Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to edit your business profile on Google. Claiming your business listing on Google is very important, as it allows potential customers to easily find information about your business and for you to make sure that information is up to date, accurate and as persuasive as possible for potential customers.
Google My Business profiles include the following features: category and description, reviews, photos, attributes, posts, Q&A, and Google My Business insights. It requires very little time and is of no cost to set up, while also having plenty of benefits.
If you haven’t claimed your Google business listing, it may already exist on Google – when you do claim it, you will typically need to verify it with a card Google will send to your physical address. Once this is accomplished, you will be able to update photos and business hours, add a description of your business, respond to reviews and more.
Engage with Customers
Actively managing your Google My Business profile can increase engagement with your customers and potential customers.
You can easily write about your business, upload custom photos of the interior and exterior of your business, show off your products and ensure its location on Google Maps is accurate. Customers also have the option to review and rate your business. This is a good way to engage with customers by replying to the reviews and receiving continuous feedback to know what works and what doesn’t.
This feature gives your business free insights into what your target market is looking for. If good reviews are left by previous customers, it will encourage others to use your businesses’ products or services. If someone is deciding between you and a competitor, good reviews could be the difference in choosing you.
SEO Ranking
Search engine optimisation (SEO) focuses on getting unpaid, or organic, traffic to your website. SEO ranks your website based on many factors, perhaps most importantly your site’s relevance to what the person is searching for.
SEO improves your ranking on Google search, and having a properly optimised Google My Business profile means that when customers search for your business, they’ll see the GMB panel right on the right of the search results on desktop, or at the top of the page on mobile. From there, they can check out your profile, call your business or visit your website.
Trust
Businesses that appear with an optimised Google My Business profile are more reliable for potential customers as they have the business address, link to website and contact numbers. The reviews and ratings from other customers also help this.These factors make it easier to trust the business.
According to Google, “Customers are 70% more likely to visit and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile.”
Cost Effective
Google My Business is a free platform, so it costs you nothing to list your business and you get all the benefits of being listed on Google Maps, having public reviews and ratings, fully filled out business information such as contact numbers and addresses.
Having all this information readily available for potential customers to see without them even needing to visit your website can give you a huge boost.
Automatically Lists Your Business on Google Maps
When you have a Google My Business profile, you will automatically be listed in Google maps. This can help increase business and is essentially free advertising.
For example, you may own a café and have it listed on Google My Business, which means it is on Google Maps too. Someone may be visiting the area your café in and looking for a coffee. They can then search café in Maps, find your café listed, and maybe convert to a customer.
Almost 1 in 3 of mobile searches are location-specific, and Google is the top search engine users use to search for local businesses.
In conclusion, if you have yet to set up or verify your Google My Business profile, you’re missing out on plenty of opportunities to grow your business! Work on yours today to increase engagement with previous and potential customers and drive an increase in traffic to your business, both online and in person.
