you engage directly with your customers by answering questions or replying to reviews. Businesses can post photographs, videos and other promotional or informative content on their listing, informing customers of the latest trends or new arrivals. This keeps people engaged, and sets you apart as an active industry leader. It also gives your brand some much-needed personality.
Just as importantly, with your GMB listing you’re able to respond to negative reviews and unhappy customers should they arise. It’s imperative to respond to these negative reviews as soon as possible as they tend to spiral and leave a bad impression. This all falls under reputation management, allowing you to put out fires and even turn unhappy customers into returning ones. Potential customers want to see positive reviews and positive outcomes from negative ones.
Businesses that regularly interact with customers are seen as customer-centric and persona, encouraging customers to contact you directly for information. This can be on anything, including information on stock, trends, sales and events. Conversations improve customer experience and help to build lasting relationships with returning customers.
As mentioned before, by using GMB you can get your listing to the top of the search results. making it the best way to improve your SEO and score local traffic. And compared to more expensive SEO tools.
Local search for businesses is more beneficial than broad SEO because of the intent behind a local search. They already know what they’re looking for, so they result in quality leads that are more likely to follow through. People searching locally are looking to make business now or within the near future.
Setting up and maintaining a GMB listing is a full-time endeavour, one that requires continuous monitoring, updates and interaction to show the best results. This can be a daunting task, but with the help of SEO experts, you can rest assured that your business listing is in good hands.